Ripped Off on AirBnB

Before I begin, just want to say that I've had a very stressful couple of days at work and didn't do the due diligence in thoroughly checking the reviews of this property but I am where I am (furthermore my experiences of AirBnB so far have been positive so I was getting a bit blase).....

The place was filthy, despite having paid a cleaning charge - unflushed toilet, beard trimmings all over the sink, dirty cutlery in the sink, stank of smoke.

The guy was obviously living there and had just vacated the flat in a hurry before my arrival without tidying up and cleaning.

Anyway, I took photos, cancelled immediately and asked for a refund. The guy has vanished off the face of the earth. I also immediately kicked off the AirBnB resolution process and spoke to somebody at AirBnB support centre who was helpful and said the issue should be resolved but he also couldn't get hold of the host.

Basically, I want my money back and I just can't believe people can get away with this & are apparently being aided and abetted by AirBnB. I paid £200 for the 2 nights (by debit card, another mistake).

I was going to post a link to the ad on airbnb & also links to the pics I took but it says I'm a new user (been here over 1 year?) and am not permitted to post links.

Anyway, it's the first result when Googling "New modern lux one bedroom apt in heart of Reading airbnb"

Would love to hear from anyone who can suggest a positive way forward. I've got a lot of things going on in life at the moment & I really could do without this right now!