Specsaver 'free' varifocals offer

RoxyK

I've used Specsaves for quite a few years but now I need varifocals and the cheapest they recommended were about £300 as I was new to varifocals. The standard free ones are that, just standard and they didn't recommend them for me as I'd not worn them before. The price went from £330 to under £400 I think for the better lenses. Off a hunting I went and got lots of prices in various chain and independents.

I ended up wanting rimless transitions so needed to be thinner. Best buy was Asda for £135 all inclusive. You can upgrade to an even better varifocal but after a chat the assistant advised I'd be unlike to notice the difference. They also offer a 90 day guarantee in case they do not work for you, though I understand if you're new you need to give them 2 weeks. The service was great - now I just wait for the glasses.

I have used Asda before and though usually prefer Specsavers, this time Asda won hands down.

GlasweJen

Asda only have 2 varifocal lenses in their range and they both cost the same amount?

Torry_Quine

I have glasses from Specsavers with the free varifocal lenses and they are great. I don't use the most expensive frames either less than £100 if memory serves me right.

pattycake

Specsavers_company_representative wrote: »

Hi Beenie

This link to our website describes exactly the differences between the various varifocals. It is Standard Pentax varifocal lenses which are currently free.

http://www.specsavers.co.uk/glasses/varifocals/varifocal-range/

I paid for the "tailor-made" lenses and chose designer frames. Cost was around £300 for two pairs.

I have been wearing varifocals for a number of years and had Rodenstock lenses in the past. I am not nearly as happy with the Specsaver lenses. I find there is quite a bit of distortion around the edges which I never experienced with my old glasses.

I am wearing the new specs but only when I go out. As soon as I get home, I put on my old glasses which feels like taking off heels and popping on slippers!

I have been back to Specsavers several times for adjustments and they have been very helpful but I have just now accepted the limitations of the new glasses.

Bookworm2

Goggins25 wrote: »

The Specsavers optician prescribed their HDV varifocal lenses for me, as I had been used to Varilux Comfort, with their wide field of good vision. But what was actually supplied was Pentax Independence - what the customer blurb in the shop claims is the "best" (and most expensive) varifocal they supply. There is no public mention of HDV in the shop, even though it is a better lens (but the same price as Pentax Independence). They hadn't told me that my glasses were Pentax, not HDV, when they were supplied. It was only though a comment by a former Specsavers employeee on a review website that I found out that I had been misled. Motto: if you need HDV, make sure you get it. The Pentax lens, while perhaps adequate for some, is nothing like the Varilux Comfort and has a much poorer field of vision.

I complained to Specsavers and insisted on a full refund of what I had paid. In fairness, they gave this immediately. I shall now go to an independent optician for Varilux Comfort, although inevitably this will cost me more. But vision is too important, and you have to wear glasses all day every day, so maybe it's best.

Can't thank you enough for this. I was prescribed Pentax Sola HDV lenses.I knew as soon as I picked them up last Saturday they were wrong but was told to try them. Went back on Monday after reading your quote and insisted on being told which lenses had actually been put into the new Specs. Turns out I had been given their new "Defintions" Lenses which were terrible with a very small field of vision.They were changed for Pentax Sola HDV which I should have been given in the first place & I have picked them up today. My Vision is just as good as ever!