thanks for the answers. i'll call visa back on monday and ask why they dont think i should have been charged gst.

the damage was very close to the 1250 deductible amount after gst.

it was 1175+ gst = 1300 or so, so i was only charged 1250.

visa has paid me back for the 1175. I figured that I should have been charged GST but was just wondering if maybe someone else had dealt with VISA in a similar situation before.