optical-center.co.uk Reviews 17

Ordered sunglasses on 27th April, with fast delivery...it's now 6th May and the order is showing 'shipped without mail' (no idea what that means) I've called customer services 30 times now, always playing hold music and then saying they are closed and leave a message (which I've done 3 times). I've also phoned a branch twice to leave a message for the Web manager to call me back, guess what, they haven't returned my call.
I'm now going to chat with Trading Standards. Appalling service.

If I could give less than one star I would. DO NOT BUY FRIM THIS COMPANY. Having paid for a pair of sunglasses in early October 2025 I’m still waiting (almost January 2026). Repeatedly told that my order was on its way but never turned up. Have asked for a full refund but this still hasn’t materialised despite assurances. I would not touch this company with a barge pole.

Totally overpriced and terrible customer service.

I found a lovely pair of frames in here. I was confused as to why they were £330 in store and between £130 and £180 online (from reputable glasses stores). When I checked if this was right, I was just told ‘yes, that’s probably right’, then she turned her back and walked away.

I have ordered online from a different company and will take to my lovely independent optician!

Took my money then emailed to say that the item isn't in stock. Offered an alternative at a much higher price than their competition. Now I have to wait for a refund.

Following retirement my wife and I moved to South West France in 2005. During our stay in France, we became very satisfied customers of Optical Center's Coutras outlet and had both eye-glasses and hearing aids supplied by them. When moving back to Gloucester UK we tried several national local suppliers for vision and hearing replacements. They failed to match our French providers in quality, effectiveness, cost and service provision. We decided to go back to Optical Centre, who had now opened outlets in and around the London Area. After initial successful dealings with their Colliers Wood store I made an appointment to visit their Bracknell's Lexicon outlet, two hour and thirty minutes’ drive from Gloucester. We arrived and parked in one of the Lexicon's numerous car parks. Finding the outlet was easy even for us as total strangers to Bracknell Town Centre. On arrival we were welcomed by Wes, the manager who afforded my wife and I a most welcome cup of coffee.
Within five minutes of arrival, I underwent a comprehensive eye sight test with ScJoa, the Optometrist. I found her to be both thorough and explanative in her testing. The extensive latest technical equipment was used to assess my current vision condition. ScJoa was personable and polite throughout. On completion she gave me a summary of my results, saying there was only a very minor deterioration in my vision. She advised that there would be little advantage to gain to change my glasses now and advised coming back for a retest next year. Excellent many thanks.
On completion I moved onto a meeting with the audiologist Udhyat. My four year old QUIEZEN FIRST 15 G4 RIC P312 hearing aids have served me well. The Right side Aid has not been functioning well in the last couple of weeks. Ushyat immediately set about repairing, servicing and upgrading the vital components of the hearing aids. Udhyat then updated me on the utilization, operation and installed the My Remote on my mobile and then sought to instruct me on its use. My hearing aids were now functioning as if they were brand new. Many thanks Udhyat.
The long travel from Gloucester to Bracknell and return was well worth personal time and cost. Will be doing the same again in 2026. BIG THANK YOU BRACKNELL OPTICAL CENTER FOR YOUR 10 out 10 SERVICE.

I found the sunglasses i wanted for a really good price, because they have stand alone shops you can guarantee they are not dodgey.
I ordered on Friday and called to see if i could pick up on Saturday at the store, they went out of their way to facilitate that.
When i collected the glasses they checked to make sure they fitted properly and adjusted them as part of their service, can't remember the last time i got such good customer service. Will definitely use this service again

Only 1 pair of raybans arrived. Could not originally get in touch via online form or telephone number to speak to anyone, messages left no return call, finally spoke to someone who said i was being sent emails, but i never got any, but he reassured me my second pair were on order and he would ahip asap, i didnt receive any further comms but did receive mynsecind pair after another 1 week. Would have been less stressful if comms were improved

Awful went in to book a hearing test and was told no one available which is fine tried to book an appointment but was told they didn’t know when they would be in and wrote my name on a scrappy piece of paper and didn’t hear from them again

Great price, genuine product, great service. Very helpful making sure I had my glasses in time for my holiday.

