Deposit Refunds

I went for a laser eye surgery consultation at Optical Express in Meadowhall on 1st March but was told I needed lens exchange surgery. After various tests the sales person told me she was so happy for me as I was lucky to be suitable for surgery and it would be life changing.

The optometrist said there was a freckle showing on my retina but he didn't know what it was and he'd have to refer me to see the surgeon before she operated.
I was then asked to pay £500 deposit to book surgery on 29th March at Optical Express in Nottingham with Dr Boytha.

Then the surgery date was moved to 4th April because the surgeon had a family emergency and on 1st April I saw Dr Sameena Sheriff instead, but the drops that an optometrist put in my eyes hadn’t dilated enough so she said she needed to add more. She couldn’t find any in the cupboard and went to ask the staff but there was no-one there. She came back into the room and my husband was shocked when she picked up an already opened sachet and put that in my eyes.

She said she wasn’t a retinal specialist and didn’t know what the freckle was so needed to contact someone else for an opinion before she operated and cancelled my surgery. She showed me multifocal lens and said these might not work depending on the scan result and recommended I have monofocal lens which are just for distance. My husband told her that was ridiculous as it defeated the purpose of me having surgery!

She said someone would call me on Monday 3rd April to discuss the result of the scan but no-one did.

I feel I was mislead by the sales people that this surgery would correct my eyes because it's a total gamble if it will actually improve my eyes at all and whether this treatment is even safe or suitable for me.

I sent an email asking for a refund after the surgeon cancelled and have called countless times but they’re not replying. Please can you help ?
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admin: Please send your phone number
sasha@opticalexpressruinedmylife.co.uk

Hello Sasha,

I just wanted to let you know, that I have been sent a mail from OE and also had them call me to confirm my refund has been issued despite them initially advising me that I wasn’t going to get any of of my £500 deposit back!

Thank you so much for your help and guidance, I very much appreciate it!

Cheers
Kieran

Thank you for helping me retrieve all my £500 deposit!
I’m so glad I came across your page and I’m grateful for you helping me, you’re doing amazing work.

Hi Sasha,
I was hoping you might be able to help me retrieve my £500 deposit back from optical express.
I have forwarded the email to you that I sent the Truro branch.
My initial consultation was on the Friday 17th March. I thought all was well at first but as I started to research more and more over that weekend things were coming to light.

I am so glad I came across this website before it was too late and I have now cancelled my surgery.

The icing on cake for me was my pre surgery phone call from Hannah Monteith on the 24th March. When asked how long I can expect my results to last I was told she could not guarantee any time frame or even if any correction would be possible and I may still need glasses after surgery??!
This definitely was not the information I was given on my initial appointment at the Truro branch. I was expected to hand over nearly £5000 for absolutely zero guarantee of anything.... Umm thanks but no thanks.
I started noticing many variations of information that was being fed to me and alarm bells starting ringing. Changes of information along with satisitics was not filling me with confidence one bit.
I would greatly appreciate any help in getting my full £500 deposit back.

Keep up the good work you seem to be helping so many people all in similar situations so a big thank you.
__________________________
admin:
Please send your phone number
sasha@opticalexpressruinedmylife.co.uk

Hello,

I would very much appreciate your help and assistance to obtain my £500 deposit back. I am in a similar position to many others, in so much as I attended a consultation in Cheltenham where I was told 'congratulations, you are eligible for multifocal LENS replacement surgery' and right off the bat said 'we will discount the treatment by £400'.

I went away, thought on it and after I was contacted by a customer care representative I decided to move forward and was booked into Bristol on 17th April at 9am for the surgery with Mr Manu Mathew & In order to secure this date I needed to pay £500.

Prior to the surgery, I was told I would be contacted by a 'clinician' (which I was on Monday 20th March) who asked me a few questions and he said that he was happy based on what he heard and saw to move forward with the surgery. I don't know who he was but I don't think he was a surgeon.

I was on the fence anyway, especially as I’m only 44, but then I came across this site & forum and that solidified my decision. As such I called to cancel and they said, 'you are not entitled to your deposit back, it is in the T's & C's'.

I would very much appreciate your help and assistance to obtain my £500 deposit back.

