Tesco Opticians

Becles

I got my eyes tested at D&A, but due to a rude member of staff on the shopfloor, I went elsewhere to buy glasses.

I chose new frames in Tesco Opticians which were sent away to be made up. I picked them up last weekend. They seemed ok having a quick glance round in store, but when I got home I noticed that close-mid distance was blured through my right eye making it difficult working on the PC which I use a lot for work.

I thought it was an error on the prescription, so I went back to D&A. They retested my eyes and said the prescription was fine, so they checked the glasses for me. The optician said the pupil distance was wrong on the right eye, so I'm not looking directly through the centre of the lense. I was told that as my right eye is considerably worse than my left eye, it is essential the pupil distance is accurate as my eye will not tolerate a small error hence the blured vision.

I've been back to Tesco today. They measured both my eyes again, and the glasses and admitted the pupil distance is wrong. However, the mistake is within "British Tolerance Levels" so they are not prepared to change the lenses. I explained why I need the correct pupil distance, and they even rang my optician and spoke to him who confirmed the glasses are not suitable.

Tesco refuse to budge as the Optical Dispenser says the lenses are within "British Tolerance Levels" so they are not obliged to refund or replace them. I argued and said regardless of British Tolerance Levels, the glasses are not suitable for use as I can't see out of one eye, but he still refused to budge. There was no optician or senior member of staff in the store to ask for further advice.

At the moment Tesco have the glasses as the frame was faulty. They said they will replace the frame but they will not replace the lenses. I was refused a refund as I was told I do not have grounds for one.

Where do I stand now?

Astaroth

If D&H measured the glasses, did they state they were off but within tollerance or not? Would be interesting to know if they also say they are "acceptable" or not.

Unusually I dont know what the answer is to this one . Under normal rules an item must be "fit for purpose" however there are agreed tollerances for items... so if you buy a bar of chocolate that is supposed to be 100g but is actually 99.95g you would have no comeback as it would be considered "close enough" and within tollerance.

Which takes precident of an acceptable level of error or fit for purpose I am not sure... though you can of cause argue under the sales of goods act that any item sold must be fit for purpose and as you cannot see properly then they are not. The CAB may be able to give you advice or probably better would be the legal advice line on your Home Insurance Legal Expenses policy (if you have one).

Personally there are some things I would go to tesco's for (though not many as I prefer Waitrose) but nothing over £30 - go to a proper shop.

MikeLB

Having worked at Tesco Opticians previously for a couple of years, may I suggest the following -.

Ask to speak to the Dispensing Optician, They usually work daytimes and not so much in the evenings, maybe phone ahead to ask when one might be in. (Dont go complaining to the Senior / Store Managers etc, they cannot override decisions regarding the Opticians which could be seen as over-riding professional, it can land them and the Optometrists in a lot of hot water if they do). They can only deal with complaints about staff service really.

From what you have said, I am guessing you spoke to an Optical Advisor. While they are all fully trained, legally they are not allowed to dispense glasses with no optician in the store as they are not 'professionally' qualified staff so to speak but trained up (and thats not Tesco cost cutting, thats industry practice).

Who measured your pupil distance for these glasses? Did Tesco Opticians measure you when they ordered the glasses OR did they use the measurements which were supplied by D&A on your prescription if they were written down? Was there any discrepancies in any of the measurements that you know of at the time of ordering? (If you can answer this bit I will explain in a further answer later to avoid waffling on too much here)

As you mention middle distance, are these Vari Focal lenses? If so, no two brands of Vari Focals are the same and you have to readjust to these again. (This is where I would get my bit of paper out to explain to customers). If its vari's, the progression of strength is not uniform down the lens and not from edge to edge, and again, eyes need to teach themselves how best to use the new lens. Or are they compact Vari's if you previously had Standard Varis? If they were varis, there is also an issue with optical centre heights in the frames. As you mention PC work, I am also wondering if you have dealt with intermediate prescritpions for that range of work or just a simple near and far prescription, whichw ill bot neccesarily work with intermediate PC type prescriptions.

There are tolerances for all aspects of lenses. I would have said, from what I can recall so dont quote me, 1mm either way maximum over the combined total pupil distance. Bear in mind that if you have had the same glasses for a number of years and switch, your eyes will have to readjust to the new ones and it is not uncommon to feel an eye pull towards a new optical centre in a different lens for a few days so we always asked people to persevere with new specs for 3 - 4 days first before going for remakes etc.

And it was for reasons such as this we were never fans of making up specs to other companies prescriptions, as it always meant we were limited in how we could respond when a problem cropped up.

One thing I have to stress though is that the brand name lenses used by Tesco (same as anywehere else) are cut by a very well established Optical company who have worked in the business for many many years before Tesco even had Opticians(and used to provide to other companies before becoming exclusive only to Tesco contract). The store staff are trained to a high standard and the opticians are no less qualified that anywhere else. The cheap price comes from 2 things - massive bulk buying and the fact the Opticians makes no real money whatsoever for Tesco!

Sorry, bit long winded I know, just going through the logical process I used to do with customers when this sort of thing did crop up in my days at TO. Happily the majority of the time there was never a big problem. But if you can provide a bit more detail, can probably give a better explanation to the query.

