Laser Eye Surgery Cost Cutting Tips

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  • tinandsue
    tinandsue Posts: 135 Forumite
    I' ve been looking around on Ebay for these short notice appointments at discounted rates that I've heard people talking about but am yet to find any. Do they still exist? Also, does anyone know if the company that accepts Tesco vouchers as part payment will allow you interest free credit on the remaining balance? I've been saving clubcard vouchers for 2 years now for hubby to get his eyes done but he's only suitable for wavefront which is expensive. I don't want the vouchers to expire but still don't think we can afford the balance.
  • Apparently it all depends how old you are when you have it done, from the reserach I have done I have learnt that your eyes will age normally. So when other people will need reading glasses when they are older you are likely to also. I have got quite a bit of info from lasik-eyes .co.uk it is a really useful review site.
  • blizeH wrote: »
    Optical Express are ****ing rubbish, they've cancelled on me twice now!

    I do work for the police though ^^ so the extra 10% off makes it kinda tempting :P

    What other places should I check please? That Laser Vision London or whatever looks really good, but the location is a nightmare for me, just getting the surgery done there would be a pain, but add the consultations and checkups and it's just completely out of the question :(


    You should try Optegra in Guildford, I have been there for a consultation and the place is amazing! I am just saving some cash to have it done there, after going for the consultation i don't think I would go anywhere else.
  • koppite79
    koppite79 Posts: 25 Forumite
    edited 21 October 2009 at 4:33PM
    BIG EDIT! It was Optimax not Optical Express!!!

    I had a terrible experience of Optimax in and would never go near them again (it wasn't the actual surgery, which I ended up not having, just the CS)

    Basically, I looked into getting the ebay offer but didn't go through with it as I couldn't afford it at the time.
    A little while later they called me and asked if I was still interested. I said I would be provided it was the same price as I had been quoted before. The girl I spoke to could not guarantee the exact same price, she said it would be based on the same deal but they would have to recheck my prescription (ie same prescription, same price - slight change in prescription, price change in keeping).
    I agreed to this, and so took time off work and went to Bristol to have it done.

    Had the consultation in the morning, and was immediately put off by the surly asian doctor who spoke in single words, the incredibly hassled girl who was manning the desk single handed and young lad who looked like he was on work experience and was just getting in the way.
    They got this young lad (who when told to bring a post op bag of information and goodies etc to give to a patient instead brought someone's lunch in a tesco bag! Reassuring...) to do the initial telemetry on my eyes with the machinery, which was frankly insane as he looked like he had trouble with velcro.
    Worst of all, during the consultation, the asian doctor said that I "had quite big pupils" and should "probably have" the hugely expensive intra lase option. I said I hadn't planned on this and had not been told I had large pupils in the previous consultation. To be honest the offhand way he said it (more like a salesman trying to increase a customers lucrative options on a car than a health proffessional) made me doubt the validity of what he was saying, and when I asked him about it he just seemed really bored and said don't drive at night, like it was that simple.
    Another thing was he didn't check my prescription against the previous details he should have had, but against the glasses I was wearing in which the prescription was well out of date, and just took my word that my prescription hadn't changed since my last consultation with them instead of actually checking (again, I got the impression he didn't really give a fig - like it was my dollar, so whatever).

    I really wasn't feeling that great about the whole thing but having come this far just tried to tell myself that the surgery was what counts...

    However, I got to the desk (which is in the middle of the waiting area) and the girl told me the surgery would be £1700! Given that I was expecting my previous quote of £800, I told her I should have a discount on my account and asked her to check again. She did and said that was after the discount. I asked if my prescription had altered massively and she said no not at all. All this in full view and earshot of everyone else in the room - quite embarrassing and massively unprofessional imho.
    I went away, called HO but still no joy, they tried to insinuate I had been mistaken (I wasn't)

    I went home, wrote a letter of complaint and was eventually told the girl I had booked it with was new and shouldn't have told me I could have th original price I had booked through ebay, and as she hadn't told me it was 100% concrete and would depend on my presription (even though it hadn't changed!) they refused to honour it.

    They did say that if I wanted to go back they would give me the slight discount I had been quoted... thanks for that!

    My advice - go somewhere more professional (Disneyland? That guy off minority report? Stevie Wonder?)
  • Pssst
    Pssst Posts: 4,803
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    Eye surgery and rush rush/cost cutting just do not go hand in hand for me for some reason...:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
  • blizeH
    blizeH Posts: 1,361
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    Finally got it booked in, huge apologies to mutley for not using your referral details - I work for the police so had to chose between that or an employer's discount which I opted for.

    Quick question - how long does it generally take to heal? There's a gig just four days after I have my operation, but I don't want to get a ticket if it's likely I won't be able to go!
  • jacks993
    jacks993 Posts: 100 Forumite
    I had my eyes done by Optical Express a couple of years ago.

    They were really sore for about 3 hours after the surgery but comfortable by that evening. When i went back for my 24hr check up I could already read the bottom line of the chart with one eye and they told me I could drive but probably better to wait another 24 hours. The only problem I had was that lights really seemed to spike for about the first week - it wasn't painful just a bit scary driving in the dark but could be quite cool at a gig!

    The only thing they told me was to avoid extreme sports etc so you might not want to go in the mosh pit as an elbow in the eye might not do you too much good!!

    Good luck with your eyes and enjoy the gig!
  • BernardM
    BernardM Posts: 398
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    Pssst wrote: »
    Eye surgery and rush rush/cost cutting just do not go hand in hand for me for some reason...:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

    http://lifeafterlasik.com/aboutus1.htm

    http://lifeafterlasik.com/newindex.htm


    http://www.hullcontactlensclinic.co.uk/clinic.html
  • BernardM
    BernardM Posts: 398
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    RP2X wrote: »
    Is it true that even after a few years of having laser eye surgery your eyes can start to get bad again ?

    Has anyone any information of this ? thx


    Here is an opinion on this
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Lk_xD_0wPg
  • Old_Git
    Old_Git Posts: 4,743
    First Post First Anniversary Mortgage-free Glee! Cashback Cashier
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    I was told by a receptionist in the opticians that if you have a strong prescription you will probably still need glasses ,has anyone any experience of this .
    My prescription is +5
    "Do not regret growing older, it's a privilege denied to many"
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