Lastminute.com Travelocity Changed mind on refunding customer for unsuccessful hotel booking; violates own employee's statements and TOS, Internet

I attempted to book a hotel for the same night through lastminute.com, and was shown an error page which stated that my booking was "unsuccessful," and that I had not been charged. I was told to attempt again, but decided not to do so, and made other arrangements for the evening. The next day, I found the "successful" confirmation email in my inbox, which arrived several hours too late for it to be of use for my same-night hotel booking. I was charged in full for the booking that I had not been able to use because I had been shown the error page and did not receive the email in a timely manner.

When I returned from my trip, I contacted lastminute to request a full refund. The response I initially received confirmed that my booking was unsuccessful, and I was told that, according to lastminute's records, I had not been charged for the unsuccessful booking.

I sent a statement from my bank with the charge from lastminute clearly shown, and was then requested by the associate to call one of their toll-free numbers with my credit card information, so that a refund could be processed. However, I experienced great difficulty in making a successful call. I was given three different telephone numbers, which I tried on two different phones to no avail. I kept getting a message that the call would not go through.

After I explained the situation in another email to lastminute and inquired about other options to deliver my credit card information securely, I recieved a response which stated that, because the hotel had already charged lastminute for the booking, and held the room overnight, no refund could be processed. Lastminute contacted the hotel directly but continues to refuse me a refund because the hotel will not refund lastminute. I was only offered a 50 dollar credit for future use with lastminute, but that is not the amount I was charged for the booking.

According to Lastminute's own associate, there were errors in the booking and I should not have been charged for it. They will not acknowledge any of the previous emails I received which say this, although I have a complete record of the correspondence. Also, their own terms of service state that in the case of hotel bookings, although the customer is required to contact the hotel directly for inquiries about the booking, lastminute is responsible for its own errors, and in that case the customer is owed a refund of all monies paid.

When I continued to question them further, they ceased responding entirely.