Who's lying? Vodacom or Apple? Water damaged iPhone 11 Pro Max... seriously???

I recently upgraded to an iPhone 11 Pro Max. This phone has an IP68 rating which is better than any of score managed on a smartphone.

The 8 in 168: This number is the water resistance rating. An "8" means that the iPhone can be fully submerged for one meter or more for up to 30 minutes without causing any water damage to the phone.

The official spec on the Apple site states:

Rated IP68 (maximum depth of 4 metres up to 30 minutes) under IEC standard 60529.

Sounds great doesn't it? Well according to Vodacom's "Advanced" Repair Centre, this is all a lie. On Sunday the 5th of Jan my new iPhone 11 Pro Max got wet by the poolside. Worked fine the entire day, could stream, game and do whatever I normally do. Later that evening whilst catching up on my Twitter Feed my phone switched off. Was off for a few mins and then went back on. After a few minutes the screen flickered and went all white and then dead. The phone itself was still responding. I know this for a fact because the SOS function, when you press all the buttons, was responding. This was tested in-store as well with the consultant.

To cut a long story short, Vodacom's Advanced Repair Centre quoted me R16 673.85 to replace the handset as they Liquid Damage Indicator shows it has water damage. I find this absolutely ridiculous. I will not be paying this money to replace the defective device. Who is the **** here? Vodacom or Apple? I can guarantee that the device was not underwater for a meter let alone 30 minutes. Where is the consumer protection here? I refuse to pay for something that is not my fault. What technical troubleshooting was done on Job Card No ***3. The gent at the Sandton City Vodacom Shop could not get rid of me fast enough, he told me to call the Advanced Centre. He doesn't know why they quoted me that. One thing I'm sure about, if I don't have a working phone, I am not paying for the contract.