Practitioners wanred about change in law which favours the customers position.
Dispensing is a growing area of grievance among patients and remains the most common territory for customers making a complaint.
This is the finding of the latest Optical Consumer Complaints Service report, the annual barometer of consumer complaints about their experiences with optical services.
OCCS revealed that 35 per cent of cases it handled last year concerned dispensing issues, 24 per cent involved varifocal spectacles and 17.5 per cent were miscellaneous.
A further 12.5 per cent of complaints involved prescriptions, while grievances about contact lenses were down from 6 to 4 per cent.
The independent body believes part of the reason for an increase in dispensing complaints is due to the fashion for delicate rimless spectacles.
It said that customers often think that if their spectacles break their optician will replace them free of charge. It advises opticians to enclose a leaflet with patients' spectacles warning them about the potential pitfalls in order to safeguard their own position.
OCCS attributed the decline in contact lens complaints to the built-in aftercare system that usually prevents problems from emerging, although it said that patients who buy contact lenses over the internet can feel resentful if refused their specifications by their optician.
The body also warned practitioners about a change in the law concerning sales of goods, which it said favoured the patient. Under the new legislation it is the optician's position to disprove a claim and patients are entitled to receive a repair, replacement, price reduction, cancel their contract or ask for their money back.
The report indicated that most patients had found out about the OCCS through their trading standards officer. The body received 782 complaints last year (up from 747 the year before), with 227 unresolved after initial advice over the telephone.
The OCCS's annual report 2004 is available by viewing www.opticalcomplaints.co.uk.
This is the finding of the latest Optical Consumer Complaints Service report, the annual barometer of consumer complaints about their experiences with optical services.
OCCS revealed that 35 per cent of cases it handled last year concerned dispensing issues, 24 per cent involved varifocal spectacles and 17.5 per cent were miscellaneous.
A further 12.5 per cent of complaints involved prescriptions, while grievances about contact lenses were down from 6 to 4 per cent.
The independent body believes part of the reason for an increase in dispensing complaints is due to the fashion for delicate rimless spectacles.
It said that customers often think that if their spectacles break their optician will replace them free of charge. It advises opticians to enclose a leaflet with patients' spectacles warning them about the potential pitfalls in order to safeguard their own position.
OCCS attributed the decline in contact lens complaints to the built-in aftercare system that usually prevents problems from emerging, although it said that patients who buy contact lenses over the internet can feel resentful if refused their specifications by their optician.
The body also warned practitioners about a change in the law concerning sales of goods, which it said favoured the patient. Under the new legislation it is the optician's position to disprove a claim and patients are entitled to receive a repair, replacement, price reduction, cancel their contract or ask for their money back.
The report indicated that most patients had found out about the OCCS through their trading standards officer. The body received 782 complaints last year (up from 747 the year before), with 227 unresolved after initial advice over the telephone.
The OCCS's annual report 2004 is available by viewing www.opticalcomplaints.co.uk.