Contact lens seller violated the law

RANDY HUTCHINSON
·3 min read

The FTC’s Contact Lens Rule (CLR) requires prescribers to automatically provide patients a copy of their prescription after completion of their contact lens fitting. It also imposes requirements on sellers to protect the health of their customers:

  • Before selling lenses, the company must obtain a copy of the consumer’s prescription or verify the patient’s information with the prescriber.

  • Once it makes a valid verification request, the seller can fulfill the order if the prescriber doesn’t deny the request or correct the prescription within eight business days.

  • The seller cannot alter the prescription or substitute another brand of lens unless the manufacturer offers a brand name and generic or store brand version of the same lens.

The FTC has settled charges that Vision Path, the online seller of Hubble contact lenses, violated numerous provisions of the CLR as well as the FTC Act that prohibits deceptive practices. Hubble will pay $3.5 million in a civil penalty and refunds to customers.

Hubble sells contact lenses directly to consumers through an online subscription model and promotes them through social media and television ads. Consumers receive an initial shipment of 15 pairs of lenses by paying only a shipping and handling fee and then receive 30 pairs a month for $39 plus shipping and handling.

In violation of the CLR, the FTC alleged that Hubble didn’t ask consumers for copies of their prescriptions and wouldn’t allow them to provide copies if they asked to do so. That allowed Hubble to act as though it wasn’t aware consumers had prescriptions for non-Hubble lenses.

Hubble either didn’t make the required verification calls or made them in a manner that made it almost impossible for the prescriber to respond, which would be considered a “passive verification” of Hubble’s request. For example, Hubble:

  • Left voicemails on phone numbers that clearly weren’t eye care offices.

  • Conveyed the verification message in a garbled robotic computer voice that was hard to understand.

  • Played the verification message while on hold.

The CLR is designed to ensure that consumers receive properly prescribed and fitted contact lenses. Wearing improper lenses can result in corneal scratches, eye sores and irritation, and conjunctivitis (pink-eye). In its own surveys of why customers canceled subscriptions, Hubble found that 24 percent were because customers needed a kind of lens Hubble didn’t sell, 13 percent were because customers couldn’t see out of their Hubble lenses, and 22 percent were because customers found the lenses uncomfortable.

Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said, “Hubble’s business model boosted its bottom line but created needless risk for its customers’ eye health.” Many of over 400 complaints filed with the BBB concern problems with canceling subscriptions and getting refunds. The company has an F rating.

The FTC also accused Hubble of trying to counter negative publicity by filing fake positive reviews. One reviewer said, “I love this company!!! Omg I’m so sick of everyone complaining because they don’t know how to follow instructions.” The reviewer was Hubble’s Director of Customer Experience. Hubble also failed to disclose that some reviewers were compensated with free lenses.

The FTC and BBB recommend that if you come across a company selling contact lenses without getting or properly verifying your prescription, go elsewhere and report them to the FTC.

Randy Hutchinson is the president of the Better Business Bureau of the Mid-South. Reach the BBB at 800-222-8754.

This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: Contact lens seller violated the law