Making a complaint

If you are unhappy with the service you receive from the College or one of its members, you can follow the steps below in order to make a complaint.

Submitting a complaint about the College*

  • Get in touch with us via the Contact us form, outlining the reason for your complaint
  • Your complaint will be allocated to the right College team
  • We will be in touch with you to acknowledge your complaint within three working days
  • Your complaint will be investigated by the College team responsible
  • We will contact you with: 
    • a summary of our investigations
    • a suggested resolution to your complaint 
    • an outline of the next steps 
  • If you are still not happy with the results, you can reply to our email, and a telephone call will be arranged to resolve the issue

*Any data collected about your complaint will be held in line with the College's privacy policy.

Making a complaint about a College member*

All members must adhere to the College's Member Code of Conduct. If you feel that a College member has broken the Code of Conduct, or you have any other complaint against them, please follow these steps: 

  • Write to the Chief Executive, with the member details and information on how they have broken the Code of Conduct or the complaint you have against them:

    Ian Humphreys
    Chief Executive 
    The College of Optometrists
    42 Craven St 
    London WC2N 5NG 

    Email: Ian.humphreys@college-optometrists.org
  • The Chief Executive can inform you of the complaints procedure and determine the appropriate course of action

Making a complaint about an optical practice

If a patient is unhappy with the service provided by their optical practice, in the first instance, they should try to resolve the issue directly with the practice. The General Optical Council (GOC) provides information on How to make a complaint about an optician. 

If the patient is unable to reach an amicable agreement, they can refer the matter to their local Trading Standards Officer, or local NHS organisation if they are an NHS patient. Alternatively, they may refer to one of the following bodies:

  1. Optical Consumer Complaints Service (OCCS)
    6 Market Square
    Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire
    CM23 3UZ
    Tel: 0344 800 5071
  2. General Optical Council
    If the complaint involves serious professional misconduct, they can complete the GOC's Raising your concern form.