Tesco opticians misleading pricing

The_Deep

They say that you can have two pairs of spectacles for £65, fair enough, you can. They go on to say that, for an extra £10, you can have tinted lenses in one pair, you cannot.

They refuse to supply tinted lenses without UV protection lenses, and these cost an extra £10. The optician said that it was against the law to supply the one without the other. Does anyone know if this is the case?

Even if it is true, (which I very much doubt), should they not be pricing the tinted lenses at £20?

somethingcorporate

It'll all be in the T&Cs - do you have a copy of the advertising you can show? How do they "say" it?

suited-aces

Seems logical. The tint will dilate your pupils, I'd imagine you'd need some sort of protection for your retina.

The_Deep

somethingcorporate wrote: »

It'll all be in the T&Cs - do you have a copy of the advertising you can show? How do they "say" it?

Both are asterisked, "ordered together for complete protection".

If they only sell them together, why the two separeate prices?

They would probably convince a trading Standards officer that it is legal, but it does nothing for transparency. It seems to me that they are selling the glasses at a not too unreasonable mark-up, but charging an arm and a leg for extras, e.g., ultrathin lenses will add an eye-watering £90 to your bill.

pimento

Thank your lucky stars you don't need varifocals. The 2 for £79 sign in the window of the Boots opticians I visited yesterday turned into £339 (admittedly with a free pair of sunglasses with not quite as good lenses as the main pair) plus the £20 cost of the eye test.

Makes your eyes water!

Hermione_Granger

Provided that the total price is shown before you pay then it's legal.

This is no different to airlines such as Ryanair offering flights to France for £5. When you come to pay you find that "taxes and fees" are then added which greatly increase the total price.
The flight can't be purchased without the fees, so it's like your tint not being able to be purchased without the UV protection.

The_Deep

There is a big difference Hermione, Ryanair has its registered office in Ireland and is therefore outside the remit of Trading Standards. In any event, as soon as you enter their website you have to tick a box to say that you agree to their T&C.

Tesco, Specsavers, et al, on the other hand, tempt you inside with tempting window offers which are not what they seem.

In this day and age some of their spectacles are reasonably priced, but the mark up on their made in China "designer" frames must be well over 1,000%. A pair of spectacles can easily cost you more than a middle of the market washing machine.

I had my eyes tested in Boots last week, all I needed is a pair of glasses for driving long distances, (I drive to and from Spain four times a year). They tried to sell me three different prescriptions, one for distance, one for reading, and one to wear when using my PC.