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Optical Express Customer Service Contacts

1800 818 543 (Ireland)
800 220 4000 (Germany)
800 220 400 (Switzerland)
+44 800 023 2020 (United Kingdom)
5 Deerdykes Road, Westfield Industrial Estate, Cumbernauld
Glasgow, Scotland, Strathclyde
United Kingdom - G689HF
Germany
Arabellastraße 19a, 81925 München
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Optical Express Complaints & Reviews

Optical Express — Refund

Hi
I visited optical express Edinburgh I was very excited knowing I might not need to wear glasses again after surgery
I was told the surgery would be £7190
I paid this amount in full (how stupid was I)
When I returned home I started reading reviews I got a bit scared & cldnt sleep for worry so I decided to cancel as Georgina at Edinburgh optical express said I wld get my money back in full if I cancelled
I phoned Georgina to say I have had no phone call about the return of my money She replied by saying the money has nothing to do with them but she wld put this down on computer to the finance company
I have an appointment with my bank this week to see if they can help Dont go to optical express I've learnt the hard way this is most of my life savings I'm not letting this go

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    Optical Express — Replacement lenses

    I had the initial consultation carried out on 21/01/2017 regarding laser eye surgery. I explained the reason...

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    Optical Express — Unethical, possibly unlawful behaviour

    I recently received a phone call from Optical Express asking me if I would like to make an appointment for an...

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    Optical Express — No return of full payment £3990.00

    Paid in full for eye surgery, on 3rd november 2016. After consultation with surgeon was told I was never a...

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    Optical Express — Rude inefficient staff providing no fitting for glasses

    Optical Express BlueWater

    Horible branch with horrible staff. I have been called to be told to bring my son (15 years old) as his RayBan glasses are ready to collect. On arrival we stood for ever and although the staff were aware of us did not come and ask "can I help". Eventually Olivia saw us. I told her my son's name and spelled it to her few times, she said she couldn't find us on the system. Then she sarcastically said are you in the right place? I assured her that I had a call the day before and that's why I took the afternoon off and brought my son to pick his glasses. Then I said I got a receipt. At that moment she said " oh why did you not say which name is first and which one is family name?" I was taken by her rude attitude and told her that I'd told her a few times and spelt the name for her. She excused herself and brought a cheap optical express case and said: here is your son's glasses! I mentioned that since he had bought RayBan glasses then surely he should receive a branded case. She replied "you can go and I will send you them by post" as she was about to leave us I said "are you not going to check if the glasses fit well? After all that's why you asked me to bring my son to try them?" She looked disgusted and said "No they look ok!" I asked her if she was going to see if he could really see with them for at distance. She said "here can you read this card?" As he was about to start reading she said "see he can see!"
    I am an eye doctor and have worked with the NHS for 24 years and and I have never seen any one testing distance vision with a reading card!

    I complained to the branch and although they can see in the system that she never sent a case they dismissed me.

    I asked for an apology from this racist, rude and offensive member of staff who obviously is not suitable for the job and all I got was thank you email for bringing this to our attention!

    I paid a lot of money but my son & my self were humiliated and belittled. I was crying and took my son to another different optician to properly fit my sons glasses as they were slipping. I simply explained how we were treated at Optical Express.

    Although I went in person without my son (to save him further humiliation ) they still would not deal with my complaint.

    Horrible branch & staff.

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      Optical Express - RLE Surgery — Refund process and Appalling behaviour

      I had an appointment with OE for laser eye surgery on the 17th or the 18th of December 2015. I felt...

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      Optical Express — Behaviour and attitude from a member of staff

