Optician Ombudsman Or Equivalent Body?

[barry1010]

I want to lodge a serious complaint about an optician. Who can I complain to?

[LadyCG]

https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/how-can-i-complain-about-an-optician#seek-help-from-the-occs

I think you need to complain to the Practitioner in the first instance.

[bednobs]

is it an NHS service or private?
if NHS you can use the NHS complaints system too

[barry1010]

Thanks, both. I believe the optician has acted fraudulently so am reluctant to complain to them.
It is a private practice.

[barry1010]

I will lodge the complaint with the General Optical Council. Thanks again for all the help.

[Peter Pedant]

depends
not wishing to pry

contractual - local complaint and then work way up froo trading standards

standards - local and then work way up the standards chain

if completely at sea wiv all this - ring the General Optical Council - number in the directory and ask their advice but DON'T expect them to investigate

[THECORBYLOON]

PP, their website says they cover fraud so what's wrong with asking them to investigate?

[Peter Pedant]

GOC is registration / regulation
I dont think they can order the optician to compensate

but they will certainly go the extra mile to screw one of their registrants. we convicted an optician of a little naughtiness (*)as a juryman 2016 and yup - the case is STILL outstanding at the GOC four years later

(*) teentsy weentsy - we thought the main witness had a point - but not that big if you get my meaning.

[Peter Pedant]

// PP, their website says they cover fraud so what's wrong with asking them to investigate?//
actually I dont know ....
BUT
even the GMC after £60m on the Bristol cases ( twenty y ago) drew in their claws about investigation and really want chapter and verse. It is all paid by the lucky registrants themselves - and even the doctors said - no no we arent paying for that

it does mean they stop after they can nail a charge - none of this "lets really find out what happened" crap

[barry1010]

We don't want compensation.

[barry1010]

The elderly relative that we care for has sight in only one eye and is being treated by the hospital consultant for various eye problems.

Two years ago she had her regular sight test at the opticians who told her she had age related macular degeneration and signed her on the spot for Macushield to be delivered regularly paid for by direct debit.

The hospital specialist can find no evidence of this and says in any case Macushield is only a supplement, not a treatment, and he would never recommend it for anybody.

I firmly believe that the optician gets a financial reward for selling this product to its customers who would naturally be very worried about such a diagnosis.

[fiction-factory]

Would the police not be interested?

[woofgang]

you might like to look at pages 12 and 24 of this but this doesn't sound that straight forward to me. https://www.abdo.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/GOC-standards-of-practice.pdf

[fiction-factory]

Ignore my post about the Police- I hadn't spotted your 12:02 post which sets out the sort of fraud you mean