Optical Express Reviews

After receiving a shocking service from OE followed by a year of cover ups and lies until I became so utterly depressed I gave up fighting. I remained quite low and it brought up a lot of shame and embarrassment for me. I did manage to get my medical notes after much hassle and follow ups.
My story isn’t as bad as others I can still see distance but have no close up vision and also extremely dry eyes that I need drops for multiple times a day and suffer extreme headaches multiple times a month.
The embarrassment comes from not researching or understanding fully what I was getting myself into.
I had perfect near vision but needed glasses to drive or see distance especially at night.
I went for a consultation with a sales person and told them I hated wearing glasses and this was my reasoning for enquiring about surgery, I was actually sold a more expensive procedure because they said as I aged it would mean I didn’t need to have more surgery. I was hard sold a procedure and was told I would not need glasses.
Once the surgery was complete my vision close up was completely destroyed meaning I actually needed glasses more than before.
For the best part of a year they told me it would come back and made me do exercises using a pen etc.... and guaranteed my near vision would correct itself.
Eventually after multiple visits to Optical Express Cheltenham branch seeing various people a temp filling in told me the truth, that my near vision would not return.
OE then offered me another surgery to correct the damage and again then I was told this could not be undone, so yet more lies until eventually I was offered a lens replacement procedure, which I refused. Because I refused they refused to continue any aftercare and I walked away. This was a few years ago and its only 5 or 6 years later that I am only just able to talk about it. The medical notes I received say in black and white reason for procedure: "client hates and no longer wants to wear glasses."
I feel stupid, embarrassed and extremely depressed that I have to live the rest of my life suffering from headaches and dry eyes that are painful.
I have to remain lucky that the effects aren’t as bad as some and I can still see distances. But the constant headaches and multiple times a day I need to put eye drops in my eyes is really taking it’s toll on my mental well-being.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
____________________
admin: My first response when I realised my eyes were ruined after laser surgery was to feel stupid that I'd taken this risk - and guilt, unable to tell my partially sighted sibling what I'd done, who'd have given anything to simply need glasses!

But it's the industry who should be ashamed, not its victims!

If you're not already a member of MBEF closed Facebook group, do request to join as you'll find hundreds of people there with similar issues

If you are here because you are doing research before letting OE touch your eyes then I congratulate you! Sadly I did not do that much. I trusted this company! I never thought I'd be in the 'rare' category. However what OE say is rare side effects are actually extremely common and had I known this then I would NOT have let them touch my eyes!! I had lens replacement in February 2020 and I knew the following day that there was a problem. I had a 'few' follow ups - not many due to Covid - but each time I was seen they kept telling me that my eyes would settle down. At this point I had glare and starbursting all day long (not just at night) and it was MAJOR (not minor which they advise about) - it prevented me from driving at night time. Let me tell you THEY DO NOT CARE. They are only interested in MONEY. Once my 12 months were up they have offered to take these lenses out and replace them with mono lenses which would mean I would need to go back to wearing glasses. The whole point of me paying out £7k was to not wear glasses. This was being offered but guess what............ I would need to pay them to do it!! I STILL have all the issues now that I did then and driving at night is only done locally and with caution. In November last year I went through a very dark time with mental illness due to these ongoing issues. Honestly please please do not let them touch your eyes. They are not regulated to do so, you are not their patient and they do not care. You are a Customer (although they definitely do not stand by the customer is always right) - sadly to them the customer is always wrong. They get you to sign a piece of paper saying you acknowledge things can go wrong....... but they don't say how OFTEN this happens...... I thought it was rare.... it's not rare - it is very very commonplace. If you are here, like me, looking for support/help because they ruined your eyes then I'm sorry to hear that.. I wish you all the best.

uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.opticalexpress.co.uk

My Optical Express review.
I'll be brief. OE staff are very nice until money changes hands - and by very nice I don't mean honest and ethical, just friendly. They feed prospective candidates for surgery false information, minimise risks or just dismiss them, rush the consent process.
After payment, temperature noticeably drops. The surgery resembles a conveyor belt, everything feels rushed. Aftercare is neglectful and dismissive of any negative symptoms. In my case, terms were changed retrospectively and free aftercare denied. Left with many issues, I regret the day I heard of Optical Express.
On the positive side, they have comfy chairs in waiting rooms; they need to be - you end up waiting around well beyond your appointment time.
The worst bit is the lack of protection for patients and no real regulation of this industry.
My advice - stay well away. I wish I had.

I can sum OE in a single word: AVOID. I'm now left with atrocious vision after unnecessary surgery, and worst still it seems to be getting worse. This is a company that cannot implement its own procedures and which flaunts GMC guidelines with impunity. I had so-called RLE surgery (I thought I had cataracts; I didn't have cataracts, they lied about me needing surgery) in 2013 and as a graphic designer I'm starting to struggle with doing my job. OE are collectively clueless, they hide behind made-up statistics and stalling tactics to avoid litigation. The Lentis M-Plus lenses they implanted in me have all the contrast range of a Kodak Instamatic. Driving at night can be frankly terrifying. I can't distinguish faces even in bright sunlight and I live with my face eight inches from my computer monitor now.
OE are the cut-and-shunt specialists of eye surgery. They're butchers, their surgeons are only interested in volumes of operations so they hit their performance targets. It is a disgrace that they are allowed to continue to practice.
Because of the emasculation of regulators and the cozy indolence of industry bodies this company gets away with a level of customer care that frankly should be criminalised. This is to all intents and purposes an unregulated industry in the uK. REGULATE THIS INDUSTRY NOW!!!

Where do I begin! I had laser surgery in 2006 at Optical Express Reading store with Joanna McGraw. Since then I have had SIX more laser surgeries AND an implantable lens in my left eye! Throughout all of these procedures all expenses - for operations, eye drops, glasses etc were provided free of charge - as I was told I would have lifetime aftercare for as long as it took to correct OE's mess!!! To this day, 16th January 2017, I am still suffering problems with my eyesight and am now having to go to the NHS for an unbiased review and the truth as to what , if anything, can be done to help my eyesight!
I am now getting letters from OE telling me any further consultations, sight tests, glasses, drops etc will have to be paid for as per the terms of my contract I signed! THIS IS NOT THE CASE! How can it be after 10years of being told over and over again that they would do whatever they needed to do to correct my vision or to make it as best as possible!
Now I'm left high and dry by these horrid, unsympathetic people who do not care what mess they have made of my eyesight ,and the excruciating headaches I now suffer due to squinting all the time just to be able to see due to the bright lights and halos!

This is an opportunity to write your Optical Express review

Please treat this thread as you would any other review site - e.g. Trustpilot, a misnomer if ever I heard one!

Whether you went ahead with surgery, or simply attended a 'free' consultation, describe your experience at Optical Express, and be sure to name the clinic/store, optometrist, sales person, surgeon, and anyone else who may have been involved.

Because, when people google "Optical Express reviews" this page should eventually show up on the first page of Google!