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Optical Express Reviews

4.7 Rating 4,200 Reviews

95 %

of reviewers recommend Optical Express

Company Reviews

4.7

Based on 4,200 reviews


Shipping & Delivery
Delivery Methods	Postal Service
On-time Delivery	Greater than 50%
Customer Service
Communication Channels	Telephone, Live Chat, Email
Queries Resolved In	Under An Hour

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Optical Express 5 star review on 6th October 2021

Optical Express 5 star review on 6th October 2021

Optical Express 1 star review on 24th September 2021

Optical Express 1 star review on 27th July 2021

Optical Express 1 star review on 27th July 2021

Anonymous

Anonymous // 01/01/2019

Filter: Helpful None 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Stars Helpful

“Bad laser eye surgery experience, even when I went for the most expensive, customised option (iDesign) and the most experienced surgeon in London. The post-op care has been shirking responsibility as well so I feel very regretful of my entire experience and would highly recommend against going with them and going with a more personalised, boutique experience if possible and not a big chain.”

Posted 6 years ago

“I really do wish I had gone elsewhere. I have waited over 20 years to be in a position to be able to afford laser eye surgery. I had my procedure in February of this year with Optical Express at Medowhall, Sheffield 1: The initial consultation is more selling exercise making the appointment last 40 minutes when it could easily be done in 15 (my first wait of many) 2; The day of surgery (I travelled to Sheffield) from the minute I sat in the HOT waiting area ,I felt like everyone was being trerated like cattle 3: I had my pre-tests done, taking a total of 15 minutes & then proceeded to sit there for over 3 hours, nobody lets you know what is going on & it was only because I started talking to another (very unhappy) customer who complained to a member of staff & was told they were "behind" so nice of them not to keep anyone informed. I could have spent the day going round Meadowhall instead of staring at daytime tv & having nothing to think about but the pending procedure & returned when they were ready for me but no, they like you all in the one area – waiting(again) in their hot, stuffy cattle pen! I eventually saw the surgeon who explained things very well & I had my surgery (painless & quick) & left OVER 4 hours after I had arrived when the total of around 1 hour would have been more than ample & that includes the surgery itself. They all give exactly the same readied excuse (as you will read further on). 4: I returned the following day for a check up, once again sat in a very hot room ...waiting...I complained after 40 minutes delay & around 5 minutes later was then seen by an optometrist (in an even HOTTER room which took around 5 minutes. I couldn’t’ wait to get out as I was starting to feel sick & dizzy at this point. 5: Upon exiting the room the saleswoman asked me if I would mind filling in a feedback from, I declined saying I was not feeling well & that my eyes were still sore & blurry from surgery but she would not take no for an answer then sat me down on a chair saying she would fill in the answers for me (I thought they didn’t push??) 6: I told the truth to the questions about my experience but, she got very arrogant, offended & slightly rude. And of course, she sang from the same Hymn sheet as everyone else I had complained to It doesn’t matter what they tell you, you DO NOT need to be there that ridiculous amount of time 7: And the cherry on the cake was I had to go to Boots myself (which was only a few shops away from them so they could have done this themselves) & purchase 2 bottles of expensive eye drops as I was running low & the sales assistant said they had none & when I complained about that, her solution was for me to take a 2 mile round trip to the nearest optical express to my home & see if they had any - Seriously I kid you not!! When I have spent a massive amount on laser eye surgery I DO NOT expect have to pay for my own aftercare that was supposed to be included - what a joke. All in all, If I had my time again I would certainly not choose Optical Express. Not the cheapest & their treatment of customers leaves a lot to be desired. I cannot tell you how upset I am at them ruining the experience for me. If I hear anything back from Optical Express regarding this review, I will certainly update this review as they seem to steer people from these pages to their customer services email address …”

Posted 7 years ago

“In the Spring, Optical Express St Vincent Street (Glasgow) refused to give me laser eye surgery as my prescription had changed by a whole diopter since the initial consultation in Braehead. But they would not return my £1000 (yes, one thousand pound) deposit. At the start of Ocotober, I went for another consultation at St Vincent Styreet, and this time they confirmed that I was not a suitable candidate for eye surgery, as I have had it before and my corneas are too unstable. I was happy with this, and they promised to refund my deposit. Although I do wonder why they ever pretended I WOULD be suitable, as I mentioned my previous surgery several times It is now over 8 weeks later, and they still will not refund my deposit - one excuse after another - you have to wait 30 working days - there's a backlog in the refund department - we can't return your money without doing certain checks because we are a medical service provider. What checks? We don't know and can't find out - our systems are down They may be technically very competent, but their business practices make them look like the worst kind of cowboys.”