      Hi my name is Mr Derek MacLeod and I would like to make a complaint about a specific member of staff named Stuart. Stuart gave me my eye test at Cameron toll on Saturday the 9th of January 2016 at approximately 9:40am. Firstly this man was unapproachable and had very bad manners from the beginning, I feel he took a instant disliking to me. I was made to feel very uncomfortable during the eye examination. During the eye examination he asked me very bluntly and cold which lens was better as if he where in a bad mood. I had mentioned to him I had bought contact lenses on line and his attitude got worse. I do have slight difficulty inserting the lenses and feel more comfortable doing so alone in the comfort of my own home. This seemed to anger Stuart that I had not bought them from optical express and he said very abruptly that if I have problem inserting them then I shouldn't be wearing them. The was this man made me feel was very uneasy and awkward. No one should be made to feel this way and he certainly should not be working with the public with an attitude like that. If this had been an elderly he had treated in this way, I can assure you they would have been brought to tears and most likely been afraid. Before I left the store I had asked Stuart for my contact lenses prescription and he said in a snappy way...no, I then repeated the question and he replied again in the same way no. I have had severe headaches, dizziness and this is due to tension, straining and not being able to see. I currently have contact lenses in which are the wrong strength as my eyes have became worse over the past year since my last eye test .I think this is very unprofessional and unacceptable behaviour and mannerism towards customers and I would like my prescription so I know what strength off contact lens to buy as I will not be going back to optical express after that experience. All I asked for was the information regarding my own eyes and was told no. I feel like I have been treated unfairly and would like and apology from this man as I believe he owes me one after treating me in a unacceptable way.

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        Optical Express — Refund

        I decided to cancel my lens replacement surgery within 7 days of paying a £500 deposit. on 24th October (I had seen a great deal of negative reviews and a class action.) I was assured I would receive a refund within 28 days but after numerous emails and phone calls I have not received any refund or even been asked for my account details - now January 1st.From what I have read, this is standard behaviour from Optical Express. Next step is the small claims court or my solicitor. Which? has very helpful advice as they have obviously encountered this problem with Optical Express many times before. I would like to warn any prospective customer, this company will be super-efficient at taking your money but their after care service and customer relations department is abysmal.

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          Optical Express — Deposit Refunds

          I would advise anyone thinking of handing over a deposit to Optical Express for anything as this company ha...

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          Optical Express — problems following lens replacement

          I underwent Lens replacement in April?May 2013. Following the surgery I had several follow up appointment...

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          Optical Express — Laser eye surgery

          I originally entered into a competition on facebook to win laser eye surgery from optical express. upon...

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          Optical Express — Discount Offers

          Back in may 2014 i had lens replacement carried out at the Bristol clinic. A very good friend had her surgery some three years ago, and was offered a recommend a friend voucher giving two hundred pounds discount.I submitted the voucher on the day of my surgery and was told it would take a few weeks. My friend finally had her one hundred pounds several days ago, after repeated phone calls to the company, and when she rang Optical Express on September 2nd, was told that her friend, meaning me, had recieved the discount. This is not the case.I rang the company on September 2nd and was told that offer applied to June only. They have told lie after lie, to be told by two different employees of that company two different opinions is downright dishonest. Whilst i am very happy with the surgery, which did cost £3995.00, i would not advise any one thinking of treatment to use this particular company. With that amount of money being spent, they are behaving in an appalling manner, indeed i have several friends who are interested in similar surgery, what do i tell them now?

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            The complaint has been investigated and
            resolved to the customer's satisfaction
            Resolved             Optical Express — Lazer treatment

            Copy of letter sent 12th December 2013, the reply was negative. Following Mr David O'Brart'...

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            Leighton Buzzard

            Optical Express - RLE Surgery — Refusal to refund Deposit

            Considering laser eye surgery, on Saturday 30th November 2013, I attended a free consultation at the Optical...

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            Glasgow

            Optical Express — LASIK LASEK

            Unscrupulous, Uncaring, Money Grabbing...more suited to selling Double Glazing than Eye Surgery

            I rue the day I ever walked into the Chester branch of Optical Express.
            I naively thought that the staff would undoubtedly be acting with integrity and with my best interest at heart and I had absolutely no reason not to trust them at this point..WRONG!!
            I fell for the 'hard sell' the guarantees and promises and the time limited finance offer...big mistake
            I had a pre-existing eye condition which I was told would not be a problem...but I know now that this was totally untrue...but hindsight is a wonderful thing!
            It's now 5 years post surgery and I still I suffer constant discomfort and visual problems my life has been turned upside down and Opticl Express could not care any less.
            Aftercare was abysmal, bordering on non existent. Was diagnosed, by a senior OE surgeon, as having a painful and frightening eye condition requiring treatment. I was prescribed medication but made to wait 12 months for it despite several reminders.
            On a separate occasion the person who's replies on this forum show an apparent desire to assist, made me wait sevferal months for medication, again despite reminders.
            This suggests that the concerned OE response appearing on this site is for show only, because from my experiences and that of many many others, once OE have your money, perform your surgery then they will wash their hands of you if you have persistent problems. Lifetime aftercare...a load of bull!!!

