TOPIC:

Received a text to call for my refund the day after this post. They were extremely polite and told me I’d get a full refund within 3 days. 1 day later received full £500 deposit refund. Thank you for all help Sasha, all the best! x

I had a free consultation for laser eye surgery at Derby OE on the 30th Sepetmebr but was told I was unsuitable and offered lens replacement - at almost 3 times the cost I was prepared for! Badgering hard sell convinced me to apply for credit which I did not want to do as I had told them I recently stopped working because of my anxiery and depression. I told them that I had other health issues (fibromyglia) so they gave me a form to give to my GP to sign.
I went home to wait for my credit to be accepted and when it was OE phoned me to take my deposit of £500 to book my surgery date for the 17th Nov.
The next working day I spoke to my GP who refused to sign the letter they gave me and she explained the risks to me if I was going to go ahead with the operation.
I decided after speaking to my doctor and extensive research to cancel my operation before my due phone consultation with the surgeon (whose name I was not given) booked for 30th October.
I have been trying to contact them since the day after I paid my deposit to cancel. I have spoke to two people and also to someone in a live chat and they all said the same thing, that the cancellations department will contact me, but I’ve heard nothing from them at all.
I’m feeling very anxious that I won’t get my £500 deposit back and I am really upset!
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admin: Pls send your phone number and I will help you get your money back.
They had no right to even consider offering you surgery, let alone take a deposit after being advised that you suffer with depression. However, as the optom and all store staff must meet sales targets to keep their jobs (also paid bonuses) they leave their moral compass at home.
This is yet another complaint for the GOC, as I will explain when we speak
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An update on my refund: I had a call from the Meadowhall branch manager yesterday who said they will refund my £500 deposit after I explained that I felt pressured into paying it on the day of eye tests in order to get my slot "reserved". I explained it was a long visit over 2 hours and left me quite exhausted. He said it would take 28 days to return but I replied I really can't wait that long as I'm moving house in 2 weeks time and that would go a long way towards the costs. He promised to try to get it fast tracked but I have decided to go through the Money Claims Online route to get it back as a 28 day wait is ridiculous, especially given that it left my account within 24 hours of paying! Besides, there's no good reason for a 28 day wait - perhaps I should add interest!
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admin: He omitted to mention that it's 28 WORKING Days
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Hi.

My eyes were due to be lasered on the 23rd of September. I saw the surgeon on the day who advised me that I was very high risk (something I was not told at my initial consultation when I booked my surgery, which is why I believe I was mislead into a contract). As a result of this, I obviously did not go ahead due to the professional advice. However, I was within Optical Express’ guidelines so they technically could have operated on me if I‘d have ignored the risks highlighted to me.

When I was called the day after regarding my refund, I was told that £100 would be deducted from the total amount!

It has been 26 days now and I have just spoken to a lady on their phone lines who said that £500 deposit will not be refunded. They said that the surgeon never wrote that I was high risk in the notes, so they can not give me my money back.

I feel scammed. Any advice would be appreciated.
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admin: They have no legal right to keep your deposit - any of it!
Send email with your phone number and I will call you
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Hi, new to the group with thanks to Sasha for making me see the hard sell and dubious OE tactics.
Paid £500 deposit by debit card on 1 October at Meadowhall branch after a wearying 2 and a half hours of tests. I didn't have the cash in the bank and offered to pay half that day and half the next so the girl I spoke with had to go and ask her manager, which took a good 10 minutes. She said I had to pay it to "secure" my appt for 20 November in Nottingham.
Now realised that much as I hate my glasses, it's better than the risk involved in implant surgery.
Messaged their "live chat" yesterday for a refund and was told my query would be passed to the cancellation team and now can see I'll have a battle on my hands, looking at other customers' experiences.
Will update with progress or lack of, as will chase on Monday with a call and if no joy within 24 hours, go straight to online claim though MCOL.
Thanks again Sasha, my many rescue animals would have been impossible to care for had my eyes been damaged in any way. The odds they quote are outright lies, glad I didn't go as far as surgery!

I went to Birmingham Optical Express in November 2019 for lens replacement. I paid £500 deposit and overall cost would be £6490. At my consultation i wanted to book in February, but the diary didn't go that far, so I was penciled in for January to be changed at a later date. I phoned to change the date and was told the surgery in Birmingham was on the Thursday, which was no good to me as i wanted most of the week off to recover, as I needed to drive on the Monday. The sales person talked me round to have the surgeon 's discussion [Alex George] and to ask him if that's enough time to recover. I didn't ask the surgeon as I didn't want to take the risk, I wanted a week to recover. They did say if i couldn't do Birmingham I could go to Bristol or Nottingham, but I didn't want to travel 40-60 miles and travel back after going through the procedure. If i was told at my inital consultation there was only Thursday appointments I wouldnt have paid a deposit. i wasn't even told it was non refundable. Are they allowed to keep it? Phoned Optical Express today, all the person would say was its in the terms and conditions and I cancelled!
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admin: They have no legal right to keep your deposit - any of it!
Send email with your phone number and I will call you
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Update: OE still using Covid as an excuse to bat away complaints yet no probem communicating with new customers ...

