Optical express

luke0380 · 28 May 2014 at 8:23PM

Hi all

I wondered if people had any experience with this company.

I went there well over a month ago and had a review for laser eye surgery , for which I am suitable for. They offered me the top treatment of I-design I-Lasik for £3995 initially.

They have kept phoning me and for whatever reason I have missed their call.

I have now had chance to exchange a few emails with them and they have offered me the same treatment for £2995 with 30 months interest free. Obviously a 1k saving.

I would be interested to know how much more discount I am likely to get out of them, has anyone been in a similar situation with them and how much have the top treatment of I-design I-Lasik finally saved??

Thanks

Grizzle · 1 June 2014 at 5:29PM

Hi luke0380,

I used Optical Express in 2009 and like you, I was presented with a quote for £1800 per eye. I think I only managed to get a discount of around £600-700, so you have done really well. It is all over priced really, especially as it is a quick procedure and I am baffled why the fee fluctuates depending on your prescription. But I always say, what price do you put on having good eyesight?

I went with Optical Express and they were very professional. They also have smaller local branches where you can get eyedrops, etc for free should you run out. Aftercare is very good too as they schedule regular appointments. Though a lot of money, it is probably the best £2k+ I have ever spent. Over the years it has saved me the expense of eyetests, new glasses (lens & frames) and backup specs.

I have some Optical Express referral vouchers that you can use to get another £100 off, but you must hand voucher over at time of booking/consultation before June 30th 2014 and treatment must be before the end of July to qualify.

mintlo.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=67

All the best!

american_dreamer · 2 June 2014 at 1:07PM

I had my laser eye surgery two years ago with Optical Express @ £2,400-ish for mild prescription but high astigmatism. Definitely worth every penny!!!

I had LASIK with intralase and wavefront. Think there was a discount if booked by certain date, I don’t really remember, but I was happy with that - it was way less than I was quoted by a competitor...and I felt Optical Express was far more professional.

I’ve been completely glasses free since with no problems...go for it, you won’t regret it!

JGLONDON_2 · 20 July 2014 at 4:56PM

I have just had the most horrid experience with Optical Express.

I had a three hour consultation at the Westfield, London clinic three weeks ago. Their so called professional experts told me that I was suitable for the laser surgery and took my money. I turned up at the Harley Street clinic as scheduled on Fri. After more than an hour wait, the surgeon just told me that he couldn't perform the surgery because I was not suitable for the laser treatment. And I have to wait 28 working days to get my money back. This is the most disastrous experience I've ever had in this country. The service they provide is extremely poor for the reasons below:

1. Misleading and wrong information were given at the consultation from the Westfield Clinic

I had the three hour consultation with refractive technician, Andra Ciucos and Refractive Optometrist, Elizabeth Vourazeri at Westfield clinic. They took all the eye scans and did all the tests, and told me that I was suitable for Lasek idesign treatment. Elizabeth even told me that the reason for this choice of treatment because of my high short sighted version.

I seriously doubt if they are qualified to carry out this type of consultation! Plus during the whole consultation, they didn't show me any of Laser eye surgery Consent Video as mentioned in their terms and conditions.

2. Poor customer service at the Harley Street Clinic!
I turned at the clinic on Fri as scheduled. As soon as I got there, I was taken to a room for the same scans I had during my consultation. All the scans took about 10 minutes, then I was told to wait to speak to the surgeon. I waited for more than 1 hour, but nothing happened. I had to ask the reception how much longer I needed to wait, all she told me was to wait more. My name was finally called after another 15 minutes wait. When I got to the surgery room, the surgeon, Dr Patel told me that he couldn't perform the surgery, because I wasn't suitable. No explanation from him at all! Instead, he recommended me to do lenses implants. I asked him to explain this alternative treatment to me, all he said was that I had to wait more, so someone else would come to me with more details. I was rushed out of the surgeon room after two minutes of being there.

Their service is even worse then NHS! Such a long wait, no explanations from the surgeon, no staff were informing me what was going on while I was waiting. Nobody was explaining the lenses implants, instead another leaflet was given to me and told me to book another consultation.

3. Their refund process is ridiculously against the Consumer Rights!

I was charged £700 at the Westfield clinic during my consultation as the down payment, and a 10 months instalment was set up for me. No refund policy was explained to me at all. And I only agreed to pay because I was told that I was suitable for laser surgery.

After Dr Patel told me that I couldn't do this surgery, nobody came to explain to about the refund policy until I had to ask the receptionist again. Then a woman, (I didn't get her name, but guess she is the clinic manager) and Alex told me that I have to wait 28 working days to get my money back.

28 working days is a ridiculous amount of time to have a refund for something I've never had. I have already consulted my solicitor, she told me that I shouldn't have been charged at all in the first place for the treatment they falsely promised and failed to deliver!

My boyfriend is a IT contractor and is on a daily rate. He took a half day off because of this surgery, so he's lost a half day income, in addition to my three weeks of anticipation, preparation and taking an extra day from work, because of their incompetent consultation at a fault.

Optical Express - Big AVOID!!!