Ultralase in Ireland to Close?

tbeans · 03-07-2013 4:22pm #1

Ok so just got a call from Ultralase to say that they are closing all their offices in the Republic of Ireland!!

Closest office will be in Belfast!

itsme89 · 04-07-2013 4:12pm

Got that same phone call today.. i got the surgery 3 wks ago and supposed to have a follow up appointment next week.. the guy that called said if I don't hear from them in a month call the customer service number what an absolute joke!! lifetime guarantee my ar$e.. where to from here??

tbeans · 04-07-2013 4:31pm

itsme89 wrote: »

Got that same phone call today.. i got the surgery 3 wks ago and supposed to have a follow up appointment next week.. the guy that called said if I don't hear from them in a month call the customer service number what an absolute joke!! lifetime guarantee my ar$e.. where to from here??

They told me that it was all down to the economic climate and all the clinics in Ireland will be closed with immediate effect. I had my final eye exam (13 months post procedure) booked in for Saturday but was very unhappy to be told it was now moved to Belfast!! I tried to get them to reimburse my journey but they were having none of it so just cancelled it instead!

I can't find any information about them closing online either!!

At least your over the first few months as I think having regular check-ups are vital in the early stages but still sucks! Imagine the people who had it done on Saturday – would not like to be in their shoes

She told me the lifetime guarantee was still there but like ya right!!

Meadows · 05-07-2013 3:20pm

Last week i paid for my July 26th operation in full, this Wednesday i was told the office no longer exists. I now am in a nightmare situation of trying to get my money back, €1995. They accepted my money with a friendly smile. I ring every day and the operator tells me that the internal office isn't getting back to her. She told me it could be 3 weeks before i hear anything.

tbeans · 05-07-2013 3:28pm

Meadows wrote: »

Last week i paid for my July 26th operation in full, this Wednesday i was told the office no longer exists. I now am in a nightmare situation of trying to get my money back, €1995. They accepted my money with a friendly smile. I ring every day and the operator tells me that the internal office isn't getting back to her. She told me it could be 3 weeks before i hear anything.

What a nightmare! Sorry to hear that...

Any chance you paid with Credit Card? You'd be able to claim it back from the bank that way!

Meadows · 07-07-2013 2:50am

no such luck, i paid in hard cash, they were there for 13 years and close as soon as I decide to give them 2k. Still no sign of my money back. Anxious stuff.

tbeans · 08-07-2013 4:53pm

Ouch!!

Best of luck with it! Fingers are crossed for you!

monavie · 09-07-2013 11:28am

I too received a call from Ultralase last Thursday.. I got my surgery on the 13th June and i am due a month follow up on the 25th of July. I am curious as to if anyone else is paying the monthly option as? as i am seriously considering cancelling my direct debit and using the money to pay for another clinic to give me my aftercare. I am in no position to travel to Belfast for follow ups, so ill need to get my after care in the republic...

biru · 09-07-2013 2:54pm

I am in exactly the same situation got my surgery done in may and my next check up supposed to be next week, got a phone call yesterday saying its cancelled cose its closing down in cork. there is no way I can possibly be travelling for the 5 minutes check ups everytime to belfast which means taking time off work, traveling expences. I also have a monthly payment plan and thinking just to cancel it.

itsme89 · 09-07-2013 4:44pm

i think anyone paying by the monthly payment plan should cancel their direct debit with this company and use the money towards future consultations with optilase or optical express even specsavers might have a look at your eyes somewhere closer to home.. i paid it all off in one lump some which i noe greatly regret. i got my eyes done the middle of june & was outraged when i heard all of this as if they had not known this was on the cards before i went through with the procedure.. they give you all of these emergency numbers to call in the event of something going wrong but im in the south of ireland it would take me half a day to get to belfast in which time the damage would probably already be done to my eyes rather then just going to the cork or limerick clinic.. this angers me so much and to make things worse i asked them for arguments sake to see if they could get me my monthly appointment up in belfast as i was due to have it next week.. the adviser told me she would check it for me and get back to me that evening.. this was last thursday!!!!!!!!!! mind you the vision isnt bad :-D

monavie · 10-07-2013 9:49am

I have emailed the wellington clinic in the Beacon to find out how much the aftercare would be with them, I shall keep you updated.
I then plan on contacting the receivers, to let them know how much i will be paying and will expect them to then reflect this with my payment plan. I received a service and I plan on fulfilling my contract but with no loss to my pocket for aftercare... Honestly never expected this to happen, knew there had to be a catch

itsme89 · 10-07-2013 4:54pm

is there anything we can actually do or is going up to belfast or over to england still giving the lifetime guarantee.,.?

