My Exchange Was Denied Despite a Verbal Promise From DS Damat

On December 19, 2025, I went to the store to exchange a gift purchased for me from DS-DAMAT within the valid exchange period, as I already had a similar piece of clothing. I couldn’t find anything I liked and asked for a refund, but the store declined. Instead, they assured me that I could complete the exchange at any time and that it wouldn’t be an issue. To follow through, I continued checking stores. In November 2025, I bought a shirt to proceed with the exchange. At the time of purchase, I again requested the exchange, but they told me approval was needed. I paid the full seasonal price of ₺3,249—without waiting for a discount—for a shirt I didn’t even need, just to facilitate the exchange, yet no deduction was made. Later, I was informed that approval had come through after 5–10 days, but no time frame was mentioned at the time of purchase. I trusted DS-DAMAT and bought the shirt; otherwise, I would have waited. I continued visiting stores looking for another exchange opportunity. On June 15, while planning to buy another shirt, I asked once again for the exchange amount to be deducted, but the request was denied and sent to Customer Service, which refused it. So, I didn’t go through with the purchase. Initially, I was told the exchange period was only one month, but also reassured that this wouldn’t be a problem. Customer Service later said a one-time exception had been made for customer satisfaction (which I appreciated), but in order to proceed, I had already purchased a shirt at full price that I didn’t need—and the original exchange was still not honored. I trusted the brand; shouldn't that also count for something? I was told approval would take 5–10 days, but was never informed of any deadline. Is the cost of trusting a brand really being treated unfairly like this?