VAT Refund
Oct 23, 2016, 11:14 pm
#16
Moderator: Luxury Hotels and FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Palo Alto, California,USA
Posts: 17,856
Last time I was in the UK I did the VAT refund bit and I was amazed at how much of the VAT refund was lost to the fee charged by the processing people, who were right near customs at LHR. It was something like 1/3 - 1/2 of the total refund. I must admit that I had only bought about GBP300 of items, so maybe it was a high fixed fee plus a percentage.
Oct 27, 2016, 3:44 am
#17
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: AKL
Programs: Kris Flyer, Airpoints, TrueBlue, QF, SPGGold, Hilton Diamond,IHG Spire
Posts: 29
Last time I was in the UK I did the VAT refund bit and I was amazed at how much of the VAT refund was lost to the fee charged by the processing people, who were right near customs at LHR. It was something like 1/3 - 1/2 of the total refund. I must admit that I had only bought about GBP300 of items, so maybe it was a high fixed fee plus a percentage.
Is there any way of finding about the fees charged for processing the VAT refunds and if there are a number of companies who process the refunds?
Oct 27, 2016, 6:51 am
#18
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Aberdeenshire
Programs: BA
Posts: 1,008
I got the VAT back on iPads back in 2013, but it certainty wasn't the full 20%. It went back onto my credit card IIRC.
I would check the prices in HK, the UK, and your home country (NZ?) and see where is going to be cheapest. I found that Apple products in Australia were significantly cheaper than in the UK, but that was when the exchange rate was AU$2 to £1...
Oct 31, 2016, 11:03 pm
#19
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: CA
Programs: AA PLT / MR LTPP 1/1/19 / Hilton Diamond
Posts: 540
Anyone notice that Global Blue VAT refund service automatically converts to your local currency and then takes a nearly 6% FOREX fee? My receipt shows a credit back in Euro, but then when I called my bank after noticing a much lower percentage, my bank stated that the amount was in USD, not Euro. I was even hit with a 1% FOREX fee by my bank because they could see it originated outside US (even if it was in USD). Seems like a huge scam to me.
Oct 31, 2016, 11:49 pm
#20
Join Date: Jan 2006
Programs: MUCCI
Posts: 5,706
(However as I spend on GBP denominated cards, it doesn't affect me, so I can't comment on what kind FX admin fee or rate load they apply.)
My receipt shows a credit back in Euro, but then when I called my bank after noticing a much lower percentage, my bank stated that the amount was in USD, not Euro.
Were these purchases made in the UK? and in GBP? - or were they made in EUR?
I was even hit with a 1% FOREX fee by my bank because they could see it originated outside US (even if it was in USD). Seems like a huge scam to me.
But this fee is an issue with your bank.
I always make sure I have cards available that don't do this.
Nov 1, 2016, 12:43 pm
#21
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: CA
Programs: AA PLT / MR LTPP 1/1/19 / Hilton Diamond
Posts: 540
Sorry for the confusion, I just used this thread since the discussion was around VAT refunds and 3rd party services that administer them. I assume all EU/GB VAT refunds are handled in a similar way.