Best way to 'detax' after H in Europe

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#436
scndlslv said:
What difference would flying out of another airport make? It sounds like the retailer, in this case Hermes, is handing out expired forms.
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Wouldn't they manually stamp at other airports like LHR? The problem was that at CDG, if the barcode was invalid, customs officers couldn't manually stamp the forms. As far as I know in Milan and LDN, they didn't even scan the forms. They just stamped on refund forms the old fashioned way.
 
#437
scndlslv said:
When I went through CDG on 12/14, I was able to scan my three detax forms from LV. Those refunds appeared on my cards on 1/7 so it took about 3 weeks. However, my Hermes form did not scan and I'm still waiting for my refund as of 1/23.
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My Hermes refund finally came through yesterday 2/8. So it took about 7 weeks.
 
#439
I just wanted to describe my detaxe experience here because it was brought up on the Paris forum and mistikat referred the discussion here.

On multiple occasions the Pablo scanner has refused my forms and I have needed to see the agent. It is usually for the most expensive purchases but not always. In those instances they have asked to see my items- mostly the bags and Chanel jackets, the high ticket items. I prepare my luggage for this possibility so it was no big deal. If you see the agent they try to scan the forms in their system. If they are successful no stamp is manually applied. If they cannot scan the forms they stamp the old fashioned way.

Global blue is faster at processing than premier. Premier takes longer than expected and on two occasions they even claimed that they did not receive my forms from Chanel. Fortunately the first time I had a stamped copy and I sent it and they gave me my refund. Because of the new scanning system you often don't get a copy for yourself these days. I take clear photos with my iPhone of each form before I send them off. I had another problem with premier this last trip and I was able to email them the photos of three forms and shortly after they sent my refund. It was again the Chanel forms and at first they claimed they never received them.

The scanned forms result in the fastest refunds. Less than a month. The others take longer. Global blue within 4-6 weeks and premier sometimes 2-3 months.

I think I have been through every possibility of the detaxe situation so I hope this helps someone. Do take photos. I know it's cumbersome but you will be happy you did.
 
#440
Pocketbook Pup said:
I just wanted to describe my detaxe experience here because it was brought up on the Paris forum and mistikat referred the discussion here.

On multiple occasions the Pablo scanner has refused my forms and I have needed to see the agent. It is usually for the most expensive purchases but not always. In those instances they have asked to see my items- mostly the bags and Chanel jackets, the high ticket items. I prepare my luggage for this possibility so it was no big deal. If you see the agent they try to scan the forms in their system. If they are successful no stamp is manually applied. If they cannot scan the forms they stamp the old fashioned way.

Global blue is faster at processing than premier. Premier takes longer than expected and on two occasions they even claimed that they did not receive my forms from Chanel. Fortunately the first time I had a stamped copy and I sent it and they gave me my refund. Because of the new scanning system you often don't get a copy for yourself these days. I take clear photos with my iPhone of each form before I send them off. I had another problem with premier this last trip and I was able to email them the photos of three forms and shortly after they sent my refund. It was again the Chanel forms and at first they claimed they never received them.

The scanned forms result in the fastest refunds. Less than a month. The others take longer. Global blue within 4-6 weeks and premier sometimes 2-3 months.

I think I have been through every possibility of the detaxe situation so I hope this helps someone. Do take photos. I know it's cumbersome but you will be happy you did.
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Question, why do you need to take photos if you receive copies of the forms from each boutique? At least I did.
 
#441
scndlslv said:
Question, why do you need to take photos if you receive copies of the forms from each boutique? At least I did.
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Some stores don't give copies anymore. I'm trying to think which stores. I think Chanel just gives one tax form now and no copy. They give you a receipt of course. But it's the stamped tax form that you need a copy of. The store receipt won't help. I think max Mara as well. Hermes still gives two copies. This is as of my last visit in October to Paris.

If I didn't have the copies I would have been out about $2500. They were well worth taking. Premier can be very difficult.
 
#442
Pocketbook Pup said:
Some stores don't give copies anymore. I'm trying to think which stores. I think Chanel just gives one tax form now and no copy. They give you a receipt of course. But it's the stamped tax form that you need a copy of. The store receipt won't help. I think max Mara as well. Hermes still gives two copies. This is as of my last visit in October to Paris.

If I didn't have the copies I would have been out about $2500. They were well worth taking. Premier can be very difficult.
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I see. I only shopped at Hermes and LV and they both provided copies. Good to know everyone doesn't.
 
