Deposit not allocated to booking,and now NO REFUND

I made a reservation for family who had to go to Scottburgh on short notice. I paid a R1125 deposit to secure the booking on the Thursday before their arrival on the Sunday. When they reached the hotel, they were told that no deposit had been made against the booking, even though I had e- mailed Sarika the proof of payment, which she confirmed as having received and allocated to my booking. I contacted Sarika on the Wednesday, after I was informed that this had happened. She offered no explanation as to why the deposit was not allocated to my booking, but promised that I would be refunded the following day, as I just had to mail my banking details. I did this on Thursday, 26 February. I have been trying to get my deposit out of these people ever since. Sarika promises that the query was sent to the accounts person. I contacted her again today, and I was informed that this is on their \To- Do List". So"