Beware when buying Glasses online

rizla01

I recently decided to purchase some specs for the OH and found a company that offered reasonable prices for some good looking frames.


Namely http://www.glassesshop.com/

Unfortunately we made a mistake in the prescription when ordering so that when they arrived, they were of little use, so we contacted the Customer Service Dept of the site from which we made the purchase to get them changed. Since it was entirely our fault, there was no problem in paying for the second pair in full. ($44.80)

Because the frames were not quite as nice as we thought we decided to order a different frame design with the replacements and agreed to the extra $1 (?) that they would cost us.

When the new specs arrived from glassesshop, I was surprised to find that they had sent us the SAME frames as the original order. Not best pleased I contacted the Company immediately and this is a transcript of what follows.

Read on then ask yourselves.


Were we treated fairly?
Would you ever use this Company?
What do you think this Company should have done?

---

Thu, 28/5/09,


Dear Sirs,

Today I recieved the Glasses order from you Order No. 211001.

The first pair I ordered were made incorrectly as I gave you the wrong measurements and I then paid for a second pair but asked for the Demi glasses with purple frames which you confirmed you would supply.

The glasses that you sent to me are the same as the original order i.e. Linda,
It is the Demi frames that we want NOT the Linda.

Can you please advise?

Kind regards,

---

Date: Friday, 5 June, 2009, 2:42 AM
hi,
We are so sorry for the mistake. We have double checked the record and found that it is our fault to use the wrong frame. Wewould like torefund the price difference ($44.8)to you if you canaccept theredone glasses with frame linda.Please tell us your decision.

best regards,

---

Fri, 5/6/09

Hi,

I have considered the situation.

What I will do is accept your generous offer of a refund so thank you.

I will probably order the other frame from you next year when I replace these ones.

Thank you for your service,

---

Date: Saturday, 6 June, 2009, 1:47 AM
hi,
Thank you for the reply. We have checked the record and found that $44.8 is the price for the lens and the shipping fee. The price difference between frame (demi) and linda is $1, so we did not charge you last time. Now, we will refund you $15 for our mistake which we did not change the frame. We will appreciate your understanding.

best regards,

---

Sat, 6/6/09

Dear Sirs,

As ths was your mistake, I hope that I understand correctly and that you will be refunding the full $44.80 charged to my card.

You made some mention of $15 and $1 which I do not understand.

I made a mistake and it cost me $44 You made a mistake and it cost you the same. Surely that is fair?

Yours sincerely,

---

Hi
We are sorry we sent you the wrong frame! We told you earlier we should refund you $44.8,but there 's not true.
This $44.8 is charged for shipping and lens not for the price difference between two different frames.We remade lenses and shipped your order, so we shouldn't refund this $44.8!
Considering we making a mistake,We would like to compensate you by providing the second frame for free.So we refunded you $15 earlier.
We are so sorry for the trouble we may cause you and thank you so much for your understanding!
Regards

---

Understandably this angered me somewhat, hence my reply.


Hi,

Thank you for your Email.

I am a new customer to glassesshop.com and if this is an example of how you treat your customers then I am not impressed.

I ordered a pair of glasses from your Company and selected a certain type of frame, and paid for them in full. I made an error in the prescription and then placed a second order with the correct prescription. I have paid your Company TWICE already because of an error on my behalf.

Then YOU sent me the wrong frames. This mistake is entirely yours.

In all of my experience of purchasing online, any other Company would have refunded the full amount in compensation for all of the trouble caused by your Company making such a mistake.

You, at first offered me a full refund of payments made which I was happy to accept but then you changed your mind and are now suggesting that I should be happy to accept a mere $15 by way of compensation.

[FONT=宋体]

[FONT=宋体]"hi,

[FONT=宋体]We are so sorry for the mistake. We have double checked the record and found that it is our fault to use the wrong frame. We would like to refund the price difference ($44.8)to you if you can accept the redone glasses with frame linda. Please tell us your decision.
[FONT=宋体]best regards,[/FONT]"

[/FONT]

Why did you offer a full refund?

Is your Company competent to run a business?

You are in breach of contract and therefore I will expect you to honour the original contract and supply me with the frames that I ordered originally.

Since the error is yours and in line with the 'Distance Selling Regulations', I will be happy to return the glasses sent in error, if you would care to send me a return envelope including return postage, paid for, by yourselves.

I will await your response, before I post details of my experience with your Company on various Forums in the UK, including Moneysavingsexpert.com and Hotdealsuk.com, where people look for advice on making such purchases, as I think that it is only fair that anyone considering ordering glasses from the Internet are made aware of how they are likely to be treated when making a purchase.

I await your reply,

Kind regards,

---

[/FONT]

Despite what they have said, to date they have not refunded ANYTHING into my Paypal account and I will keep you updated as to any further response from this Company should they choose to respond or regarding any repayment which may or may not be forthcoming.

Also, and to be fair I shall be sending the Company in question, a link to this post so that they may reply in person.[/FONT]

hutchie_3

I ordered glasses from glassesdirect.co.uk earlier this year and they were very good and a good range of frames at very reasonable prices

rizla01

Yes Agreed.

I have had no problems with Glassesdirect either.
I have also used Spex4less. Very friendly & efficient and will bend over backwards to assist.

fishfinger

Family and friends as well as myself use http://www.goggles4u.com/
Good prices loads of choices of frames and good customer care.

alphazulu

I've use glassesdirect.co.uk before and they were great. I never buy anything worth more than a few pounds from sellers outside the UK as you have very few rights if things go wrong. (I guess purchasing from other EU countries gives you similar protection). Would you have to pay import duty on glasses if HMRC opened them?

As for glasses and contact lenses we have strict rules in the UK covering sales. (orders checked by opticians etc) So you can still get a bargain and know that the product will be safe!

hutchie wrote: »

I ordered glasses from glassesdirect.co.uk earlier this year and they were very good and a good range of frames at very reasonable prices

minnie123

I used wantglasses.co.uk and I was extremely impressed the glasses cost me £35 and I got cashback and I forever get asked where my glasses are from as they are so nice. They also sent me a voucher for £5 off my next pair.

How come all the values in the original post are in $?

rizla01

minnie123 wrote: »

How come all the values in the original post are in $?

Because they charge in $ not £

Enterprise_1701C

Check on the site - most offer no quibble money back guarantees, although a few do not. Guess which ones I use!

mippy

If they are a US company, do the Distance Selling Regulations still apply?

Sorry you've had a bad experience - I'm wary of buying glasses online as eye health is one thing I'm nervous about cutting corners from, but I've been thinking about getting prescription sunglasses.

markdavey

Given the amount of UK based sites, I would not purchase prescription glasses from the US. Spex4less are fantastic. I sat on my last pair and they broke. They replaced the frame at no cost to me (and I still have them). They are able to source any designer frame whether or not it is on their website.

I cannot recommend this company enough.

billieboy_2

After looking at this thread last week, I decided to bite the bullet and get new lenses for my frames from spex4less. I got a voucher for free upgrade to anti-reflective lenses when I downloaded their guide to ordering glasses booklet. Wow, what a service:T. I posted my old glasses off on Friday afternoon and couldn't believe it when they arrived in the post yesterday. Fantastic service. I'll certainly be using them again.