Travelscape, LLC Deceptive Scam Sham Cancellation Policy Las Vegas Nevada

We booked a hotel on-line for a one night stay in a hotel located in Sequoia National Park, CA for check in on October 31, 2013 and THOUGHT we were booking on the hotel's website (that is, nothing led us to believe that we had navigated to another site).  We booked for one night and paid IN FULL for the one night, including tax on our American Express card.  An e-mail confirmation arrived almost immediately.  The sketchy confirmation should have been my first clue that we were dealing with a scam company and not the actual hotel, more about that later.  Knowing that there would be a possibility that we may have to cancel this reservation within a couple of days of check-in, when the e-mail arrived, I checked the cancellation policy.  It read:  "We understand that sometimes your travel plans change.  We do not charge a change or cancel fee.  However, this property (Wuksachi Lodge) imposes the following penalty to its customers that we are required to pass on:  Cancellations or changes made after 12:00 AM ((GMT-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada); Tijuana) on Oct 29, 2013 are subject to a 1 Night Room & Tax penalty.  The property makes no refunds for no shows or early checkouts."  The "12:00 AM" time confused me (scam company CLUE #1), so I looked for a phone number on the confirmation to call and clarify.  Technically, there is no such thing as 12:00 AM.  It is 12:00 Noon or 12:00 Midnight.  This is why insurance policies and every other "legal" document, when referring to a time use "12:01 AM" to indicate the first minute of a new day.  There was NO phone number anywhere on the confirmation, only a fax # (scam company CLUE #2).  Since the cancellation policy specifically noted that the Wuksachi Lodge imposes a penalty, I called the actual hotel to clarify.  The front desk woman was very nice and confirmed to me that we could cancel up to MIDNIGHT on October 29 with no penalty.  This was just what I wanted to know because we knew if we had to cancel, we would not be able to do so until 7:00 or 8:00 PM Pacific Time on October 29th.  However, sure enough when I called to cancel on October 29th around 7:00 PM Pacific Time, I first called the hotel and asked to cancel, because again, I thought the reservation was made through the Hotel's website.  The girl again confirmed I could cancel and receive a refund because I was calling before midnight, but when she looked for my reservation, she advised that I had booked though Expedia and gave me their phone # to call and cancel.  I thought that was odd because no where on my confirmation was Expedia mentioned (scam company CLUE #3).  Nevertheless, I called Expedia and they advised I had booked through one of their "affiliates" and gave me yet another phone to call (scam company CLUE #4).  Finally, after 20 minutes of getting put on hold, I was provided with the phone # for the company who actually charged my credit card, which was Travelscape, LLC.  I dialed yet another phone #, more holding time and I finally got to a live person and asked to cancel my reservation and receive a refund of funds paid.  They told me they could not accept my cancellation as I had missed the deadline to cancel.  I pushed for a definition of "12:00 AM".  The first Travelscape guy I spoke with stuttered and fumbled and I could hear some woman in the background coaching him on what to say (scam company CLUE #5).  He finally said 12:00 AM was "midnight", which was just what I wanted to hear because "midnight" on October 29th had not occurred yet, so once again I asked to cancel and get a refund.  The rep once again said "No" (again with the woman in the background telling him what to say).  I asked to speak with the woman who was coaching him, but she refused to get on the phone, so I then asked for a supervisor.  Another Travelscape guy got on the phone.  I again asked for a definition of 12:00 AM, and asked if it was "midnight" or "noon".  He said it was the first minute of October 29th.  I asked then why did the time say 12:00 AM and not 12:01 AM?  I told him I spoke with the hotel and they told me I could cancel until 12:00 midnight on October 29th and since their policy said the "property imposes the penalty" I should be able to get a refund.  He couldn't give me an answer, but rather insisted that their cancellation policy was valid and refused to cancel my reservation and/or give a refund of the funds paid.  BOTTOM LINE, don't fall for the confusing, non-existent time of 12:00 AM on any cancellation policy and pay attention to the entity with whom you are booking online!  Beware of TRAVELSCAPE, LLC!!!  Fortunately, American Express was able to refund the amount charged and recorded my negative experience about this merchant in their records.