Refunds

[Belle]

Don't know whether this is legal or not, but it may well be, I have just colleced my new glasses from the optician for the second time, the problem is I am getting a lot of distortion, the first time he sent them back, but they have come back again, still the same, I paid 600 Euros for them, when I asked what next can be done, he shrugged and said you must wear them, then maybe you will get used to moving your head about and getting things into focus, when I said, sorry but this is not acceptable, and please may I have my money back, he said, no not possible, I will give you sun glasses for free, any Ideas what to do next please.

[Chancer]

Sound like progressive lenses, am I right?

I bought some cheap ones from the net to try as I did not want to be in the same situation, they are about as much use as a chocolate teapot. To read a line of text in a paperback book I have to carefully move my head sideways, only one word at a time is readable.

As for getting used to them I dont want to, they are dangerous enough when I am standing still, walking or driving doesnt bear thinking about.

I dont think that you are going to get a refund from a French optician and perhaps at your prescription there will always be that level of distortion, my only suggestion would be to ask him to to fit bi-focal lenses for you.

A UK optician looked at mine, laughed and said "you get what you pay for" but when pressed he would not say that an expensive pair from him would be any different but I could have my money back after a month if I really could not get on with them, frankly I didnt trust him and did not want to put his promise to the test.

[Belle]

hello again, no my lenses are not progressive, they are varifoculs, I have been wearing them for about 10 years, my prescription is very high and I have an astigmatism, this is my first pair from France, and I have never had any distortion before, I really wish I had gone back to the uk now, if I can't get a refund, that's 600 euros wasted, and I still have to pay again in the uk.Thanks for your reply. By the way you would have got your money back after 30 days, it's the law in the uk, consumers rights.

[tenniswitch]

Sorry, but my post was about progressives, and the software wouldn't allow me to delete it.

[allanb]

I thought "varifocal" and "progressive" lenses were two names for the same thing.  What's the difference?

[Belle]

sorry maybe you are right, I have never heard of the word progressive lens before, I thought Varifocals were just called varifocals, it's getting a refund that is my main priority at the moment.

[DerekJ]

This doesn't particularly help with your situation in France but this is Specsavers deal with varifocals.

Basically a recognition that not all people will get on with them.

[Boiling a frog]

Just because you say that the new specs are not suitable is not enough to gain a refund. You will need to prove that either the opthamologist gave you a wrong prescription after your eye test or the optician has made up the lense presciption wrongly .

In order to prove the first would involve going to another opthamologist and spending more money and in order to prove the second going to another optician

 

[Judith]

[quote user="Belle"]sorry maybe you are right, I have never heard of the word progressive lens before, I thought Varifocals were just called varifocals, it's getting a refund that is my main priority at the moment.[/quote]

Varifocal is (I believe) the trade name, but generally used in the UK for such lenses.  The term is "progressive" in French.  I've been wearing varifocals with a very strong prescription for over 10 years - now on my ?fifth or sixth? pair.  They have to fit exactly to work, ie they have to be measured so that the glasses fit in the right place, and the eye is in the correct positon for the  lens, and if they do not, you cannot see too well. 

That said, I had a lot of trouble adapting to them, and each new pair is the same.  Some people, like my mother, never do.  I cannot use bifocals so I have no option, but if they were "cheap" that may be why.  Even a small amount of mis-calculation of where they should fit can  be all it takes to made them more work. 

It can be very difficult to get inexperience fitters to fit varifocals correctly - a good fitter will (if necessary) mark up the glasses again, and start the fitting again.  Until you are used to varifocals, of course, you will not understand why you cannot see in them.  You do need to move your head more than usual I find.

However, if you really cannot adapt to them, I believe  the optician should replace them with something that you can wear,e spcially if this is the first pair you have had.  An opticians do make mistakes - my sister once had to go to another optician (in the UK this was) who was able to see that the lenses had been put in incorrectly - the first optician refused to believe that there was anything wrong.  So persevere, and, if necessary, go to another optician.  I would stay away from some of the chains as I am not convinced that they train very well.  If you look you may also find someome who speaks good English, or has even been trained in England.

EDIT:  Belle, I've just read that you have been wearing them for 10 years  - and like me, have a strong prescription and astigmatism.  I am now wearing the first pair I bought in France, but it has taken me two years, and the "going off" of the English pair, which has made me persevere.  It is possible that they are wrong, but much more likely that they are not fitting correctly.  The pair I had made up in the UK just before I left, were fine until I knocked them (cleaning a cupboard!) and I need to get them re-fitted as reading is not now right. 

