Applying for Chinese Mainland Visa - Indian national living(working) in the Netherlands

My girlfriend made an invitation letter for me to visit her in China. I am an Indian national working in the Netherlands. I plan to fly to China and back on 23rd December and 2 January respectively. I applied for the entry permit through an agency with all the documents in order. The agency calls me back after a day stating that I did not get the entry permit and the CVASC has advised for me to reapply on December 1st.
My girlfriend called the CVASC asking the reason and they told I have been issued the entry permit but cannot use it???? She calls them again to clear the confusion and this time they say I did not get the entry permit. There is apparently no refusal stamp or record in the passport ? What's going on? Anyone faced a similar issue ? Any further advice based in your exoerience?