            A word of warning...although OE are duty bound to give patients all the necessary and essential information to enable the patient to make an informed decision about their surgery...don't rely on this and do your own research. In my experience, I am paying the price for booking surgery when I did not receive that essential information and I truly believe that this essential information was intentionally withheld.
            I have only just found out that I was given a highly toxic and unlicensed drug called Mitomycin C. This was instilled into my eyes without my knowledge or consent. I am living with the uncertainty of the long term consequences of this. I should have been given the choice but was not.

            There are many many many more patients who have suffered long term problems following eye surgery with Optical Express and if you Google Optical Express reviews you will come across a forum where you can find out a lot more(essential input into your decision making process) beyond what you find on the OE website.

            Many more people are coming forward, DAILY with problems and the issues surrounding laser eye surgery with companies like optical express is about to gain massive publicity very soon...please pay attention to what is being reported.

            Follow up : I have recently been told by an independent surgeon that the Optical Express surgeon put incorrect parameters into the laser before my second (LASEK) surgery ( first surgery LASIK was a failure by the same surgeon). No one at Optical Express has owned up to this in nearly 5 years ; they have strung me along letting me believe that all my visual problems are down to dry eyes. Why would they want to hide this? I have since requested data re this surgeon's success/failure rates but my request has been declined for the reason that it is 'third party personal' data! Make your own mind up...but would you want to entrust your eyesight to a company who takes this approach. a reputable company would gladly share this information within its patients.

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              Optical Express — no refund

              I went for a laser eye consultation with Optical Express and was advised that intra-orbital lens replacement would be more suitable and was offered a further examination which would require £500 deposit returnable if, for any reason, I didn't go ahead with the surgery.

              I paid the deposit by credit card, went for the "consent appointment" on January 8 2013, and decided that I would go for the replacement but not immediately. I rang head office, as instructed, to ask for a refund of the deposit. After numerous calls, the first time being told it would take 28 days (28 days?!) or later, being repeatedly told that I would get a refund immediately or that I would get a call from the accounts department, I have never been contacted by them and I still have had no refund to date, this being 21 February 2013.

              Any local shop can deliver a credit card refund on the spot, but not, apparently, Optical Express.

              There seem to be a lot of complaints about this. Is this deliberate policy on their part? Cheap loans?

              Not really inclined to back there for the surgery, even when (and I do mean when) I get my refund.

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                • Ju
                  Julie Poore Apr 08, 2015

                  Have also had difficulty obtaining return of £400 deposit. Have made several calls (they never call me), but every time am promised a call back from either the Returns Department, the Cancellation Department, Finance Department, Customer Services, either they have no idea who is ultimately responsible for refunds or they are deliberately withholding my money! I have been waiting 41 working days and in the terms of the contract it states a refund will be given within 28 working days. I would advise anyone not to use this company - the only time they were attentive and kept calling me (sometimes three times daily) was when they wanted me to book a consultation. Cannot make up mind whether they are extremely incompetent or extremely dishonest!

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                • Mr
                  Mr ODonnell Mar 21, 2013
                  This comment was posted by
                  a verified customer
                  Verified customer

                  Shall make sure I claim off credit card after one month, where does 28 working days come from, its deposit, and taken off in 30 seconds, so does take company secretary to take money off, so does need him to pay it back, in my viuew

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                • Hk
                  HKFroon Mar 16, 2013
                  This comment was posted by
                  a verified customer
                  Verified customer

                  I got my refund a couple of days after contacting my credit card company to dispute the payment ... a coincidence? I don't think so.

