Deposit Refund

There was a unit I was due to occupy and I paid BEFORE SIGNING DOCUMENTATION. The unit was suddenly unavailable because the tenant was not moving out anymore. I asked for my deposit back so that I can look for accommodation elsewhere. I was told that I would lose 2500 of it as a holding fee. The legal reason for keeping a holding fee is if cancellation resulted in loss of income for the landlord and it has to be a reasonable amount... Neither of these are true in my case. You guys were unable to fulfill your promise and in that case the law states that we need to be put in the position we were before the agreement was made, bear in mind I did not sign either an approval letter nor a lease agreement and it therefore ******** to charge the R2500 without previously disclosing it. I have already tried to contact Route 82 since last week Wednesday and I have NO feedback whatsoever. It's EXTREMELY aggravating as this is my hard earned money and has prohibited me from looking for alternative accommodation because my deposit is held up by you. My next step is going to the Rental Housing Tribunal. This is not acceptable in the least bit.