VAT not refunded on a cancelled order

Wonder if anyone can help me. Placed an order for a record last month which the buyer cancelled as he had already sold it elsewhere. However, out of the €186 paid for the item, postage and VAT, only the €150 for the item and postage has been refunded and the VAT still remains unreturned. I have contacted Discogs and they haven’t helped much at all. The seller says he initiated a refund when cancelling. As it stands I have paid VAT for an item I will never receive. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.