Refund at optitians

magan

Long story short. I went for eye test to the optitian. I felt somehow a bit pressured to order my reading glasses there and after choosing the cheapest frame I could find I got charged nearly £300 (paid by credit card). This was yesterday evening. I have called today to cancel my order (which according to them it will take a week). They keep telling me someone will call me back. My question is ...Do I have the right to get a refund? would they tell me " no, we have already placed the order" or...I don't know.

bris

As you did everything instore then their is no automatic right to a refund.

You need to read their T&C's which will tell you about their policy for refunds.

It's possible if they refund the will charge for the eye test.

magan

I have checked all over the website, there is no mention to "terms and conditions" nowhere. I don't have any problem paying for the eye test, because I had it. What I wasn't expecting was the price of the reading glasses, that is why I want the refund.

Manxman_in_exile

Didn't you make any attempt to find out the likely cost before agreeing to buy?  Did you have no idea of the cost until being told £290 (or whatever)?

(None of my business, but do you actually need prescription reading spectacles?  I have prescription glasses for distance - eg driving, watching TV etc - but for reading and VDU work I just use £12 off the rack glasses from Boots or a supermarket.  Opticians are always trying to upsell reading glasses or bifocals to me, but I just ignore them.)

Aylesbury_Duck

You're not entitled to one, so turn on the charm in the hope of getting one.

What pressure did they put you under?

The_Fat_Controller

Which optician did you use ?

FeaturelessVoid

Manxman_in_exile said:

Didn't you make any attempt to find out the likely cost before agreeing to buy?  Did you have no idea of the cost until being told £290 (or whatever)?

(None of my business, but do you actually need prescription reading spectacles?  I have prescription glasses for distance - eg driving, watching TV etc - but for reading and VDU work I just use £12 off the rack glasses from Boots or a supermarket.  Opticians are always trying to upsell reading glasses or bifocals to me, but I just ignore them.)

Most people I know who are older seem to be very happy using these and seem to swap them, with friends, when they've forgotten to bring them which is the exact opposite of myself being myopic.

I find it hard to believe that someone so price-conscious didn't question the £300 price tag on a pair of reading glasses?

magan

To be honest. I have never used glasses and I have never done an eye test before (which might be difficult to believe, but I have never needed it). That is why I didn't really know what to expect. I asked a few friends which optitian in the area they used and 2 of them pointed the same one so I decided to give it a try. It seemed more expensive than other ones like "specsavers" but I thought it "might" be because they are private, little shop. I asked if the OCT scan was included in the eye test. They said yes, everything was included. Now, after talking to the owner asking to see the proof (photo that I genuinely thought they took), he actually said that it wasn't included.

Talking to my friends afterwards regarding the "unexpected" price, they said that no, it wasn't normal, they never paid such amount.

I managed to cancel the order yesterday, or so they said (still waiting to see if my card will be refunded). Feeling really frustrated because I wanted to get a proper eye test done at least for once and I now I will end up going somewhere else to do the OCT. I don't think it was worth all the trouble, all I have at the end of the day is a minimal 0.25 need of reading glasses ( so practically "nothing").

It seems that sometimes it doesn't work going to "the specialist" "not knowing yourself what to expect (because it's the first time)".

Well, as they say...."I should have gone to Specsavers".

Manxman_in_exile

I'd never had my eyes tested before the age of 42.  For the first few years I used a local independent optician, but decided they were a bit pricey and switched to Specsavers about ten years ago.

I know they sometimes get quite a lot of criticism on these pages, but I've always been more than happy with them and would recommend the branch* I use to anyone looking for an optician.  I also suffer periodically from an eye condition that can require emergency NHS treatment if it flares up, and all the Specsavers opticians I've seen have given me really useful advice on managing the condition.

Regarding reading glasses (0.25 magnification?) you should be able to tell if you need them.  I actually have three pairs of Magnivision reading glasses that each cost about £12.50 from Sainsburys.  I use a 1.50 mag for my laptop, a 2.00 mag for normal reading, and a 3.00 mag pair for small print.  Specsavers do keep trying to sell me reading glasses, but what would be the point?  (They are aware of my purchases from Sainsburys and they're happy for me to continue using them if I want to).

* I believe Specsavers is a franchise operation, so I suppose there may be a lot of variation between branches.  But mine is excellent.

p00hsticks

Manxman_in_exile said:

I know they sometimes get quite a lot of criticism on these pages, but I've always been more than happy with them and would recommend the branch* I use to anyone looking for an optician.

I'd second this - both the Specsavers branch in my previous location and the current one have been excellent. Just as IMHO it's worth going to the dentist for regular checkups even if you're not aware of any problems, the same applies to opticians, as they can look for and identify issues - such as oral cancer in the case of dentists and the onset of various conditions such as macular degeneration in the case of opticians - before you yourself may be aware of them.

I get annual free eye tests due to a history of glaucoma in the family, but  haven't actually bought a pair of spectacles from them in years. I need glasses for distance, but my prescription's not changed significantly for a long time so I've stuck with the same pair.  Unfortunately although cheap reading glasses are available off the shelf from many high street stores from Poundland up, the same can't be said for distance vision - but you are within your rights to simply ask for you prescription following an eye test and can then go to any other optician, or one of the cheap online companies such glasses direct to get that prescriotino made up.

So the only payment Specsavers usually get from me is the £20 extra for the OCT scan, although I believe they can claim back the cost of the standard and field vison tests from the NHS.

Ectophile

You can pay a lot for glasses.  I don't think I have ever paid £300, but I have certainly bought glasses for over £200, even going to an independent optical company (not the people who did the eye test).

Other people buy fancy watches or designer clothes.  I buy the best glasses I can get.  The frames have to be titanium, because that's very strong and light.  The lenses have to be extra high refractive index plastic, again because it's lighter.  Then they need an anti-scratch anti-reflection coating.  Add in varifocal lenses, and that adds even more to the cost.