I saw a "Junior Suite" at a hotel in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, advertised on Agoda. I booked, paid and received email confirmation from Agoda of my successful reservation.

The following day I was informed by email that due to "a technical error on our end" the wrong room was booked and I was offered another room—a downgrade. I requested a link so I could review the room before accepting or declining. That was never done. I was expected to go into a room I didn't book and hadn't seen online.

I was offered compensation in Agoda Cash of a little over a tenth of the amount I paid if I accepted the alternative room. I declined as, due to starting a new job, I would not be able to use the credit within 6 months, when it would expire.

Clearly, I was not prepared to accept a room I hadn't booked, couldn't view through the Agoda website, and was not given the opportunity to review before entering. I tried to initiate a refund, so I could go ahead and book an affordable new room before availability disappeared. It was Friday lunchtime when I was notified of the error and was concerned about re-booking quickly, due to the approaching weekend.

I tried to contact Agoda customer services to resolve the situation and was passed to a WhatsApp group. I was constantly put on hold, passed to multiple Agoda representatives, who all seemed to require exactly the same information I gave the previous person. After five hours, I gave up for the day.

I began again the next day but never seemed to be passed to anyone who genuinely helped. No-one seemed authorised to do anything useful and I was repeatedly given unacceptable options, such as accept Agoda Cash or go into a room I didn't book and hadn't reviewed. I got the distinct impression that the call-handlers hoped I would give up through exasperation (if indeed they are human and not AI).

Any relevant suggestions were made by me, not the Agoda representative. I suggested contacting the property by phone and asking them why their "Junior Suite" was still available through Agoda, but not for me, who had booked and paid for it!

I was constantly informed that the call had been escalated and would take 24-48 hours to resolve. Given the speed with which affordable hotel rooms disappear in Jeddah over the weekend, I complained that this was too slow. 48-hours would take me up to the day before I needed the hotel and there would likely not be anything acceptable available at such short notice.

I spoke to the hotel but they said it was Agoda's fault. Agoda said the hotel wouldn't respond to them. I am stuck in the middle, in a very expensive city with limited affordable availability.

In the end I was offered $150 compensation, despite paying the equivalent of $320 for the reservation. I had no option but to accept a room I didn't book and hadn't viewed. I was effectively coerced into this position by Agoda, as the only alternative would be to lose $170—even although I was not at fault.

Basically, Agoda messed up. The hotel in question refused to bail it out and I was punished for that situation. This is completely unacceptable and, in all likelihood, a conflagration of consumer law.