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Report Trading Standards issues in the UK via the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline at 0808 223 1133 (Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm). This is intolerable customer service and scam!
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Update 11th April: Fraser continues to make false promises of delivering the glasses. To date I have not received them!

I’ve been a customer since 2020 and always supported this independent shop, but my latest experience has been extremely disappointing. I ordered two pairs of glasses worth £410 over a month ago, and left my old glasses for redoing and collecting them has been impossible. I’ve received misleading information, and the shop has been closed several times during stated opening hours.

I believe in supporting independent businesses, but lying about opening times and service timings is not acceptable. This whole experience has really damaged my trust, and I hope they take steps to fix these issues quickly.

I spent hundreds of pounds with this business and left two pairs of glasses in mid-November — one a Gucci repair, the other a new pair purchased in the shop with simple lens fitting.
It is now over four months later and neither pair has been returned.
What followed has been a cycle of missed deadlines, promises that the glasses would be ready “tomorrow”, ignored messages, and explanations that keep changing. I even attended the shop in person after being told the glasses were ready — they were not there.

At this point the issue is no longer poor service. A business retaining a customer’s property for months while failing to perform the service constitutes a breach of contract and a failure to provide services within a reasonable time under the Consumer Rights Act.
After months of chasing, a formal Letter Before Action has now been issued.
They will now loose A LOT of business from me and my partner and might potentially end up in court if things are not rectified in the next few days.

Having now read other recent reviews describing very similar experiences, it appears this may represent a broader pattern.

That is precisely the type of situation Trading Standards investigates and which becomes extremely difficult for a business to defend if it reaches the court.

It is such a shame to have to join the countless Bad Reviews that have been written about this company over recent years...but my recent experience with General Eyewear & its highly unethical Owner Fraser, leaves me with No Choice. TRUST ALL the COUNTLESS BAD Reviews....(as when you speak to Fraser (if you can ever get hold of him) & he tells you that it is just "One Person" that is writing all these Reviews (such is his worrying state of his "Tremendous Denial") he's lying....however, the reality is that (having contacted several other people from the Google & Trust Pilot Reviews Online), he is a NOT TO BE TRUSTED with your hard earned money, as he takes Orders & Deposits (for very large sums of Money) & then Delivers Nothing of what he says he will.

The tragedy is that the Product is Excellent (& as One Reviewer so succinctly puts it, he "only honours" large scale Wholesale Orders from Film Studios or wealthy Customers looking to buy £1000's of multiple Product.

He has lost his Business Partner (Andrew) earlier last year (who'd clearly had enough of the "reputational damage" this was causing to both him personally & the business)...& since then he has been "robbing Peter to pay Paul" just to keep this operation afloat in some capacity. No Matter how much you want a Pair of these Glasses (& it is very tempting)...DO NOT RISK IT (as you'll lose your money)!!!

He's very clever though...as if you are calling (& he doesn't recognise the number, he will answer as he knows it may lead to more gullible Customers)....but if you have parted with cash....he will then totally ignore any attempts to get hold of him. If you're really lucky he "may" answer the phone or respond to a WhatsApp message (after weeks & weeks of ignoring you)....but he never follows up on what he says he will (its almost like he feels like he can justify his actions). He also refuses to use Email (massive "Red Flag" under the pretence that there's "a problem" with it...this prevents any "easier" investigations into his nefarious Online Trading Ethics.

The End Result is No Glasses that you Ordered....Loss of Money....high levels of wasted time & stress.

Very sad but it feels like he's running out of time as I have Reported him (& it will come as no surprise that others have too) to Trading Standards & Citizens Advise others such as these)...I suggest everyone else does the same as this needs to be investigated & stopped....see below:

Financial Loss / Active Fraud: Contact Report Fraud online or by phone at 0300 123 2040 (Mon-Fri 8am-8pm).

Citizens Advice (England/Wales): 0808 223 1133

Report Online Trading Standards issues in the UK via the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline at 0808 223 1133 (Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm)

portant warning for anyone considering ordering from General Eyewear London

We are professional eyewear buyers and placed an order with General Eyewear London over three months ago. At the time of purchase we were promised a delivery time of approximately four weeks. As of today, more than twelve weeks later, no goods have been delivered.

During this period we have sent numerous emails. The replies have consistently been polite but non-committal, offering repeated delays and explanations, yet no concrete delivery date and no shipment.

For a company selling internationally, this level of reliability is completely unacceptable.

Our strong impression is that the company’s focus lies on producing extravagant eyewear for VIP clients, while regular customers and professional buyers appear to receive little priority when it comes to fulfilling orders or honoring timelines.

We are now considering legal action to recover our money and resolve the matter. While this is more complicated due to the company being based in the UK, our legal insurance will cover the process.

