Dishonest service and unfair practice

September I used Travelstart to hire a car on ref ZA***. While filling in the form with my details I noted that the website states the following captions, "Free cancellation", "No card fees" and "Free amendments". The website allowed me to use my debit card to pay for the booking, however only when I got my confirmation/voucher was I told that I need to have a credit card with R13000 credit. I even got a second email stating the same but after the fact. Upon seeing this, I opted to cancel the booking as I do not have a credit card. I then got notified that there would be a cancellation fee of +-R900. I tried to contact Travelstart through the virtual chat and first got through to "Marie" who asked verification questions and then never responded again. I then tried again and got through to "Omar" who also asked verification questions and never responded again. I went to Hertz/Firefly at the airport to see if I could get my refund or at least get the car. They ran a credit check and refused to release the car. They further told me that I should request my refund through the "booking agency" as I had not booked directly with them. Upon my return, I tried to contact Travelstart again and was a given a number to call where i called and got through to a consultant in Dublin, Ireland. This lady basically told me that I was not getting any refund and that it was my own fault for not reading everything thoroughly before I made the booking and also that I should have waited for a response from the virtual consultants on the day. Both these statements are upsetting because firstly, I did read everything carefully and had there been a notification stating the terms of the booking, I would not have proceeded with it knowing that I do not have a credit card. Secondly the virtual agents on the day just never responded and i was forced to terminate the sessions. I paid for a service that I did not receive and I just want my refund as I, like many South Africans, am not in a position to just give away money.