Vue cinema, took money, not tickets, no refund

Hi All,

I wonder can anyone help. I'll try to be as brief as possible. I paid for Vue cinema tickets online before Christmas. I got an error when booking, did not get the tickets but was charged. I rang the help line but there was an estimated 1 hour wait so I didn't bother. I went to the cinema itself at Liffey Valley, the manager explained that there was a problem with their system the day I tried to book and that my money would be refunded the following Monday. I purchased the tickets I wanted with cash that day safe in the knowledge my money would be refunded to my card.

The Monday came and went but there was no sign of the refund. I rang the helpline again but it was still telling me there was a 1 hour wait. I went back up to the cinema and explain the situation. They told me that all they could do was give me tickets to the value of the money I am owed. I was not able to get my money back from the venue and that I would have to contact Ster Century (the owners) for a refund. The manager gave me an email address for them so I didnt have to wait on the phone. I sent an email to them, with attachments showing the error etc and explaining the situation. All I got was an automated reply saying they would be back to me as soon as possible.

I resent the email a few times over the next two weeks but kept just getting the same automated response. I decided to ring the helpline and waited the hour. After an hour on hold the line just hung up!!!! I sent emails explaining the latest situation but am still getting automated responses.

It has been a month now & I feel they are not going to help. Is there any further action I can take?

Any advice appreciated, sorry for the length & thanks for reading.