Duty | Tax | Customs for International shopping {VAT refund}

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#796
footlocker said:
Please allow me to share the rather frustrating refund process recently. Sorry for the long post.

BACKGROUND

I purchased two girl bags from Amsterdam Chanel in two days back in early December 2015. Since I made the purchase in two days, I had two refund vouchers.

I departed Amsterdam back to my home country on 6 December 2015. I put TWO refund vouchers in ONE envelope.

REFUND PROCESS

I received refund for one Girl bag in January 2016 (quite quick, indeed). Since I put 2 vouchers in 1 envelope, it was strange that refund for the other bag was not processed (they said they did not receive my voucher). Then, I inquired with Premier by the online forms and emails.

Time and time again, I was told it took longer time than expected because there was holiday and they had to process a lot of refunds. I was told to follow up again with them in February.

In February, still no refund received so i followed up. This time, I emailed and they told me no voucher was received by them. I even called them to explain the situation. They re-assured me that it could be the case that even two vouchers were put in one envelope, they would not be processed at the same time. I was told to wait until March.

Then, March arrived and still no refund. I received the same 'heartless' reply from the customer service when I emailed them. Then, I called them explaining the situation (AGAIN). I also asked if they lost my voucher and if so, what could be done on my side so that I can get the refund. Finally, a very helpful customer service staff acknowledged that it was quite strange that it took so long for the refund, and it was more strange that they did not process the refund at the same time when I put two receipts together. He promised he would check with the Amsterdam office and revert.

After the call with the helpful staff, I received email from Premier that my refund was processed successfully. I received the refund to my credit card 2 weeks later.

LESSON LEARNT

Simply email them does not help. International calls are necessary. You need to push them but of course remain to be polite. Explain to them clearly why the situation is different and further action from them is required (rather than just sit and wait).

I hope Chanel one day will shift from using Premier to Global Blue. I find that GB has much better customer service and the refund tracking is more user-friendly.
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I'm having this same exact issue with Global Blue and a Celine purchase! Since end of March. I sent it with a Selfridges form and have received my Selfridges refund but they say they haven't received the Celine form yet. I've even emailed my copy of it. I keep getting copy and paste responses via email and I called customer service today and he said I could mail in my copy to them. He told me to email the form to check if it's the correct buyer's copy.

The weird thing is, if I put the Celine doc ID origin as UK, it tracks. I purchased in France though.

All other forms scanned at the Pablo kiosk and I've received the refunds already (such as Hermes, Chanel). It took about 2 weeks to a month for everything to come through.
 
#797
I've always heard that it is best to put each form in a separate envelope (and take photos of each form after they have been stamped by customs). This is what I have always done and have never had issues with receiving refunds. My understanding is that refunds forms are returned to the country where the purchase was made for processing (i.e. forms for purchases in Paris are processed in France and forms for purchases made in Amsterdam are processed in the Netherlands). So making purchases in one country and submitting the forms in a different country of departure can cause a bit of a delay since they need to be sent to the country where the purchase was made.
 
#798
FunBagz said:
I've always heard that it is best to put each form in a separate envelope (and take photos of each form after they have been stamped by customs). This is what I have always done and have never had issues with receiving refunds. My understanding is that refunds forms are returned to the country where the purchase was made for processing (i.e. forms for purchases in Paris are processed in France and forms for purchases made in Amsterdam are processed in the Netherlands). So making purchases in one country and submitting the forms in a different country of departure can cause a bit of a delay since they need to be sent to the country where the purchase was made.
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This makes a lot of sense! I was thinking that next time, I'll have to mail them in separate envelopes just in case.

I'll update on what happens with Global Blue when something does happen.
 
#799
FunBagz said:
I've always heard that it is best to put each form in a separate envelope (and take photos of each form after they have been stamped by customs). This is what I have always done and have never had issues with receiving refunds. My understanding is that refunds forms are returned to the country where the purchase was made for processing (i.e. forms for purchases in Paris are processed in France and forms for purchases made in Amsterdam are processed in the Netherlands). So making purchases in one country and submitting the forms in a different country of departure can cause a bit of a delay since they need to be sent to the country where the purchase was made.
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Yes, I recently bought a handbag in Paris and claimed the tax refund in London. I had to 'surrender' the original receipts when I claimed the refund in London, so I took pictures of all the receipts. I requested a cash refund so I didn't have to mail any forms, but I paid a higher commission by opting for cash.
Also, I should have claimed the refund when I left Paris instead of when I left London. This is because the store I bought from used Premier tax free and in London (Heathrow) they use Global Blue or Travelex. So I think I paid a commission to Premier and then again to Travelex- that was a mistake. If you are planning to buy in one country but claim the refund in another, I would suggest to check that you won't be charged double commission, if it is a different company that is handling the actual refund.
 
#800
bsprout said:
Yes, I recently bought a handbag in Paris and claimed the tax refund in London. I had to 'surrender' the original receipts when I claimed the refund in London, so I took pictures of all the receipts. I requested a cash refund so I didn't have to mail any forms, but I paid a higher commission by opting for cash.
Also, I should have claimed the refund when I left Paris instead of when I left London. This is because the store I bought from used Premier tax free and in London (Heathrow) they use Global Blue or Travelex. So I think I paid a commission to Premier and then again to Travelex- that was a mistake. If you are planning to buy in one country but claim the refund in another, I would suggest to check that you won't be charged double commission, if it is a different company that is handling the actual refund.
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The commission is charged in selected tax refund counters in Europe. UK and France are the 2 of the few places that collect commission. Global Blue refund form also requires payment of commission for tax refund in cash in some cases, e.g. Longchamp boutique in Paris. I think it is an arrangement between the tax refund companies and the retailers.

