Perkins enters virtual dispensing debate

Mary Perkins has criticised James Murray Wells' online dispensing operation in a letter this week to the Daily Mail (January 19).

The paper's letters page included one from the Specsavers co-founder as well as accusations from readers of rip-off practices by high street opticians including the Guernsey-based multiple.

Perkins defended high street prices and attacked Murray Wells' online dispensing model. 'Not being a qualified optician, he feels he can forget about measuring his customers' pupillary distances,' she wrote. 'He assumes everyone's distance is 63mm. That's like saying that everyone has size-five shoes.'

But Murray Wells responded by telling optician that Glasses Direct recommended all its customers provide their PD.

'In the first instance, PD should be requested and provided by their qualified optician. If the customer chooses not to do that, then we also offer them a method to measure their own PD.

'As a last resort, the customer also has the opportunity to opt into using an average PD measurement which is carefully worked out by a dispensing optician. So to say that we can't effectively use PDs is rubbish. We do and will continue to do so.'

Inaccurate PDs appear to be causing little problem for Glasses Direct, however. Murray Wells claimed that only 0.55 per cent of its sales had been returned. 'We've had over 10,000 customers and no professional body has received one formal complaint from any of those,' he said. 'I am absolutely confident that what we are doing is both mindful of our customers' welfare and lawful.'