Don't book with Booking.com - Poor client service and they do not issue the refunds they promise to

I made a booking for Herm**** backpackers on 23 November for an amount of R1881 and was charged by the property via a virtual card that booking.com issued as well as booking.com itself on my bank statement. I contacted the property and they stated that: "Hi Annuska, Thanks for your message. I've had a look at your reservation and can see that you paid Booking.com directly as they issued us with a virtual credit card for payment, which we can only transact the day after your arrival - so it's Booking.com that you'll need to contact directly for this issue, they're usually good with customer service, so just send them a message via your app and I'm sure they'll sort this out for your very quickly.

Kind regards, Hayley Herm**** Backpackers"

GOOD with customer service? They are absolutely horrible as booking.com is withholding my money and not refunding me after promising this on FIFTEEN December 2021:

Payment confirmed Hi Annuska,

I see that you are one of our valued guests at Booking.com. I want you to know that we appreciate you, and thank you for your preference on Booking.com.

Your refund has been successfully processed. The ARN (Acquirer Reference Number) for the transaction is:

***

This is a unique identifier and you can use it to help track your refund with your card provider.

Please accept our sincere apologies for what this situation may have caused, and thank you for bringing this to our attention.

THEY WILL NOT REFUND YOUR MONEY. DO NOT BOOK WITH BOOKING.COM

I have provided all documentation requested via customer care, they asked for documents with my bank card number in order to process the refund, both the property and booking.com have acknowledged the fault is on their side, promised that a refund will be made with 12 working/business days. I have waited and I still do not have my money back. Ridiculously poor service. This is what you call theft and unauthorized withholding of funds. WHY say that you will refund and request my card details and make me wait only to still not have my OWN money?