#443
Ill share my story - though very similar to Pocketbook Pup.

I flew out of CDG on 1/8 - Terminal 2e. I also pack to be able to show any item purchased. 4 of my forms scanned, but 2 were rejected. These were both from Hermes: one was for a bag and the other was for jewelry. I was requested to show both of these items to the agent and afterward she scanned both forms. On 1/27, I received 2 refunds (one was for the bag from Hermes). On 2/2, I received the rest of the refunds.
 
#446
Pocketbook Pup said:
I just wanted to describe my detaxe experience here because it was brought up on the Paris forum and mistikat referred the discussion here.

On multiple occasions the Pablo scanner has refused my forms and I have needed to see the agent. It is usually for the most expensive purchases but not always. In those instances they have asked to see my items- mostly the bags and Chanel jackets, the high ticket items. I prepare my luggage for this possibility so it was no big deal. If you see the agent they try to scan the forms in their system. If they are successful no stamp is manually applied. If they cannot scan the forms they stamp the old fashioned way.

Global blue is faster at processing than premier. Premier takes longer than expected and on two occasions they even claimed that they did not receive my forms from Chanel. Fortunately the first time I had a stamped copy and I sent it and they gave me my refund. Because of the new scanning system you often don't get a copy for yourself these days. I take clear photos with my iPhone of each form before I send them off. I had another problem with premier this last trip and I was able to email them the photos of three forms and shortly after they sent my refund. It was again the Chanel forms and at first they claimed they never received them.

The scanned forms result in the fastest refunds. Less than a month. The others take longer. Global blue within 4-6 weeks and premier sometimes 2-3 months.

I think I have been through every possibility of the detaxe situation so I hope this helps someone. Do take photos. I know it's cumbersome but you will be happy you did.
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PbP, after you scan the forms on Pablo scanner or have them manually stamped, do you also mail them at the airport by dropping them in respective mailboxes? I take it that Global Blue and Premier service specific brands, ie Hermes versus Chanel?
 
#447
banker girl said:
I don't expect that there's precedent, but customs officer at the counter said the barcodes on two of my tax refund forms (two biggest purchases: Hermes Birkin and Louboutin shoes) were unreadable and I wasn't able to complete the process at the airport.... All other tax refund forms got scanned without any issue though. He couldn't manually stamp the forms because that would be "illegal" according to him.
Now what I'm gonna do is to take the forms and goods to the French consulate and have them stamp and validate the forms or altenatively, if possible, I will ask vendors (Hermes and Louboutin) to reissue the VAT refund receipts and visit Paris again in the next few months....
If anyone has encountered the same problem, I would be very interested to hear how you handled it.
Thanks
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I lost my receipts issued by H after mailing out and thus emailed them with all the details. They reissued the same to Global Blue and I successfully got most of the refunds (except those purchases from other vendors). Hope this help
 
#448
Prague09 said:
I lost my receipts issued by H after mailing out and thus emailed them with all the details. They reissued the same to Global Blue and I successfully got most of the refunds (except those purchases from other vendors). Hope this help
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Glad to hear it worked out for you. Over the past few weeks I've learnt a great deal about detax law in France. My understanding is that if your VAT refund form has been processed via Pablo or by agent, even if you lost it in the mail, Global Blue will refund the money to you. If you have a customer's copy or document numbers, you can contact Premier Tax or Global Blue to get your money back for the rest of your purchases as well, provided that your forms have already been validated upon your departure from EU.
 
#449
Is there a website or phone number where we can track the status of H VAT refund status. I made couple purchases in H stores 2 months ago. All except one were refunded. I also made another purchase using another credit card on a different day in the same store. Just curious why I still have not receive the refund. All the forms were validated by custom and mail out together at the airport. I'm wondering if the form accidentally got lost in the mail.
Is there a number I can call to find out the status. If I'm reading precious post, someone suggested that i can global blue for the refund?! Is that true. TIA
 
#450
NewBe said:
Is there a website or phone number where we can track the status of H VAT refund status. I made couple purchases in H stores 2 months ago. All except one were refunded. I also made another purchase using another credit card on a different day in the same store. Just curious why I still have not receive the refund. All the forms were validated by custom and mail out together at the airport. I'm wondering if the form accidentally got lost in the mail.
Is there a number I can call to find out the status. If I'm reading precious post, someone suggested that i can global blue for the refund?! Is that true. TIA
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You can try the refund tracker for Global Blue here. HTH.
 
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