Specsavers and Glasses Direct exchange legal correspondence

Glasses Direct’s promotional activities in Newcastle last month, urging consumers not to ‘get fleeced’ at ‘specspensive’ high street opticians, has led to a legal confrontation with Specsavers.

Specsavers’ solicitors have written a three-page letter to the Malmsbury-based online spectacle supplier, complaining of Glasses Direct’s marketing tactics on March 24 in Tyneside. These included Glasses Direct representatives dressed as sheep entering Specsavers practices and having their photos taken with practice staff.

Specsavers also raised numerous objections to price comparisons made on Glasses Direct’s web site.

Glasses Direct’s response came yesterday from a leading London-based legal firm. The four page letter accused Specsavers of bullying tactics and attempting to stifle competition.

This afternoon, the legal correspondence between the two has been published in full on the Glasses Direct web site, with the headline ‘Will Specsavers take glassesdirect.co.uk to court? Or are they too sheepish’.

The site includes a number of Specsavers’ logos and price comparisons, and asserts that: ‘Specsavers have tried to stop us offering low prices on glasses by starting the mother and father of all legal battles.’

‘They are picking on Glasses Direct because we undercut their prices. We stand up for our customer's [sic] right to have affordable glasses, and we promise we won't be intimidated by this this [sic] kind of bullying.’

Specsavers said in a statement today that it 'notes that Glasses Direct is one of many internet sellers of optical products, but doesn't have any comment to make on any of them.’