Prescription glasses for £8.50 inc delivery, anti-scratch/glare and UV

nedmundo

loobylou2 wrote: »

Fair enough, I take your point about the legal responsibilities of the situation but I still think that the charge is too high, particularly having seen on the website that I could buy a ruler and do the job myself for the princely sum of 10p!!! Can I ask how much Opticians actually earn though because I'm sure its an awful lot more than I do!!! Maybe I should retrain to become one!!! Also I should have said many thanks to the OP, its an excellent offer as far as I'm concerned because I'm having problems with my sight at the moment, need glasses but just don"t have the cash to be able to afford to pay for them at the opticians, this will be a big help. My employers are paying for my test today but they won"t pay for the glasses as well!!!

The starting salary is about £25k, but you need AAB at A level to get on to the degree course, pass the professional qualifying exams after a year on minimum wage as a 'pre-reg' and then have to constantly study and attend courses to keep the qualification.

By all means do it with a ruler, but then of course you're responsible if you get it wrong. That charge is there to put folks off asking, but also to cover costs if they end up having to remake lenses for something they haven't dispensed.

mum2one

Beverley_Bill wrote: »

I find having a friendly barmaid in the local pub helps, she puts our specs in the glasswasher and they come out better than new.


plus it is an excuse to:beer:

Love it - best excuse I've heard x

adouglasmhor

apples1 wrote: »

I'm not getting into a slanging match with you and I really don't feel you need to be rude. You are quite right you said " they are getting paid one way or another" but the implication from that is that what they are paid for the test covers it and I was just pointing out that it doesn't. Rightly or wrongly maybe - but I was just pointing it out.

The point I made about free eye tests was in relation to special offer vouchers not groups who qualify for an NHS test. I did not bring into question the fact you are entitled to a copy of your prescription but I was pointing out that the measurements you need to order the glasses are entirely different to the prescription. I only made this point to explain why the optician would not willingly take these measurements for you free of charge so someone could use them elsewhere.

That doesn't mean I need my eyes tested or that I need your rudeness. I was providing you and others reading this site with information.

As for your new point about them getting more money for doing a sight test than "waiting for something to happen". Actually that appointment could have been used for someone else so they would not just sit about waiting for something to happen they would be doing another sight test.

It's fair enough if you want to chance your own measurements and buy cheap specs online but understanding the story behind it and going into it with your eyes wide open(!) is all I was aiming for.

Maybe so, where I live all eye test are free but before that I paid for them until I was 40 (Glaucoma a parent so I can't afford to mess about ). I did find that a lot of the chain/franchise places where opticians are usually more pushed to get you though and buying faster do not give such good service and are more likely to make silly mistakes - like my mum having headaches because they made her bifocal lenses upside down.

My rudeness was on a par with yours IMO, especialy as you ade out I had said something I had not. I will apologise though, it was probaly not the best way I could have put it and very counterproductive. Sorry.

sovdia

I think an optician should be responsible if they give an incorrect PD measurement. It seems fundamental to the profession and I think it should be attached to every prescription as a matter of form.

It's a very simple procedure that took my wife about one minute and I fail to see why it should cost £30!

mum2one

Rg_Jp wrote: »

Just asking about some information as my eyes are worse than the -6.00 in the description does anyone know of anywhere else to try?

I have tried Googles4u.com which are very cheap but i have a detailed prescription and they struggle to meet my specification. When e-mailing my complaints to them they were very helpfull and did replace them with a further 2 pair of glasses but yet again were close but not correct.

So now i am stuck between paying £388 for a pair from a high street retailer or trying Google4u again.

Thanks MSE
Johnpaul.

basically when the glasses go over the 6.00 viewong range go into thick lenses, (no offence to anyone as I'm bordering thh 5.75 measurement), it makes them look like the bottoms of the old glass milk bottles.

The way to disguise that if you dont want thiner lenses is go for a frame with a with side that literaly the size of the arm at the lenses point is the size of the glassses, (if that makes sense).

I don't mean to sound ruse at all, but have you tried Specsavers, my mum she has varifocal lenses, and she has the thinner lenses, decent frame, plus the transactions (reaction to sunlight), and she can get 2 pairs cheaper than that price.

Or I don't know if they do thinner lenses, but have you tried, www.glassesdirect.co.uk

Presently they have a 20% discount, and if you go through Quidco you get cash back, what I personally like about the site, you can pick 4 frames, (free of charge at mo but was £5) try them at home (they wont be prescription lenses), for 7-10 days, and if you like them, send he 4 pairs back, if you have paid the £5 charge, this gets refunded off your order.