Our clear advice to anyone thinking about ordering:

Do not rely on the stated delivery times.

Do not rely on promises made via email.

Only pay using payment methods with strong buyer protection.

Based on our experience, there is a serious risk of waiting months without receiving the ordered products, while being repeatedly delayed with polite but ultimately unhelpful responses.

Anyone considering doing business with General Eyewear should think very carefully before placing an order.

I placed an order with General Eyewear in October and was told it would be ready within six weeks. It is now February, and I still have not received my glasses.

Communication has been appalling. Messages are ignored, calls are not returned, and there are no updates or explanations. There is zero effort to keep customers informed. At this point, it feels like they have simply taken the money without delivering the product or any level of service.

After looking into this further, it’s clear this is not an isolated experience. There are multiple similar complaints from other customers about long delays and complete lack of communication. Please be aware and be wary before ordering.

What makes this especially disappointing is that I previously liked their products and what the brand claimed to stand for. Unfortunately, this experience has been a total let down.

Terrible customer service, unacceptable delays, and no accountability. I would not trust ordering from them again and would strongly advise others to avoid.

If i could give zero stars I would. I paid for a prescription in March 2025 for a bespoke pair of glasses to be made. I have had a very similar experience to others here. False promises made over instagram for a while, no response to emails and fobbed off in the shop by Frazer with more false promises. A despicable company. DO NOT GIVE THEM ANY OF YOUR MONEY!!

Updated Review – November 2025
It has now been almost 15 months since I paid €860 for a custom frame from General Eyewear. I have still received nothing — no product, no real updates, and certainly no refund.

The frame has never entered production, and the company has now completely stopped responding to my messages. I requested a refund months ago, but they simply ignore me. They read my messages on Instagram and refuse to reply.

I’ve sent at least 6 or 7 polite follow-ups asking for a refund — no response. Clearly, they have no intention of delivering the product, and no intention of returning my money.

So I paid €860 for nothing. No glasses. No service. No refund. No communication.
That is, quite simply, theft.

This is the worst purchase experience of my life, and I strongly advise anyone considering this company to stay away. Their behavior is dishonest, disrespectful, and frankly fraudulent.

A web of inconsistencies, contradictory information, blame of others. Zero accountability by the owner.

If you chase you are shouted at by staff and the owner Fraser. It’s not been a pleasant experience.

I have had to proceed with legal proceedings as 7 months on I still don’t have my glasses that I have paid £600 for.
They did send a pair but it was the wrong prescription completely, the branding was wrong and said “GENERAL EYE YEAR”, the material was also bubbled as they had heated the material too much.

Would not recommend this place at all to anyone. I have shopped here a few times and the service and product have deteriorated over the years.

As a loyal client I’m really appalled by the ignorance and incompetence of all involved.

13 September -
161 days since original order
95 days since replacement promised “speedily”
39 days since the last “5-10 days including weekends promise”

I am shocked at the incredibly bad customer service level from this company. I took some glasses to be repaired and they told me it would take around two days, maximum a week. They promised to call me as soon as they were done. After hearing nothing for a week I called them. They told me they would call me back in two minutes and did not do so. I then tried calling again but no answer. After calling multiple times and trying to get access to the shop which seems to be closed most of the week I went into the store at the weekend two weeks later and spoke to someone else. He apologised and told me that the job would never have taken two days as they send everything away to be repaired. He promised that he would chase this up and get the glasses back to me. I needed them for a trip away, so I offered to drive up to the north of England and pick them up. I didn’t care whether they were repaired or not - I just wanted the glasses back at this point. He told me this wasn’t possible as wherever they had sent them to wasn’t available to give them to me. After chasing and chasing and chasing he promised they would be back two days later or they would send me a new spare pair with the prescription lenses that I need. It’s now three days later and they’re still not back with me and the promise of a spare pair of sunglasses turned out to be a complete lie. I’m being completely ghosted by the company with no one returning my calls, or my text messages. So my glasses have disappeared now and as it stands I have no idea when or if I will ever get these back. They have made multiple false promises. They cost me hundreds of pounds and I really needed them for this holiday. I have bought numerous pairs of glasses from the store spending over a thousand pounds over the years and I literally can’t believe how bad the service is.

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY…
My partner and I travelled to London specifically to visit General Eyewear. We ordered 4 pairs of glasses totalling over one thousand pounds and was told our glasses would take approximately 6 weeks. 4 months later we are still waiting for a pair of bespoke glasses. They repeatedly ignore emails and never call you back when they promise. The assistant didn’t even know what we had ordered and was asking me the name for the name of their product!!. The customer service was appalling, no remorse or apology and non commital. We have used them before and always had a good experience with them. Reading other reviews it seems we are not alone.

I just hope we get them or a refund.