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                • Mr
                  Mr ODonnell Mar 15, 2013
                  This comment was posted by
                  a verified customer
                  Verified customer

                  I went to see about laser treatment, got the usual, ;lets take deposit, while trial glasses, don't worry, you will get your refund of £300 if you decide not to go ahead, that wasOctoberr 2012, Princes Street, Edinburgh, firm was so keen to get funds, they phoned me, while at family on mobile, to move matters along, Decided not to go ahead, since would then need to use reading glasses after the op, Asked shop for refund, told its done atCumbernauldd, months went by, got the - takes up to 28 days routine, funnytakingg off is done in instance, paying back takes 28 working days . Months roll by, its at the finance dept, calls requesting funds, only company secretary can make the authorization, Into late Feb 2013, long past this 28 working days tosh! Getting totally hacked off, email from someone promises i shall get my refund, but its been escalated up, Forgot to mention 3 trips to original shop in the intervening time, and each occasion, Saturdayy, finance dept shut or some such like, but emails to head of region / area . Eventually google searched company secretary home address and write to him, then strangely, Cumbernauldd calls and asks for credit card details to make refund, Finally obtaining funds back, in mid March 2013, seems you have to track down the Head Folk. and let them know, yourl come around to their house. ., its high time trading standards and other Care Commission or whomever, step into this repeat bad practice and got OPTICAL EXPRESS to get house in order. and treat people like valued potential customers, or is this a forgotten art ! Maybe they are going to hit the financial rocks and go under, another jessops, HMV etc

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                Optical Express — Refund of deposit not received

                I contacted Optical Express and made an appointment to find out if I was suitable for laser eye treatment. At...

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                Optical Express — Poor Service

                I purchased glasses to the value of 600 Euro from Optical Express just before immigrating from Ireland in January 2011. A few monthes after arriving home and experiencing multiple migraine I discovered that one of the coatings put on thee glasses had become bubbled. I switched glasses to my spare set and no more migraines. I then waited till my partner went back over to Ireland at the beginning of the month of November 2011 and asked her to try and rectify thee situation. Her experience their was terrible to say the least they. Firstly they advised theat they would charge her for the replacement lenses after which she complained. The manager of thee store did not even come out to talk to her and they kept her waiting for an hour before they finally agreed to fix the problem. The glasses where collected on thee 10the of December and returned back only to discover that nothing had been done to the glasses. You can still see thee problem that they where sent in for and the otheir lens now has a scratch visible on it. Eitheir their lab is completely incompetent or they did nothing to the glasses at all.
                Stay away from Optical Express theey are not capable of producing what they say they will and if you have a problem after forget any kind of service what so ever.

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                  Optical Express — They are treating their customers in appalling manner

                  I have been a customer of Optical Express since 2002, buying both my glasses and contact lenses there. A year...

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                  Resolved                   Optical Express — Awful customer service

                  I brought a frame from optical express and i had to return to them to get them re adjusted on two occassions they overheated them and snapped them. they refused a replacement until i had to faught a lot but they made me wait for them for two weeks. i was given no monies or offered anything for the inconvience apart from £40 after a lot of complainning. i am trying to fight for a refund but having no luck i believe i am entitled to this due to the awful service and inconvenience.

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                    • Al
                      aLISON oWEN Mar 04, 2015

                      Do not use optical express. It's a sales gimmick when they say you'll see again. I'm in a much worse situation now I've had it.
                      I had laser eye surgery where they cut a flap and laser. It left me long sighted after being short sighted and needing to wear glasses for everything apart from driving. I need glasses whilst cooking, eating, shopping, using my computer, looking at the phone, watching tv, seeing my face in the mirror, seeing people clearly who I'm talking to, choosing clothes from my wardrobe. On top of this my eyes have become very dry and sunshine causes pain. Wearing sunglasses isn't really an option as I need glasses to see. They refuse to refund me because they have offered surgery to correct my vision. The surgery they are offering is guaranteed to worsen my dry eye and will not necessarily work. It also means having a procedure that lasers straight onto the eye and a 2 week recovery. I'm stupid but not that stupid. I don't want these people to damage me further and cause me more pain.
                      therefore after paying for laser eye surgery I need to wear glasses all the time (now I wear varifocals). Lenses cost me £380.
                      They refuse to refund me. The aftercare is appauling.
                      DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY

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                    • Do
                      doblett May 30, 2010
                      This comment was posted by
                      a verified customer
                      Verified customer

                      I don't understand this complaint...ok you had to fight to get a replacement that's not good BUT if you've had the frames replaced why do you want money back? It was your choice to take the frames back in for re-adjustment which puts the adjustment at your own risk. Basically you've got a pair of glasses and £40 back, be grateful because legally you don't have a genuine complaint and it sounds like you want something for nothing.

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