Are Opticians ripping people off? Boots/Specsavers/Vision express

AmberMoon

I stopped buying frames from the high-street shops long ago as it is a complete rip off. I now just buy frames from Gumtree or the like and get them reglazed to my prescription from glassesdirect.co.uk for the small cost of £25.

With regards to Specsavers, I have been going to the Kirkstall Leeds branch for years for my contact lenses with no bother but when I changed to the Albion Street (city centre) branch they decided to try to start charging me £20 a pop on top of my £12.99 (PER BOX) lenses for a 'contact lens check' - something that was previously free. I told them to stuff it and in no uncertain terms that they had lost a customer as this contact lens check is obviously not required by law as online shops can sell you lenses without having to undergo a check. I now get my eyes tested at independent Opticians (supporting local business) and just buy my lenses online from contactlenses.co.uk for a mere £7.50 a box.

hollydays

Ripping people off/ making huge profits - two sides of a coin?

nedmundo

AmberMoon wrote: »

I told them to stuff it and in no uncertain terms that they had lost a customer as this contact lens check is obviously not required by law as online shops can sell you lenses without having to undergo a check.

It is still a legal requirement - Ambermoon. Some online suppliers circumvent this by being registered or shipping from abroad to tak ethem out of UK jurisdiction.

Marktheshark

This market needs opening wide up.
Once you have your prescription you should be able to buy glasses from anywhere including non optical outlets, the lenses and frames costs pennies in the real world.
Another ripp off UK tradition.

nedmundo

Marktheshark wrote: »

This market needs opening wide up.
Once you have your prescription you should be able to buy glasses from anywhere including non optical outlets, the lenses and frames costs pennies in the real world.
Another ripp off UK tradition.

The market is already opened up - Mark. Some products may cost pennies to manufacture in Far East countries, which do not have the same employment, legal and environmental regulation as ourselves, but some products cost a great deal more to manufacture, which along with overheads, expertise and service mean in a higher price to the consumer.

AmberMoon

nedmundo wrote: »

It is still a legal requirement - Ambermoon. Some online suppliers circumvent this by being registered or shipping from abroad to tak ethem out of UK jurisdiction.

Hmm that's interesting and makes sense as I *think* these online lenses come via Jersey or one of the Channel Islands.

C_Mababejive

Marktheshark wrote: »

This market needs opening wide up.
Once you have your prescription you should be able to buy glasses from anywhere including non optical outlets, the lenses and frames costs pennies in the real world.
Another ripp off UK tradition.

Im not sure that it needs opening up or that there is a huge rip off going on. I do think that customers need to have a better understanding of their individual needs and i do think that we must support and appreciate the excellent service provided by independent optoms.

I do think that the big contact manufs are running a virtual cartel and that bit needs addressing.

If people want to buy expensive specs just because its got a designer name on them well thats their personal choice. I would question what donna karen or whoever knows of the optical profession but thats just me.

I prefer to concentrate on optom skills,professionalism and my needs and as they are complex, im prepared to pay my optom and also i now get my CLs from him as his price is the best.

doodlesmum

I use Boots contact lense scheme it is more agreed than if you buy them online but I like the fact if there is a problem where I go they will fit you in asap.I do long hrs at work so my lenses have to be comfortable and the optician was excellent at letting me trial pairs .I have brought pair of glasses 1/2 price £25 because I am on the scheme ,eye tests on the scheme are free.I had a batch of lenses that some felt really uncomfortable like they were sratched, Boots refunded my money no questions asked.I can't fault my boots opticians they have never tried to sell me extra tints etc infact they said it not worth the money being a back up pair.Used to go specsavers awful like a production line and awful quality glasses.

C_Mababejive

In my experience Boots can either be very good or poor depending on branch. There is a clear line between optom and shop. When i used to use them,it would be a different optom every time. Im not talking annually, i mean on my yearly checkup i would usually have to return once or twice for tryouts.

Last time they insisted that i needed multifocal toric CLs. I've used spherical CLs for decades and got along fine with them. I went through three trial sets with three different optoms and the fourth set..well that was over 18 months ago and they still havent phoned me to tell me they are in stock !