Duty Refunds Avis 

Have used dutyrefunds several times over the last few years. However recently the service has gone downhill. Significantly longer times to process the forms for HMRC, no replies to several emails and refunds not being received or processed. I now cannot guarantee I'll get a refund with these guys unfortunately

Very straightforward and good ongoing communication

I always have a really positive experience when dealing with Duty Refunds, easy to deal with, great communication throughout, the whole process is very easy and seamless - even for very small claims.

I contacted Duty Refunds because HMRC had clearly charged my son VAT twice on a parcel and added a handling fee, even though VAT had already been paid at the point of sale and was printed in bold on the parcel label.

Their first reply said “Yes, we can certainly help you with this” and even suggested the handling fee might be reviewed. I sent every document they asked for – proof VAT was paid at checkout, the parcel label showing the VAT reference, Royal Mail charge, etc. After that, the story kept changing.

Suddenly they were telling me they could only try to reclaim a small part of the amount (just the £24.23 VAT), only if I returned the item and got a refund from the seller, and that the handling fee wasn’t reclaimable at all. This completely contradicts their original “we can certainly help” email and gave me the impression they hadn’t really read what I sent, just copied and pasted from a script.

The responses themselves read like generic AI templates – the kind of thing you can get for free from tools like ChatGPT or Copilot – rather than a personalised, expert service I should be paying a 15% fee for. When I pointed out the contradictions and asked to speak to an actual human, they just kept sending the same style of boilerplate reply and then basically stopped engaging.

For anyone reading this: you can do the HMRC reclaim yourself for free.
For postal imports (Royal Mail/Parcelforce) you can use HMRC’s own BOR286 form and post it off yourself. For other types of imports there are HMRC forms like C285, and some claims can even be done online via HMRC’s website. It may take a bit of effort, but at least you’re not paying 15% for someone to copy information into a form you could fill in yourself.

In my experience, Duty Refunds raised my hopes, wasted my time, gave contradictory information, offered only a partial solution, and then hid behind what feels like unpersonalised AI-generated replies. I wouldn’t recommend them – you’re better off going straight to HMRC and the courier yourself.

Seamless process, in one go, all processed

My whole experience from the start with Duty Refunds was outstanding! They showed professionalism, efficiency, all helping to make the whole process very easy for me. They kept me informed every step of the way, ensuring everything was submitted correctly and on time.
They made, what for me could have been stressful and confusing feel completely seamless.
Thanks to their expertise, my refund was processed faster than expected.
Thank you

Easy and efficient process, good communication.

Sooo easy and straight forward! I wouldn't even know where to begin doing it myself. They made the entire process seamless from start to finish. Well worth the commission.

Perfect service and an affordable fee!
I highly recommend👍

I turned to Duty Refunds after I gave up trying to submit a refund request on the government portal.

DR website was very straight forward and easy to navigate. All very well explained and they managed the whole case for me.
I’d happily use them again, just hope it won’t be necessary :)

This service was quick and easy to use - I’d definitely recommend it 🤩

After struggling with the Government Gateway, I discovered Duty Refunds through an online search. Many reviews suggested that handling the process yourself can be time-consuming, tedious, and often frustratingly slow. Intrigued, I decided to give Duty Refunds a try—and I’m so glad I did!
The entire process was surprisingly quick, wrapping up in just a few weeks, despite warnings that it could take months. The platform was user-friendly, with a straightforward checklist that guided me seamlessly through the initial setup. On the one occasion I needed to contact their support team, my question was resolved within hours, which was impressive.
Overall, my experience was excellent—no issues, hassle-free, and efficient. I would absolutely use Duty Refunds again and highly recommend them to anyone looking to recover losses without the headache of doing it themselves.

Everything great and straight to the point. 1000% recommend.

Took just over 3 weeks from start to finish but very easy process and no issues, will 100% use again in the future if I need to reclaim VAT + customs on a return. The 15% fee is entirely reasonable given I avoided the headache trying to file this myself would have been aha

Highly recommend. Smooth, quick process. Admin fee is very fair for the amount of work needed to deal with UK Customs.

Great friendly service easier than doing myself as I wasn't sure what would need to do .

Did exactly what they promised with no stress on my part. Highly recommend.

Excellent service from start to finish. Was sceptical at first but Duty Refunds fully delivered on what they said they’d do. After getting hit with a large import tax fee they managed to reclaim the majority of the money for me; well worth the 15% cut they take. Thanks again

Totally fuss-free and worthwhile service!
Thank you for making it SO easy!!

First class service from Duty Refunds. Easy to upload the required information and got my refund quite quickly. I would not have been able to do this myself so it was well worth the 15% commission to get my refund sorted. Good communication along the way informing me of the progress.