||Absolutely. This is on a tangent from the original thread, but such a good ||example of the above. A federal law was passed last year called,"The ||Fairness to Lens Consumers Act." The main point of the law, from ||the_government's_angle, was to allow contact lens wearers to be able to get ||their prescription numbers from their optometrist and take them anywhere ||else,(cheaper), to get their lenses made. The same thing that eyeglass ||wearers have been able to do since 1976. But the fine print of the act says ||that it is now against the law for any optometrist or lens seller, (i.e., ||Pearle Vision, Lenscrafters, etc.), to grind an eyeglass lens or make a ||contact from a prescription that is more than 2 years old. Almost all ||people my age, 54, don't need any step changes in their prescriptions for ||many, many years. The eyes of most people who require corrective lenses ||stop changing, or slow way down, after about age 18. Rep. Richard Burr, R., ||NC, along with the American Optometric Assc. got that paragraph put in ||there. ( The maggot is from my home state, too). All four people in my ||household require corrective lenses. Got two boys in college whose eyes ||have passed the rapidly changing period. I'm trying to cut corners every ||way possible to make it financially and now this gets strapped on to me by ||the government. All you guys that break a lens in the shop, you can forget ||just going to get another one made if your prescription is more than two ||years old. Even if you know the prescription is still fine. You're going ||to have to pay ~$100 more for an eye exam. That you don't need. I'm quite ||sure I'm capable of determining when my eyeglass prescription needs ||changing, as is anyone else reading this. It's a real money maker for ||optometrists. I'm writing my congressman, for all the good it will do. By ||the way, the PAC for the American Optometric Assc._really_passed out some ||money in 2003. Okay. Rant off.
I had a running email discussion last month with the CS rep from the online contacts place I've been using. Until the most recent order, they did not require a current prescription. Last time I reordered they wanted a prescription, even providing an online list to "Select your eyecare provider by Zip code". So I did that, even though I never had used the local shop. They actually called them, and of course they didn't know me from Adam ;) So the last message I sent them said "Look, if I had a current prescription I could go to any number of local places and buy my lenses for less than what you charge. I trade with you because I have not (until now) had to spend $100/year for a piece of paper that said, in effect "Yours eyes are unchanged from last time"". Next email from them "Your order has been shipped. I had them double the order.
Texas Parts Guy