Opticians not honoring offer - please advise!

znh

wealdroam wrote:

Oh, I'm sorry. I appear to have misunderstood.

Have you actually paid money and received good in exchange?
Only from you post I got the impression that discussions were still taking place on whether it should be specs or contact lenses.

Yes - I paid and received glasses. But when I went to use the offer they said I could use they wouldn't let me.

znh

tomtontom wrote: »

Did you get the offer in writing? The website, as above, does state the offer is not available in conjunction with any other offer.

There is a voucher which does state that but I did not have it with me when purchasing my glasses. When I asked for one the employees said not to worry about it as they know I'm coming back to use the offer. Like most students, I tend to ask about discounts and it was the employees who put it through even though they shouldn't have. As I didn't have the voucher I didn't know and assumed there was no issue because they said I could use the discount and the offer.

wealdroam

znh wrote: »

Yes - I paid and received glasses. But when I went to use the offer they said I could use they wouldn't let me.

Then the offer forms part of the contract.
Put simply, a verbal agreement is just as valid as a written one.

The problem you have is that if you only have a verbal agreement, and they deny ever making that agreement then you only option would be to get a court to decide.
The Small Claims Court works on the balance of probabilities, and I am in no position to guess how a county court judge might decide who is telling the truth.

Personally, I wouldn't risk the hassle and cost of a court case.

znh

ConsumerGuy0016 wrote: »

i) OP didn't purchase off the website

ii) Store policy can and subsequently was different to what was written on the website. They offered him a £59 reduction, despite being fully aware that he had used his student discount.

iii) This was after they had backtracked on their initial offer of a £99 reduction at the point of sale of the glasses - information that directly led to the purchase.

You know full well the OP did not get written confirmation of this and are just using this as an opportunity to shoot his claim down.

To the OP, what do you want out of all of this? There's a case for you being refunded and handing the glasses etc back to them - as far as them honouring their offer that'd have come as goodwill gesture on their part.

I just want the offer I was told repeatedly I would get when purchasing my glasses. I understand they made a mistake but I had paid being told I would get the higher offer and for them to retract it doesn't seem fair.

znh

wealdroam wrote: »

Then the offer forms part of the contract.
Put simply, a verbal agreement is just as valid as a written one.

The problem you have is that if you only have a verbal agreement, and they deny ever making that agreement then you only option would be to get a court to decide.
The Small Claims Court works on the balance of probabilities, and I am in no position to guess how a county court judge might decide who is telling the truth.

Personally, I wouldn't risk the hassle and cost of a court case.

They do acknowledge making the offer but when going back to use it the manager kept saying they shouldn't have allowed it and will not honor what they said and instead offered the lower value when I was promised the higher.

wealdroam

znh wrote: »

They do acknowledge making the offer but when going back to use it the manager kept saying they shouldn't have allowed it and will not honor what they said and instead offered the lower value when I was promised the higher.

OK, maybe send a letter before action.

Send a formal letter to the branch manager stating:
1) that they offered xyz and it was only because of that offer that you made the purchase.
2) having made the purchase they are unwilling to honour that agreement.
3) their behaviour is in breach of The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (2008).
3) they have 14 days to supply the agreed discount or its monetary value.
4) if they haven't done so within that time limit, then you have no option to start court proceedings to recover the monies owed.

Keep the letter short and to the point... perhaps not too much longer than what I have just written.

You might like to look at this CAB webpage for more information on an LBA.

znh

wealdroam wrote: »

OK, maybe send a letter before action.

Send a formal letter to the branch manager stating:
1) that they offered xyz and it was only because of that offer that you made the purchase.
2) having made the purchase they are unwilling to honour that agreement.
3) their behaviour is in breach of The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (2008).
3) they have 14 days to supply the agreed discount or its monetary value.
4) if they haven't done so within that time limit, then you have no option to start court proceedings to recover the monies owed.

Keep the letter short and to the point... perhaps not too much longer than what I have written.

Thank you for the advice. I'll be getting a call from the Regional Manager, most likely on Tuesday. I'm just worried he'll back the store manager. I'll see what he says and send a letter if he doesn't agree to honor the offer.

wealdroam

znh wrote: »

Thank you for the advice. I'll be getting a call from the Regional Manager, most likely on Tuesday. I'm just worried he'll back the store manager. I'll see what he says and send a letter if he doesn't agree to honor the offer.

Maybe ask the Regional Manager for the address where you should send an LBA.

Just that might be enough to show him you mean business.

Oh, and I should've said earlier, put real figures in your LBA.
If they owe you £63.97, then state that.

znh

wealdroam wrote: »

Maybe ask the Regional Manager for the address where you should send an LBA.

Just that might be enough to show him you mean business.

Oh, and I should've said earlier, put real figures in your LBA.
If they owe you £63.97, then state that.

Thank you! Hopefully it doesn't get to an LBA and is resolved when speaking to the Regional Manager!

nash1977

You haven't been cheated as you were mistakenly given the 20% student discount (a discount of £50 or more). An offer of £59 towards contacts has been made, but you want the £99 offer, a difference of £40. So financially you are no worse off, in fact better by at least £10.

When you get the call, if they give you the higher offer of £99, that's great. If not, don't waste your time threatening legal action. Vision Express made a mistake, and they have made a reasonable offer.