Deposit Refunds

Well my husband has just contacted them after 28 working days and guess what? They have technical difficulties and it will take another two weeks to refund nearly £1400. They have said they will get the card details from the store and will confirm by phone and e-mail when the refund has been made........more lies no doubt.

After cancelling my proposed laser eye surgery the day after booking it (my prescription wasn't stable, therefore I wanted to hold off), I rang optical express explaining to them my decision. They said I was due to receive my deposit of £395 by Wed 19th August (28 working days). I have contacted OE twice since then, and have received the same excuse as to why my deposit hasn't been refunded, internal problem etc etc. They said I would receive a phonecall within days on both occasions, but unsurprisingly, I didn't. After today, it will be 14 working days since the 28 working day deadline, so 42 in total! The customer service from optical express is an absolute farce, I have received no contact from them, and have been lied to for weeks now. I'm spreading the word to many of my family and friends, some of whom are thinking of laser eye surgery, to stay well away from OE! They're a disgrace
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admin:For advice pls send phone number
info@opticalexpressruinedmylife.co.uk

Hello I finally got my deposit back after chasing. It took 26 days. I don't know why it takes this long but I finally have it. Thanks Sasha

Following Sasha's advice I have just raised a case with my credit card company who were very understanding and will commence the dispute procedure immediately. They agreed with Sasha that there is no justification for holding on to my deposit for 28 days. I checked the OE T&Cs and it actually says 28 days "after seeing a surgeon". We never even got that far before cancelling.

I am Just over a week into a deposit refund process from OE, which they have advised will take 28 days. I note from previous reports on your website that this is unlikely to happen and that it will probably require constant chasing. The cancellation was made within 48 hours of paying the £500 deposit and before the second level consultation to agree consent. I paid with a credit card and would appreciate any advice you can give on how I should play this out, or should I just be patient and hopeful. Thanks.
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admin: That's 28 working days!
If you send your phone number I can help info@opticalexpressruinedmylife.co.uk

Hello on 17/8/2015, I made a £400 deposit for laser eye surgery at the Optical Express Eastcheap store. But after 2 hours I changed my mind because I went home and looked at the internet and found so many bad reviews. I called them up for the refund but every single time they kept telling me they would call me back but no one did. And after reading so many complaints here I’m really worried that I wont be able to get the refund. Can you please help me out? Thanh you so much.
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admin: Pls send your phone number info@opticalexpressruinedmylife.co.uk :kiss:

Been waiting for more than 2 months at this point, same excuses every time from the customer service and purchasing departments. They keep promising to call me back and ask for card details but its just not happening.

I was really up for eye surgery, but could not obtain a signature from my GP due to health concerns, the entire decision to cancel the surgery was out of my hands and yet still I don't get my deposit back.

End of my tether with OE. Unbelievable.

So to update on my original post, I have had an awful experience with customer service, having been told last Sunday they would get back to me in 48 hours. I waited until Tuesday and was then told I would have to wait until Wednesday for someone to be in touch for my bank details. On Wednesday I phoned again at around 3pm to ask when someone was going to be in touch and was promised someone would phone by 5.30pm. Surprise surprise no one phoned! I phoned again at 5.40pm and was told the banking department had gone home.
I was then emailed and told I would receive a refund in 28 working days. I said this isn't good enough and even after phoning Lyndsey Shaw and other heads, was still told it had to be 28 working days. I do not understand where this comes from because if you go into any other shop the refund is immediate. They obviously just want to keep our money to accumulate interest.
If others who posted here such as John Mitchell, Fran Grace and Carolyn Hume can get their money back immediately after complaining then why can't I?
I may need to post on Which? about this and if all else fails I’ll have no choice but to go to their store every day and create a fuss until they give it back to me!!!
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admin: I will speak with the Which? team tomorrow as they need to update this info to 28 working days.


conversation.which.co.uk/consumer-rights...er-eye-surgery-terms

Pat, sadly unless Optical Express dramatically change their ways after the 28 days nobody will have rung you so by the time you get through to somebody on the telephone, like me, you will be given a series of lame excuses, then the promise of a refund in another 7-10 working days, that for me came and went, then another 6 working days. By this time on the advice of Trading Standards I sent a recorded delivery letter warning of an escalation in actions to recover the sum due. This finally led to the refund being made but needless to say no apologetic reply to the letter. Optical Express obviously monitor this forum so hopefully it will prompt them to refund you straight away but don’t hold your breath.

My husband has just been given the same load of boloney. 28 days to process a refund which basically means they sit on our money EARNING interest for 28 days while we PAY interest. Then on the 28th maybe they'll call to get your card details to do a refund which takes about a minute. I know this because I do credit card refunds every day.
I wish we had found this page before we set foot in the door of Optical Express!