Posted 8 years ago

“Following a consultation in Hull to be assessed for lens replacement, I booked in to the Manchester clinic to have my surgery completed. On the day of surgery, I was told that the two clinics were conflicting in the advice they had given and were not prepared to go ahead with my surgery. One had recommended Vari Focal, the other disagreed and stated I'd be better with Mono focal. Both clinicians were Optical Express employees I opted to cancel as i'd lost faith in their expertise and was told I'd receive a refund. Optical Express refused to refund my travel and Hotel expenses but did agree to refund the surgery fee. My surgery was booked for 17th September, Optical Express finally processed the refund on 7th November and to date (16th December) i'm still waiting for the refund to reach my account. I have raised a dispute with HSBC but this could take 120 days to resolve. Optical Express favour making money over eye care and I seriously doubt a health care professional with this ethos. Don't be pressured by their sales team and if in doubt, get a second opinion.”

Posted 4 years ago

“Stay away ! It sounds good all in all and they have this huge advertising campaign! They are not able to refund you in time if you decide not to go with them for surgery! For a company with this advertising they have a hard time refunding 400 pounds?”

Posted 4 years ago

“Ruined my near vision with lens surgery, and left me with painful dry eyes, glare and starbursts effects at night which means I can't drive at night on the motorway or busy roads. Have to wear glasses to see anything close up now. Worst thing I ever did.”

Posted 5 years ago

“I visited Optical Express Bournemouth Nov2014 and was told laser surgery as no good for me but lens replacement was appropriate.The risks,I.e double vision and halo effect were explained but I wars promised 20/20 ,paid £5500 and went ahead with surgery in Southampton early 2015.Myleft surgery was successful but slightly blurred but my right eye was like looking through thick polythene.After much worry and several 120mile round trips my vision cleared but was quite blurred,I was told but can’t prove it that it might take 2 years to”settle down”. I waited patiently but it didn’t improve so two years in Feb 2017 I contacted Opical Express to complain. Guess what ? They told me I was out of my 12 month care period.I complained bitterly and they agreed to give me a free eye test and again guess what they found I had a significant prescription in both eyes but worse in the right.I complained to the customer care department and received a long and technical reply which in part said that the laser trimming service that they offer in the lens replacement service was not advisable for me.I believe this was a financial decision and not one they would have taken if I was a new customer but I gave up. I have recently had two eye tests and examinations with a local optician. Her words this morning were that if she had my prescription she would be wearing glasses all day and she has referred me to a local consultant. In my case I believe Optical Express were casual and uninterested and only interested in money. Their aftercare was awful. BEWARE”

Posted 5 years ago

“Had my eyes lasered in 2011 cost over £4000 . but before I committed I was concerned about after care should I need them re done in the future , I was told in the Newcastle store that all after care was free for life and should they need re done when I was 75 they were free. So peace of mind !!!!!! Not so as I needed some eye drops and was told to pay as I had no proof of what I was told they said after a certain date it changed don't be ripped off , my eyes are still 20\20 luckily enough”

Posted 8 years ago

“Entered a competition for free eye surgery. They now call me every day trying to get me to pay for it. Spoke to a lady the other day and explained I am not paying for it. She then put the phone down. GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE..NOT I would never let them near my eyes and they are obviously not very good or they wouldn't have to keep calling people to get customers! Good companies let the customers contact them.”

Posted 9 years ago

“Unless you have been wearing glasses for the best part of your life, forget it, sure you will come across people who say it's the best thing they have done, but without going into my story, I'll keep it short and say it isn't for everyone, two years on, my vision is almost back to wear it was, I only used glasses for reading and such, and I'm now back there, one thing OE will say is that you will be able to read your txt , that's only because there is so much back light on your phone, turn it down and you will understand what I'm saying, my case is in the hand's of the solicitors, .”

Posted 4 months ago

“i went through the tests and was advised that i was suitable for lens replacement. on the day of the operation, my surgeon advised me that he didnt believe it was in my best interests which i respected. I had paid £7,200 in advance. My problem has been communication in relation to getting my money returned. I was told on the day to give it two weeks and if I had not heard anything to call. I called after two weeks and was told to wait another two weeks. When I pressed for clarity that it would be a full refund I was told to just wait. I accept processing refunds takes time, but a month is stretching it and not knowing the amount is also unreasonable. Currently I am none the wiser on how this will progress.”

Posted 1 year ago

“13 days and still no delivery”

