Deposit Refunds

I recently went to Optical Express for laser eye surgery I put a £400 deposit down as required.
On the 7th April 2015 I attended the Birmingham clinic and repeated the initial eye tests. I went through to see the surgeon but his advice was not to have the laser eye surgery as there was only an 80% chance of success and it would only last 3 to 8 years max.
His recommendation was to consider lens replacement surgery.
I was then contacted the next day to see if I wanted to go ahead with lens replacement. I said I needed to investigate this before I would proceed.
Two weeks later I contacted OE to say I wouldn't be going ahead with the lens replacement and was told 'no problem. we will be in touch prior to your refund date.'
I contacted OE last Tuesday (9th June) and was told my refund date was 27th May. The young lady apologised for delay in payment and said there had been a computer glitch and somebody would be in touch.
One week later I'm still waiting for them to contact me. On having found this site I realise that I may be in for quite a wait.
Please could you advise me on my next course of action in attempting to get my refund back, any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated

John Mitchell

Hello I am not happy as I have been waiting for my £500 deposit refund for two months now and i have called up on numerous occasions to be told that somebody will contact me on various days. Nobody has yet contacted me and this is appalling!!
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admin: Please send your phone number
info@opticalexpressruinedmylife.co.uk

Hello, I was due to undergo my laser eye surgery on 3 April '15 at OE's Harley Street branch. I paid £3,300 up front but on the day of the procedure I was informed by Dr Manek Patel that I was unsuitable as my cornea is very thin. I was told that I would be refunded the full amount within 28 working days. Unfortunately, after that time the money was not in my account so I called OE again, only to be told by Sandra that I had to wait another 7-10 working days for the refund!
However, 2 weeks later the refund was still not processed so I called OE again on 28 May and spoke with Sandra again. She told me that I had to wait another 7-10 working days as they had some technical problems!!!
I have run out of patience with OE as I do not understand how such a big company can hold my money for more than 2 months and get away with it. I know that I am not the only one in this situation.
Could you please help me to get my money back . I would be very grateful if Sasha could advise me on how to deal with OE (as so many people praised his help and advice on your website)
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need any more info regarding my case. I am writing about it to warn other potential customers to avoid Optical Express. The service and tactics their company uses are appalling!!! I deeply regret ever contacting OE and being their customer!!!
Kind regards Fabio G. from London

After speaking with Sasha, I took her advice and called June Moulsdale at Optical Express. I believe she's one of the directors. The very next day June sent me an email confirming my refund would be processed today.

I'm yet to see it hit my bank but I will give it the standard 3 to 5 days to clear, but I'm pretty confident I've reached the end of this dreadful experience at long last.

Thanks to Sasha and OERML.

Hello Sasha,
I'm hoping that you can please help me! ... On Saturday 23rd May I paid a five hundred pound cash deposit to Optical express in Shandwick place, Edinburgh. My refractive technician "forgot" to send me the link for the Hitachi finance forms so I did not receive those until the 72 hour cooling period was over! Unfortunately, my application for finance was denied and therefore I had no option but to cancel and request a refund... When I called to explain and request my refund I was told that I would not be entitled to a refund however they would hold onto my cash and use it in lieu of future purchases of spectacles or contact lenses!!! I am absolutely livid and believe that I was intentionally stalled in order to get me past the "cooling off period" I am really hoping that you can advise me on how to get my deposit returned to me in full .... Yours hopefully!!

Carolyn Hume
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admin: Hi Caroline, please send your phone number info@opticalexpressruinedmylife.co.uk

Hi everyone, hi Sasha

Great News: I wanted to let you know that on 29 May I received the complete refund of my deposit from Optical Express

I have nothing but words of gratitude to Sasha and her campaign My Beautiful Eyes. I'm completely sure that without her help, support and advice I would not have got my refund from Optical Express.

I hope you continue doing this great job Sasha!

OE are now refusing to refund other than to the credit card which I don’t use!!!!
I am appalled at OE and cannot believe they would even try to wriggle at this stage on such a none point

I'm still chasing my £500 refund from OE even though I sent them a letter from Stoneygate Eye Hospital in Leicester clearly stating that I wasn't suitable for lens surgery - the reason being that I had Lasik surgery at OE 8 years ago and they got that wrong!! They left me with what I now know to be ’striae', a rippled flap of skin over my eye which now affects my vision and prevents me having lens replacement.
I am making a complaint to the General Optical Council about the optometrist (Priti) who said I could have this surgery even through she must have noticed the striae, and I am only 48 which I also now know is too young for lens exchange.
This company must be very desperate for money that they will sell these procedures to anyone no matter how unsuitable!!

I have appealed to Optical Express to get my £500 deposit back and they have agreed! Amazing, although they told me I have to wait "up to 28 days”.

I'm relieved to have got this far with them but I do intend to contact the Financial Ombudsman and my bank to query this. They took my deposit immediately, so why does it take 28 days to refund it?

I'm in exactly the same boat

I had my initial consultation in Leicester where they gave me the thumbs up for LASIK so I paid in full that day. I opted to travel to Cambridge for the procedure so that my brother could collect me afterwards. Once I got to the day of the procedure, they did a test which wasn't available in Leicester and changed the plan from LASIK to LASEK. I couldn't take the time out to recover from LASEK and was reluctant to make this decision in 10 minutes so I cancelled.

71 days later and I have STILL not received the full refund that I was told I was eligible for. Every time I call, I'm told the same story 7-10 working days delay. Then again. And again.

It's annoying me. A LOT.
Absolutely rubbish service.