Specsavers prescriptions

[Revolutionaryb]

Just wondering if any one else has not automatically been handed their prescription by Specsavers?
I had my eyes tested 12 months ago and was going to order new glasses online when I realised that I didn't have my prescription. Specsavers had forgotten to hand it over to me when I was paying for the eye test.
They said I needed to go in to the branch to collect it - they wouldn't post it out.
Tbh I forgot about it wherever I was in town and never tried to collect it again.

So, now a year later and I'm having trouble seeing the computer. I obviously need new glasses. I decided to just get my eyes tested again so that the prescription that I get the glasses made up to is bang up to date.

This time, when I went to pay, I already had my debit card out and was ready to pay when I remembered to ask the optician to give me a copy of my prescription. She said she'd wouldn't give it to me until I had paid, which I thought was a bit distrustful but it wasn't a big deal I'd be paying in the next 30 seconds.
Then, 20 minutes later, just as I was leaving another shop, I suddenly realised that I'd not been given my prescription after all.
I went back and after a 5 minute wait, I was finally handed it.

I thought maybe I was unlucky, but I googled it and found a two year old newspaper article that said that Specsavers were suspected of deliberately withholding prescriptions unless you specifically ask. The benefit to Specsavers is they to get you to come back and maybe you'll buy glasses from them.

Anyone else experienced this or was I just unlucky?

It's actually part of the eye test to give the patient their prescription, however many optometrists will just clip it to the board.

Ask them to email it to you- they are able to email a PDF, and if they say it needs encryption they can use the NHS email. If they say no, you can put an SAR for the info (you could even tell them that and it might encourage the. to either post it or email it- because sorting SARs is a pain in the backside!).

I got the second prescription because I went back to Specsavers and asked again.

I suspect however, that Specsavers (or at least my local branch/ franchise) are deliberately making it difficult - you need to remember to ask after you've paid at the till but before you leave the shop.
They are supposed to hand it over - they can't refuse - but they can forget if you forget too.

Use Specsavers and think they always provide it. I had lost it and needed to know it for getting prescription goggles for swimming. Phoned them and they emailed it through really quickly.

Not sure why yours are making it so difficult.