Ultralase in Ireland to Close?

Heebie · 07-03-2014 1:11am

I never saw anything in the news. I showed up my my re-treatment appointment in mid-May last year to find a single A4 sheet on the door with a single paragraph, a name, an address, and a phone number to ring.
I'd not been told my appointment was cancelled etc..

But.. if you have need for re-treatment NOW, I'd suggest getting in touch with them. My initial treatment was in 2012, and I just got re-treated last week.

mutley18 wrote: »

I have only just heard about all this tonight! Was it not on the news at the time?!

Anyway I had LASIK in June 2011 with Ultralase in Belfast, I live in Donegal so it was the closest option. Am I up shít creek without a paddle now regarding retreatment? This is all incredibly disappointing. €4000 down the drain.

ellimac · 18-03-2014 10:53pm

hi everyone,
i have my appointment for re treatment in Belfast at the end of April and i was just wondering what the story is with travel and accommodation? are they offering any sort of financial assistance? it seems that in parts of England people have been given 50% of travel/acc costs? also, for the people who have had re treatment in Belfast - did you travel alone? i'm thinking of going alone as i can't expect anyone to take 2 days off just to come with me...what do you think?
thanks

brenm82 · 18-03-2014 11:14pm

ellimac wrote: »

hi everyone,
i have my appointment for re treatment in Belfast at the end of April and i was just wondering what the story is with travel and accommodation? are they offering any sort of financial assistance? it seems that in parts of England people have been given 50% of travel/acc costs? also, for the people who have had re treatment in Belfast - did you travel alone? i'm thinking of going alone as i can't expect anyone to take 2 days off just to come with me...what do you think?
thanks

Hey. I got my re treatment done the end of feb and it's so far so good. They didn't cover any accomodation or travel expenses for those who had to travel to Belfast unfortunately. My husband traveled with me but think they let you get a taxi to where your staying I'm not 100% sure though. Hope it goes well :-)

Heebie · 18-03-2014 11:35pm

They're not covering travel or accomodation etc..
I stayed in a guest house just a bit up the road:
http://www.avenueguesthouse.com/

Nice place to stay, price is pretty good too. (£45 sterling per night booked through bookings.com) Nice people, amazing breakfast, clean & gorgeous. (sorry for the ad.. I was just THAT impressed with them. Great Thai place just down the block from them, too.)

Good luck with your treatment! Mine went well.

ellimac wrote: »

hi everyone,
i have my appointment for re treatment in Belfast at the end of April and i was just wondering what the story is with travel and accommodation? are they offering any sort of financial assistance? it seems that in parts of England people have been given 50% of travel/acc costs? also, for the people who have had re treatment in Belfast - did you travel alone? i'm thinking of going alone as i can't expect anyone to take 2 days off just to come with me...what do you think?
thanks

mutley18 · 20-03-2014 10:37pm

mutley18 wrote: »

I have only just heard about all this tonight! Was it not on the news at the time?!

Anyway I had LASIK in June 2011 with Ultralase in Belfast, I live in Donegal so it was the closest option. Am I up shít creek without a paddle now regarding retreatment? This is all incredibly disappointing. €4000 down the drain.

Sorry lads but who exactly do I contact regarding re-treatment? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

brenm82 · 21-03-2014 8:11am

mutley18 wrote: »

Sorry lads but who exactly do I contact regarding re-treatment? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

The number for the optimax clinic in Belfast is 00442890661118 if you ring them they should be able help. Hope you get sorted :-)

FiveSive · 01-04-2014 4:04pm

Just read through this thread! cant believe Ultralase gone, i got mine done in Sep 2010, was really happy with it, paid €4k for lifetime guarantee.

I can feel my left eye has faded a bit in the last year, id say i might be around -1 in it now again. Ended up saying this to a friend and she told me ultralase had closed! Disaster..

I cant believe the amount of people saying they needed re-treatments either, i thought this wouldn't be that common.

West Girl · 05-04-2014 11:43am

Hi All,

Just found out about ultralase yesterday as I went for an eye test and my eyes have deteriorated to -0.5. Based on the information you all posted I just rang Optimax and they told me;
1) They would not recommend retreatment until my eyes went down to about -0.75!!! Has anyone else been told that?
2) If I go back for retreatment they are going to charge me £195 per eye? Has anyone else been told this?

Also, has anyone stopped their payment finance with Creation, I don't know what to do?

stardoll81 · 24-04-2014 12:34pm

Hi Guys,

Just an update on the BDO situation, I got nowhere trying to discuss the matter with them in relation to monies owed so ended up getting my solicitor involved over a month ago and he hasn't heard from them at all!

TurkiyeKelebek · 24-04-2014 4:11pm

stardoll81 wrote: »

Hi Guys,

Just an update on the BDO situation, I got nowhere trying to discuss the matter with them in relation to monies owed so ended up getting my solicitor involved over a month ago and he hasn't heard from them at all!

