- Sunglasses
- Lenses
- Brands
-
Home Trial
Or select a ready-made Free Home Trial Pack
- Offers
- Help & FAQ
Or select a ready-made Free Home Trial Pack
This Quality Statement is prepared, and routinely reviewed, by Glasses Direct and its expert Supervision Committee to ensure high standards of quality and best practice in the industry. This Quality Statement summarises Glasses Direct’s requirements for the supervision of its sales of spectacles.
The sale of each pair of spectacles ordered from MyOptique Group Ltd must be supervised by one of MyOptique Group Ltd’s qualified, GOC registered supervising opticians who must exercise his/her professional skill and judgment as a clinician over the sale. The supervising optician shall have absolute discretion to exercise his/her professional skill and judgment as a clinician over each sale. This discretion includes but is not limited to arranging a free consultation, discussing the order with the customer and otherwise advising the customer and, where necessary, rejecting the order if the prescription or other circumstances are such that it would not be appropriate for MyOptique Group Ltd to fulfill the order.
Every order for spectacles placed with Glasses Direct must be reviewed, checked and approved by one of Glasses Direct’s supervising opticians and the supervising optician must certify that the order has been reviewed, checked and approved before any spectacles ordered by any customer are sent out.
The supervising optician who reviews the order is responsible for identifying any anomalies or potential problems with the order and has absolute discretion to exercise his/her professional skill and judgment as a clinician over the sale. This discretion includes but is not limited to contacting the customer, to discuss the order with the customer, and/or to provide advice and, where necessary, rejecting the order if the prescription or other circumstances are such that it would not be appropriate for MyOptique Group Ltd to fulfill the order.
If the supervising optician considers that the difference in power of the two lenses in a prescription is such that spectacles made to the prescription could cause discomfort for the customer then the supervising optician will contact the customer to advise.
All customers must certify that they are in possession of a written prescription given by a registered medical practitioner or registered optometrist which is less than two years old. Orders for older prescriptions will not be accepted.
The supervising optician may at his or her absolute discretion contact the customer to confirm the prescription, to require the customer to provide the original prescription or to verify the prescription with the optometrist who provided the prescription to satisfy himself that the prescription is valid and that it has been correctly transcribed.
Glasses Direct will not supply spectacles to prescriptions where the power of any distance sphere exceeds ± 9.00 dioptres or where the power of any cylinder exceeds ± 4.00 dioptres. Orders for prescriptions where the power of any sphere exceeds ± 8.00 dioptres can only be placed over the phone. Glasses Direct will not supply bifocals or varifocals to a prescription where the power addition between the distance and the near elements is less than + 0.75 or more than + 3.50 dioptres.
Each customer must certify that they are over 16 years old, and that they are not registered blind or partially sighted. When ordering, customers are required to provide Glasses Direct with all details of their prescription including any notes on the prescription.
In order for a pair of glasses to perform optimally, the frames need to be made to match the distance between the customer’s eyes so that the center of each lens is aligned with the center of the customer’s pupils. To achieve this, the pupillary distance measurement or PD measurement, i.e. the distance between the pupils of the eyes, is required. Unfortunately, many prescriptions given by high street opticians do not include a PD measurement. This omission is often made intentionally to try to ensure that customers will purchase glasses from that high street optician rather than getting better value glasses from Glasses Direct.
Glasses Direct suggests that customers either ask their optician for their pupillary distance measurement or if they would prefer not to, Glasses Direct can make glasses using an average pupillary distance measurement based on a survey carried out on 4,000 people.
Whilst using an average pupillary distance measurement works very well for most customers, certain customers who have strong prescriptions and whose pupillary distance diverges significantly from the average, may experience problems with spectacles made using an average PD measurement. The spectacles will not damage or harm the eyes but they can cause discomfort or eye strain.
If a customer decides to use an average pupillary distance measurement and then finds that he or she does experience difficulties using their glasses, Glasses Direct asks that such customers contact Glasses Direct and Glasses Direct will either arrange for their pupillary distance to be measured and then replace the glasses, or give a full refund.
Each customer is given the opportunity to provide frame measurements that are marked on the customer’s existing pair of spectacles as explained on the website. The website will then identify the frames from the ranges available that most closely match the measurements of the customer’s existing pair.
Customers can send in existing spectacles made to their prescription to be used as a template by Glasses Direct to ensure the same fit.
Glasses Direct only purchases lenses from laboratories that are registered with the MHRA and whose work complies with applicable British standards. No cellulose nitrate or celluloid is used in the manufacture of spectacles. Glasses Direct requires that all frames and lenses meet the requirements of all relevant British legislation and are UKCA marked.
Glasses Direct requires that each lens produced by its laboratories must be quality checked and be tested using a focimeter to confirm that it matches the customer’s prescription and that all spectacles must be checked visually for frame faults before dispatch.
