Eye test (refused to give PD )

Ted_Hutchinson

When I got my new varifocals from Selectspecs I sent my old broken pair to them, they measured the PD and returned the old glasses. The extra cost of return postage was minimal (£1.80) compared to the saving on the new varifocals.

Running_Horse

Ted_Hutchinson wrote: »

When I got my new varifocals from Selectspecs I sent my old broken pair to them, they measured the PD and returned the old glasses. The extra cost of return postage was minimal (£1.80) compared to the saving on the new varifocals.

OK, so they measured the PD, but how did they measure the heights which varies with every frame and personal fitting?

Funny things PDs. You would be amazed how much unwanted prism the average human eye can accommodate. Sadly, there is no such thing as an average eye. Sometimes when replacing old glasses the patient will not get on with them because they are used to an incorrect PD. For many people with lower powers it is not unknown for the manufacturers to use a smaller cheaper uncut lens with incorrect PD, rather than supplying them correctly. I have seen many orders from opticians stating "max dec" (maximum decentration).

However, there is also an old rule of thumb within the industry, where you ask yourself if you would accept your mum wearing what you have just made, if not, then it gets rejected. Would you be happy for your mum to drive with a guessed or self-measured PD? Or for your child to cycle to school? What if the lorry driver who knocked over your relative could not see properly? Would that be OK?

As someone said earlier, invest a few quid in the only pair of eyes you will ever have.

treliac

timcrips wrote: »

A lot of opticians subsidise the cost of the appointment with the lenses and glasses.... hence them being narked off that you scarperd with thier investment.

Then they should charge and we should pay for a fully documented service from the appointment. Then everyone should be satisfied and the customer could buy their products from wheresoever they choose without conflict.

Running_Horse

Or as a well known online retailer put it, it's like a dentist offering free fillings on condition you pay £100 for a toothbrush on the way out.

Ted_Hutchinson

Running_Horse wrote: »

OK, so they measured the PD, but how did they measure the heights which varies with every frame and personal fitting?

I chose the same frame/lens size as the broken pair so when they arrived they fitted exactly the same as those they replaced.

ailuro2

Can I make a suggestion here?

Go to Specsavers, who do glasses form £25 complete. One of their 'fitters' will measure the distance between your eyes, and then your glasses will fit, and do the job they are meant to.;)

sillyvixen

where i work we have an increasing number of customers coming with problems with their glasses they have bought online due to the pd's being wrong. we are obliged to recheck them and generally find the only problem is the pd is incorrect.... not our problem the problem is with the company dispensing ... not their problem either as the order is correct to the details they were given.
a word of warning if you leave the pd blank the glasses will be made up to the centre of the frame and as a lot of designs can be quite wide you can induce alot of unprescribed prisim.
if you went to your dr and he prescribed antibiotics for a chest infection you would not save money just buying over the counter asprin and hope for the best, just to save money, or would you?

biggurs

[

However, there is also an old rule of thumb within the industry, where you ask yourself if you would accept your mum wearing what you have just made, if not, then it gets rejected. Would you be happy for your mum to drive with a guessed or self-measured PD? Or for your child to cycle to school? What if the lorry driver who knocked over your relative could not see properly? Would that be OK?

As someone said earlier, invest a few quid in the only pair of eyes you will ever have.[/quote]

nice one.... but I wouldn't be surprised if these people shopped around on the net looking for a cheap pair of eyes!!!!

wishiwasarichgirl

edit - just typed a big reply to this then realised it was an old thread that had been dragged up for some reason, but I've left my advice below as it may help someone out

many places will have a range of glasses which you can get completely free with your NHS voucher (maybe not a great range but you're obviously not fussy if you are willing to buy on-line) and they will take your PD measurement as part of the DISPENSING process (it is not part of your prescription whch is why it is not included on it). They may also need to take other measurements such as heights, BVD & pantoscopic tilt depending on your prescription, but at least you will know these have all been done properly.

Shop around the high street stores, I know specsavers £25 & £45 frames are free (including scratch resistant plastic lenses) with an NHS GOS3 voucher, and I am pretty sure other places offer some too

oldkingkole

Watch out for gobbledy gook. Particularly from people in the trade like BIGGURS above. The attempt to justify the witholding of PD is clearly nonsence. Would there be a rik of killing someone whilst driving if the PD measuremnet was witheld when needed for reading glasses? Of corse not.

There is just as much risk if they make a mistake in specifying any element of your prescription measurement.

The witholding is an industry conspiracy to stop you bying at sensible prices on the net.

Comparisons:

Safilo frames from one high street chain £230 with the lenses in. On the web £128.

Reglazing existing frames at anothe Express chain £79. On the web £14.95

Measuring your own PD is tricky but not difficult. See several helpful web pages. Be slow. Do it again. Get a friend to check what you have done yourself in the mirror. Do it several times and average any different results. Accuracy to a couple of millimeters is no problem for reading glasses where the lense strengths are betwen -3 and +3.

Witholding is anti competative and it is time the competition comission stopped this blatent restrictive practice.