r/Europetravel • u/Rude-Elephant-8174 • Apr 21 '26
Customs, VAT etc. My tax issue was issued then reversed, any advice?
I processed my VAT refund with Planet Tax Free at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol on 12th April, we received the amount in my credit card last week but now Planet has charged us 1200 euros (our refund amount) and I'm so confused.
Every time I call the Netherlands contact number the call fails and the shopper portal says it's having technical difficulties AND I can't find the picture I took of the form and envelope so I'm really not sure what to do. Any advice or similar experiences?
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u/dullestfranchise Apr 22 '26
The nunber on their website is wrong. It has an extra zero.
Try this number +318000221356
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u/me-gustan-los-trenes Berlin-Warszawa Expert Apr 21 '26
Realistically I doubt you can win this one. The thing about Planet Tax Free and similar institutions is that you are not really their customer. Their customer is the state, which off-sources their legal requirement to offer tax refunds to them. You have really zero leverage over them and they can get away with ignoring you.
Your best bet would be to hire a lawyer, but that would make sense if the amount at stake was €1.2M and not €1.2k.
Sorry that happened to you, but I think the best course of action is to just accept the loss and move on. The whole tax-free scheme is really "best effort" in practice and shouldn't be relied on. I have had about 50% success rate with tax free requests (although I have never gotten to anything near that amount lol)