Index: uc_vat_number/uc_vat_number.module
===================================================================
--- uc_vat_number/uc_vat_number.module	(revision 5169)
+++ uc_vat_number/uc_vat_number.module	(working copy)
@@ -440,7 +440,8 @@
   $client = soapclient_init_client(
               variable_get('uc_vat_number_soap_wsdl_url',
                            UC_VAT_NUMBER_SOAP_WSDL_URL_DEFAULT),
-              TRUE
+              TRUE,
+              array('encoding' => 'UTF-8')
             );
   if ($client['#error']) {
     watchdog('uc_vat_number', 'Error contacting VAT verification service: @error.', array('@error' => $client['#error']), WATCHDOG_ERROR);
Index: soapclient/soapclient.module
===================================================================
--- soapclient/soapclient.module	(revision 5181)
+++ soapclient/soapclient.module	(working copy)
@@ -552,7 +552,12 @@
       $result['#error'] = t('Cannot create client - !msg', array('!msg' => $err_msg));
       return $result;
     }
+
+    if ( isset($options['encoding']) )
+    {
+      $client->soap_defencoding = $options['encoding'];
+    }
   }
   else if ( $soapclient_LIBRARY == 'PHP5SOAP' )
   {
     if ( ! $use_wsdl )