Opticians, what to pay

[nom de plume]

Before I make an appointment for new specs what should I expect to pay.

My last pairs about 3 years ago were from Vision Express in the UK for

2 pairs of verifocals with good quality lenses for about £240. The

closest large town for me is Cherbourg and I have seen opticians there

offering the first pair for 99 euros and a second pair for and

additional 1 euro.  I know from the UK that these will be very

basic single lenses. So what should I expect to pay for 2 pairs of

verifocals with rimless frames? I do have a carte vitale, does this

mean I will get some of the cost back?

Thanks

Diana

[Shane]

My husband has to have special lens in his glasses and he paid 440 euro for the lens and the optician put them in an old frame.

I paid 400 euro for a new pair of glasses including frame.

I think we received back about 5 euro in total. You do not get alot back for glasses I am afraid but the service and test was second to none.

[Hoddy]

You might consider buying your new specs on line. I have just bought a new pair of rimless varifocals for £89 which was considerably less than a similar pair at Boots.

Hoddy

[Bastet]

Can I also add that if you buy specs here, with a UK prescription, you will not get anything reimbursed by CPAM - unless I was very unlucky recently.

Until July, a chain of opticians called Optical Centre  ( www.optical-centre.com.)  has an offer of 40% off total cost + second pair free.   I originally posted this information a couple of months ago.....

[nom de plume]

Hoddy

I have heard of this service but where do you get the perscription from

in France? Also who is there to 'fit' them for you. In the past I have

only needed very simple lenses mostly to cope with the aging process

but have needed to return to the shop serveral times while they adjust

the arms and the nose piece. Also from memory when they sit the empty

frames you have chosen on your face for the first time they do some

strange messurements to aligne the eyeball/lense/frame. How do they

manage all this online?

Thanks

Diana

[Hoddy]

My eye test was done in England and I’m afraid that I have no idea how it works in France.

As for buying on line, there’s a wide variety of sites that offer this service. I looked at dozens. The service they offer varies widely. Obviously the fitting service cannot be as good, but I used my old specs as a guide and  the measurements they offer to help. I am pleased with the resulting specs.

Hoddy

[opas]

If I had a straightforward prescription I would be tempted to use one of these online sevices.

I broke my frame a few weeks back and had to get a new frame , It cost me just 45 euros including grinding the lense down a touch to fit it. I received about 2 euros 80 cents back from CPAM!

To the original poster. before you make any decissions, go into a few stores and explain what you want/need and get some prices. It is the same here as in the UK in that the priced vary. I was also told by one chain that I would not be able to get superthin lenses with a reaction combined. (I have worn this combination for about 15 years and showed him) he was adamant. So I shan`t be going back there!

Optic 2000 are a chain but also seem as though they are franchised , so one store could give poor sevice and the other bend over backwards to help(my experience)

[littlemouse]

yesterday I paid 554€ for progressif lenses and frames ,

2nd pair free this was with an indepedant optician

[Ronan]

Prescriptions in France are not done by the Optician. You'll have to make an appointment with an "Ophtalamologiste" who is a eye doctor spécialiste. You do not need to see your généraliste before seeing one.

Not sure how the whole rembousement works for them but they charge the full fee that their status allow. Though, what you get for that is a full eye examination; not the usual UK specsaver formality...

Krys has some explanations (http://www.krys.com/remboursement_frais_optique-12.html) on their website about what you an claim back.

In my case (French living in the UK, buying a holiday home in France), I'm getting a standard Specsavers prescription and getting flash new glasses in a flash little shop in Quimper during my holiday there next month. Result: I won't be wearing the boring same frames as everybody here :-)

[Charlotte3]

I had my daughter's eyes tested last year and the opthamologist charged 26 euros of which 30 percent was reimbursed by CPAM.

You make the appointment yourself but expect to wait anything up to 3 months for an appointment.

You can then go to any optician of your choice for the glasses. I paid about 150 euros after all reimboursements. You are entitled to new glasses every two years.

 

Hope this helps,

Aly

[Benjamin]

This is not really relevant to the original posting but it gives some idea of how prices vary.

During a holiday in southern Spain earlier this year I had two new lenses made to a prescription that the optician already had (we used to live there).

The lenses (for distance vision) were made, including  re-actolite coating, and fitted for 36€. It was a national franchised chain.

Benjamin