Trying to get booking.com refund

[Bookingcom99]

My wife and I wanted to stay at a Dublin hotel for one night in August. We are on a cycling trip and will have two bicycles, which need secure overnight storage.

On 27^th May 2024, I found a hotel on booking.com (McGettigan's Townhouse - Olives & Figs Bistro) that I thought would be suitable.

Before booking, I sent them a message via booking.com’s website: “Please can you confirm that we can store two bicycles for free overnight in secure storage?”

I got the following immediate response:

“Similar questions
Asked by other travellers
“Please ca you tell me if you have a safe place to store 2 bicycles over night”
21 January 2020

“Yes we can organise this”

I have a screenshot of all of this.

Based on this response, I booked the hotel on a “non-refundable” tariff for €143.12 (£122.00) using my Halifax Mastercard.

As part of the booking, I sent a second message to the hotel explaining that we required secure overnight storage for two bicycles.

On 28^th May, the hotel replied by email that they didn’t have bicycle storage.

I have:

1. emailed the hotel requesting that they cancel the booking and provide me with a full refund.
2. Spoken to Halifax, who have said that I should try and resolve the matter with the hotel and booking.com. They have also said that the “money is already paid and that they can’t retrieve it.” This sounds legally dubious as I believe that they have responsibilities to the consumer under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.
3. Spoken twice to booking.com who appear relatively helpful on the phone, but say that they have requested a refund from the hotel (and offered to waive their fees). However, it appears that booking.com believe (or want me to believe) that it is up to the discretion of the hotel to refund me. I then get daily emails from booking.com saying that:
4. We have not received a response from the property.

Here’s what you can do next:

• You can contact the property directly at +353 1 699 3310
• You can send them an email with your request.”

In other words, booking.com are absolving themselves from responsibility or any further action with the hotel.
I would add that it is still at least 8 weeks until the hotel stay and the hotel would be readily able to resell the room.

What is the simplest course of action? Go back to Halifax and ask for Section 75 refund?