JB Hi-Fi Screwed up Our Tourist Refund Scheme?? My Fault or Theirs?

TassieJones14 on 20/12/2014 - 21:34
Last edited 20/12/2014 - 21:35

Hello guys - I recently purchased a Macbook air from JBHifi and the price was $1,080.

When paying for the item at the checkout, I told the lady I was claiming it for tax purposes. She asked for my name and I wrote it down for her with my name on it and that was included in my receipt. I then assumed that she had taken care of all the procedures required for me to claim my tax back via the Tourist Refund Scheme.

At customs yesterday my parents said they could not claim the 9% tax refund because it did not have an address on it. Now, this is frustrating because the GST was around $90+. I would assume that at the counter if I told the lady I wanted to claim tax, she would take care of all procedures - including informing me an address was required to be included on the address? She did not do so, and only asked for my name. Now I have lost my $90 in tax purposes as my parents will be overseas for 6 months and this will have bypassed the 60 day timeline that I can use the Tourist Refund Scheme.

Do you think I have leverage against JB? I told them I wanted to claim tax and should they not have noticed that this transaction was $1,000 + and asked for my address - especially when I told the lady I wanted to claim tax? My father recently brought a watch worth more than 1k and the sales assistant instantly asked for our address to be included on the receipt. JB did not do so.

What should I do? Would they entertain requests of me asking for compensation because they clearly erred in not informing me of the neccessary steps for tax refund when I asked them to? At the very least, should I ask for a refund when my parents come back to Australia and buy another one so that they can claim the tax?

Thanks guys :)

General Discussion

Related Stores

JB Hi-Fi
JB Hi-Fi

closed Comments

  • 2jzzzz on 20/12/2014 - 21:48
    +51

    You yourself needs to be informed of the process, not rely on retail staff. You want to take advantage of a system designed for goods that will stay out of the country surely could have jumped on google to see what the requirements are.

  • raymond y on 20/12/2014 - 21:55
    +15

    "I told the lady I was claiming it for tax purposes"
    —> Did you specifically mention TRS? The ATO website is down at the moment, but if it's a simple tax deduction then name is fine to a certain value, just can't confirm that at the moment.

    Never assume anything if you want it to be done right, always double check the work that others do for you. Take it as a lesson learnt. You' can't expect everyone to know how TRS works, especially when you didn't stipulate TRS in the first place. It would be more common for "tax purposes" to mean a business deduction, given the item was bought was a computer and commonly used for business purposes, that would be a reasonable assumption.

    Good luck with what you do and keep us updated. It would probably be worth a call but end as a bit of a confusing mess.

  • cloudy on 20/12/2014 - 21:59
    +15

    I reckon 50% of the population doesn't know of the TRS (my guess only), I and out of those that know of it aren't aware of the finer details of what's needed.

    Additionally, you said you wanted to claim tax, that to mean says you want to use it for business purposes and claim depreciation on ur income tax return. That is completely different from the TRS.

    You can't put the blame on someone else for something you want to claim. You should state what you require, is name address, and get amount, abn of the business etc. It's your responsibility, no one else, sorry.

    You lost a few bucks, but u have learnt something, silver lining.

  • RockyRaccoon on 20/12/2014 - 22:52
    +3

    Likewise I have claimed this before, BUT i didn't know about the requirements for purchases over $1000

    A tax invoice must contain the following information:

    The ABN of the supplier
    The GST-inclusive price of the goods
    The words "tax invoice" stated prominently
    The date of issue of the tax invoice
    The name of the retailer
    A description of each good; and
    A statement similar to "the total price includes GST"
    For supplies of $1,000 or more, a tax invoice must also contain the name and either the address or ABN of the purchaser.

    In fairness to all including the chick at JB she and most others might not have known about the last requirement.

  • p1 ama on 20/12/2014 - 22:55

    I then assumed that she had taken care of all the procedures required for me to claim my tax back via the Tourist Refund Scheme.

    It's really your responsibility to check. It's just bad luck that you didn't get to make the claim, but it's not a terribly big amount, just remember it for next time.