Glasses Direct provides supplementary information about glasses and eye tests on leaflets provided with each order as well as on its website. This recommends regular sight test, offers advice on the proper fitting and use of spectacles as well as cleaning, and the returns policy. The content also advises any customers experiencing any problems arising out of the use of their spectacles, such as eye strain, to contact Glasses Direct to discuss their order with a supervising optician.
The supervising optician has absolute discretion to arrange a free consultation for any customer. All orders are covered by Glasses Direct’s no quibble, free returns policy. If the spectacles are unsuitable and the customer feels, for whatever reason, that they need to be returned, Glasses Direct offers a full refund or replacement.
Sales of spectacles to prescriptions for lenses with high power spheres and/or high power cylinders In cases of prescriptions for lenses with either a high power sphere or high power cylinder, Glasses Direct requires that a supervising optician contacts the customer to discuss the order. The supervising optician must also verify the prescription, advise the customer on lens thickness, lens weight and frame suitability, and on any potential intolerance. If no pupillary distance measurement is included in the prescription, then depending on the nature of the prescription the supervising optician may request that the customer submits a pupillary distance measurement from an optician’s practice or an optical assistant before the order can be accepted, or by using one of Glasses Direct’s approved methods of measuring pupil distance.
If the prescription is for lenses with both a high power sphere and a high power cylinder, the supervising optician must request that the customer submits a pupillary distance measurement.
In the case of prescriptions for bifocal spectacles, Glasses Direct requires that a supervising optician contacts the customer to discuss the order. The supervising optician must also verify the prescription, warn the customer about image jump when looking down if it is the customer’s first pair of bifocals, advise the customer on lens thickness, lens weight and frame suitability and types of bifocal spectacle lenses, and on any potential intolerance. If the pupillary distance is not included in the prescription, then depending on the type of the prescription, the supervising optician may request the customer to submit a pupillary distance measurement from an optician’s practice or an optical assistant before accepting the order.
In the case of prescriptions for bifocal spectacles, Glasses Direct requires that a supervising optician contacts the customer to discuss the order. The supervising optician must also verify the prescription, warn the customer about image jump when looking down if it is the customer’s first pair of bifocals, advise the customer on lens thickness, lens weight and frame suitability and types of bifocal spectacle lenses, and on any potential intolerance. If the pupillary distance is not included in the prescription, then depending on the type of the prescription, the supervising optician may request the customer to submit a pupillary distance measurement from an optician’s practice or an optical assistant before accepting the order.
Glasses Direct has appointed an expert committee who routinely reviews the supervision requirements in place. The committee comprises:
David Spalton is a Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon at St Thomas’ Hospital, London, and is Honorary Consultant to the Royal Hospital Chelsea (the Chelsea Pensioners) and King Edward VII’s Hospital for Officers, London. He is also the Civilian Advisor in Ophthalmology to the Metropolitan Police. At St Thomas’ Hospital, he runs the largest research group on cataract surgery in the United Kingdom. He has published over 130 papers in academic journals, and his book, An Atlas of Clinical Ophthalmology, won the prize for the best medical textbook of the year when it was published in 1985. It is now in its third edition and is published in seven languages, being one of the five most widely read ophthalmic textbooks worldwide. He lectures widely around the world. In the recent past, this has included invitations to speak in Saudi Arabia, the USA, Australia and Germany, and he was one of eight eye surgeons worldwide (the only one from the UK) to receive an ‘Innovation Award’ from Alcon Laboratories in the USA for his research on intraocular lens design.
David began his optical career as a trainee dispensing optician with Leighton’s Opticians, qualifying in 1999. During his time at Leightons, he managed several branches in the Group and was involved in a number of digital transformation projects including the introduction of frame tracers for all branches, and a new practice management system. In 2008 David joined Glasses Direct, first managing the Sales Team, then expanding his role to combine the Customer Service Team as Head of Service. David became Head of Professional Services in 2019 where he is now the company’s professional conscious, ensuring it is compliant with all relevant legislation, and raising the profile of the online dispensing of glasses both within the optical community and the general public. David has forged a good relationship with the General Optical Council and the Association of British Dispensing Opticians. He is also a Freeman of the City of London, and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers.
Since Human Biology lessons in secondary school, Rob has had a long-standing interest in optics, vision and the human visual system. He started work as a Trainee Dispensing Optician with a family-run group of practices in Cambridgeshire, qualifying as a Fellow of the British Dispensing Opticians in June 1990. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Rob has fulfilled a wide range of posts and responsibilities, from Area Professional cover, independent locum, and working in both high street multiple opticians to being an Associate in a boutique practise specialising in such diverse fields as geriatric care and sports vision. Rob joined Glasses Direct in 2008 where his wide-ranging skills and experiences have been valuable. Carrying on from projects undertaken in previous employment, he has devised and implemented many of the staff induction and optical training programmes and remains passionate about providing face to face rivalling optical advice and service.
Black
Tortoise
Gunmetal
Brown
Silver
Purple
