Agoda Refused Refund After Hotel Denied Our Confirmed Booking

I made a booking through Agoda for a hotel in Umhlanga Rocks, Durban, South Africa, and arrived at the property on 01 January 2026. When we got there, the hotel informed us that the room had already been given to someone else and that our booking could not be honored, even though we had a confirmed reservation. Because of this, we were forced to find alternative accommodation at short notice and ended up staying elsewhere, paying 4,400 rand out of pocket. I then contacted Agoda customer service, but I was told that they could not change the cancellation terms without their partner’s approval, even though it was clearly not our fault that the room was not available. Given that the confirmed booking was not honored and we incurred additional accommodation costs, I request a full refund of the amount paid for the original Agoda booking. I also expect Agoda to treat this as a non-fulfillment of service, not as a normal cancellation, and to resolve this matter promptly.