I have had a standard pair off them an have been very impressed, they do all options so may be worth a look x

speccy2eyes

nedmundo wrote: »

It's not quite that black and white Loobylou2. The PD measurement is the legal responsibility of whoever is dispensing the specs. If they give you that measurement, they are taking on that legal responsibility and could be liable to resolve any problems you might have for a dispensing which they have no control over. Would you do that for no charge?

Just to answer the other debate going on above, the average cost to provide an eye exam after taking into account overheads such as staff, rent, electricity, equipment, rates etc is between £50-£60 and that's before the optician gets paid. The NHS currently pays £19.80. Makes the eye test a bit of a bargain really!

Firstly, regarding the PD, this is a non-valid point. The only thing an optician will be responsible for is that the measurements are correct. If they provide correct measurements then no company would have any leg to stand on coming back to them for any issues with it.
It is a legalese nonsense point that is regularly, but misleadingly, given by opticians. More honestly, it's simply a way of preventing people shopping elsewhere - which from a business point of view is perfectly understandable, if very short sighted (excuse the phrase)

Secondly, the NHS fee not currently covering the cost is something the optical industry as a whole should be constantly and heavily lobbying the government about.

nedmundo

speccy2eyes wrote: »

Firstly, regarding the PD, this is a non-valid point. The only thing an optician will be responsible for is that the measurements are correct. If they provide correct measurements then no company would have any leg to stand on coming back to them for any issues with it.
It is a legalese nonsense point that is regularly, but misleadingly, given by opticians. More honestly, it's simply a way of preventing people shopping elsewhere - which from a business point of view is perfectly understandable, if very short sighted (excuse the phrase)

Secondly, the NHS fee not currently covering the cost is something the optical industry as a whole should be constantly and heavily lobbying the government about.

I'll take the 2nd point 1st. The profession has been heavily lobbying the government for a very long time but with no success. The government is understandably happy happy with the current status quo and knows full well that there is nothing we can do about it. What can we do about it - strike? Perhaps, what we need is the public to lobby the government - that might get some results.

Now PDs, if I measure someone with a strongish prescription and with a distance PD of 69 and they go and order reading specs based on that (where the PD should probably be more like 64), they are going to encounter prismatic effects and get double vision and eyestrain.

Q. If the correct PD and prescription was given out and the patient still didn't get on with their specs, due to other factors - lens form, frame curve etc, what would happen?

A. The patient would still go back to the opticians, expecting them to take the time to sort the problem out, even if it wasn't their fault.

Seriously, why should take the time and care to do the dispensing work for nothing and still get lumped with the liability? Would you? The ideal would be if we were paid the proper fee by the NHS, thus removing the cross-subsidy. Then everyone could get cheap specs at the Opticians of their choice and everyone is happy!:beer:

sovdia

Now PDs, if I measure someone with a strongish prescription and with a distance PD of 69 and they go and order reading specs based on that (where the PD should probably be more like 64), they are going to encounter prismatic effects and get double vision and eyestrain.

Why be so secretive about it; just give them both PD measurements? Is is part of your prescription after all.

Q. If the correct PD and prescription was given out and the patient still didn't get on with their specs, due to other factors - lens form, frame curve etc, what would happen?

A. The patient would still go back to the opticians, expecting them to take the time to sort the problem out, even if it wasn't their fault.

If I had any such problems, I would contact the supplier. If the problem persisted I would go to the optician and expect to pay a reasonable fee for rectification. I would not expect to pay an exorbitant fee just because they were bought on the Web in the first case.

lornalorna01

A quick note on selectspecs. I did order a pair the last time they had this deal and it was a complete waste of money. I did em them several times and even returned them. They just sent them back ! They are completely different to the ones I had made up on the high street and I can't use them.
Not a great experience and a lesson learnt.

Emm_appeal

I think the problem is that opticians have been quite frankly, ripping people off for years. They first started not giving out prescriptions after eye tests , then made it terribly awkward for the patient, leaving out the PD measurement is just a last act of defiance by them....by law they have to give the patient their prescription.....if they are not making money by charging £60 an hour to look at someones eyes and they dont get any extra money off the govt for doing eye tests then they should charge more as obviously the market would bear this price?

Maybe they should lobby the govt to support a one year subsidised eye test for everyone that drives a car,operates a machine or uses a computer, in which trained opticians could look fully for other underlying health implications whilst doing eye tests, this would help the NHS and lower the cost of treating diseases that could be spotted earlier...a win win situation...but please dont try to convince me that opticians are going broke because they dont earn from eye tests...they might be going skint because they charge too much for their frames and lenses and the difference is so shocking that word of mouth has spread and people are buying off the net....maybe they should look at an adjusting or fitting service for people that do buy them off the net.

I just bought my SO glasses for £42 delivered, the optician quoted £600 upwards!! ok goggles4u might turn out to be inferior glasses or the prescription might not be right and they cant be worn...but at that price i am more than willing to take a chance