Complaint: Booking.com & Malborough Apartments – Booking Cancelled Upon Arrival and No Refund

I am extremely disappointed with both Booking.com and Malborough Apartments regarding a booking I made in Durban. I booked two apartments for 7 adults and 3 children through Booking.com and paid over R8,600 for the booking. On the day of check-in, when I arrived at Malborough Apartments, I experienced problems getting the keys. I was then informed that, according to their system, I had apparently only booked one apartment for 6 people. I explained and provided evidence that my booking was for two apartments and for our actual group size, but I was told that they could not accommodate or provide keys for more than the number of people reflected on their side. As a result, we were unable to check in at all. What is even more concerning is that the booking was then cancelled by Malborough Apartments without my permission or consent and without me requesting the cancellation. This left me and my entire group, including the children, stranded in Durban on the night we were supposed to check in, despite having already paid thousands of rands for accommodation. To make matters worse, after the booking was cancelled, I did not receive my money back. I had already paid approximately R8,600, yet I was left without accommodation and without the refund I was expecting. This was an extremely stressful and unacceptable experience. I made the booking in good faith, paid the required amount, and arrived at the property expecting to receive the accommodation I had booked. Instead, we were denied check-in, the booking was cancelled without my consent, and I was left dealing with the financial consequences. I would like Booking.com and Malborough Apartments to properly investigate what happened, clarify why my confirmed booking was not honoured, explain why it was cancelled without my consent, and most importantly, refund the full amount that I paid. I have screenshots of my booking and payment and can provide these as evidence. I hope this matter is taken seriously and resolved urgently.