Where patients complain about the services they have received or the goods they have purchased from an optometrist or dispensing optician, it is in everybody’s interest to resolve the matter as speedily as possible.
It is a requirement of the GOS terms of service that every practice has a complaints procedure. Ideally complaints should be resolved in the practice, without having recourse to third parties. An outline complaints procedure and accompanying documents are available on the AOP website. It makes good commercial sense for practices to log all complaints, no matter how trivial they might appear. This will allow you to see, over a period of time, whether the complaints relate to the same issues, which the practice can then address.
The NHS has a procedure (available on its website) for dealing with complaints from NHS patients.
Where a complaint cannot be resolved in the practice, the Optical Consumer Complaints Service (OCCS) may mediate between the parties. Information about the service is available on the OCCS website.
One set of circumstances which gives rise to “complaints” to optometrists and dispensing opticians from time to time, is where a patient has bought something and has subsequently had second thoughts, perhaps because of the cost (they may have found something cheaper elsewhere or may have decided that they needed the money they had spent on glasses or contact lenses) or someone may have not liked the look of a pair of glasses. In these circumstances the patient has no legal right to return the goods and seek a refund (see Sale of goods and supply of services, below) and you would be well advised to refuse to take the goods back and refuse to give a refund. However, there may come a point where, if the complainant is causing you too much aggravation and grief, with the “problems” they are asking you to sort out or with threats of legal action, you feel that it is best just to refund them and be rid of the complaint (see next paragraph): even if your case if clear-cut, you may not wish to take the time involved in defending a claim in court. (This is something that complainants often rely on.). However, you should state, when giving any refund, that it is made “in full and final settlement, as a gesture of good will, with no admission of liability”.
If complaints between the parties cannot be resolved the complainant may take legal action to resolve the dispute. Defending a legal action will be costly in terms of your time and possibly financially, and will certainly give unwanted aggravation. On occasion, it may therefore save the practitioner time, money and aggravation, to be pragmatic and refund a patient, where a refund is what the patient is seeking, rather than stand on principle and have your day in court: principles can cost money, time and aggravation. Balanced against this may be the wish not to be seen in the community as “an easy touch”. The AOP legal team are always willing to discuss the pros and cons of any consumer complaint so that you may find the best way forward for you.
Important note. Where a complaint alleges or indicates that you have been negligent, if you are a member of the Association of Optometrists you should contact the Association immediately. We shall advise you in the matter and defend you against the claim.
Websites:
National Health Service www.nhs.uk
Optical Consumer Complaints Service www.opticalcomplaints.co.uk
See also Distance selling.
[January 2007.]
