Quote:
Originally Posted by mongrelnomoad
Sorry, I'm a little confused. You're fully entitled to the refund - what do you mean you don't get the refund in Paris, and your 'London hit rate' is 'like 75%'?
Don't know about Paris (we Brits haven't had access to tax-free shopping on the continent in decades), but from the UK you get about 16% back in your pocket after the middle-men get their cut...
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I live in the US. When I purchased items in Paris and turned in my receipts for VAT refund in EU airports, I didn't get my VAT credited back to me through Global Blue.
When I purchased items in London, I get my VAT credited back to me like 75% of the time. Of that 75% of the time I managed to get my VAT refund from London, the middle man took their cut.
One European trip I arrived in London bought some items. Chunnel'd to Paris a few days later and bought more things. Chunnel'd back to London and departed through Heathrow. I did Global Blue VAT refund and turned in all my receipts at once to Global Blue in Heathrow. I received my VAT refund for all items purchased in London. I never received any money from the Paris purchased items even though I was entitled to the refund.
Another European trip I flew to Paris and purchased some items. I then flew to Munich and bought more items. I departed back to the US through the Munich airport and did the VAT refund process in Munich. Again, I got stiffed on my Paris purchased items but received my 15EUR back or whatever the amount was from the Munich items.