Buying contact lenses online in the UK is entirely safe, and frankly quite easy. There is a rigorous set of laws outlining your rights as a consumer and all the supplier’s obligations. But when you are on the internet, the world of no borders, how can you be sure that you are actually protected by UK law?
All you want is to find the supplier who will sell you your prescribed brand of contact lenses for the lowest possible price. Or, at least you might think that’s all you want. In reality, you’re probably taking for granted high quality, fair policies and some degree of responsibility. The sad truth is that not all contact lens suppliers are responsible, and some of them are willing to sacrifice fair play for the sake of some extra profit.
When you buy contact lenses in the UK, you must have a prescription. Contact lenses are medical devices, and the same way that you can’t buy antibiotics from the chemist unless you have been prescribed it, you can’t just go online and shop for contacts which you have never tried on – because it wouldn’t be safe. Therefore, an optician is obliged to give you your prescription at the end of a check-up, and a supplier must always check that their customers have had a successful contact lens test.
If you go online to order some contact lenses and the supplier doesn’t ask for your optician’s details, you should be concerned. Without your optician’s details, they can’t verify your prescription; not only are they breaking the law, but they are also risking supplying you with contact lenses that don’t suit you. And apparently they don’t care.
In the UK, it is also illegal to supply a customer with a contact lens brand different to that on their prescription. Some online suppliers will tell you that trying a different brand is absolutely fine, but again, they are putting your health and eye sight at risk.
You may already have found a contact lens supplier with a UK address and feel confident that you are protected by UK law, but the bad news is that a UK address means very little. Some companies register their business abroad but keep parts of their operations within the UK. This means that they escape the responsibilities of UK law while giving the impression that they are based in the UK.
So how are you supposed to know? Well, think twice. If there are multiple addresses, one within the UK and one international, you may be onto something. If there is no sign that anyone is going to verify your prescription, you’ve definitely come across an irresponsible supplier. If you are recommended to try the supplier’s own brand of contact lenses or any other brand that you have never been prescribed, you can be sure that the retailer is not abiding by UK law.
If an online contact lens supplier seems to stick to all of the regulations above, you can breathe out – you have found a responsible UK supplier. You can feel confident that the contact lenses you get are the same as those supplied by your optician; the Opticians Act is on your side, and your eye health is in safe hands.