‘We are in the year 2022. With consumers reeling from the exponential rise in the cost of living, consumer choice needs to be protected the way a Rottweiler guards a home.’
By Neela Ramsundar
EYE care is a billion-dollar industry.
The Vision Council of America claims a staggering 75% of the world’s population needs some form of vision correction. Here in Trinidad and Tobago, we are no exception. Even our children are wearing glasses at younger and younger ages. Sadly though, two practices, almost universally deemed to be unacceptable from an ethical perspective, are being allowed to bloom and grow. Action needs to be taken to rein in these eye care providers.
It is generally recommended that healthy adults have an eye exam every one or two years. Here is a scenario:
You call to book an appointment at your local eye care provider for your routine eye check-up. The customer service representative (CSR) tells you the fee is $100. You agree and book the appointment.
After the exam, your attending optician gives you the dreaded news that you need to wear glasses with corrective lenses. Money is tight and you need to work out how you’re going to pay for your glasses. You ask for your prescription to be written down so you can leave because you want to sort it out later. The CSR says you must buy your glasses here and if you do not, she will not be able to let you have your prescription.
Your eye care provider is likely unhappy that you may be buying your glasses at a competitor and therefore refuses to provide you with your prescription. This scenario has apparently been happening to so many people that quite a few felt so disempowered and cheated, they took to social media to voice their displeasure.
Some eye care providers responded by trying to be more transparent during the booking process, explaining upfront an unethical “company policy” that the customer will pay more if they want to walk out with their eyeglass prescription. I’ve heard the rationale for this is that the extra payment reflects the true cost of the eye exam. Usually, it will be around 200% more, so in the above scenario, the extra fee will be $200 to get the written prescription. Apart from being unethical, this is a really backward, exploitative policy.
Countries such as the UK and the USA recognise the right of consumers to comparison shop for eyeglasses. It is illegal in those countries to refuse to give a patient a written prescription after a new eye exam.
To demonstrate the extent of these laws, since 1978, the USA implemented its Eyeglass Rule which requires providers to provide patients with their prescription immediately after the exam, even if the patient does not request it. They recognised the above problems and specifically prohibited:
Requiring patients to buy eyeglasses in order to receive their prescription; and
Requiring patients to pay additional fees to receive their prescription.
Breaches of these rules are backed up with hefty fines of US$16,000 per violation! That’s how serious these infringements on consumer rights are viewed.
We are in the year 2022. With consumers reeling from the exponential rise in the cost of living, consumer choice needs to be protected the way a Rottweiler guards a home. Eye care providers supply an essential service. The laws needed to protect consumers from the exploitative and unethical conduct of some of them have been around for decades and they are simple laws!
This is not a complex problem to fix! Demand that laws be implemented
Disclaimer:The contents of this article are for general informative purposes only and/or contain the opinions and/or thoughts of the writer only. It does not provide legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship with any reader. For legal advice on your specific situation, please contact an Attorney-at-Law of your choosing directly. Liability for any loss or damage of any kind whatsoever allegedly incurred a consequence of relying on content in this article is thus hereby excluded to the fullest extent permitted by law.
Give Me My Eye Glasses Prescription
‘We are in the year 2022. With consumers reeling from the exponential rise in the cost of living, consumer choice needs to be protected the way a Rottweiler guards a home.’
EYE care is a billion-dollar industry.
The Vision Council of America claims a staggering 75% of the world’s population needs some form of vision correction. Here in Trinidad and Tobago, we are no exception. Even our children are wearing glasses at younger and younger ages. Sadly though, two practices, almost universally deemed to be unacceptable from an ethical perspective, are being allowed to bloom and grow. Action needs to be taken to rein in these eye care providers.
It is generally recommended that healthy adults have an eye exam every one or two years. Here is a scenario:
You call to book an appointment at your local eye care provider for your routine eye check-up. The customer service representative (CSR) tells you the fee is $100. You agree and book the appointment.
After the exam, your attending optician gives you the dreaded news that you need to wear glasses with corrective lenses. Money is tight and you need to work out how you’re going to pay for your glasses. You ask for your prescription to be written down so you can leave because you want to sort it out later. The CSR says you must buy your glasses here and if you do not, she will not be able to let you have your prescription.
Your eye care provider is likely unhappy that you may be buying your glasses at a competitor and therefore refuses to provide you with your prescription. This scenario has apparently been happening to so many people that quite a few felt so disempowered and cheated, they took to social media to voice their displeasure.
Some eye care providers responded by trying to be more transparent during the booking process, explaining upfront an unethical “company policy” that the customer will pay more if they want to walk out with their eyeglass prescription. I’ve heard the rationale for this is that the extra payment reflects the true cost of the eye exam. Usually, it will be around 200% more, so in the above scenario, the extra fee will be $200 to get the written prescription. Apart from being unethical, this is a really backward, exploitative policy.
Countries such as the UK and the USA recognise the right of consumers to comparison shop for eyeglasses. It is illegal in those countries to refuse to give a patient a written prescription after a new eye exam.
To demonstrate the extent of these laws, since 1978, the USA implemented its Eyeglass Rule which requires providers to provide patients with their prescription immediately after the exam, even if the patient does not request it. They recognised the above problems and specifically prohibited:
Breaches of these rules are backed up with hefty fines of US$16,000 per violation! That’s how serious these infringements on consumer rights are viewed.
We are in the year 2022. With consumers reeling from the exponential rise in the cost of living, consumer choice needs to be protected the way a Rottweiler guards a home. Eye care providers supply an essential service. The laws needed to protect consumers from the exploitative and unethical conduct of some of them have been around for decades and they are simple laws!
This is not a complex problem to fix! Demand that laws be implemented
Be safe T&T.
Copyright © 2022 Neela Ramsundar, LL.B (HONS), L.E.C is Civil Litigation Attorney at Law & Certified Mediator.
Disclaimer: The contents of this article are for general informative purposes only and/or contain the opinions and/or thoughts of the writer only. It does not provide legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship with any reader. For legal advice on your specific situation, please contact an Attorney-at-Law of your choosing directly. Liability for any loss or damage of any kind whatsoever allegedly incurred a consequence of relying on content in this article is thus hereby excluded to the fullest extent permitted by law.