Terrible service and mishandling of device by Vodacom Repairs

Absolutely terrible service and mishandling of my device sent in for repairs. I've sent in my phone which had some kind of hardware issue, and was still under warranty. The device was fully inspected by the consultant at the vocacom outlet who confirmed that there wasn't a single mark or physical damage on the device. I then proceeded to take photos as well, and this was all done in view of the camera within the store. There after it was sent to 2 different repair centres for assessment. During that time there was clear mishandling of the device and after 2 weeks I was sent a photo and told that my warranty is void because of a huge mark under my phone, which was not there at the time of handing in (confirmed by consultant). My phone is still under contract for 14 more months and they said that I should either pay R3500 for repairs for damage that I haven't even caused or take the further broken phone back. As a vodacom customer for 8 years I'm absolutely shocked at the service I'm getting for sending in a defective device for the first time ever. I will definitely not recommend Vodacom and their repair service as they are extremely negligent and try to put the blame on the customer.