Hi,

I had terrible trouble trying to speak to someone in charge. Eventually I did and I was told to email a proposal of how much I wanted to pay. I did this and haven't heard from them in over 6 weeks. Very strange set-up indeed.

stardoll81 · 24-04-2014 4:48pm

TurkiyeKelebek wrote: »

Hi,

I had terrible trouble trying to speak to someone in charge. Eventually I did and I was told to email a proposal of how much I wanted to pay. I did this and haven't heard from them in over 6 weeks. Very strange set-up indeed.

I did this back at the end of February and they rejected the initial offer and gave the impression there wasn't any room to negotiate bar the 20% discount they were offering and we were getting nowhere, as I said I've left it in the hands of my solicitor now so lets see if they do hear anything eventually! I agree strange setup and a bit of a fiasco!

TurkiyeKelebek · 24-04-2014 5:01pm

stardoll81 wrote: »

I did this back at the end of February and they rejected the initial offer and gave the impression there wasn't any room to negotiate bar the 20% discount they were offering and we were getting nowhere, as I said I've left it in the hands of my solicitor now so lets see if they do hear anything eventually! I agree strange setup and a bit of a fiasco!

Yeah, I caused a bit of a stink over the lifetime guarantee so they suggested a proposal. Be careful with their figures aswell, I owe them less than they think and I have the bank statements to prove it.

stardoll81 · 24-04-2014 5:34pm

TurkiyeKelebek wrote: »

Yeah, I caused a bit of a stink over the lifetime guarantee so they suggested a proposal. Be careful with their figures aswell, I owe them less than they think and I have the bank statements to prove it.

Thanks for the tip about the figures, I just checked and from my records I owe less than they stated also!

It'll be interesting to see what they come back with

TurkiyeKelebek · 15-06-2014 11:24am

Has anyone else gotten a letter requesting only 50% of the amount owed if payed by August??

stardoll81 · 15-06-2014 11:48am

Yep I got this the other day...seems like it was a standard letter, still deciding what to about it though...what bout u??

TurkiyeKelebek · 15-06-2014 1:32pm

Yeah i think i might pay it, i dont want it to affect my credit rating and at least its less than the full amount.

Heebie · 15-06-2014 2:26pm

I've heard nothing at all from the finance company. Are you hearing from them because you stopped the direct debit etc..?

stardoll81 · 15-06-2014 3:03pm

TurkiyeKelebek wrote: »

Yeah i think i might pay it, i dont want it to affect my credit rating and at least its less than the full amount.

I got a credit report last yr out of interest and Ultralase wasn't listed on it at all...will prob pay it too though! Just to be free of it!

TurkiyeKelebek · 15-06-2014 5:49pm

stardoll81 wrote: »

I got a credit report last yr out of interest and Ultralase wasn't listed on it at all...will prob pay it too though! Just to be free of it!

Did your solicitor offer any advice? Thats very interesting, must look into that myself.

TurkiyeKelebek · 15-06-2014 5:50pm

stardoll81 wrote: »

I got a credit report last yr out of interest and Ultralase wasn't listed on it at all...will prob pay it too though! Just to be free of it!

Did your solicitor offer any advice? Thats very interesting, must look into that myself.

stardoll81 · 16-06-2014 10:13am

Heebie wrote: »

I've heard nothing at all from the finance company. Are you hearing from them because you stopped the direct debit etc..?

No I had been paying my direct debit but Ultralase stopped taking the money for it last year. The receiver is now sending letters to anyone who owes an outstanding balance.

Heebie · 17-06-2014 12:21am

Perhaps your finance was with a different company than mine was with. When did you have your eyes done initially? (Nov 2012 for me.) with a 0% finance deal over 3 years through creation finance or something like that.

My DD's have been taken reliably since they started, so I'm thinking how it was financed might make a difference.

stardoll81 wrote: »

No I had been paying my direct debit but Ultralase stopped taking the money for it last year. The receiver is now sending letters to anyone who owes an outstanding balance.

stardoll81 · 17-06-2014 12:36am

Heebie wrote: »

Perhaps your finance was with a different company than mine was with. When did you have your eyes done initially? (Nov 2012 for me.) with a 0% finance deal over 3 years through creation finance or something like that.

My DD's have been taken reliably since they started, so I'm thinking how it was financed might make a difference.

Mine was done in March 2011 and same deal but I don't think it was thru Creation back then...are creation still taking your dd??

Heebie · 17-06-2014 12:42am

Yes they are. I've been re-treated as well, and have another follow-up appointment later this month up in Belfast.

stardoll81 wrote: »

Mine was done in March 2011 and same deal but I don't think it was thru Creation back then...are creation still taking your dd??

stardoll81 · 17-06-2014 2:29pm

Heebie wrote: »

Yes they are. I've been re-treated as well, and have another follow-up appointment later this month up in Belfast.

The finance must have been organised differently in 2011 in that case, there's no mention of creation on any of my docs...hope your follow up goes well

Heebie · 27-06-2014 1:39am

Another update.
I had an appointment yesterday for a checkup, and after telling me my vision is excellent, they "discharged" me as a patient, essentially releasing themselves from Ultralase's "lifetime aftercare guarantee" in relation to me.
My vision is pretty good, but still healing and not quite as sharp for distance as I was hoping for. (It is apparently way way way way way past "driving standard" and fairly far past "20/20" as well, so I probably can't really complain all that much.) I'm hoping it'll be more stable now that I'm not going to be on the steroids any longer. (They do have a side-effect of blurred vision)

I hope the rest of you will keep us up-to-date on whatever issues you're having related to this thread.

