Vodacom so so frustrating

I have an iPhone 16 Pro Max I recently took out from Vodacom on a contract. The phone suddenly went dead and I called Vodacom yesterday to advise them of this I spoke to a lady by the name Kerrin Megan who is really trying to help. But it looks like Vodacom doesn't want to take the responsibility for this. The lady is telling me about a timeframe she is being advised about when trying to request for the phone to be collected and what not. So what am I now supposed to do with a phone that is not working which by the way I am still expected to pay for? The other guy I spoke to who happened to be on some after sales department told me about dropping the phone at a store. So what do I get there and do or say? The worst thing is I did not get this contract from a store it was from their online department. I am really desperate to get this sorted. A phone can't just die without falling without anything happening to it. What frustrates me even more is how much I still owe on this phone. Can someone please contact me to assist.