Faulty cell phone replaced 4 times and vodacom still want money for repairs

last year I purchased a Smartkicka Vodacom phone from Clicks in Robertson for my partner , a budget phone but perfect for his big hands to start using smart phones, after sometime the speaker packed up ,we returned phone, there was some confusion initially whether they would give us a repaired phone or a new one ,they gave us a new one but we had to pay in ,shortly after that the phone broke again ,same problem ,speaker stopped working ,we went through the same ordeal again and got another phone ,not sure if it was new or repaired, again the same function broke so we went back to Clicks and again same story ,then in August took the broken phone back and said it was clearly a faulty product and we had spent hours and time and money with all the calls,travelling etc waiting for feedback as Clicks is also dreadful and lethargic with follow ups ,we asked rather if we could get an upgrade and pay in the difference ,as we were not prepared to go through all this schlepp again ,after many weeks we were informed NO and we must pay in for repairs as our warranty was gone ....we argued the point back and forth over and over again ,dealt with several people at Clicks ,had dismal responses as we disagreed re the time of warrantee as the phone was barely 3 months old ,eventually we were told they are not using the latest phone as their guideline rather the first one we purchased -I cannot believe that is legal ..we have gone through 4 phones now in a year and half and they still refuse to upgrade us and we must still pay to have this one repaired -I need some advice on this -I have the IMEI number if you could assist -thanks in advance we know of many other people who have purchased this entry level phone and its broken on and they simply do not have the resources to fight this battle -Thanks In advance