If you are visiting Amsterdam and are looking to purchase souvenirs that qualify for VAT back, avoid Tinkerbell toys. Before I go into depth as to why, I recommend going to Goochem where the customer service was friendlier, more helpful, and most importantly, a place where you will receive the proper documentation to claim VAT back.
We reached out to Tinkerbell Toys in advance of our trip to ensure that they had the inventory of Ostheimer toys we wanted and would provide the appropriate documents to claim VAT back. They indicated that they did and so we made a trip to the store to purchase a good amount of Ostheimer animals as Christmas gifts for kids. Upon our departure from Amsterdam, we were denied a customs stamp for the purchase from Tinkerbell Toys because the receipt was not itemized with detailed descriptions of the purchased items.
When we returned home, we contacted Tinkerbell toys and spoke with Gerrit, who was surprised we were denied. When he offered no solution, I reiterated my disappointment and displeasure to which he responded with "What do you want me to do?" I replied with a sensible solution: return the tax amount back to us. We felt this was fair since it was the failure on the store's part to follow proper protocol when taking part in the VAT program to provide their foreign customers with the correct documentation for them to receive the money due back to them for the purchases made.
I did not receive a reply for 2 days after being in constant contact with him. After following up, I received the following reply: "This is the busiest time of the year and our shop is more important then mails. You act as if I knew that my description on the receipt was not sufficient. That was not the case. I learned that afterwards from the taxfree company. I am very sorry for you but in this case I can not be responsible for you missing the tax refund."
We strongly feel the store is at fault because they failed to adhere to the rules and regulations required of a VAT program vendor. At this point, it is all about the principle of the issue. It is no longer about the getting the money back but with how this situation was handled. Not only did they fail to provide proper itemized receipt for VAT back, they did not take accountability for their error. It has been an extremely unpleasant customer service experience. We only hope that this feedback informs potential patrons and also prompts Tinkerbell Toys to take the corrective action to provide proper receipts with detailed descriptions. read more