Paid a £380 holding fee

Paid a £380 holding fee after finding a wonderful property and was given a move in date. Booked time off work, arranged delivery van and started to box all our possessions only to be told a week later that the owner had decided to let the property privately. The time, energy and money wasted on this "transaction" is quite absurd. It's not a personal criticism and Alex was understanding of my annoyance but I do feel though that as a letting agent, there surely should be a contractual arrangement between the owner and agency to ensure this does not happen. I will absolutely not use C J Hole again as a result.