Booking.com Hotel Charged After Free-Cancellation Promise And Refuses Refund

I made a reservation for three people at Eternity Athens in Athens through Booking.com for the dates 19–21 December 2025. In the listing, it was clearly stated that I could cancel free of charge until 4 December 2025 and that no payment would be taken from my card before the stay. Despite this, on 5 December 2025, after receiving a visa refusal from the consulate, I decided to cancel my reservation the same day, still 14 days before the planned check-in, and encountered a serious problem. After my cancellation request, the hotel charged the full amount of €422.50 to my credit card before the stay date and refused to issue any refund. When I contacted Booking.com customer service, they confirmed that it was wrong for the hotel to charge the amount before the stay under these conditions. However, instead of taking responsibility, they told me I had to resolve the issue directly with the hotel and did not provide effective support. My reservation details are as follows: approval number 5536556348 and PIN 2848. Booking.com, which earns commission from this reservation and is one of the world’s largest travel platforms, has caused me financial loss by completely shifting responsibility to the hotel, even though the practice clearly contradicts the conditions stated at the time of booking. When checking the hotel’s online reviews, I also saw that similar complaints have been made before, yet Booking.com has not intervened or taken visible action to protect customers. I request the immediate refund of the €422.50 that was unfairly charged to my credit card in contradiction to the promised booking and cancellation conditions, and I expect Booking.com to take an active and solution-oriented role with the hotel to ensure that this issue is resolved and that similar situations do not recur.