Posted 2 years ago

“I want to warn all people considering vision correction surgery at optical express to avoid it. The bad stories you hear are all true and accurate. I unfortunately had surgery at the Leeds clinic, was treated like a number on the day. It's like a queuing system to get the surgery, one in and one out system. The surgeon Mr Muhammad Kazmi spoke to me 20 minutes before the surgery and told me new risks which I did not have time to think through or reconsider properly. This was made worse by my anxiety which the staff told me they knew about but did nothing. Their customer service and complaints department is shocking. After I voiced my concerns I was able to speak to the surgeon in person again to demand why I did not have fully informed consent and the lack of duty of care given to me. Surgeon accepted his wrong-doing but refused to give a formal apology. Surgery Manager Mike Coyne who took my vision measurements (not qualified optician) was equally rude and unprofessional, interrupting my personal appointment with the surgeon at multiple times. He then threatened me to leave and then kicked me and husband out of the clinic. Didn't matter to them at that point as transaction was completed. Customer services response was as expected and that was they can't do anything. Please do not go to these people as they do not care about your eyes just your money and how quickly you can pay. They were so desparate to get my money before the treatment. The whole team work on a commission basis including the optician you see in your initial consultation. It is all sales. The surgeons themselves and staff wear glasses yet they advocate laser eye surgery which is bizarre. The company is very unethical and provides insufficient risk information to their patients. No wonder they all look so nervous and have so much to hide. Stick with your glasses as they never will disclose all the risks to you as they don't have to. You could be the unlucky ones and suffer for the rest of your life. Even though my vision is fine at the moment I am seeking legal advice due to the unethical way they have practiced and lack of informed consent. Do NOT gamble with your eyes you will never get them back. The laser burns your cornea permanently and this never grows back the same. The majority of the reviews here are by people with only 1 review on their account. I am highly suspicious of this as these don't appear to be genuine and the overexaggeration of positive reviews makes me sceptical.”

Posted 3 years ago

“Stay well away from this company, they will take your money, take your sight and not care less, they deliver an absolutely disgusting poor service, they lie, they are unrealistic, inconsistent, push hard with sales. I've lost my sight my job and I'm 5k out of pocket, they have refused my refund when 20/20 vision wasn't achieved. They have a team that remove any negative reviews on them... Google hard on these guys. The NHS reviews on optical express are interesting. I have a list as long as my arm of things i suffer with now and how badly i was treated after surgery. my whole experience with them is so in depth I don't have enough words to explain it all. DONT TAKE THE GAMBLE I DID AND I LOST... BIGGEST REGRET OF MY LIFE EVER! they have also blocked me on social media so I can't leave an honest opinion, nice way to treat someone who's life you've just ruined!”

Posted 4 years ago

“Just found out who has been bombarding me with calls at unsociable times, 3 times on Sunday and in the evenings as well and it’s Optical Express!! Why call at such crazy times, nobody has tried to call me midweek during the day at a sensible time nor have I received any emails or letters, so why is the first option to call me on a Sunday morning while I’m still in bed. I was satisfied with the service I received on my previous visit and would have made an appointment again, but not now. I’m absolutely fuming!!!”

Posted 4 years ago

“TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!! I came for an eye test Saturday morning I was told I needed glasses, I then ordered two pairs of glasses £549 and was told they’ll call me when they arrive at the store within 14 days. No call received within those 14 days so I called them to chase to find out the glasses were in and they were surprised no one had called to inform me. Upon going in to collect the glasses it becomes apparent that only one pair has arrived the second pair was in fact not even their yet. The glasses were solely for computer use only. When returning to work and wearing the glasses for no more than 5 minutes they were hurting my eyes. I then went to David Clulow for second opinion who advised my eyes were perfect and I definitely did not need glasses. I then returned to Optical Express to complain and I was assured a member of the management team would call me the following day which didn’t happen. I then returned to the shop the day after that and spoke with the manager who refused a refund but offered another eye test but had no appointments available. I then booked another eye test at yet another competitor Vision Express who also confirmed my eyes were perfect and I do not need glasses. I’m now back in the shop demanding a full refund and being refused despite having two eye test from David Clulow and Vision Express confirming I don’t need glasses. This company is terrible and in my opinion trying to push glasses on people who don’t need them as a money making exercise. STAY WELL CLEAR. I have attached all three eye test for evidence.”

Posted 4 years ago

“In my experience the OPTICAL EXPRESS clinical team are less than useless - in my experience downright danferous”

Posted 5 years ago

“as soon as I had the consultation, I was given lots of paperwork to read through ( which I couldn't because of the eye drops.) I was then relieved of a deposit of £500.00. When I had read through all the paperwork the next day, I decided to cancel the treatment. When I rang to cancel, I asked about the £500.00 deposit and was told it could take up to 28 days to get the refund. Here we are 29 days later, and I haven't even had a phone call or an e-mail. I've just telephoned head office, who informed me that they cannot contact the people I need to speak to and they will ring me back within 48 HOURS. Definitely would not recommend optical express to anyone.”

Posted 5 years ago

“I had an appointment on Saturday morning at the Kirkintilloch branch of Optical Express, for 10.45am. The agent that took my booking was called Kimberley. On arrival, Kimberley claimed to have no knowledge of my booking and suggested I had the wrong Company. She checked on her PC and found my booking but it was at 11 a.m. She said they were running at least an hour late and could I return in one hour? Of course this was unsuitable to me and cancelled the appointment. Would it not have been better customer service for Optical Express to phone forward and warn their customers of the delays? I think it was a poor service and doesn't warrant my custom.”

Posted 6 years ago

“I was told I had to pay up front before seeing the surgeon for laser surgery over £4500 . I was deemed unsuitable for surgery. Have been waiting 2months for my refund. Have been promised on three separate occasions but still waiting”

Posted 6 years ago

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Optical Express is rated 4.7 based on 4,200 reviews