Estate Agent Cancels Development And Refuses To Refund Deposit

I invested in a unit being sold by Devprop Global called The Fountains. In terms of the contract, R34 500 was paid to their bank account to reserve my unit.

Towards the end of 2018, I noticed that the sign board where the property was supposed to erected was taken down and replaced with another estate agent's sign board.

I contacted Devprop Global and spoke to Alma Meyer. She advised me that it was possible that the development may not be going ahead and that they were directing clients to purchase at Zuka Valley. She said that if I invested in a property at Zuka Valley, they would transfer my holding deposit of R34 500.

My wife and I looked into Zuka Valley and it did not interest us. We requested a refund and was advised that we had to wait until 31 January 2019 as this was the date in the contract.

The development was cancelled. I received communication of this towards the end of January 2019. However in terms of the refund, Devprop Global advised that the R34 500 would be refunded by the developer. However the developer emailed stating that they needed to get the funds from Piaras. To date we have not received these funds.

How are they able to transfer funds when a new property is purchased but cannot arrange for refunds?