Expired Medicine and Pathetic Service

Last week Thursday, 21 Aug, I visited the Lakeside Mall store (Benoni, Gauteng) to buy Demazin syrup for my daughter who has an allergy. 

I was assisted by a lady at the pharmacy who ignored my greeting at first. She did seem to be busy with paperwork, but she could at least greet and say "I'll be with you in a minute". When she gave me the medicine, I was unable to check the expiry date as she put it in a brown plastic bag and sealed it with a label. I paid for it and left the store (in the sealed bag). 

When I got home and wanted to give the medicine to my daughter, I saw the expiry date was Sept 2025 - 9 days away. That batch was manufactured in March 2024. 

I did not open that medicine to give it to her, and instead went to a late-night pharmacy to get another one as my daughter needed it quite urgently. It is the only medication that helps her when she has allergies.

I don't live exactly close to Lakeside Mall, so the next day my wife took it to North Rand Road store, Boksburg with the slip and sealed packaging but was told that it can only be returned at the store it was bought from. 

Firstly (ignoring the unpleasant assistant behind the counter), I was given medication that was 17 months old and was 9 days from expiry. Secondly, Clicks is such a big group, why couldn't I return the medicine at another store with a pharmacy? You are the only chain-store group with such a lousy return service.