[suein56]

[quote user="Judith"] I would stay away from some of the chains as I am not convinced that they train very well.  [/quote]

I used to think this way too until my OH needed some new specs to go with his nice, shiny, new prescription for progressives/varifocals. This being the first pair of specs to be bought in France we did the rounds of various opticians showing the prescription and asking all kinds of questions; then we settled on this chain. The fitting was expertly calculated and realised. The 2 pairs he received have been without fault and my OH had no problems at all getting used to them. More a question of familiarising himself with the more powerful prescription.

Sue

[Judith]

Sue

I stand corrected.  In fact, it was that chain which my current glasses came from, and great care was taken in the chosing and fitting originally.  But then, the next time I needed then re-fiting (as I often do) I did not get such a good fitter, hence colouring my opinion. 

[suein56]

[quote user="Judith"]Sue

But then, the next time I needed then re-fiting (as I often do) I did not get such a good fitter, hence colouring my opinion.  [/quote]

That's the problem; until you on the receiving end of someone's expertise, you have no idea whether the results will be truly excellent or dreadful.

Sue

[Will]

Like nearly all French chains, Optic 2000 is a company that sells franchises to local shopkeepers, so although franchisees undergo training before being accepted into the group, the quality and standard of service received can be highly variable between locations.

 

[Chancer]

[quote user="Belle"] I really wish I had gone back to the uk now, if I can't get a refund, that's 600 euros wasted, and I still have to pay again in the uk.Thanks for your reply. By the way you would have got your money back after 30 days, it's the law in the uk, consumers rights.[/quote]

I hope you get some satisfaction soon Belle.

Whilst I agree that most UK opticians offer a 30 day money back deal on varifocals it is not the law or the consumers right, you have in fact entered into a contract to order something made to measure. France is no different to the UK in this respect.

[Belle]

Ok understand that, but how do I go about getting a refund when the optician is adamant that he isn't going to budge, we just can't throw away 600 euros, I have paid for something that I can't use, he knows this and just shruggs.

[Belle]

Just to say abit more, sorry if this is boring I won't go on too much longer, if I look straight ahead with these glasses, then they are ok, but the problem starts if I want to look sideways, it's all blured, so I then have to keep juggling my head about till I'm in focus again, I have worn them for a week and have felt so sick and giddy, that I have to give up, as I have said I know what to expect from varifocals, after 10 years, and this certaintly isn't right, I am now thinking that because the optician says in his opinion this is normal I won't be refunded.

[suein56]

[quote user="Belle"]Ok understand that, but how do I go about getting a refund when the optician is adamant that he isn't going to budge, we just can't throw away 600 euros, I have paid for something that I can't use, he knows this and just shruggs.[/quote]

Most opticians that we have encountered are helpful; so, bearing that in mind, I suggest you find one in your locality or nearby and take your specs (and your prescription) to them. Ask their opinion re the making up of the specs v the prescription and see what they say.

Sue

[suein56]

[quote user="Belle"]I have worn them for a week and have felt so sick and giddy, that I have to give up, as I have said I know what to expect from varifocals, after 10 years, and this certaintly isn't right, I am now thinking that because the optician says in his opinion this is normal I won't be refunded.[/quote]

IMHO you need to establish whether the prescripion is too strong or whether the lenses have been wrongly made up. I once had a too strong prescription in the UK and when made up into specs I suffered headaches, dizziness and blurred vision when I wore them. I persevered for 2 or 3 weeks but the situation was impossible. I went back to the optician, who then made up some lenses with the reading area at 2 instead of 2.5. This change affected all the 3 parts of the lens in such a way that I had no more problems.

Sue

[Chancer]

Belle

Are these glasses made to the same ordonnance (prescription) as your previous ones? Was the ordonnance done in France?

I found that the reading correction given on my ordonnance in france was much stronger than on a prescription given in the UK which made the ones I bought unusable, when reading I could only read one word without moving my head which became very tiring. I magine trying to read and undrstand this posting if you had only one word per page!

If the glasses were correctly made to the ordonnance that you gave to the optician you really have no grounds for a refund irrespective of whatever price you paid, the only way that you can judge if they have been incorrectly made or to a different ordonnance is to consult another optician as has been suggested.

Sorry to sound negative!

[powerdesal]

I'm really glad I spotted this thread, I thought it was just me who had similar problems.

