Booking.com not issuing refund

I attempted to make a flight booking with booking.com on Monday 25 November 2024. My card payment went through as a “pre-authorization” and then the booking was immediately cancelled AFTER they took my money.

Funds were not returned and after countless emails booking.com has still not refunded my money. I was instructed by my bank that a simple authorization letter would be needed instructing my bank that the funds can be returned immediately as no flight ticket was received but of course this was never received.

Their timeline, according to their one useful email, is that the refund would be done within 2-5 working days. This has passed and still I do not have my money.

Booking.com is extremely useless and I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND using them, nor will I ever be using them again.

Keep your money safe and don’t trust them.