Optical Center, Richmond-upon-Thames: Unreliable + unprofessional

Went to the Staines branch and got properly coned in my opinion. I bought a pair of frames and lenses that are supposed to 40% off. What a joke. I paid £600 for the best varifocal lenses and a pair of Lukkas frames. The frame were supposedly £270 before the discount. However the same frames are listed on their website for £105. I complained to the manager who was polite enough but said he had no power to help. After some google research I have also found the same lenses for £175 a pair and they charged me £220 for EACH LENS after what they claim is 40% discount. I was told the offers were different on the website and that in store you get a free pair of 2nd glasses. This 2 is not accurate as there are various terms and conditions attached. So I bought 1 pair and paid a lot more with 40% discount in store than I would have online. I will be complaining to the ASA.

Excellent communication. I was frequently kept up to date on the progress of my order via email. Rayban sunglasses delivered 5 days after order and were exactly as described. Perfect. I imagine delivery will be longer if prescription lenses required but these did not. Price was very competitive too; so much cheaper than the high street shops - thanks for a great saving. I cannot fault the service and product so wouldn’t hesitate to recommend.

On the one hand, I went into a store and a very helpful guy replaced the broken bridge on my glasses for free after I went in to browse for new glasses.

On the other hand:
- I was interested in buying until I realised they charge literally double or very nearly double price in store as they do on their website.
- I was still tempted by an impending 'up to 50% off' in-store sale which would have made the glasses the same price in-store as online, but there's a simultaneous online sale with a 40% discount, which again makes still much cheaper.
- As the instore sale is *up to* 50% off you don't know what's on sale in-store unless you actually visit one - the in-store prices aren't available elsewhere
- The online sale itself though is very misleading - it says it's "40% on all glasses with corrective lenses", but that applies only to the frames, which you'll find out when you get to the end of the process and add something to the basket (the original French site says '40% off frames' not glasses - it's just been badly translated).
- Lots of glasses in-store aren't available online - they appear to be old stock
- Lots of other things, eg none of their packages include 1.67 index lenses (which personally I always go for), and no way to customise best quality lens with a 1.67 option;
- if you look at different frame & lens combos online you need to re-enter your prescription each and every time (there's an option to save a prescription, but it doesn't work - it's saved but you can't then use it again, so pointless...)
- Generally, the website is a waste of time - it must have been auto-translated (badly) from the original French website without reviewing if it still makes sense, so a lot of it is gobbledygook.
- Another symptom of that translation is that all the links to other pages (originally .fr) are broken or removed in the .co.uk site, so trying to navigate is tough...

Interesting video also on their home page (UK site) which is a tour of a store, but it's in French (I like French, but it would probably be useful for most of us in the UK if the .co.uk website was in English!)

The stores are nice and modern but the premium prices are a bit much, and the website is a mess and has been for at least 18 months - they've just made no effort to make it comprehensible...

The company didn’t communicate well, they took two weeks to send my order, I emailed to double check if it was still coming by means of their email address that they’ve posted in replies to other reviews, they replied immediately reassuring me of delivery and authenticity. I asked about authenticity since seeing claims my items haven’t been at times.

I have received my Ray Ban Clubmasters and unless these are the best fakes ever made I think they’re genuine. I had a pair before and they recently broke at work, these feel identical and act the same one harsh sunlight etc.

So I’m happy at the price of the glasses, although the communication and delivery time could be way better

Ordered a pair of Ray Bans a week ago, unable to track my order nor cancel it! Why is this entity allowed to do business in London if they don't even have a customer support team! And the website is laughable! Instagram updates everyday, but no replies on calls!? Also, some of the reviews say the glasses are fake and other times, they receive broken frames. When returned, the company blames the customer and doesn't refund! I'm scared till my order arrives and also, unsure if i'll receive a genuine pair. Will keep you posted! Anybody who's reading, if you are buying from them DO NOT!

A wide selection of prescription glasses and sunglasses online