No VAT refunded on USA refunds? (Godaddy)

PhilFromTimeTeamsHat

Hi everybody at MSE :wave:

I've just been told by a godaddy rep and her supervisor that the UK take VAT on purchases from UK but don't return the VAT for refunds.

Does this seem odd? :huh:

So lets say I buy a product that's £100 in the USA.
I have to pay £100 + £20 VAT

I get a refund for the product.

Refund = £100

*WHERE DOES THE VAT GO???*



Details (the devil lives there apparently, or not.)

Product: Web Hosting

I am eligable for a full refund for the annual product. The only mention of tax is that my country's tax is applicable (ie: VAT)

In addition, regardless of the selected currency, you acknowledge and agree that you may be charged Value Added Tax ("VAT"), Goods and Services Tax ("GST"), or other localized fees and/or taxes, based on your bank and/or the country indicated in your billing address section.

Refund policy:
support.godaddy.c**/help/article/8849/refund-policy?countrysite=uk

(No mention of tax or VAT in refund policy!)

Terms of service
uk.godaddy.c**/agreements/showdoc.aspx?pageid=UTOS&ci=20801&app_hdr=0

Refund Policy: Products and Services available for refunds are described here (“Refund Policy”). For products and services eligible for a refund, you may request a full refund for annual plans within forty five (45) days of purchase and within 48 hours of purchase for monthly plans (each “Refund Period”). For refunds requested after the Refund Period, an in-store credit will be issued for any unused time remaining on your plan. Unused time will be calculated as the number of months remaining on the purchase term excluding the month in which the refund is requested.

Further, the refund was issued on the phone for the price I paid less VAT without any mention of the disappearing VAT.

One would at least assume a good company would inform of the process leaving me out of pocket

Apparently they are not interested in refunding the VAT as complimentary as it is not company procedure to inform about taxes when dealing with refunds!

Bad company procedures aside, is it the UK govt who are to blame for keeping tax collected on void / refunded contracts, or is the the USA company's fault for not claiming the money back from the UK?

Finally, do I have any rights to a refund of tax for a product I paid tax upon that has been cancelled / refunded? Should the USA company claim the tax from the UK re: refunded transaction? Should I apply directly to UK tax office and show a printout of the receipt?

This doesn't seem right.

Thank you for reading


---EDIT---

re: godaddy com/agreements/showdoc.aspx?pageid=hosting_sa&isc=gdbb587


GO DADDY
HOSTING AGREEMENT

Annual Plans: Any product purchased for 1 year or greater will be considered an annual plan under the terms of this policy. Within forty five (45) days, you may request a full refund of the purchase price of the product.

GODADDY TOS
PART 17: FEES AND PAYMENTS

if your payment was identified as being processed in the United Kingdom, your transaction will be processed by Go Daddy Europe, Ltd., 5 New Street Square, London EC4A3TW

sheramber

If duty was charged when the goods entered this country then Godaddy would not be involved.

There is information here on how to claim a refund of VAT paid on good from abroad.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/customs/post/paying-tax.htm#3

What to do if you return the goods after you've paid tax and/or duty

If you return goods to the sender after you've paid duty and/or tax you can ask the UKBA for a refund. You'll need to claim in writing within three months. Write to the address on your charge label and enclose:

the original charge label
the Customs Declaration and the part of the packaging showing your address
a certificate of posting to prove you've sent the goods back

If you can't provide all these, UKBA may reject your claim.

PhilFromTimeTeamsHat

Thank you for the reply. The post is about an electronic Internet product, therefore goods / duty / labels / postage / customs declarations are not relevant because there is no physical product.

Thanks again

Buzby

As the goods are virtual, the tax is not refunded as there is no mechanism in place to allow for this. I remain suspicious of all such transactions - as a % is simply added to the purchase price.

In future, try to put your country as UAE ( normally next to UK ) and as this in in the EU, the tax isn't charged automatically.

terra_ferma

Do they have a UK vat number? If they have a UK subsidiary then they would collect VAT like any other company, and pay it to HMRC. Can't see why they should behave differently too any other UK company.
This policy just confirms what I've always thought of them...

PhilFromTimeTeamsHat

They (godaddy) certainly take the VAT from the London office (see OP) and pay it to UK govt.

I find it amazing that in this information age there is such scant information on this subject! Not just the companies but the UK govt must do better! They're happy to take the VAT from electronic purchases but you'd need a small team of lawyers do discover what your actual rights are!

Edit--

TF: I agree godaddy literally don't care about UK customers getting ripped off for vat in refunds.. They state their staff have no need no reason to inform customers that vat isn't returned upon refund. They don't compensate, don't clarify and don't care. All they say is its not their problem.

they excuse phone staff that deal with UK by stating it's not policy to inform staff of other countries tax. They say they have no intention of informing staff of UK VAT. So if UK customers lose VAT in their "money back guarantee" doublespeak then so be it as far as godaddy are concerned!