I book through booking.com every year and have been burned a few times so, finally leaned my lesson and will not use them anymore. I booked with free cancellation dates and had an emergency that made it impossible to travel. I cancelled my reservation 3 days prior to the last day I was able to cancel and not be charged. Surprise! I was charged anyway and told there was nothing they could do because the hotel would not refund the charge. Not what I expect from a company that makes a mistake.