Thanks
Kieran
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admin:
Manu Mathew has a significantly high number of legal claims from his damaged patients, and you are way too young for RLE (lens exchange). A complaint needs to be made to the GOC, and possibly the GMC.
Please send your phone number
sasha@opticalexpressruinedmylife.co.uk

Hi Sasha,

I have a surgery booked for Saturday 1st April for LASIK at Optical Express Shaftesbury Avenue clinic with a surgeon whose name I was told but not given any details about him in my email confirmation. I realised I don't want it anymore after finding so many horror stories from Optical Express patients on this website and online. I wasn't told any of the risks when I paid the £500 deposit and I want it back. What should I do and can you help please?


___________________________
admin:
Please send your phone number
sasha@opticalexpressruinedmylife.co.uk

Thank you so much Sasha! You were nothing but reassuring and knowledgeable.
I was so worried that I'd lost my money but from the beginning you said you'll get me back all my money and that's exactly what you did!
Thank you thank you thank you 😊🥳🥳

Optical Express called me on Friday and tried to say how it's unfortunate that I've had a bad experience with them! So I gave them a piece of my mind saying that they were dishonest from the beginning and shoud have been clear about the side effects that are devastating and negatively life-changing!
He said that they do try to warn people, and I said that in my case they did not but I didn't want to argue further.

As for Paul Morrison, I forgot to say in my last post that after I cancelled he said there's this website called Optical Express Ruined My Life run by a woman called Sasha and that I shouldn't believe a word of what it says and that its not about them it's about their competitor Optimax. I didn't think to ask him why don't they do something about it because it's defamation if not true!

I was beyond excited to get Lasik surgery after I was told by many of the Optical Express staff that I would get 20/20 vision and that it’s a very safe procedure, that this surgery will be done by the best in Europe, second best in the world!

But upon reading all the horror stories I was scared and I talked to Paul who is a clinician at the Bristol premises. He said that I had nothing to worry about and the worst that could happen is to get an infection which will be treated with special drops. He eased my mind, but I then went to read more scary stories so I called up and talked to someone else who again said the same, that I couldn’t possible have worse eye sight at night etc etc. and again only mentioned the infection.

Two days before my consent phone call I started feeling very anxious and my gut feeling was not have the surgery. Especially since I read so many bad stories, even though the Optical Express staff have assured me that none of it is true. So I felt like here was a lot of deception and lack of information on their part which made me not trust them when it comes to my eyes.

Also when the women called me to discuss the contract I had no idea what her name was or what she does. She also told me that it’s not possible to lose my good night vision or close up reading vision. All of this I know is not true.

I am very concerned about what they told me and sad at how deceptive their customer service is. When I asked to cancel they told me they were not sure I would get any of my deposit back and would get Paul to call me to reassure me about going ahead with the surgery. I don't want to talk to him as I definitely won’t be trusting them with my eyes! Also I found that there are loads of lawsuits against my surgeon Luca Antico which really scared me as well.

I paid a £1000 deposit and cannot lose this money.

Hope you can help me !

After writing the above post I received this email from Optical Express!*


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admin: They have no right to keep any of your £1,000 deposit.
Please send your phone number and I will help you
sasha@opticalexpressruinedmylife.co.uk

*Page 5, para 6:


Not legal!

Hi I went to have my consultation, and was advised I was a suitable candidate. On my day of surgery the surgeon advised that I shouldn’t go ahead with it as my prescription was only slight (-1.25) I was so thankful that he was honest! Saved me £3500 however I’m still waiting for my refund . I was told by the manager in optical express that I would receive ‘full’ refund … but I still wait … any advice thanks 😃
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admin: You are very lucky, as it's very rare for OE surgeons to be so honest - though his/her days at OE are now numbered, unless they change their ways to suit the company's modus operandi!
Please send your phone number
sasha@opticalexpressruinedmylife.co.uk

Hi I went to Optical Express on Jan 28th to enquire about laser surgery. I didn’t see a surgeon but the sales people told me I could have Lasek and took a £500 deposit off me. But after reading the forums and reviews online I see that going with Optical Express is a mistake.
I went to the Leicester premises but was told I would have to go to Nottingham for the surgery. They told me the surgeon is Dr Sajjad Mughal even though I don't have a surgery date booked in yet.
Would you be able to help me in getting a refund?
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admin: Please send your phone number
sasha@opticalexpressruinedmylife.co.uk