Ek11 · 18-07-2014 5:15pm

I received a letter from BDO with the offer to reduce my balance owed by 50% if I pay within the next 3 weeks.
My vision was very poor and I was not the ideal candidate for the surgery. However, it did turn out well and I was happy with the results at the time. Part of the discussion with the consultant was that I WILL need follow up surgery (quoting 2-5 years) and they guaranteed me that this will be done as part of the huge cost I agreed to.
I have paid over €3300 so far and they are looking for another €1500 from me.
I stopped my DD in July 2013 (following news of receivership) and refuse to pay another cent! I told BDO that if my guarantee was honoured that I would be more than happy to continue my payments. I notified them of a breach of contract regarding the lifetime guarantee as this is what I relied on when entering into the contract and why I chose Ultralase. I DID ALL OF THIS IN WRITING (via email)
BDO called me and tried to tell me that they are not responsible for the guarantee and that I, as a consumer, took on the risk that the business would cease to operate.
I did not agree to any settlement as I feel that I have not received all the services promised to me and they gave me no satisfactory resolve. I told BDO that I am going to seek advice from my solicitor as soon as I receive a copy of all of my medical records and contract. They gave me an address to request this information (in writing).

Patient records Department
147 The Headrow
Leeds
LS1 5RB
UK

I am not going to give in to this until I have satisfactory resolve. And I would rather go to court than give in to this blatant corporate bullying!

I did also say to BDO, that as this matter is not yet resolved, if I notice any affect on my credit because of it, I will be taking legal action.

Please keep posting any resolutions...and everyone stay strong and stick to what you think is right!

Remember to keep everything in writing and keep records. If there was discussion on the phone request a follow up email from BDO with details of conversation.

I am just telling my story, please do not take this as legal advice.

Good luck everyone!

millionmystery · 09-08-2014 3:57pm

Ek11 wrote: »

I received a letter from BDO with the offer to reduce my balance owed by 50% if I pay within the next 3 weeks.
My vision was very poor and I was not the ideal candidate for the surgery. However, it did turn out well and I was happy with the results at the time. Part of the discussion with the consultant was that I WILL need follow up surgery (quoting 2-5 years) and they guaranteed me that this will be done as part of the huge cost I agreed to.
I have paid over €3300 so far and they are looking for another €1500 from me.
I stopped my DD in July 2013 (following news of receivership) and refuse to pay another cent! I told BDO that if my guarantee was honoured that I would be more than happy to continue my payments. I notified them of a breach of contract regarding the lifetime guarantee as this is what I relied on when entering into the contract and why I chose Ultralase. I DID ALL OF THIS IN WRITING (via email)
BDO called me and tried to tell me that they are not responsible for the guarantee and that I, as a consumer, took on the risk that the business would cease to operate.
I did not agree to any settlement as I feel that I have not received all the services promised to me and they gave me no satisfactory resolve. I told BDO that I am going to seek advice from my solicitor as soon as I receive a copy of all of my medical records and contract. They gave me an address to request this information (in writing).

Patient records Department
147 The Headrow
Leeds
LS1 5RB
UK

I am not going to give in to this until I have satisfactory resolve. And I would rather go to court than give in to this blatant corporate bullying!

I did also say to BDO, that as this matter is not yet resolved, if I notice any affect on my credit because of it, I will be taking legal action.

Please keep posting any resolutions...and everyone stay strong and stick to what you think is right!

Remember to keep everything in writing and keep records. If there was discussion on the phone request a follow up email from BDO with details of conversation.

I am just telling my story, please do not take this as legal advice.

Good luck everyone!

Hi,
Just wondering if the people that received letters about paying back the money owed in full, had their direct debits stopped before this. I moved houses so I don't know if I received any correspondence from Creation but my direct debits has come out as normal every month. Worried about it affecting credit rating.

stardoll81 · 10-08-2014 1:18pm

millionmystery wrote: »

Hi,
Just wondering if the people that received letters about paying back the money owed in full, had their direct debits stopped before this. I moved houses so I don't know if I received any correspondence from Creation but my direct debits has come out as normal every month. Worried about it affecting credit rating.

Yeah I got the letter and my Direct debits had stopped coming out...I didn't cancel Ultralase just stopped taking it, I don't think I was set up with creation though..also i got a credit report back in 2012 and the Ultralase amount didn't even show on it .hope this helps

millionmystery · 10-08-2014 11:38pm

stardoll81 wrote: »

Yeah I got the letter and my Direct debits had stopped coming out...I didn't cancel Ultralase just stopped taking it, I don't think I was set up with creation though..also i got a credit report back in 2012 and the Ultralase amount didn't even show on it .hope this helps

Thanks for the help Stardoll81!

Ultralase in Ireland to Close?

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