Opticians prescription

escher

Hello all,
Just had an eye test today at Dollond & Aitchison.
I got the eye test free through a voucher on their site but had to pay £27.50 for a contact lens consultation.
I asked for my contact lens prescription at the end but was told that I couldn't have one as they need to order and then fit the lens at an appointment next week to see if they are my correct prescription(meant to be free).
Am I legally entitled to ask for both my glasses prescription and contact lens prescription without being obligated to sign up for a contract with them?
Feels like I am being conned. Any advice would be helpful.
Thanks Escher

nedmundo

I don't think they are being unreasonable. They need to follow you up once you've been wearing the lenses for a while, before being able to issue a prescription for contact lenses. After all, you wouldn't want to go online and buy 6 or 12 months supply, only to find they weren't suitable after a couple of months.

I take it they gave you the eye exam prescription anyway.

escher

Hi Nedmundo,

Thanks for replying. No I didn't even get that. That's why I suspicious of their motives as I don't want to end up lumbered with a minimum 12 month contract I didn't want in the first place.
Just need to know that I have the right to the prescriptions.

escher

Oh I forgot to mention that they were very keen for me to buy both glasses and sign a contract for lenses. I simply don't have that kind of money. Also I saw an article on this site saying there was a 90% mark up on glasses by said optician compared with various sites on the net.

injaroc

I did see one offer at an opticians a while back that your eye examination was free as long as you bought your glasses from them after - do you think this was in the small print that they didn't tell you?

london_saver

I am with D&A for contact lenses and at no point was I made for forced to sign anything such as a 12 month contract. You use contact lenses for as long as you want them. I think its strongly advisable that you follow through with trialing lenses until the optician is happy with the fit because this is your eye-sight we are talking about (V.important) and various lenses react different to you eyes. Trialing contact lenses isnt quite like going into a shop and buy an item of clothing. If you wear the different kind, then it can affect your eyesight, even if you dont notice that they are damaging.
Speak to your optician about the trials as they may not charge you for the lenses which they start you on. If you are trying contact lenses for the first time, its worth sticking with an optician for a while because you will need lots of regular (monthly or tri-monthly) check-ups whilst you are trying to find the best pair of lenses to suit your eyes. Contact lenses check-ups are £25 and there are never any "vouchers" or offers for free check-ups. So you cant get round this. If you sign on with a scheme, then the check-ups are free. Schemes dont trap you in for a fixed period, you are with the scheme for as long as you want.

olly300

http://www.danda.co.uk/contact-lenses/new/

Many opticians and I include D&A in this now do make new customers sign a 12 month direct debit contract.

This is because contact lens examinations actually cost more than they charge you for the first examination and trial. And due to people like me who have worn contact lenses for years, moved areas but buy their contact lenses online, opticians are losing money.

Also some companies seem determined not to give customers their contact lens prescription, ensure that the contact lens prescription is invalid after 6 months or demand you have another eye test after 6 months.

london_saver

Olly, ive been a contact lense wearer for almost a decade now, and ive never been asked to sign a direct debit mandate for 12 months, so maybe its a new thing. I do see where the opticians are coming from though, they need to recoup their losses somewhere to loss of custom to internet optical suppliers but prices are still quite high.

Its fairly easy to pay a one off £25 fee for an eye test and buy glasses online, but with contact lenses, its more complicated.

sillyvixen

london_saver wrote: »

Its fairly easy to pay a one off £25 fee for an eye test and buy glasses online, but with contact lenses, its more complicated.

the supply of contact lenses is governed quite tightly by british law and D&A are quite within the law not to issue you with a lens spec at this point - the law states a reasonable fitting time at 3 months and at this stage a specification may be given as long as there are no problems.. once you have worn lenses and had a 3 month check they can issue a specification that is valid for a set period of time and you can only get lenses to last untill that time (eg if 6 months you cant buy 7 months of lenses) if you dont join the scheme lens checks will cost £40 a go to keep recieving lenses from then or an alternitve supplier .. you do not have to sign up for 12 months and can cancel at any time (usually need 10 days notice due to dd being requested)

however if they did not issue you with a sight test prescription (glasses) contact them as they are required to do so. also as they are still in sale i thought they were offering free assesments - are they a company store (most are) or a franchise, in which case they dont have to offer th company offers.

london_saver

Good advice sillyvixen, thats along the lines of what I was thinking when I meant that getting contact lenses prescriptions are a lot more complicated than getting a straightforward spectacles prescription and then being able to buy online.

OP.... I concur with what SillyVixen has said, except she articulated it better than me! lol

My advice to the OP is to ask for your optical prescption as many people have said, the optician must provide you with this. Also have a chat with your optician about your options for your contact lenses. Trial some lenses until you have the right ones and then look for cheaper options elsewhere if you are happy to pay for aftercare. There is mixed response about mandatory joining of schemes, but the best information you can get is from your optician.

escher

OK. We'll see what happens when I go back next week. Will post again then. Many thanks to all who all replied :T