If you cancel a booking with this company, check to see if the same booking (property and dates) are later taken by a replacement customer. You can easily tell by looking at their web site and checking availability. If this is the case, the company has no legal right to retain your deposit, as this would be an unfair contract term under the consumer rights act 2015. Schedule 2 Part 1 paragraph 5 of the consumer rights act 2015 states that the following term would be considered to be unfair: "A term which has the object or effect of requiring that, where the consumer decides not to conclude or perform the contract, the consumer must pay the trader a disproportionately high sum in compensation or for services which have not been supplied". "Which" magazine's web site states the following: "Typically, the business has no entitlement to keep any amount that can be saved by finding another customer, or cancelling any other suppliers they’ve employed. That would likely constitute an unfair contract term under the consumer rights act. For example, if you booked a holiday and then cancel, and the company finds another customer to take your place it’s likely the only amount it can legitimately withhold from your deposit will be administrative costs."