Practitioners accused of stifling competition

Optical practices have been accused of deliberately withholding prescription details from patients to stop them from shopping around.

A survey, commissioned by the internet spectacle supplier BuySpecs4Less, claims high street opticians are acting illegally to stifle competition by not informing patients of their rights and by leaving crucial data off of prescriptions.

The survey, which was conducted among 1,000 spectacle and contact lens wearers, found that 37 per cent of those questioned didn't know they could ask for a copy of their prescription. Just over half said they had never been told by their optician they had a right to their prescription