LastMinute.com review: Lastminute.com

I paid for a special trip with my daughter via Booking.com who then routed the trip to lastminute.com. It has been a terrible experience - despite having my money taken, I found out that the outbound trip was not confirmed after all.
I eventually accepted a less convenient outbound alternative to keep the trip on track. A week later and 2 days before my outbound flight, I contacted the hotel to ask about the bed options and the hotel said it had not evidence of a booking.
I have been unable to get a resolution from lastminute.com who are extremely difficult to contact and speak to a human. There is a very officious - we are looking into it - tone and no time-sensitivity. I don't know 36h before departure if my hotel booking is secure or not and have not been able to get an answer as to when I will hear back from lastminute.com as to the outcome and the potential need to find an alternative after a refund. DO NOT EVER USE LASTMINUTE.COM/BOOKING.COM as the reliability and customer service are woeful