biru · 11-07-2013 12:49am

I was on the phone with national consumer agency today, and what they've told me was that we've lost our life time gurantee if the clinic has closed down and the fact that they are giving us an appointment in belfast is nothing but a gesture of goodwill. Anyways I also called optical express to find out how much would they charge for a check up and they told me its 25e, which is way cheaper than going up and down to belfast. And now I just hope that the check ups will be all that I will need in the future.

itsme89 · 11-07-2013 12:35pm

now isn't that a kick in the teeth.. surely though as the company is still existent in england the life time guarantee would still apply to us in any of their clinics it wouldn't necessarily have to be in ireland IF anything were to ever go wrong.. it would probably be easier to just go to optilase or optical express for the check ups as you say though for now... a lot less hassle.

tbeans · 11-07-2013 3:10pm

Just got a quote from Wellington Eye Clinic for initial consultation is €150 - which includes a full eye examination and then check-ups following the initial consultation are €100.

Has anyone stopped their Direct Debit yet? I'm thinking strongly of doing it

itsme89 · 11-07-2013 3:49pm

do it tbeans cancel the direct debit.. i would if i still could!!!!

tbeans · 11-07-2013 4:52pm

Just called BDO who now look after finances for Ultralase (Irish Office) and have been told that I'm in a binding contract and to not cancel my direct debit as it will become a legal issue if I do

I also talked to the Customer Support Ultralase and she said that Lifetime Guarantee is still in place but I'd be going to Belfast if I need it plus they may (down the line) partner with someone locally in Dublin to conduct the follow-up consultations but the whole thing is extremely annoying and finding it hard to believe or trust what she was telling me!

lcbs · 11-07-2013 6:07pm

I am surprised that Ultralase closing down and all the job losses has not been in the media. Checked the company records office, Ultralase UK & Ireland was bought over by Optimax UK last year. Optimax director Russell Ambrose took over Ultralase in Ireland debit from RBS and has now put Ultralase in Ireland into receivership after only a few months trading. Ultralase UK is still trading.

Heebie · 11-07-2013 7:16pm

I didn't even get a call.

I got there for my appointment today, and it was just gone.
If the date is right on the first post here, they shut down just 3 weeks after my previous check up!

I was due to get follow-on surgery to adjust my visions, since it's not quite right.
I may very well find myself utilising the belfast-based after care if they're willing to honour the lifetime guarantee there... perhaps a few of us could get our appointments in clusters and carpool up there?

itsme89 · 12-07-2013 8:51pm

heebie how do we know u even got the treatment done.. u r a complete stranger i dont know could i trust u all the way to belfast..:-P only joking i was talking to customer support and they said that i would get reimbursed for travel expenses if i did go for my check up in belfast.. was anyone told this or r they just fobbing me off until i ring again??

Heebie · 12-07-2013 9:05pm

I just got hold of them today, and I'm actually pleasantly surprised at just how far they seem to be going to keep their name from being tarnished. I've been given an appointment for a consult in Belfast, so they can check on my eyes, and plan on the follow-up surgery, and they have sent me verification of the appointment, told me that I'll be given information when I show up for my appointment on where to submit the receipts to get reimbursed for travel, and verified that they do intend on honouring the lifetime aftercare guarantee I was given.
Of course.. now I have to wait until September and see if they hold to their words, but I'm certainly going to give them the benefit of the doubt.
The appointment is at an Optimax clinic. Optimax is the company that bought Ultralase back in December.
I was happily surprised at how helpful the representative of the receiver was as well.

seantech · 15-07-2013 11:40am

If you read your Terms and Conditions on the Lifetime Gaurantee you will see that the treatment is to be done within the Republic Of Ireland. It is down at the very last Term and Condition. The fact that Belfast is outside the Republic of Ireland means that they have broken the contract. I believe that we have a case to take them to court. I contacted Joe Duffy last week they said they were going to announce it but didn't I then contacted the RTE news room and they wouldn't announce it. I also contacted TV3 and they won't announce it either. So I wonder is the owners of this company involved in some company here in Ireland that is advertising with these stations of what? I am going to take a legal action against them so should everyone else. The consumer agency saying that we have lost this guarantee is incorrect. They are still trading in England. It is an insult to Irish people. There is I believe a case here for the European court as well.

