Help with £1000 deposit refund

Letter on The Times Financial page

I wear glasses for distance - my near vision is perfect but was fed up with flitting between glasses and no glasses when giving presentations at work from my laptop.
I visited Edinburgh in early November and after going through the tests was told I would only require one eye being done at a cost of £1700. I paid the full amount there and then and got it discounted to £1300.

In early December I headed through to Glasgow for the surgery on my left eye, I went through more tests and then was told "we're not sure what your dominant eye is" I then had more tests and was told I'd need to wear contact lenses to determine what eye was dominant, I refused this as I would NEVER wear contacts (phobia thing)

I was then given prescription glasses with the prescription in the right eye only and told to wear them for a week as this would determine what eye was dominant and would let me know what my sight would be like post surgery. They were a disaster I had no depth of vision, night vision was dreadful and I began to get headaches truly awful experience. More tests and they gave me prescription glasses but only in the left eye only and was told to wear them for a week. This was better but still not great as many things were still blurry and I had the same problems with depth of vision.

So back for more tests... they wanted me to wear a different prescription in one of the eyes as they thought the prescription they had given me was maybe too strong! I said no and that I was losing faith in them and that their customer service support was also quite poor - everytime I phoned someone back they had never heard of me, they didn't work in this department, was I phoning about getting surgery etc etc just very poor. So then the optometrist suggested I get both eyes done and wear glasses for reading and watching TV, I said that is just the opposite of what I have and refused that option, she conceded that my eye switched dominance and that surgery wasn't for me and that I'd receive a full refund WITHIN 14 DAYS.

Now there is plenty of discussion to be had about the tests and glasses etc, but for the moment I'll concentrate on the refund.

15 days later I asked where my refund was and was told it was up to 28 days and not 14, no apology.
On the 29th day I asked where my refund was the sarcastic and very condescending Claire Kelly told me it was 28 WORKING DAYS. I told her that was not what I was told and she told me that was in the T's & C's and perhaps I should have paid a bit more attention to that before paying.

Nice!! Will be in touch with my credit card company to get a refund as 28 WORKING DAYS may well become 28 working Mondays or 28 days but tuesdays and Thursday s don't count or 28 days but they are spread out over a 4 year period or something...

Anyone reading this and thinking about Optical Express don't, they are a complete shambles.

I visited Bournemouth in early December and was advised that I was entirely suitable for surgery. I had already had surgery in my left eye some time ago (elsewhere) so was at that time confident enough in the surgery itself. I was told by the B'mouth staff that a £200 deposit was required for my surgery, which I paid on a card. I was then told just before leaving that they had got it wrong and a further £195 was required.

I left with a contact lens in my right eye to simulate what my prescription would be after surgery. I am a pilot and the prescription was wrong so I could not see the instruments properly - I blame nobody for this but it needed sorting out. I was told that the clinic in Endless Street in Salisbury (near my home) was available to remove the lens if need be as I was uncomfortable doing it myself. Endless Street had been closed I later found out, so my nearest OE clinics were either B'mouth, Southampton, Bath (part time) or Bristol. All over an hour away. Local opticians would not do it.

Finally had it done near Kidderminster when I was up there on business. I then had a major dental problem which involved expensive root canal treatment. This was a priority and I could not afford to do both. I cancelled the OE treatment but it took four working days for this to be relayed from Customer care to the cancellation dept, so the official cancellation date was 17 Dec. I was then told that the small print said they had a 28 day refund policy.

In this day and age of electronic banking that is absurd. After several telephone calls I finally got my money on February 6th, some two months after the initial deposit had been paid.

They used my money for two months and then hid behind inappropriate company small print legalese to delay paying me back. This is nothing to do about the surgery, but everything to do with the senior management at OE laying down terms and conditions, which they hide behind, to favour their business and profitability and not their clients welfare.

I have been delaying writing this post. As, rather stupidly, I gave Optical Express the benefit of the doubt and trusted their word to refund me within 28 working days.

I phoned several times during that period and I was assured by Lawrence, Stacey, and several others that I would be refunded at the latest by Thursday 29th January. Needless to say last Thursday came and went and I had not heard from them.

After several calls from me on Thursday evening I received an apology and a further assurance that I would be contacted by the latest on Monday 2nd February to arrange my refund. Again on Monday evening having heard nothing from OE I called only to be told that the conversation I'd had on the Thursday evening had not occurred. I was then given the assurance that I would be contacted by this Friday at the latest.

I have told Optical Express all along that I am recording the calls and it doesn't seem to put them off lying to me every time. I advise anyone corresponding with OE to record their calls as it can be used to submit as evidence at small claims court, which is unfortunately my next step.

All I can say is I am glad I didn't trust these people with my eyesight!

Good news from me also... today I received a call from OE who took my card details to process the refund, hopefully with me in 3-5 days.

I'm under no illusion that I wouldn't have got anything without Sasha's help, so I'd like to say a big thank you for everything.

To summarise, don't give up, don't take any of their nonsense and stay on their case!

I'll be sure to donate to the cause (FYI - fundrazr.com/campaigns/3kL86/ab/53Fw4e ) and I wish everyone good luck with their issues with OE.

I received my money today as well!
Thank you for all your help and advice

Latest Update!

I did finally get my money back on Saturday 10th January - I had got to the point where I thought it was never going to arrive!!!

If you are chasing a refund keep at them!!!