To be honest, what you have been losing out should be the exchange rate as they will take the EUR refund amount to convert to GBP at an unfavorable rate before converting it to the currency you wish to receive. Even if you ask for EUR, they will do 2 conversions first.

Unless you take cash at the retail store, you cant get a refund at Paris airport if you are still travelling in the Euro zone.
 
#801
Mumof2mOnstErs said:
The commission is charged in selected tax refund counters in Europe. UK and France are the 2 of the few places that collect commission. Global Blue refund form also requires payment of commission for tax refund in cash in some cases, e.g. Longchamp boutique in Paris. I think it is an arrangement between the tax refund companies and the retailers.

To be honest, what you have been losing out should be the exchange rate as they will take the EUR refund amount to convert to GBP at an unfavorable rate before converting it to the currency you wish to receive. Even if you ask for EUR, they will do 2 conversions first.

Unless you take cash at the retail store, you cant get a refund at Paris airport if you are still travelling in the Euro zone.
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Interesting and good to know, thanks.
I took the Eurostar to return to London. In the Paris station I thought I had seen a counter to mail refund envelopes there , but I could be wrong.
 
#802
bsprout said:
Yes, I recently bought a handbag in Paris and claimed the tax refund in London. I had to 'surrender' the original receipts when I claimed the refund in London, so I took pictures of all the receipts. I requested a cash refund so I didn't have to mail any forms, but I paid a higher commission by opting for cash.
Also, I should have claimed the refund when I left Paris instead of when I left London. This is because the store I bought from used Premier tax free and in London (Heathrow) they use Global Blue or Travelex. So I think I paid a commission to Premier and then again to Travelex- that was a mistake. If you are planning to buy in one country but claim the refund in another, I would suggest to check that you won't be charged double commission, if it is a different company that is handling the actual refund.
Click to expand...


TBH you had no other option as the UK is in the EU (for now!!) and you have to get it stamped by customs on your way out of the EU, regardless of where you bought it.
 
#803
I'm going to buy Chanel, LV, and some other items in possibly both of Italy and France this October. I know that it is several months away, but I have been getting requests from friends and family members for men wallet in the similar size and similar color. I'm concerned if they will deny my purchase. If so, will I be able to repeat my purchase from different Chanel stores throughout Italy and France and still qualified for the VAT refund?

I'll be leaving from CDG. As far as I'm concerned, there are two agencies that I can claim VAT refund, Global Blue and Premiere TAX. If I happen to buy items more than one brands and one of which only works with Premiere Tax and another ONLY works with Global TAX. Will I be required to queue up for both counters?

If that is the case, will I have to queue up for custom stamp, then, Global Blue and Premiere TAX? It get confusing because I'm not member of both agencies, so I don't know if it is beneficial for me to subscribe to be a member for both agencies.

I was told that before I make a decision if I want to get cash back in EUROS or back to my credit card, I still check outside the gate if there is a long line to get cash back, is this true?

Please help!
 
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#804
Quick question on shopping in duty free shops at the airport... I'm recently in ITaly and I'm going back to Canada in a few days ... This is not exactly Chanel related but I searched and searched on Google but there was no answer to my question, TIA!

As I said, I'm going back to Canada in a few days, departing from Rome, with a layover in Frankfurt (not going into customs)

I want to buy things from duty free shops at the Rome airport (Bulgari or Hermes) , does the price at the Rome airport duty free shops exclude VAT already?

Or do I have to get VAT refund again after I buy things from the airport?

Thanks so much!
 
#805
Hi all
I hope someone can help me with this question
How much is the vat refund for chanel in Vienna Austria?
Also if I buy chanel from munich and then go to vienna and fly back home,that is dubai, from vienna
Can I get my munich vat procedure done at vienna airport ?
Hope I make sense
Thanks in advance xx
 
#806
I actually just went to Europe and had purchased stuff in Vienna. My sister bought a Chanel bag at the Vienna location and received 12% back. Remember your passport when you shop! They will give you the tax refund form.

You will be able to get your refund at the Vienna airport. Please make sure that you check your receipt- for some reason they took longer with my sister's refund because they claimed that there wasn't a bar code on it so they had to further "investigate". We asked them to make us a copy of our form and receipt before they took it from us.

You will need to have your items ready at the customs office. The officer will ask for your item and receipts, then stamp it for you. From there, you will go upstairs and go to "Premier Tax" to process your refund. We didn't know and went to Global Blue first but it was for other brands such as Louis Vuitton.

(And yes, you can get your Munich refund there as well. Usually you have to wait til your last European stop before they will allow you to process your refund.)

They will process it for you and you can go online to track it at http://premiertaxfree.com/track-my-refund-form

Hope this helps! It can take anywhere from 4-6 weeks to refund to your card.
 
#808
Just FYI. Check your receipts after getting stamped! The customs agent stamped the "buyers" copy and not the correct one to mail in. I got to the refund desk and they told me I had to get the correct one stamped. Sigh
 
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