Heebie · 15-07-2013 7:57pm

seantech: Please keep us informed about what's going on. It's certainly a confusing situation.

rok · 17-07-2013 9:09am

When I was looking into Laser Surgery last year I had a free consultation with Ultralase. I checked out the reviews here and also google'd Ultralase.
I found reports that the UK division were in financial difficulty - I think someone had posted it on this forum also.

I was concerned about this as I wanted to make sure they would still be in operation if I needed aftercare etc. When I asked Ultralase about this they strongly refuted my concerns, getting very defensive about it. They told me if they did close that there is allowances in place so that their book of clients would be passed over to someone else so hopefully that is in place for you if needed.

Heebie · 18-07-2013 12:01am

I'm sure the UK division were in financial difficulty. They were bought out last December by Optimax. Optimax is whom my appointment in September is booked with. Hopefully Optimax is in good financial shape.
The zero-percent finance deal is what made me look at Ultralase seriously. I could have gotten a discount somewhere else, but the "free" financing worked out to be a better deal than the discount I had through my health insurer.

EmmsH · 23-07-2013 2:33pm

Hey guys,

I got LASEK done in Ultralase in Dundrum over a year ago. Been paying the monthly instalments, but I just checked there and it seems that the direct debit has dissapeared from my account! No money going out to them at all. Very strange. So been trying to find a way of contacting them all day but the numbers are all disconnected. Can't seem to find any info at all.

Wondering about the lifetime care guarantee. Surely, if they don't guarantee it even after they close, they are in violation of their contract? I'm kind of thinking that I'm not gonna pay any more money until I hear from one of them whats happening.

Has anyone got any further information?

Beaker_KK · 25-07-2013 1:00pm

I was scheduled for LASIK in Ultralase Waterford for 26th July. When Optimax rang to inform me of the closure of Ultralase they gave me the option of travelling to the Belfast Optimax and they would do the surgery there for the same price Ultralase had quoted me (€1995). I decided to go for it and I am in Belfast now, heading off for my surgery in a few minutes! I will update post-surgery but so far I must say the Belfast office is good, the care has been excellent so far. Follow-up appointments will be a pain, I will stay over tonight and get the one-day check-up done here, and I'll come back up next week for the one-week, but after that I will probably look for a way to get follow-up care in Kilkenny. They said they are working on partnering with Specsavers for after-care (as they do in the UK), but the details haven't been ironed out yet.

biru · 26-07-2013 10:35am

Hi guys has anyone had a lasek surgery done with ultralase? I was just wondering how many follow up check ups I was suppose to get? I went to belfast for my check up three months after the surgery and they said its the last one, now im discharged and if I need my eyes to be checked I should go to my local optician. I actually feel that that is the nice way of getting rid of me.

Beaker_KK · 27-07-2013 12:35pm

Hi biru I got LASIK not LASEK but in the pamphlet I got it does say 3rd visit, 1 month & discharge if satisfactory, followed by 4th visit, 3 months & discharge if satisfactory.

itsme89 · 08-08-2013 5:29pm

any one else now having a problem getting threw to da customer care number for tthis crowd.. its awful fishy!!!!

Wheja · 11-09-2013 9:48am

Hi guys, I'm a new member to Boards.ie. I was googling my old employer Ultralase and this thread came up. I was made redundant with no warning from the company on July 2nd. I worked in Waterford Clinic. I had no contact from Ultralase or Optimax and am dealing with the recievers BDO. Trust me, I was as shocked as you all are. The clinic was closed on the Tuesday and I got a phonecall to come into the clinic to hand over my keys and give them codes to the safe etc. I too think it is disgraceful the way patients have been treated. Business was slow but I didn't antcipate this!!
For any patients, I would contact customer services and look for copies of your files for your own future reference. The company is obliged to keep them on file for 7 years.

Ultralase in Ireland to Close?

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