Thanks for your help and advice Sasha

I have come across your very informative site and wondered if you could help me to get my money refunded.

On the 23rd August 2014 I went to a consultation in Brighton for laser eye surgery, I was tested and advised that I could not have laser eye surgery but was offered lens replacement surgery. I was advised that as I worked for the NHS I was entitled to a 20% discount , two dates were offered to me on a provisional basis (this was written on my paperwork) as I had to have a form signed by my GP to advise that I was ok for surgery as I have Crohns disease, also subject to 30 months interest free finance being available, this could not be done on the Saturday of the appointment as I was advised that the office was closed, as we were going on holiday the following day the sales assistant advised I would get a call at the beginning of September.

I paid £500 so that it would be a chunk off of the final bill at no point was I advised that this was a minimum deposit or that it was non-refundable, or that there was a time limit on refunds which wouldn’t have worked anyway as we were on holiday a fact that the sales assistant was well aware of. On leaving Optical Express with my eyes dilated from drops that are given and unable to see properly I was handed a pack with lots of forms in.

After returning from holiday I had not heard anything from Optical Express in regard to my financing and the company had received some very bad press in regard to safety of operation etc etc. I decided to consult my optician who advised me to get a second opinion as my eyes were very complicated and in view of the press comments to tread very carefully.

By the beginning of October I hadn’t anything from Optical Express so I called them to advise that I would like a refund of the money that I had paid. I was advised that one of the cancellation team would call me as they were unable to put me through as it was very busy and there was no direct line. I called a couple more times but each time was told that the line was busy and someone would call me I gave them specific times to call me as I work in a hospital and am unable to access my phone but each time after a shift I would notice a missed call from them , eventually I called them and kicked up a bit of a fuss and was put through to someone who advised me that he was in the cancellation team but later on in the conversation he told her that he was a secretary for one of the surgeons, he told me in no uncertain terms that I would not be getting any refund as the minimum deposit was in fact £500 and had in effect lost it, I was advised that the pack that I was given clearly stated that I only had 72 hours to cancel (even though I couldn’t read it) and after this time the minimum deposit would be retained, I asked what the minimum deposit was and was advised £500. The man’s tone was completely patronising, even to the extent that he asked me if I wanted his name and direct line to call him back when I found out from a legal source that I was not entitled to any refund.

Nothing In writing states that this is the minimum deposit and doing some research on the internet it seems that the deposits range from £150 up to the full price of the treatment £3700. I wrote to the customer service team and they apologised for the way my call was handled but advised they would not refund as I was outside of the 72 hours and she was still able to go ahead with the surgery (even though my GP has not signed the consent letter) or had i received or been offered the financing.
Optical Express however has offered £500 in gift vouchers which I am not accepting.
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admin: Pls send your number and I’ll call you info@opticalexpressruinedmylfe.co.uk

I know how you feel Ben.

Optical Express sent me a 'personalised' letter in December offering laser surgery for £1,995.

I responded and was invited for a consultation in Cheltenham on the 6th December when the consultant (sales person) confirmed I was eligible for laser surgery and the front desk took my money.

I arrived at their Bristol surgery 2 weeks later when the surgeon informed me this treatment was not suitable for me and was told I would need to go through the consultation process again where a different procedure would be offered at £4,400 - more than double the price!

Because I could not afford this new treatment I asked for a refund but have since been told by an unsympathetic OE employee I have to wait up to 28 working days for my money back. Like you I was told it takes this time due to the clinical nature of their profession - but they took my payment in seconds.

I booked 4 days off work, had travel expenses to pay, and used my credit card for full payment for which I am being charged a 17.9% interest rate, about £1 a day.

They have in fact offered me a service, taken my money, cancelled their offer, then decided to hang on to my money for interest. I wouldn't do business with this company again.

Good luck with your refund!
Dave

I was recently tempted by laser eye surgery and went in to Optical Express without properly reading review websites. I was given the very hard sell and pushed into paying a deposit of £400. After the whole experience I reflected on it and read negative reviews about Optical Express which put me off going with them.

I have since been trying to claim back my deposit taken on the 2nd December 2014. When I spoke to the cancellation team they said I would receive it all back as I cancelled well within the 7 day period. However as a passing comment and certainly with no real detailed explanation as to why, they said it could take up to 28 days (note not 28 working days).

I emailed Optical Express on 2nd January 2015 asking where my money was, as the cancellation team told me it should have only taken a month to return (even this seemed a long time to wait). They responded saying it would be 28 working days and I should expect to hear from the refund team by 19th January. I asked for a more detailed answer why it would take this long, as their explanation in this preliminary email was that it was due to the clinical nature of their business (very vague, nonsensical answer).

Unsurprisingly I did not receive a response back from the Customer care team to this email, or to a subsequent ‘chaser’ email which I sent on 9th January. I have also not heard anything from the refund team. I am now aware that getting your deposit back from Optical Express can be an incredibly arduous task after reading websites like this and Money Saver Expert as well as Complaints Board.

I do not have a huge amount of money particularly after the Christmas period and if it is not returned soon then I may face charges from my bank for going over my overdraft limit. I assume Optical Express won't be paying these if they occur!

I really appreciate any help you can provide. I really wish I had seen your website before I walked through the Optical Express door!

Many thanks, Ben
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admin: contact info@opticalexpressruinedmylife.co.uk