Ho acquistato 2 paia di montature il 9 marzo con l'intesa scritta di averli entro 6/8 settimane cosa che non e' assolutamente avvenuta. Pochi e sporadici gli aggiornamenti ed in finale hanno pure tentato di negare di aver dato quei tempi di realizzo mentre io ho ancora le loro email dove asserivano cio'. Ho chiesto piu' volte, visto che non stati mantenuti i tempi, di cancellare il mio ordine e di procedere ad un'immediato rimborso cosa che non hanno mai fatto ne' hanno mai risposto alle mie richieste. Alla fine sono stato rimborsato da Paypal.

General Eyewear is exceptional. Over the last five years, I have purchased two pairs from their extraordinary selection, my wife has bought two pairs, my friend has purchased two pairs, and even my elderly father-in-law rolled back the years and bought a really stylish pair. I no longer bother to look in other spectacle shops because if I can't find what I want in GE, I guess I must need glasses. The staff is super helpful, and even the choice of ambient music is well worth a listen

I recently had an incredibly frustrating experience with General Eyewear. I ordered a pair of simple glasses with no prescription from their Stables Market store, expecting a smooth and efficient process. Unfortunately, that was far from reality. The most glaring issue was the significant delay in receiving my order. I patiently waited for a whole month, eagerly anticipating the arrival of my glasses. During this time, I received no communication whatsoever from the shop, leaving me completely in the dark about the status of my order.
When I reached out to their customer service, I found them to be less than helpful and reluctant to provide any concrete information. Their lack of responsiveness only added to my frustration and fueled my dissatisfaction with their service. Upon expressing my dissatisfaction and requesting a refund, I was met with further disappointment. The shop was initially hesitant to issue a refund, which is a basic customer right when an order fails to be fulfilled in a reasonable timeframe. To my dismay, instead of providing a satisfactory resolution, they offered me another pair of glasses that I had no need for. Eventually, they promised to process the refund, providing a glimmer of hope. However, they failed to send any confirmation of the refund being processed as promised. Once again, I had to chase them up repeatedly to ensure that the refund was indeed being handled. I strongly advise against considering General Eyewear shop for any future purchases.

General Eyewear claim to offer a bespoke service. Unfortunately, my experience demonstrated they clearly do not. Back in 2016 I purchased a pair of their Ostrander tortoiseshell frames complete with essilor varifocal lenses.
In April 2022 having been pleased with my original pair, I decided I wanted to purchase a second pair, this time with the Ostrander frame in a high gloss black finish. I travelled from Leicestershire to General Eyewear’s store in Camden. They explained that they didn’t have the frame in stock as it was now discontinued, but could get it bespoke made for me. They had the specification from the original pair I had purchased (exactly the same frame) but said they would like to take measurements of my existing frame while I was in store. I waited patiently while they took my glasses out back to take the important measurements. I paid £825 up front and left looking forward to returning to collect them.
On 28th May I once again travelled from Leicestershire to Camden to collect my new frames. Unfortunately, the frames didn’t fit, not even close. They were far too wide across the bridge, the width of the frame was too wide and the arms were the wrong width for my head. Hence the frames would not stay in place and just slipped down and forward on my face.
Fabio, the store manager assured me this was not a problem and took them from me and proceeded to heat and bend the frames in an attempt to get them to fit.
This was not successful and certainly not acceptable on what was supposed to be a bespoke order and service paid for in full in advance.
Whilst I understood there may be a need to make some minor adjustments when I arrived to collect them, I was staggered just how far away they were from fitting.
On closer inspection it was clear that whilst at first glance they appeared to be the same frame they were far from it. They had different hinges and the quality was inferior.
Whilst Fabio offered to get another frame, the fact that :
1 .. they got the specification/fit so wrong the first time.
2 .. it involved another trip from Leicestershire to London (a third trip) at my expense.
3 .. at no point did they apologise for the obvious poor fitting of the frame or take responsibility for it.
4 .. they were not prepared to compensate me for my incurred costs and inconvenience.
5 .. they asked me to leave my existing glasses with them to assist them in replicating the specification on redoing the frames. I couldn’t do this as I need them daily, including for driving, but that aside, why would they need this when they already supposedly had the specification of my original pair, and had again taken measurements of them on my previous visit to the store?
I decided to ask for a full refund as I had no confidence that they were going to supply the bespoke service and quality product they had said they would and that I had paid for. Fabio reluctantly processed a full refund and I left the store to travel back to Leicestershire very disappointed.
General Eyewear is a cool store, with a great selection of vintage eyewear, and also offers some great new designs in frames. If you want standard fit frames they are great, but if you want the bespoke fitting frame that they claim to offer you will be bitterly disappointed.
I would of loved to leave a positive review but they made it impossible for me to do so.