Small Claims Case Against Specsavers

Tr33house

I purchased lens from my local Specsavers around 3 years ago. During that time the coating on my left lens has deteriorated to the extent that I had to replace the glasses.

I took my glasses to local opticians at Boots and Vision Express who both told me they thought the lens was faulty.

Specsavers however did not agree, and they also did not want to help me in anyway. I spoke to one of the managers and they refuted any claims of it being faulty.

After multiple emails I approached the independent ombudsman who said because of the time elapsed they did not think they could help me.

I therefore opened a small claims court case against them, they have refused mediation or any attempts by me to reach an agreement out of court and now I am faced with proceeding to a hearing. My claim is for money to cover the costs of replacing the glasses only.

My issue is I need to prove that the glasses are faulty and may have been faulty when supplied, and to do that I need an independent expert to provide thatinformation in writing. Boots and Vision Express will not provide that because despite agreeing with me it is against company policy. 

Anyone have any recommendations?

ArbitraryRandom

Try an independent optometrist (a highstreet shop that's owned/run by the optometrist, not part of a corporate chain)? 

sheramber

told me they thought the lens was faulty.

Thinking it  was faulty is not proof that it is.

Why could you not just replace the lens, rather than the whole glasses?

lincroft1710

Surely after 3 years you should be due for an eye test

born_again

When did the coating start to deteriorate?

As after 3 years a lot is going to depend on how the lens has been treated. 

Alderbank

A quick google brings up such as these:

On average, lens enhancements last between one and two years depending on how well you care for your glasses.

Lens coatings for glasses typically last for one or two years but much depends on what type of lens coating you have and how well you take care of your spectacles or sunglasses.

The ombudsman may be right in terms of time elapsed, your three year life might not be unreasonable. 

Did Specsavers give any kind of guarantee that the coating would last longer than say two years?

Tr33house

Specsavers customer service is terrible, I have not once been able to speak to the store director at all, and I know I am not the only person to complain about this.

In answer to all these points:

- I will speak to an independent optician as I agree that is the best route to follow but they may not agree to provide a statement.
- IF they did agree to provide a written statement, then as an expert they can share their opinion that they were faulty if they agree with that assessment.
- I decided to use Boots to get replacement lens and the branch locally required the frame to be sent off to replace the lens, as I need the glasses that was not an option. I have now replaced the glasses with a new pair that I am due to receive next week hopefully.
- In terms of timeline, we should not forget Covid was in the middle of this period and I hate to use that as an excuse not to have wanted to return to the optician sooner but it was a consideration.
- Having said that, as anyone with glasses knows your eyes adapt to scratches and damage to the lens and you do not notice them until that damage gets very bad.
- It would be fair to say that as I expect some wear and tear to the lens I ignored the damage until last October (23) at that point it was very bad and I decided to take action.
- I have never seen this deterioration of lens previously and I have been wearing glasses for 20 years.
- It is really bad on one lens although the other also shows the coating coming away from the side but that lens has what I would consider standard wear.
- My eye sight has not changed much in the last 6-7 years, in fact my last test 3 years ago my eyesight improved slightly. I didn’t feel any need to have an eye test as a result. But naturally when I approached Specsavers to complain I would be an idiot if I did not have an eye test as well, and as it happens they were sending me emails to remind me at this point.
- I did book an eye test the day after I first approached them on that basis and assuming that they would be reasonable and at least accept that it may be faulty. The issue here is they are resolute in denying any possibility of a fault. The branch didn’t make the lens, it was manufactured most likely for all Specsavers stores and a fair approach would have been for them to at least talk to the supplier to the lens before denying any chance of fault. I cancelled this appointment as I did not want to use them and I waited to try and resolve this issue outside of court which I was prepared to do.

My issue is that I understand the judge can decide based on seeing my glasses alone that they are faulty, but equally the judge could decide that as I cannot prove the damage within 6 months of purchase I will lose immediately. That is down to the judge’s discretion and that is the gamble without a report/expert statement.

born_again

Well from that picture, it is clear that scratches are very bad & coatings are very sensitive to abrasive surfaces. Once through the coating, any moisture will start to bring coatings off.

What do you use to clean them?

Tr33house

The point here is those scratches are not from me causing them, they are the layers coming off. I have microfibre cloths. And glasses cleaner.

The other lens: still scratches from wear and tear of course but not anything like the other side.

BoGoF

So you started proceesings without any supporting evidence......wow!

HillStreetBlues

born_again said:

What do you use to clean them?

Looks like a brillo pad