I got my first pair of varifocals about two months ago at the insistence of SWMBO (because I keep breaking my reading glasses). I just cannot hack it with them. They have been back and forth on numerous occasions, I have been re-tested and the glasses re-made but still I cannot get used to them. They were not cheap, varifocal, photochromatic with titanium frames (c. euro 400 equiv) but after about 10 mins I start with a headache.

I think maybe its because the 'progressive' nature is so radical, I only need the reading part, and hence the upper part is effectively clear glass, going to +2.5 at the bottom. A computer screen is particularly difficult. I have reconciled myself to the fact that they are just not for me.

[Judith]

Belle

As I recall from my last visit in England, there are different types of varifocal lens, some which have less distortion on the sides (and with a strong prescription you do get that - I know - I have the same problem).  Now the less distortion on the sides, the more expensive the lens, and of course lenses now come in different thickeness (1.7, 1.6 etc) so perhaps your optician did not give you the "thinnest" and hence less distortion, hence the sideways motion problem.  As I said, it took two years for me to get to be able to wear the current ones I'm wearing.  Having said all that, I was impressed by the difference in types of lenses available here (even at greater cost), and that the optician did try to find the best lens for me.

I've had trouble adapting to every new pair I've had; and only do so when I start wearing them first thing in the morning, on a day when I don't need perfect vision.  It can take some time to adjust, but I would have thought a week was sufficient time.

[Belle]

hello Steve and Judith, thankyou for your comments, when I first started wearing varifocals 10 years ago, I was told it would take about two weeks to get used to them, but I was fine within a day, my prescription has always been very high, plus 8, in those days my lenses were very thick, as I got older, and more vain, I opted for the thinest lens available, now a few more years on, thinner still, my last optician in the uk said for me and my vision, the best varifocal was made by Ziess, and true to his word they were fab and I have been wearing them for three years, anyway over the last couple of months I have been straining abit to read road signs so I thought as I live in France I will go to an opth. here, he told me he could get Ziess and that my lens would be really thin, and when I collected them, they were, however,  when I shifted my sight from looking through the middle, all went out of focus, and I had to move my head to find the right spot, only to find that it went out of focus from the other side, I told him that I drive alot and couldn't keep taking my eyes off of the road to keep focusing to see traffic coming from the side of me, he then told me to use my old glasses for driving, and these new ones the rest of the time, hubby then said, no sorry that won't do, please may we have a refund, no sorry I can't do that was the answer, so I have paid 600 euros for useless glasses, and this afternoon starting looking to book a flight back to the uk, plus hotel accomodation and hire car, to see my old optician, these are turning out to be the most expensive glasses ever.

[Angelite]

Belle

You have my deepest sympathy - varifocals can be a nightmare.  After my second pair of varifocals, I had to give up playing short tennis because I couldn't see the ball if it went to the side of me.

Good luck with your trip to the UK opticians, I hope you get a pair which really work for you.

Bonne chance.

Angelite

 

[suein56]

[quote user="powerdesal"]

I think maybe its because the 'progressive' nature is so radical, I only need the reading part, and hence the upper part is effectively clear glass, going to +2.5 at the bottom. A computer screen is particularly difficult. [/quote]

Unfortunately you are only given 1 month to acclimatise yourself to these new lenses and if you do not speak up with regard to your difficulties within this time period then you are stuffed. This applies whether the specs were bought in France or in the UK. In my previous post I said that a reduction in the reading strength from 2.5 to 2.0 sorted my problem, affecting my vision throughout the entire lens. Though, in my case, I had to ask the optician for an explanation of why this produced the (positive) result it did.

Edit: Angelite wrote: You have my deepest sympathy - varifocals can be a nightmare.  After my

second pair of varifocals, I had to give up playing short tennis

because I couldn't see the ball if it went to the side of me.

Reply: this really does seem to be a question of the thinness (sp) of the lenses as mentioned previously. IMO you should try again but be prepared to pay quite a lot - either in the UK or in France - to get the correct thinness of lenses that will suit you and your need for the correct level of peripheral vision.

Sue

[Belle]

Thankyou all so much for your advise, re Varifocals, but please don't be offended anyone, but may I just say that my original thread was not about Varifocals, and the wearing of them, because I know all there is to know I have been wearing them for over 10 years, my thread was asking everyone's advise how I could get my 600 Euros refunded, as my opthalmist couldn't give me a prescription without the dreadful distortion when I turned my head. I just can't afford to write off 600e because I will have to now pay out for a trip back to the Uk to get my glasses there. Thankyou all again.