OPTIMAX | ULTRALASE

www.opticianonline.net/

Offered to patients (discount?) after they've had surgery I assume

3.5 years on and allowing Optimax to ruin my eyes with Lasik is still the biggest regret of my life. It's a daily struggle that so many of us have had to learn to live with. My vision is blurriest in the morning and improves slightly throughout the day, never good though, I get daily eye strain associated with this. I miss so much the comfortable consistently clear vision that I had with glasses/contacts.

I learned too late that eye surgery should only be done if absolutely necessary. Unnecessary elective eye surgery just makes healthy eyes sick.

Optimax what you and others like you are doing to people is inhumane.

Nahida Khan has now left Optimax and is an adjudicator with the Financial Ombudsman. This is a farce. After giving out rubbish to Optimax patients who knows what kind of justice she is going to give at the FO.
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admin: Much as I’d love to I am not willing to allow the rest of this post. Anonymity is fine, but please be honest about your interests as far as possible.

I never realised how happy I was until I had Lasik and my life changed forever. Only now, over 3 years since my surgery, do I feel able to look back at old photos of myself before surgery.
Seeing myself in glasses, the innocence and true happiness on my face which I never appreciated at the time, and unknowing of what I was about to go through. It's taken me a major breakdown and 3 years to get myself to a place in my mind where I have to accept what has happened.
My eyesight is ruined and my life has changed forever because of Optimax.

5 years ago at this exact moment I was on my way to ruin the rest of my life

In a million years I would never have imagined that my journey would lead to where I am now!



Last year, after Russell Ambrose forced me into heavyweight litigation, I decided it was time I did the same thing I advise my clients to do...

So I complained to the GOC about Ms Swati Malkan, the optometrist who sold me life changing surgery, and to the GMC about surgeon Wilbert Hoe (undeserving of being addressed as ‘Dr’) who irreparably ruined my beautiful healthy eyes exactly 5 years ago today.

My complaint to the GOC was closed but I am of course appealing this decision as they completely ignored a number of salient points I had specifically asked them to consider.

It’s interesting that Swati Malkan claimed she was unable to recall the details of our meeting - while I remember almost every word - yet she provided a 5 page letter in response to my complaint!

The GMC accepted my complaint which is currently being investigated and I have been advised that Wilbert Hoe has chosen not to provide a response.

However, I will be amazed if the decision goes against Wilbert Hoe, because every single complaint made to the GMC that I am aware of, against numerous OE surgeons all with multiple legal claims, has been closed in favour of the surgeon.

In one report I read, the GMC expert wrote, “The overall standard of care falls below the standard to be expected of a reasonably competent Consultant Ophthalmologist…” (but) “…in my opinion the standard of care offered by Dr X to Patient X did not fall seriously below that to be expected of a reasonably competent Consultant Ophthalmologist”!

NB: The GMC report highlighted ‘seriously’ in bold.

I have no doubt that the leading culprits in this industry will soon be gone from our high streets, but people like me will sadly never be able to forget the anniversary of the day our eyes were ruined forever!

It will be interesting to hear what the Judge makes of Russell's defence at the next Court hearing on 7 June, as our 2012 agreement (signed by Russell) states, "This Agreement shall be binding and inure for the benefit of Russell Keith Ambrose..."

It's also his signature on the cheques I had to prise from his hand - literally on one occasion!

Posted 29 October ’15, “I also have no doubt that the next time I submit invoices he will again find a reason to refuse to pay them, and then I won’t mess around threatening to do so for two years, I’ll commence litigation immediately."
www.facebook.com/OERML
Re Russell Ambrose t/a Optimax...

As I predicted, after he backed down and settled my first claim without going to trial, when I submitted new invoices in November (totalling £3,598) Russell ignored them and I issued further Court proceedings.



Russell obviously enjoys playing expensive games with me as his legal costs are more than he owes me

I've not been on here for a while now, after MANY emails between myself and Russell Ambrose, in December I finally got a full refund for my Lasik surgery. Sadly my eyes are still ruined forever. My eyes are never good, this takes away the joy and ease of life, no one said life wasn't going to be easy but this just isn't fair. Russell may have refunded my money but he will never keep me quiet, slowly I'm spreading the word of my horrendous experience. Optimax need to be stopped and I will be part of their down fall.

In December, immediately after issuing my second claim against Russell Ambrose for his repeated breach of agreement, I realised I hadn't added ’t/a Optimax Unltd’ after his name as 1st Defendant, or included ‘Optimax Clinics Ltd’ as 2nd Defendant.

Duh - Russell was of course not going to let me get away with that mistake!

Sure enough, three days ago his solicitor (Qaiser Khanzada) emailed a copy of his client’s defence:



My reply was short and sweet - 'Lol'!

After taking advice from one of the many lawyers who represent my many clients I contacted the Courts and paid £50 to amend my mistake.

This will no doubt add another month to the litigation process and give Russell more time to think up his next plan to thwart me...

To read a short email lawyers generally invoice their client for a minimum of 6 minutes (1 Unit), adding a second Unit to write a brief response. Lengthier and more complex emails obviously require more Units.

I checked Russell’s itemised costs budget and it appears that Qaiser’s hourly rate is £300 (incl VAT), therefore 1 Unit equals £30, his fee to read a one line email from me. (I will email Qaiser later to check this)

In total we exchanged close to 1,000 emails over a period of twenty months, and if Qaiser was slow in replying to me then I'd send a second message, sometimes a third, and then perhaps a phone call - presumably billed in the same way as emails.

As I’d always predicted he would, Russell agreed to settle my first claim just one week before the trial date on 11/12 November 2015. I told Qaiser that his firm should be sending me a case of champagne as a ‘thank you’ for the amount of money they’d earned out of me!

However, as posted here on 9 December, after agreeing to settle with me Russell then refused to pay my £10,423.48 costs, offering a third of that amount in full and final settlement.

I called Qaiser, and - with repeated use of the word Carrie MacEwen considers obscene, gave him a message to convey to his client!

I have therefore today issued a ’Notice of commencement of assessment of bill of costs’. Russell has 21 days to respond and if he refuses to pay then I will apply to the Court for a provisional assessment before a Judge.

I would expect no Judge to look favourably on Russell’s refusal given that his own costs budget was approx £66,000 (incl VAT) - that I would have had to pay if I’d lost the case (as if).

Because we settled before going to trial I estimate his actual costs for the case were in excess of £50,000.

And if Russell wants to continue playing expensive games with me perhaps it should be two cases of champagne Qaiser?

What upsets me is that Russell is eager to throw away tens of thousands of pounds simply to make my life difficult when the money could be so much better spent helping damaged Optimax/Ultralase patients refused aftercare.

All I want for Christmas is my eyes back as they were before Lasik .... not just a refund.
Sadly it's never going to be that way.

Optimax have Ruined My Life.