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Deposit Refunds

  • Conor M

Replied by Conor M on topic Deposit Refunds

Posted 25 Mar 2024 14:40 #1
I recently booked a procedure with Optical Express following a consultation at the Shrewsbury branch in which I was confidently informed by the optometrist that I was eligible for LASIK. 

After travelling for 2 hours to attend the surgery, I was informed at the last possible moment by the surgeon that a deep scar spotted on my cornea meant that LASIK was not possible for fear of permanent damage to my eye. 

After becoming anxious and asking to leave, I was subsequently talked into rebooking LASEK by the reception staff at the Shrewsbury branch. 

I had my [second] pre-surgery clinician chat a few days ago, however the doctor I spoke to only compounded my concerns by expressing profound shock that the scar was not discovered at my initial consultation. 

I then emailed the Shrewsbury branch and requested to cancel my procedure and receive a refund. I was told that £500 would be retained because I have cancelled too late. I replied explaining that, due to the fact that this situation has only been caused by the negligence of, and false information provided by, the staff at Optical Express, I would not accept that the deposit should be retained at this point. I have already been messed around by Optical Express and don't see why I should have to relinquish £500 as a result of the company's incompetence. This is not to mention the fact that I specifically enquired as to the refund policy and was informed that I could change my mind right up until the procedure for a full refund (and I'm awfully glad I brought a witness along to this, as the two consultants at the Shrewsbury branch, Alisha and Ali, have now chosen to deny this fact). 

Had the first surgeon, Doctor Rodney, not at the very last moment rechecked my eyes, I could now be sitting here with permanent visual damage or total blindness. It is also abhorrent that the sales consultants at the clinic lied to my face regarding the refund policy to push me into buying. 

Any help or advice you could provide in getting my money back would be welcomed with open arms!
____________________
admin: The sales staff receive commission and financial incentives to sign people up for surgery 👀
Please send your phone number: sasha@opticalexpressruinedmylife.co.uk
Last Edit:Yesterday 10:12 by Conor M
  • Derek B.
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Replied by Derek B. on topic Deposit Refunds

Posted 07 Feb 2024 19:16 #2
Hi Sasha.  Thanks for your help and guidance.   Optical Express is providing me with a full €500 refund.
by Derek B.
  • Derek B.
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Replied by Derek B. on topic Deposit Refunds (Surgeon Mikhail Hernandez)

Posted 02 Feb 2024 12:57 #3
Hi Sasha,

I'm looking for some guidance from you if possible.
I booked in for lens replacement surgery in Ireland on the 13th of November, 2023.  For my job, I needed to work long hours in front of a PC and was unsure about the surgery. The Optical Express staff told me to discuss it with the surgeon.  He would go through the risks with me.
I had my consultation with the surgeon Mikhail Hernandez and spent some time looking at the stories on this website.
I'm 47 years old, and I was getting the surgery as I was sick of wearing glasses.  After my meeting with the surgeon, I decided the risks were too high for a procedure which was mainly cosmetic for me.
I contacted Optical Express to inform them I wanted to cancel my surgery. I followed up with them to get my €500 deposit, and they told me it would take 20 working days for the refund to be completed.  In January, I contacted Optical Express again as the refund had still not been received (it should have been refunded on the 20th Dec) and was told they were not going to refund me and the €500 was being taken as an admin fee.

When booking, the staff told me I could cancel the surgery and get a refund.  I was informed that the surgeon would not want to have a patient who was unhappy as it affects their satisfaction scoring.
Do you have any advice on how I should go forward here?
______________________________
admin: Mikhail Hernandez is new on my radar, but I'm sure it won't be long before I hear from his patients, not least because he should know that at 47 you are too young for lens exchange surgery - see video!
But as also too old for laser, they have to try and sell you something if they want to keep their jobs :kiss:
For more advice please email: sasha@opticalexpressruinedmylife.co.uk




 
Last Edit:Yesterday 10:07 by Derek B.
  • M.Lee
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Replied by M.Lee on topic Deposit Refunds

Posted 04 Jan 2024 22:26 #4
I cannot be grateful enough Sasha, I received the full £500 refund back just a couple of days after you helped me out. Thank you so so much!!
Last Edit:18 Feb 2024 16:31 by M.Lee
  • M.Lee
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Replied by M.Lee on topic Deposit Refunds

Posted 11 Dec 2023 16:15 #5
Hi Sasha, 
After reading a lot through the internet and the facebook group I'm really concerned about the laser procedure. I was booked to have surgery on 5th Jan ‘24 and I had the appointment with the surgeon Luca Antico on the 5th December and that gave me a weird feeling as it was meant to be a Teams video call to "meet" the surgeon but in the end it was just a quick telephone call. Luca didn't sound very interested and was ticking the boxes about what to ask. I also now read a lot of bad reviews about Luca Antico and Optical Express.

I’ve now cancelled my surgery but they haven’t sent me email to say this or confirmation that they are refunding the £500 deposit.

Not sure how to proceed... please can you help me?
__________
admin:
 As are most of the surgeons at Optical Express, Dr Luca Antico is being sued by a number of his damaged patients :kiss:
Please send your phone number: sasha@opticalexpressruinedmylife.co.uk
Last Edit:11 Dec 2023 16:31 by M.Lee
  • K Barker

Replied by K Barker on topic Refusing to refund £500 deposit

Posted 02 Nov 2023 20:39 #6
Hi I’m looking for some advice on the below email I received from optical express. They won’t give back the £500 deposit on a surgery that was technically never booked! Any advice would be appreciated.


