Nelson

Any idea how long it takes to get the refund posted to our credit card?

We returned from Scotland, exiting the UK at Heathrow on July 14. So far no luck on seeing the refund in our account.

I elected this route because one of our VAT refund slips required mailing, the instant cash back not allowable for that one. Since we were mailing one anyway I figured we might as well not lose the pound to dollar conversion we'd get hit with for the cash. They really slam you when selling foreign currency.

In any case we are greatly enjoying the tapestry we purchased, but I am still hoping to see the refund.

janisj

I've got them as fast a 4 weeks and as long as 3+ months.

Trophywife007

Most of the time our refunds come within three months; however, after we returned from Scotland we received CHECKS in the mail (issued to us in the US in pounds - how convenient is that?) almost a year later.

Both, my sister and I (from the same trip) had the identical experience. We have no idea as to why they didn't simply credit our cards. When the checks came, we almost had forgotten what they were for.

I hope your experience is better, but be prepared.

All the best to you!

Nelson

Thanks for the replies. I'll continue to stand by.

One screw up is that I didn't photocopy the receipts before getting to the airport. However, at the last minute I did write down and save all the relevant numbers that I could find.

I'll drop them a line if I haven't seen anything in a few months.

Trophywife007

You should be fine; just be patient. I never photocopy receipts and have never had a problem. I consider the return of VAT a bonus, and would buy "the item" whether or not the tax is refunded.

crefloors

I got mine in the next credit card bill after I got home from Paris. I, like the other poster, really wouldn't have worried about it if it didn't come, and getting it or not had no bearing on whether I bought something or not. Frankly, for me, if it's convenient and works out easily, then I say why not go for it, but if it doesn't, not a deal breaker. My refund amounted to 68.00.

Nelson

Yes, thanks. I didn't mean to imply that the VAT made a difference in the purchase. We knew we were buying the stuff as soon as we saw it. For the tapestry (our major purchase), it was a serendipidous "we have the absolutely perfect spot at home just waiting for that!"

If the refund shows up then that will be nice, but we are certainly not losing any sleep over it.

crazy4Hawaii

Is the VAT applied to accommodations refundable? Now that would be a fair amount of money!

steviegene

Im going to Scotland in October.
What is this VAT - and how/why do you get money back?!

londonengland

Stevie - VAT or Value Added Tax is similar to a sales tax in the US and is charged at 17.5% on most goods (although not certain food, clothing)

Something that non-UK citizens can claim back on leaving the country although via a rather convaluted process of form filling

londonengland

should make it clear as well that you can't claim back on goods/services that you actually consume whilst in the UK! So no money back on your hotel bill!

norween

For a purchase in the UK - it's non EU residents who can claim a VAT refund (willy or nilly UK is in the EU)

flanneruk

"Something that non-UK citizens can claim back on leaving the country"

Actually, something that people not resident in the EU can claim back on leaving the EU.

British expatriates can reclaim it as long as they're not living in the EU: Frenchmen living in France can't. No-one can reclaim it if they're just going to Belgium.

The precise definitions of all those terms can keep us here for hours. And I can't remember whether it's the EU or the EEA anyway.

steviegene

So, if I am visiting from America I can reclaim VAT tax on what? Probably not for hotel bills, gas bills, rental car, food. Is it only for stuff that you buy (like souvenirs?)

A_Traveller

stevie - yes you can claim a refund of the VAT on most items you purchase that you bring back home with you (i.e. clothing, souveniers). You cannot get a VAT refund on anything you eat or otherwise consume or use while in the UK (i.e. food, gas, room, board, admission fees, car rental, etc.)

flanneruk

If you're in Britain on holiday, the rules for reclaiming VAT are at http://tinyurl.co.uk/30on

It's actually a myth that it's impossible to reclaim VAT on intangibles. Non-EU businesses can often reclaim VAT on legitimate business expenses (like hotels) here, just as we all do. But it's messy to set up, and makes sense really only for larger companies or people organising conventions (see http://tinyurl.co.uk/d1q6).

It also requires you to spend time on the phone with the charming (seriously!!) VAT ladies in Derry. Astonishing people working for such a widely-hated tax can be so nice.

janisj

&quot;<i>you can claim a refund of the VAT on most items you purchase that you bring back home with you </i>&quot; Not entirely true. Don't expect a VAT refund on every little souviner and sweater you buy. Unless you are doing a fair amout of shopping in one store or are buying expensive things, you won't be able to claim VAT.

Each shop decides if it participates in the scheme and how much you have to pay to trigger a refund. So a &pound;10 or &pound;20 gift won't get you anything back - but &pound;150-&pound;200 worth of items from the same shop might.

Nelson

We were told at more than one shop that you needed to spend more than &pound;30 in order for them to give you that VAT refund form. They said it could be spread over several purchases, but that seemed more hassle than it was worth, so we just asked for the refund slip for our major items.

Sadly, they do not allow refunds on whisky.

janisj

Some shops trigger VAT refunds at a low &pound;20 or &pound;30 level - and sone maybe &pound;100 or &pound;150. They will display a sticker in the window &quot;Tax free shopping&quot; or &quot;Global Tax refunds&quot; or some such.

Another way to get VAT back is to have the merchant ship the goods home for you. This makes sense especially for things like crystal and china you don't want to carry. The VAT comes off the top and then you have to pay the shipping costs. But often the VAT pays most of the postage and you don't have to worry about carrying/breaking anything.

Nelson

As an aside, when we bought our two lovely tapestries at Stirling Castle, my wife applied our years of traveling in Asia skills and asked about discounts. The very nice sales lady immediately made us members of Historic Scotland and gave us 20% off the listed price. One of the tapestries was behind the counter and they were probably happy to get rid of it anyway. We had the perfect spot for it at home, so it was a great transaction on all counts.

This is the big one:
http://tapestrieswp.abcguide.com/det...tem_code=ME122

We got the 43x59 size, and cheaper (even before the discount) than priced at that website.