Becles

There was no mention of the pupil distance on the original prescription. It was written on by him at the second appointment.

The man on the shop floor measured my pupil distance with a ruler against my forehead. I assume he was an Optical Assitant as I saw the same man again today when I was complaining, and he said there were no opticians on the premises.

Today he checked the pupil distance with a ruler, then again with a hand held device that I had to look at a light inside. The machine gave the same reading as the D&A optician of 60 whereas the man measured 62.5 with his ruler.

The left eye was fine on the glasses and the right eye was 2.5mm out.

The lenses are just standard ones - not varifocals. They were alright for distance like driving and watching TV, but blured when reading and using the PC. The D&A blamed that on the right lense having the 2.5mm error.

stickyfeet

HI...

Have just read the problems you've been having!
I have worked for an opticians for the last fifteen years and unfortunately the problem of two optical suppliers argueing who is at fault is quite common and frustrating.I'll see if I can help....

1. The otical centres on a single vision pair of spectacles is usually split unless specified by the optical dispenser 60 = 30 each eye. so it is very unusual that they can say that one eye is 2.5 out ?????

2. If you've bought glasses for distance and t.v then the prescription isn't going to be suitable for reading or computer.

Distance glasses = driving and television
Intermediate glasses= computer / reading music
Reading glasses = reading a book / small print

Therefore you either need three seperate pairs of glasses or varifocals which combine all three prescriptions.

Hope this have made things a little clearer. I expect that if you went back and saw the optician at D&A and told them what you wanted glasses specifically for (computer) they could help you out. Or explain to a senior member of staff at tesco's.

Hope you get your problem sorted out:rolleyes:

MikeLB

I think you have 2 problems here.

As stickyfeet says, a single vision prescription for distance will not work for intermediate. The problem you said you have in OP is for intermediate reading and the glasses are not for that. Its not that an uncommon issue. The internediate prescription was something that a lot of customers never really know about and often has to be tested for and prescribed for seperately. In which case, D&A should test you for this or any other optician.

So, from what I can see. D&A have given you a prescription for distance. You say that for distance the Tesco glasses are fine and that the problem you have is for intermediate. Pupil distance will have no effect on this at all, as you need different lenses for the different prescription.

In that situation, Then IMO Tesco are right and you dont have a cause for complaint with them and I think it would be unreasonable to expect them to sort out the prescription problem with your glasses as they didnt test you for them. The pupil distance may not be what D&A said, but as you said for the precription they were made for (Distance) they work fine. The pupil distance anomoly of 2.5mm would only make a huge difference on a single vision if you had a complex lens, high prescription or prism.

The pupil distance is the complete total distance between pupils, so no eye will be wrong in measurement compared to the other.

Sorry thats probably not what you wanted to hear, but if you had come to me at Tesco Opticians with this problem, then I would not accept Tesco were at Fault and would refer you back to your Optometrist as the glasses were made for the purpose which they were prescribed for.

This problem seems to lie in what the prescription was given to you for and what you actually need them for, which seem to be 2 different things. That you need to discuss with your Optometrist.

Becles

stickyfeet wrote:

1. The otical centres on a single vision pair of spectacles is usually split unless specified by the optical dispenser 60 = 30 each eye. so it is very unusual that they can say that one eye is 2.5 out ?????

That was what happened. Both D&A and Tesco showed me the markings on the lenses after measuring with a machine. From a total pupil distance of 62.5, they were made up as 30 on the left eye and 30 on the right eye.

I don't understand why I suddenly need 3 pairs of glasses or varifocals?

I've worn glasses all the time for years, and I've worn the same pair for driving and PC use/reading with single vision lenses. It's never been a problem until this pair of glasses, and varifocals or multiple pairs with different lenses for different uses have never been suggested :huh:

Thanks for the help so far though - much appreciated

Poppy9

I think it's old age Beccles that you need different lenses for different things:rotfl:

My OH bought glasses and contact lens from Tesco's. He wouldn't buy from them again as the lens supplied were ragged around the edges and he had paid extra for thin lens as they were small framed glasses. The contact lens brand affected his eyes and they were not very helpful in advising him on a different brand or solution.

He's been happily with specsavers for a few years now. I don't know if they are the cheapest but he's happy with the service.

Becles

Hey! Less of the old age - I'm only 30

I agree the quality of the glasses are poor. They were semi-rimless and rough round the bottom of the lenses. The frame was a coloured coated metal style and I noticed some of the colour had chipped off showing the metal underneath. They said the lenses were fine but would replace the frame as it the chips were right on the front and obvious. There were a lot cheaper than D&A, but it shows in the quality.

Poppy9

I whinged about them a little while ago on here.

MikeLB

Poppy9 wrote:

. The contact lens brand affected his eyes and they were not very helpful in advising him on a different brand or solution.

What brand were they - Tesco usually only supply Ciba Vision (Focus) or Bausch and Laumb. (thought some of the coloured lenses are other major brands. Its a small industry, the same comapnies make the contact lenses for every opticians in one form or another!)

If it is Bausch and Laumb, then you might be interested to know they are having major problems worldwide as reported in the press over the past few months with their lenses causing irritation to some customers. They are expected to loose hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation because of this.