Expedia double booked me but I can't get a refund

I tried to book a Hilton hotel room in Paris through Expedia, to find that after entering all the details my transaction would not go through. Fortunately I took a screen shot to prove it. I immediately called Expedia, as the website suggested, and completed my booking online. Now I have two bookings and have been charged £614 twice. Expedia said it was a promotional rate and thus non-refundable unless it contacts the hotel manager to cancel one of the bookings. I waited in all day for a promised call and twice tried to phone them, each time hanging on for 30 minutes before giving up. Emailing didn't work either. JP, Llanelli, Carmarthenshire Expedia explains it as a temporary system error – your reservation was made twice but the first booking was not visible to the agent when you phoned. But so many readers have suffered something similar with different websites that I suspect it is a deeper problem than a temporary glitch. Everyone should print out web pages showing failed purchases, as you did, as evidence in a complaint. Expedia has now cancelled the second booking and refunded £614 with an extra £50 as a goodwill gesture. You can email Margaret Dibben at [email protected] or write to Margaret Dibben, Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU and include a telephone number. Do not enclose SAEs or original documents. The newspaper accepts no legal responsibility for advice.