Argos - VAT Refund

84 Posts

I purchased a riser / recliner chair from Argos on behalf of my 94 yr old mother and subsequently submitted all the paperwork to Argos Accounts Dept ([email protected]). The chair was purchased on the 31st December 2019 and the claim was submitted within 7 days. I heard nothing after 4-weeks so I resubmitted the claim with a covering message. Again a month went by so I rang Argos Helpline to ask for a contact number for [email protected] and was told “they don’t have a number for that department as they don’t speak to the public” and they could not help me on this type of enquiry!
So I resubmitted the claim again with a stronger covering note - and after 4-weeks nothing. I then (out of frustration) looked on google for a helpline number again and foolishly rang the Argos 0845 number and held on for 45 mins before I hung up - which cost me £7.50 on my most recent bill.
I am so frustrated as this is a claim in the name of my mother - she is entitled to the £50 vat repayment but I just don’t know what to do next - any ideas?
Thank you in advance.
So I resubmitted the claim again with a stronger covering note - and after 4-weeks nothing. I then (out of frustration) looked on google for a helpline number again and foolishly rang the Argos 0845 number and held on for 45 mins before I hung up - which cost me £7.50 on my most recent bill.
I am so frustrated as this is a claim in the name of my mother - she is entitled to the £50 vat repayment but I just don’t know what to do next - any ideas?
Thank you in advance.
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The only thing I can suggest here is for you to contact your local MP to see if intervention by him/her will bring the required result.
I should mention that there's only one of me, don't confuse me with others of the same name.
"A reclining chair may make sitting more comfortable if you have a health condition, but it would not be eligible for a VAT refund as it’s not specially designed to support any condition."
https://www.argos.co.uk/help/faq/72596
EDIT: Just realised that you bought a rising / reclining chair and it says that these ARE eligible.
Normally the customer fills out the form just as you have done. This form allows the retailer to zero rate that item, so that they don't actually charge the customer the VAT.
The form is not sent to HMRC. The retailer keeps the form along with their other VAT records. Then if they are subjected to visit from the VAT man they have the necessary proof for selling an item at zero rate instead of the normal standard rate of VAT.
I'm pretty sure that it's not HMRC who send the cheque to you unless things have changed, which I doubt very much. Why would HMRC get involved in potentially hundreds of thousands of VAT claims on disabled items and be sending cheques to individual people? That's not the way HMRC works. The retailer, in this case Argos, makes a bookkeeping adjustment on their system and Argos refunds the VAT to you.
https://www.argos.co.uk/help/faq/72596
If your claim is accepted, we will send you a refund via cheque. Most refunds are processed within 10 working days, although some claims can take longer.
https://ceoemail.com
Look for CEO Argos.