By the way, you can see the creases where the buckle was originally located on the strap. There are two pairs of them, respectively about an inch and two inches from the end of the strap nearest the camera. Conversely, there is no creasing at the ends of the straps where the buckle is alleged to have cut the strap. For a cut to have been made, it would have to be where the strap passed over a sharp edge on the buckle, and there would be creasing as a result. Additionally a cut would normally need a decent amount of tension in the strap, but there’s no evidence of tearing or similar: the ends are both perfectly square.
So if you ask me, all the evidence in that photo points to a buckle that’s slipped off the end of straps; the only manufacturing “flaw” I’m seeing is that the straps appear to have been left as a raw cut rather than melted.
I’d fish it out of the bin and have another go at reassembling it. But if you don’t fancy that, fish it out of the bin and try cutting that nylon webbing with a kitchen knife and, once you’ve had a go at that, have a think about whether the plastic buckle would get through it, let alone do the clean, squared-off job you think it has…