We booked a 3 bedroom apartment through a website 6 months ago, was for 6 of us, 4 adults and 2 children. When we booked it we used the search parameters swimming pool and air conditioning so expected both.
48 hours before we were due to leave we received a confirmation email direct from the owner stating that there was no air conditioning, I went onto the website and screen shot the page which detailed that there was air conditioning just to make sure that I wasn't going bonkers.
The country we were due to go to is very hot and it is very uncomfortable to sleep at night with no air conditioning. When we have visited before and didn't have AC DD ended up with a dreadful heat rash which became infected, didn't sleep and was generally bloody miserable. She has issues with certain things (sensory) and when isn't happy or is uncomfortable the issues are magnified and we just end up wishing we were at home. DS has asthma and gets hot and wheezy so it's not nice for him either.
I telephoned the booking agent as the owner doesn't speak English and they said they would get on to the owner, we were in the right and if the owner wouldn't cancel without charging us they would most likely absorb the costs.
They said to ring them back the next day and I would have an answer as what was happening.
I spent the majority of the next day on the phone and finally at 7pm was told that due to cancelling so late they wanted the whole amount (which had actually already been taken from my bank account).
I'm really fucked off, we can well do with not losing the £ at the moment, we deliberately searched to make sure that there was air conditioning and I feel that the owner knows that they are selling a lie as why else would they deliberately note that there was no air conditioning on the confirmation email? If they had told us there was no air conditioning at any time during the 6 months the apartment was booked we would have cancelled and feel that they waited until it was so late so we would have to pay the whole amount.
They have now changed the website so it doesn't list air conditioning so I sent them the screen shot and they are looking into asking the account manager to refund our money but are not hopeful.
Is there anything else I can do do you think to get at least a partial refund or am I wrong to expect a refund at all. They (the booking agent) did say that they agreed with me but it was up to the apartment owner to decide as to whether I should have a refund or not and they can't understand how they have already taken the money as no money was due to be paid upfront.