Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
General health

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Original poster

Specsavers Contact Lens Direct Debit Scheme

26 replies

Ronnie211097 · 18/04/2023 23:15

Hello wonderful people,

Are any of you on the Specsavers Contact Lens DD Scheme? I’ve had a trial with them with 5 pairs of daily lenses given to me, which unfortunately didn’t work so, they have offered me a different brand to test. What I am most concerned about is, (I really enjoy wearing lenses) that I was a little shocked that the lady said the lenses which are more suitable for me are in the £30.00 - £45.00 range. It seems like a lot of pounds spent each month - plus, it is likely I won’t wear lenses every single day, as I like to switch around, but will most likely wear them on most days. I have also tried the monthly lenses a while back and really didn’t like them.

How does being signed up to the scheme work? I’m not entirely read up about prices of lenses as I’ve been wearing glasses for most of my life. My prescription is -2.00 in left eye and -1.75 in right.

Thanking you!

OP posts:
pintsizeprincess · 18/04/2023 23:21

I've been on the dd scheme with specsavers for years and only pay £13 per month. That's for monthly disposables . However at my recent contact lense check they suggested daily disposables and it was only working out around £17 per month. My eyesight is alot worse than yours -8 in both eyes. I've never had any issues with the scheme. I would definitely check with specasavers again as that price sounds very high .

bbyno2 · 18/04/2023 23:23

I pay £30 for 30 pairs with them so sounds about right. I couldn't have the cheapest daily disposables as they were 'baggy' on my eye

JohnNutLips · 18/04/2023 23:24

I’ve been on the scheme for years with no issues. It sounds like that price might be for dailies assuming you would wear them every day. I think I pay about £15 a month and get a box of 30 pairs every 3 months.

isurvived3under2 · 18/04/2023 23:25

I've been on it for years. Love it. If you don't need a pair of contacts per day you can always reduce how many you get.

TheQueenOfOverthinking · 18/04/2023 23:25

I worn lenses for years. I used to work in an opticians.
Funnily enough, the two times I tried lenses with specsavers they decided my current lenses didn’t suit me and the ones they suggested would be £££ more.

Asda opticians are a lot more reasonable.

TheQueenOfOverthinking · 18/04/2023 23:26

They were different specsavers stores btw and I was wearing different lenses/prescription at the times I visited around 4 years apart.

CC4712 · 18/04/2023 23:29

I would get your prescription written down- if you've had an glasses check and/or a contact lens check- you can legally have a copy of your prescription. Take it home, then compare online! I've heard asda are reasonably priced, but you can shop around. IF you find specsavers is the best value- you can always go back and sign up for the DD. Don't feel pressured to sign up to anything until you have compared prices for the same brand elsewhere.

I've had dreadful service from 2 specsavers branches and will never return. The last time was towards the end lockdowns. I hadn't worn contacts in a year, and had over 6mths supply at home. I was asked repeatedly which DD scheme I wanted to sign up to and the girl couldn't understand why I wasn't wanting to!

Ilovetea42 · 18/04/2023 23:32

I have a really complex prescription -11 and -10 and I only pay £13 pm for my monthly lenses. Go back and have a chat with them and see what they say, there's usually a few options unless you're on a complex prescription (I'm at the stage where there's a limited amount of options) and give others a try. I had a bit of back and forth until I found these ones which I find really comfortable so you can usually sample a few until you see what works and is cost efficient.

NotMeNoNo · 18/04/2023 23:48

Mine are £30 per month for monthly disposable multifocals, including solutions and checkups. I did look at buying the lenses direct but there was only a few pounds saving. Also Specsavers eventually got the right prescription so I don't want to change it. It's not a cheap hobby!

Spiderysenses · 19/04/2023 00:00

DD's are about £25ish per month for enough daily pairs to cover Mon-Fri, she has a break at weekends. She has Acuvue Moist toric lenses. Specsavers recommended Acuvue Oasys, but they didn't work for her. DH gets the same lenses (although non toric) through Boots, but DD switched to Specsavers as Boots went loopy over Covid and even now it's a struggle to get an appointment.

