Global Blue Has Not Paid My Tax Free Refund

I am filing a complaint about Global Blue’s lack of attention to the tax-free process and the fact that my refund has still not been paid. In December 2026, when we were returning from our vacation in Belgrade, we were directed to the tax-free processing area at the airport, but there was no one there. Like many other people at the airport, we were unable to complete the process and were left without assistance. We were later told that we could complete the tax-free process at Istanbul Airport.

After returning to Istanbul, we asked police officers at the airport for assistance and learned that the Global Blue branches located in shopping malls could process tax-free refunds more quickly. Therefore, immediately after getting off the plane, we went directly to the Global Blue branch at IstinyePark Mall and submitted all of our tax-free documents there on the same day. At the branch, we had to deal with two extremely unhelpful and condescending employees whose level of experience with the process was unclear. They treated us as if we were inconveniencing them and made us wait for approximately an hour. In particular, the employee with long hair took several minutes to answer even our basic questions, and the process moved extremely slowly.

When the process was finally close to completion, the employee asked whether we wanted the payment made to an IBAN account or to a card. We were told that an additional 20% would be deducted from the amount if we chose an IBAN payment, so we requested payment to our credit card. I wrote my credit card number, first name, last name, and phone number on the form provided by the employee and handed it over. When we asked how much we would receive, we were not given a clear answer. Instead, the employee gave vague responses and told us, “It can take 8–10 months. Wait and the money will be deposited onto this card,” and then sent us away.

Months have now passed, and the year is coming to an end, yet no payment has been credited to our account and we have received no follow-up from Global Blue. We also cannot see any information about our transaction in the mobile applications. We do not know whether our records were never entered into the system or whether the system simply does not work properly. Since we cannot track the process through the application either, we have been left completely uninformed.

On the day we returned from our vacation, I submitted all of my tax-free documents to the IstinyePark branch immediately after landing in Istanbul. I also spent an hour at the mall dealing with these unhelpful and extremely slow employees. Despite all of this, there has been no refund and no transparent information about the status of my claim. If the refund is not going to be paid or the process is not going to be handled properly, what is the point of giving customers estimated waiting periods of 8–10 months and simply making them wait?

I request that my tax-free transactions be urgently checked in the system, that my documents be located and the status of my claim be clarified, and that the tax refund I am entitled to be paid in full as soon as possible to the card details I provided when I submitted my application.