Help with Global Blue Tax Refund - Spain and Italy

[u/Vcfons]

Hi my friends,

I am writing to check if by any chance someone would have a piece of advice here.

I came back from a trip to Spain and Italy on March 6th. My departure point from Europe was in Napoli and I had many goods purchased in both countries.

The products I got in Italy were automatically processed and I got my Tax Refund immediately from the Global Blue kiosk.

For the others purchased in Spain (about 350 Euro in refund), I had my forms stamped at the customs counter and the guy from the refund company told me I should place the envelope with the stamped forms at the mailbox located near gate area, after security. Which I did.

Now it’s been 5 weeks and there is absolutely nothing going on at the app. All forms still show ‘Customs Validation Needed’. I have contacted Global Blue twice and all they say is I have to wait until the forms get to the office in Spain or wherever.

It seems odd for me that an envelope takes 5 weeks to get mailed to anywhere near in Europe. My mother’s forms are also under the same status in her app.

Should I assume I will never see this refund? Do any of you have any experience in this process taking so long?

What makes me even more angry is that I didn’t have time to take pictures of the stamped forms. When I got to the gate both the refunds office were closed because they were taking a 40-min break and I almost lost my flight. Couldn’t even think that something like that would happen later.

I would appreciate any advice. I have lost a significant time of my trip taking care of these processes (including almost 4 hour in a line at El Corte Inglés) and the money is significant, almost 350 EURO.

Thank you in advance!