What do you do if you've bought a theme and literally since then the author hasn't responded and then takes down the theme so you can hardly contact them?

I bought The Clothes Shop theme, which has been taken down, the author no longer responds, and seems like I’ve been left to figure the template out, so project is on hold, while the documentation that has been stated to help, doesn’t even match the template that was downloaded? I’m new to TF so not sure how everything works here. What should I do? Thanks

No author has to give you support.
If they don’t want to give you support they don’t have to.

If you don’t understand you can hire a freelancer to work on the template for you

Remember that authors are not required to provide support (although it is recommended) and items can be removed at any time. If that happens, you’re on your own. Hire a developer or DIY are the only options.

Next time you buy a template, make sure you ensure the author has a vested interest in supporting their customers. Do they answer comments? Every comment? How long have they been on the marketplace?

You should be considering all these things when buying a theme. That will avoid you being burned in the future.

If the item is not working as expected, then you can contact Themeforest support and tell them exactly what is wrong with it. List down all the issues and ask for a refund.