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This customer ony discovered after being pressured to pay his deposit that Alex George aka Dr Duck has numerous legal claims in process against him... www.opticalexpressruinedmylife.co.uk/ind...al-alex-george#18894

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Hi there,

I was considering getting laser eye surgery so I got my free consultation at the Westfield Optical Express branch on the 28th August 2020. After numerous tests they recommended me for the iDesign Lasik laser eye surgery at a price of £3,000. I was put under pressure to book a date and pay the £400 deposit immediately, without time to think about it, but I was not informed that my deposit would be only be partially refunded if I cancelled, nor did I sign anything that consented to this. Additionally, they mentioned that I had dry eyes and recommended that I took eye drops prior to the surgery. My surgery was supposed to take place on 22nd October 2020.

However, after my later research discovered many possible complications with laser eye surgery, that had not been explained to me (especially for those who already have dry eyes), I decided not to go through with surgery. I also got a second opinion from another optometrist after reading posts on this website and found that my vision is already nearly 20-20!

I checked the T&Cs on the Optical Express website which state that I won't be entitled to a full refund. Surely this is illegal as they have not provided a service except for my free consultation?

Is there any way I can ensure that I get a full refund?

Thanks,

Liam
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admin: You are entitled to a full refund, and should complain to the GOC about the sales pressure/process. Send email with your phone number for details
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For the first time in 20 years, I put my contact lenses in this morning and shed a little tear. Yesterday was a sad day for me and today will be worse.

I had a rather unpleasant experience with Optical Express this past week. Having read this forum, read lots of papers and spoken to many people, I decided to go ahead with Lasik iDesign at £4400, paying a deposit of £500 for an appointment today at 4pm. I've taken supplements recommended in the papers I've read, I've been using eye drops since I booked the appointment and I've worn my glasses for 10 days, to give myself the best possible chance of a good recovery.

Last Thursday (24/9), I received a phone call from the Cardiff branch to say I had to pay in full pre-surgery. I explained that the pre-op phone appointment on the 21/9 I said I wanted to meet my surgeon first and it was agreed that that was appropriate for a number of reasons. Optical Express said my prescription hadn't changed in the past 3 years, it has, they also said that the surgeon on the day would have to decide if surgery went ahead as they couldn't confirm due to me wearing contact lenses prior to my initial appointment and I needed to be contact lense free for 7 days. The young lady from Cardiff was very rude, told me it was in the Ts&Cs that I had to pay 14 days in advance. I explained it wasn't and I hadn't signed any Ts&Cs. She said she would cancel my appointment if I didn't pay, I told her to go right ahead, she didn't.

I continued to receive 5 phone calls a day from Optical Express.

Yesterday, the manager contacted me by email to say I needed to pay in full or the appointment would be cancelled, he suggested this was in their conditions, but he could not point me to the condition in question. He then said he would rearrange my appointment if I didn't pay in full. I was quite clear that this would not encourage me to pay in full. On 3 occasions he asked if I was cancelling my appointment and I said I wasn't. Obviously we got no where and, without cancelling my appointment, I asked for a refund of my £500 deposit if he was indeed not going to go ahead with my appointment, which he said he would send to the 'relevant department' I have asked him to call me today at 4pm, when I will be free, to organise that refund over the phone. Should he not call, I will ask Mastercard to complete a chargeback for me due to the issues I am reading about on this forum. I am absolutely devastated.

Whilst I am not one to become over-excited in advance of an event, I have dreamt about opening my eyes in the morning and being able to see. My concern is obvious, if Optical Express can treat me like this before surgery with heavy handed sales tactics (I work in Sales, and I found these tactics unethical) and horrific customer service, how will they treat me after if I need help? I will now take my business to the Moorfield, once Cardiff is out of lock down.

I wish you all the best of luck with getting your deposits return. And I hope the case in the High Courts will help you all to get some closure. I am sad today, but not as sad as I would have been if I needed their help post surgery.
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admin: 'I have dreamt about opening my eyes in the morning and being able to see.'

With respect Stef, you CAN see - far better than many thousands of people who have had their eyes ruined by refractive surgery, and not only at OE!

My Beautiful Eyes Foundation represents many clients who've been irreparably damaged by surgeons at Moorfields Private, and elsewhere.

No matter where you have it, refractive eye surgery is NOT SAFE!

And your comment about taking supplements suggests you may already suffer with dry eyes: an absolute contraindicator for laser (though Julian Stevens at Moorfields is usually happy to ignore this, as some of his unhappy patients have previously posted on this forum).

Please do some more research before risking irreversible damage to your eyes, then unable to wear CLs due to possible corneal neuropathy (nerve damage), with specs your only option

Just got the letter saying the remaining £150 had been put back onto my husbands credit card.
As I'm in Scotland, MCOL doesn't apply, so Sasha advised that as OE is not legally entitled to keep any of the deposit, I should claim the money back via my credit card provider, which in my case is RBS.

Their phone number for retail disputes is: 0800 904 7015. After you phone them, they will email you a letter detailing what info they need from you to dispute the transaction.
You can email them back with the attachments.

The whole process was very straightforward and took about a fortnight.

Big thanks to Sasha for all her help!

Although my deposit refund is delayed a week 'only' (not as long as most victims), I feel panic after reading the topics!
I booked the eye laser surgery and paid the deposit by credit card under the pressure after doing the eye test at the end of June. I have cancelled the appointment the day after by email, and received a call back said the deposit would be paid back in 28 working days. However I receive nothing so far. I emailed the customer care and called to them in this Wed, they told me 'related department' will contact me in 48h, but no one called me. So I tried emailing my consultant of the eye test, but the email is bounced back. I have no idea what's going on, and I need to go back to my country in two months. Could you please help me?
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