Optical express give illegal advice to drivers and have refund policies which are illegal (Optical Express)

Member Name: MrM

Product:	Optical Express
Date:	20/10/08 (660 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Can make the glasses up as long as they have the lense and it is not a sunday

Disadvantages: Poor customer service, poor understanding of legal and consumer law.

I live about 10 miles from the nearest Optical Express branch which has an onsite lab, I use this one as in the past they have been quite good at making your glasses on the same day. I have had quite a good dealing with this branch in the past and looked forward to a normal and easy checkup.

Having went in to the Glasgow Braehead branch at the end of September for my new distance/driving specs, I had an unusually quick 5 minute test. Having had my glasses made up on the spot (which I must say was good and the glasses were in good condition) i put them on, and I immediately had sore eyes and felt dizzy. I said to the sales advisor who told me not to drive home with them, and once home to wear them as much as possible and if in two weeks I was still feeling that there werent correct I should come back and get a retest.

More than two weeks passed and I was still feeling dizzy and by this point I was suffering severe migranes. I called up and was asked to come into the shop on Sunday 19/10/08 for a retest. I was given a 30 minute eye test in which the optician advised me that my prescription was indeed quite wrong. He advised that the prescription was slightly stronger than my older prescription and that I would require new lenses, this is where the trouble began.

I was first advised that they could not make up my glasses for me as the technician did not work on a Sunday (why they asked me to come in on a Sunday for the retest I have no idea). I advised them that this was not good enough as I needed those glasses to legally drive, so I asked for my money back so i could visit one of the other two opticians at that centre. I was advised that it was not the Optical Express policy to give refunds. I tried explaining to the most unhelpful person I have ever met (Laura) that in my job I need to drive, if I don't have glasses I can't go to my work. My pleas for common sense fell on deaf ears and I was advised that there was nothing they could do, I would just need to deal with it.

After trying to explain that they were telling me to drive home illegally, without the correct glasses knowing full well that I was a potential and avoidable danger I was given this as her response "I have just been cut from a car after being crushed by 2JCB trucks. My car was crused to a width of 2 feet, and i was fighting for my life in hospital. If I had known I was going to have a crash I would not have left the house". Now I am not saying i would have had a crash, but if I did crash my insurance would be void, I would have knowingly endangered someone's life, I would have likely been prosecuted and I would have had to live with any outcome over that. I also feel that it was very inapropriate to try and gain pity and make me feel bad over a genuine concern.

At this point it was becoming clear that not only was Laura unwilling to listen, and that she did not understand the issue I had. I then tried to explain to her consumer law. I explained that in Scotland, if you sell a product which is not fit for use (in this case my glasses) then they either need to give me a replacement or a refund. Having explained this to Laura her response was "I am not here to be spoken to like a child". Laura at this point said that it was Optical Express policy not to give refunds and that the only alternative was a replacement.

Now I have since checked this with consumer advice, to make sure that my interpretation was correct, as being someone who is fair, I would have backed down if I was wrong. they advised me that given the situation, Optical Express should have given me the refund as they were unable to replace the goods that day.

I explained to Laura that as you can't give me a replacement today which means I will need to leave my car in this carpark incurring a £60 fine (per day), get public transport home, and risk getting my car towed to the impound. I also reitterated that for my job I need to drive around the country and as such I would need to be sick from my job until Optical Express managed to get my the glasses. Laura's attitude was "well you have our stance, it is up to you to decide".

At this point I said that I would need to try and come back as with it being a sunday I had to arrange transportation home. I could not afford the £60 per day fine, so called my uncle's who came and collected me and my car, drove me home (followed by my other uncle so he could pick the first uncle up and take him back home)

All I can say is that I am absolutely disgusted by her attitude. Currently I have complained to trading standards, and I have complained to the Optical Express complaints line.

Summary: Disgusted by the customer service of this place.