________________________
admin: They do try, but of course they're not legally entitled to keep your money!
It shows desperation, as Optical Express is apparently in dire financial straits, with the owner allegedly in meltdown :kiss:
Please send your phone number: sasha@opticalexpressruinedmylife.co.uk
Last Edit:02 Nov 2023 23:55 by K Barker
  • Ali S-S

Replied by Ali S-S on topic Refused 100% deposit refund +£30 consultation fee

Posted 18 Oct 2023 12:59 #7
I would like to thank Sasha for her support. OE have now responded and will refund the total amount that was paid for the consultation and deposit.

Sasha, your support and efforts are invaluable and without it, we would certainly be worse off. I would also like to thank you for your guidance as I am quite lucky to not have gone ahead with the surgery.

Best wishes,

Ali
advance.
________________________
admin: I’m glad you discovered the risks before it was too late!
If my work saves just one person from the damaging effects of refractive surgery, it makes it all worthwhile
:kiss:
Last Edit:18 Oct 2023 15:00 by Ali S-S
  • Ali S-S

Replied by Ali S-S on topic Refused 100% deposit refund +£30 consultation fee

Posted 11 Oct 2023 14:27 #8
I had been considering laser eye surgery for a while and finally made myself go for a consultation with Optical Express in Harley Street. When I booked it I was charged a £30 fee for my consultation and told it would be refunded to me once I attended.*



Everything went well with my appointment on 23rd September, and I was recommended LASIK iDesign which is apparently the most suitable, and I was booked in for surgery on 24th November. I paid a deposit of £491, but further research made me have some doubts after seeing accounts from so many people who have experienced complications with their surgery.

Previously, I have been told by an optician that I have dry eyes (for life by the way) and should take drops, which do help to some extent, and now discovered that laser surgery will exacerbate this condition and cause discomfort more than it already does. This was not told to me by Optical Express.

I should mention that I did not speak to a surgeon and was not told who mine would be.

I have now decided to cancel my surgery after seeing so many cases of people having complications and issues, especially those who have dry eyes after the same surgery. Eyes are so precious and taking the risk with them is not something I wanted to go ahead with.

After contacting OE to cancel and get a refund, I was told that since it is out of the ‘3 days’ time limit I would only get 50% of my deposit back. So not only am I yet to see my £30 consultation fee refunded, but I am also out of pocket on my deposit.

I hope you are able to assist with getting my refund and deposit back as this is a lot of money, and absolutely ridiculous on Optical Express’s part in providing a small window of 3 days to claim your money back on a lifetime decision!

Thanks in advance.
________________________
admin: As I’ve commented before, OE’s practice of refusing to refund the full deposit outside 3 days of payment is based on their own version of consumer rights, and is not legal!
And no-one should ever be approved for (any) surgery by anyone but a GMC registered surgeon medically qualified to perform such operations, with the patient fully informed of the accompanying risks :kiss:
Please send your phone number: sasha@opticalexpressruinedmylife.co.uk


*
This is the first time I’ve heard of OE charging a refundable consultation fee, as Optimax have been doing for a few years. So I just called OE, said I’m considering surgery, and asked is there a consultation fee? After battling to get an answer, with the sales person diving straight in, pushing me to provide my details, she finally and somewhat aggressively answered my question, that the consultation is definitely free, no charge. She was still trying to pitch when I hung up on her. (I recorded the call.)

So why was Ali charged £30?
Last Edit:11 Oct 2023 14:59 by Ali S-S
  • Wajeeha
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Replied by Wajeeha on topic Thank you so much got the deposit Refund £500

Posted 01 Oct 2023 10:02 #9
Just received back £500 deposit. All credit goes to sasha, thanks for ur help n support!
Last Edit:01 Oct 2023 18:19 by Wajeeha
  • CB
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Replied by CB on topic Deposit Refunds

Posted 24 Sep 2023 14:39 #10
Hi Sasha,

I went to Optical Express for a consultation on the 21st of July, where I was pressured right there to put down a deposit and book my surgery.
This was a first red flag so I declined, but did book on the 25th after more pressuring and paid a £500 deposit over the phone.
I was booked for surgery on the 15th August with a Surgeon Consultation to meet Dr Sajjad Mughal just before on the 9th August.

On the 9th I was given a very poor impression of the surgeon and company overall when the appointment was booked for 3 o'clock, and after waiting for 10 minutes, was told via chat that actually this was a 1h window between 3 and 4.

At that point I cancelled the surgery altogether, and was told I'd be contacted by a retention team, and I should get my refund within 28 days.

I chased the refund 3 times in total, and the third time was told because the surgery was cancelled more than 3 days after it was booked, I was only going to receive £250.

I hope you're able to help as this a lot of money I only finished university recently and don't earn a lot.

CB
________________________
admin: As I’ve commented before, OE’s practice of refusing to refund the full deposit outside 3 days of payment is based on their own version of consumer rights, and it is not legal!
And no-one should ever be approved for (any) surgery by anyone but a surgeon medically qualified to perform such operations, and the patient fully informed of the accompanying risks.
Contrary to the way refractive surgery is sold, this is NOT a cosmetic procedure, it is an invasive medical operation on your most precious organs!
Please send your phone number :kiss:

sasha@opticalexpressruinedmylife.co.uk
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Last Edit:03 Nov 2023 08:02 by CB
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