Blanketenvy · 19/04/2023 00:12

£25 for a month of daily disposables.

slamfightbrightlight · 19/04/2023 00:23

We’ve just signed DD up. £22pm for 20 pairs of lenses. You do have to pay 3 months upfront so be prepared for that!

Radiodread · 20/04/2023 08:25

Do you have astigmatism and need silicone hydrogel? This is me. Specsavers are £44 per month for me, dailies. It's no cheaper from online places, I've checked. However if you don't need them every day you can ask specsavers to pro rate it.

Mochinated · 20/04/2023 08:28

Don't bother. Once you have your prescription you can buy trial boxes online and then buy on demand.

The discounts they offer on glasses are less fantastic than you might think, since they regularly run offers all the time!

I was with Specsavers lensmail for 15 years and finally gave it up after they were rude to me in store yet again. Wish I'd switched years ago, would have saved a fortune!

Tradescantia252 · 20/04/2023 08:35

This post is making me feel I should shop around. I'm paying £42/month for my (slightly upmarket, moist) daily lenses via my optician's scheme. However, it does include all sight tests & after care appts plus 20% off glasses.

Gabby10 · 20/04/2023 08:46

Have you had a look at vision express? I switched from specsavers to them as the same lenses were costing me £45 a month with specsavers and were £17 with vision express and that includes yearly eye health check and eye test x

Radiodread · 20/04/2023 23:54

It really does depend on what lenses you need though. Some are just expensive no matter the supplier. And you do need to factor in the cost of not only a vision check but also contact lens checks. These are important to check for abrasions, dryness, lens movement on eye, oxygenation etc.

The OP prescription is fairly minor but if they have significant astigmatism and dry eyes or something that could account for the cost. By all means shop around but the big chains can be cost effective.

TomeTome · 20/04/2023 23:59

I used to do that, now I just pay for a test £25 and then buy lenses for 6 months.

multivac · 21/04/2023 00:00

I have astigmatism, and my monthly disposables cost me £18 pm. The service is always superb (I think Specsavers is franchised, though, so that might change from area to area - although I could be mistaken) - and the eye care is top notch. They don't try and upsell when I buy new glasses, either. Very happy with the deal.

angerelle · 21/04/2023 00:00

I don't know about Specsavers, but when I could wear daily disposables I had two months' of lenses every three months as I didn't wear them every day, which was cheaper and worked out really well for me. I was with an independent optician though and was on standing order, rather than direct debit.

I wear toric multifocals now which are only available as monthly lenses and are loads more expensive 😭

WhatsitWiggle · 21/04/2023 00:02

I pay £30 a month but they are daily disposables and a high water content - I've been wearing contacts for 30 years so it's what I need to be able to keep on wearing them.

That includes sight tests and aftercare, and a hefty discount off my glasses.

LittleBearPad · 21/04/2023 00:27

£22pm and they send me 60 pairs every three months. Then as and when I need them I buy extra pairs online. It’s very very easy

Xiomara22 · 21/04/2023 00:29

Try boots opticians, I swapped to them after being on Specsavers for years and they beat on price for miles

Beseen22 · 21/04/2023 00:37

I personally would find an optician you trust and go with them for the start period. It will be more expensive but there's quite a lot of tweaking needed in the first 6 months while you get used to it. I went to specsavers and the cheapest deal was to buy up front but the lenses did not fit me properly and there was no follow up. I constantly had what I thought was dry eyes but the optician I saw said it was the lenses were too small and it was like a tight belt on my eye. Now my lenses are stable and I've been on the same prescription for years I get 12 week lenses but I wouldn't want to get too much upfront to begin with, you don't want to pay for stock you can't use.

LighterNights · 21/04/2023 01:54

£30 a month for 30 pairs. I'm perfectly happy with Specsavers. They simply can't get glasses right for me though, 3 pairs now and I just can't wear them.