    If you were going overseas, you should have just bought the Macbook overseas and taken it back, might have been cheaper than even with TRS.

  • Randxyz123 on 20/12/2014 - 23:11
    +5

    You need to have said TRS not just "claim tax". To "claim tax" as others have said just means for business purposes…. I agree that was a reasonable assumption.

    What you could try and do is see if you can get another receipt written out from JB and send it in to the TRS office and see if they will process your claim. You could try explaining that you didn't realise you needed to have your name and address on it.

    I would assume that at the counter if I told the lady I wanted to claim tax, she would take care of all procedures - including informing me an address was required to be > included on the address?

    In fairness to the lady she probably didn't know you need your address to claim GST from TRS. I didn't know that till I looked it up just then…

    Do you think I have leverage against JB?

    No. Absolutely none.

    I don't mean to be rude but you kinda screwed up the claim not JBHIFI. They are not required or should not give you any compensation…

    The other issue is and one that might not've come up because of the address issue is that you actually have to be travelling to use the TRS. In other words you would've needed to supply your parents name and address NOT yours.

    At the very least, should I ask for a refund when my parents come back to Australia and buy another one so that they can claim the tax?

    Refund on what grounds? JB's policy wouldn't be more than 30 days so you wouldn't be able to.

  • Nutrino on 20/12/2014 - 23:21
    +2

    Not jbs fault as others have said. As soon as you left the store you should have checked the requirements, if it was wrong then jb would have corrected it at the time of purchase. The blind leading the blind, in this case you were blind first. Don't rely on a casual checkout person to do your work. Kick up a fuss if you must and let us know how you go.

  • adamren on 20/12/2014 - 23:44

    A checkout person at JBHiFi in some random suburb isn't going to know or care about TRS. If they were in the main CBD area the chances are greater they've come across tourists etc and know the proper process.

    Now you know, next time research and double check and tell them how to do it properly.

  • adamren on 20/12/2014 - 23:47
    +2

    Hate to think the stink your dad would kick up if JBHiFi started selling $1,000+ watches. There'd be hell to pay for that >$90 tax not refunded.

    The watch sellers know this stuff because tourists buy luxury items (or higher priced items that can be tax refunded), because well lots of tourists do that. Exchange rates and all that jazz.

  • PissLUR on 20/12/2014 - 23:55
    +9

    I reckon it's your fault for not checking the requirement for claiming back the GST. And your parents wouldn't be able to claim it anyway as the receipt wasn't under their name.

  • insular on 21/12/2014 - 00:11

    TRS are very strict, especially in smaller cities like adelaide where they have the time to go over every detail (including actually inspecting my goods). melbourne they could hardly give a shit, if they see a bunch of shopping bags its good enough for them.

    oh and i naturally made sure i had the address on my receipt from DSE (automatic)

    and i paid with 20 gift cards, and they didnt care

    but she said i need to declare it when i return to australia and pay the GST on it. yeah right. cough

  • Davo1111 on 21/12/2014 - 00:58
    +2

    haha no. try reading the requirements first

  • Cheeper on 21/12/2014 - 01:13

    I nearly got caught with the same trap a while back. Lucky I checked online for the details needed. Went back to the store and got them to issue a receipt with name and address on it.
    With things like this it is up to the buyer to check. The details of what is required are online.
    All a retail store is required to do is provide a receipt for every sale. They don't have to be up to date with customs regulations… LOLL

  • juventino on 21/12/2014 - 01:28
    +5

    you think you deserve compensation ? LOL LOL LOL

    take $90 out of your wallet/purse, put it under your pillow.

    Check back on 25th of Dec, Voila. There's your compo.

  • Ughhh on 21/12/2014 - 02:21
    +7

    You want compensation from jb because you were too lazy to do your own research and for them not doing your job for you ???

  • yazirazlam on 21/12/2014 - 07:39
    -5

    Hi can i claim two tax invoces both elcronics,over 300 n under 1000 under trs.

  • Moderatorscotty on 21/12/2014 - 10:17

    Pretty sure OP has got the answer now. Thread closed.

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join