Help! I never got my Italy VAT refund back?
 

On July 18th, I was in the Amsterdam airport and got my Italy VAT refund form stamped. I chose to get a credit back on my credit card versus cash. If I chose the cash option, then I would get less back since a commission was taken out.

Well, it is now Jan. 12th and I still don't have my refund. I received my France refund back several months ago.

What do I do?

Jill, did you put enough postage on it? I didn't receive my refund the last time I flew out of Amsterdam either. And I had the correct postage. I was told to ask for a stamp to the country of which it was addressed. Still did not work. It was a small amount, so I was not too concerned. When I am due a large VAT refund, I fly from Nice. I have never had a problem with the refund from that airport. And it is a pleasure to fly from a small airport. No stress!

I am certain I put the right amount of postage because I asked the lady at the counter to be 100% certain. Who do I contact? It is a big refund.

Do you have your copy? If you have the address where it was mailed, you should write them. When I bought my stamp at a small shop at Schiphol, they first gave me the wrong one. When I told them it was going to Germany, it was a different amount of postage. But I would write the VAT agency. A phone call would be better.

I will have to check for my copy. Now, I googled VAT agency and all sorts of websites came up. Do you happen to know the VAT agency website?

Thank you so much Scatcat!

Hi JD,

>Help! I never got my Italy VAT refund back<

Neither did I.

It's been 5 years now.

((I))

I'm still waiting for my VAT refund from 1995.

There has to be a way to get this settled...

Obviously not for the OP, but my recollection is that I had my receipts stamped in CDG, I took them with me to the States, made copies and mailed the originals back to the store in Scotland. In other words, I had a track record and the issue of the proper amount of postage never came up. But I still had to contact the refunding agency a couple of times before I received a refund, with a deduction for the service fee (10% or 15%) even though it was credited back to my credit card account.

A previous time I dropped off the receipts at the airport in Ireland, and eventually was billed for the amount of refund I was requesting; this was 18 months after the trip. I contacted the Irish consulate and was eventually refunded the proper amount. It turned out that someone was running a scam in the refund office, counting on the tourist not remembering that it was a refund that was due rather than a tax payment.

Did you make the majority of your purchases at one store? If so, you might try contacting the store with copies of your receipts and charge slips. They might be able to help, but am grasping at straws here.

Michael - When you say you had to contact the refunding agency, who is that? I don't know who to contact because all I know is that I was in the Amsterdam airport and had everything handled there.

Cathinjoetown - Yes, the purchase was at one store. Gucci in Venice. That is an idea to pursue...

I received a form from the store in Scotland which gave the address (or at least the web site) of the central clearing house for VAT refunds. That is what I recalled.

I will go look up my Gucci receipt to see if it is on there.

Michael - in case my receipt doesn't have the information, do you happen to the central clearing house information?

At least you managed to get your VAT refund form stamped. It has been my experience in Rome that the only place to have the form stamped was the domestic terminal and not the international terminal. It seems Italy counts on people not having the time to make that trip between terminals! Good luck, but I wouldn't be too optimistic about your chances.

I don't have that information any more, and that was for Great Britain. But Gucci should be able to give you the information for Italy.

Okay, how WEIRD is this? I just checked my bank statement and the VAT refund was credited back to my account. On the same day as I posted this! WEIRD!

I was going to post earlier that I've had VAT refund take up to 6 months in Italy.
I actually always consider it a bonus. I pay whatever I spend in Europe and then, 3-6 months later I can spend the refund here!

Jill, that's great!!! It did take a long time. Mine is usually posted about 6 weeks later. I have never had a problem with any airport except Schiphol. I'm glad mine was a small amount so it wasn't important. I have departed from several airports without a problem, but Nice is the easiest.

The craziest part is the same day I posted this question on Fodors is the same day that I received the money back! I have a 6th sense! SO WEIRD.

Yes, I loved the Nice airport. It is so tiny and easy. My refund from Schiphol airport for France came back in 2 months. SO fast. Those Italians are enjoying life too much! haha