Optician broke glasses

cocopops

Hi guys

So my sister bought Dior frames with diamanté encrusted legs bout four years ago in the states. She's a big contact lenses wearer and really only wears the glasses for special occasions.

Her prescription needed changing so she got the frames which she still loves sent away and new lenses put in. However when she went in yesterday to collect them and tried them on, the optician said he'd tighten them to make them straighter on her again.

Two seconds later snap!!! He broke on leg down the middle while using some machine in his room. He came out all apologetic and yet said it was probably because they are four years old that they snapped 'so easily'. He said he'd talk to his boss about a solution buoy looked as if they couldn't be put back together again.

Today he left a voicemail, twelve minutes before closing time, saying he could offer her a black leg to put with the GREEN frame and the other GREEN leg. My sisters pretty wound up and gutted but we're telling her it's not good enough! He needs to come up with a better solution?!!

All advice and thoughts appreciated!!

Ken.

Check online and see if the same frames can be got anywhere, then get the optician to buy them and put glass in them for your sis, or buy them yourself and give him the bill.

ejmaztec

lucyfur09 wrote: »

Check online and see if the same frames can be got anywhere, then get the optician to buy them and put glass in them for your sis, or buy them yourself and give him the bill.

It would probably be a long hard struggle trying to get that refunded. The optician could buy them for an awful lot less, and would probably use that as an excuse for not reimbursing the full retail price, or even any of it.

Ken.

ejmaztec wrote: »

It would probably be a long hard struggle trying to get that refunded. The optician could buy them for an awful lot less, and would probably use that as an excuse for not reimbursing the full retail price, or even any of it.

I was giving the optician the benefit of the doubt that he's an honest guy.

amdublin

lucyfur09 wrote: »

Check online and see if the same frames can be got anywhere, then get the optician to buy them and put glass in them for your sis, or buy them yourself and give him the bill.

Why would someone replace something old with a new item?

Even insurance generally does not replace old with new

Even if they had not been worn much, over four years the material they were made of could have just weakened naturally.

Ken.

If the glasses can be found online maybe there cheaper than they were if the style is 4 years old.

foggy_lad

amdublin wrote: »

Why would someone replace something old with a new item?

Even insurance generally does not replace old with new

Even if they had not been worn much, over four years the material they were made of could have just weakened naturally.

Well the optician must replace or repair the damage done, regardless of the age the frames had value, do you think what was offered was enough? If a garage destroyed an expensive old classic car you owned would you accept a cheap new car in it's place?

amdublin

foggy_lad wrote: »

Well the optician must replace or repair the damage done, regardless of the age the frames had value, do you think what was offered was enough? If a garage destroyed an expensive old classic car you owned would you accept a cheap new car in it's place?

Why must they replace or repair? Surely they should just "make good" the damage. How do you make good a pair of 4 year old glasses. Its a bit arbitrary.

Your example is a bit extreme.

Most cars depreciate in value so if you bought a car at €5k and. 4 yrs later it's resale value is €1k, your insurance is nit going to give you €5k.

Classic cars slightly different in that it may not depreciate as fast and may actually appreciate.

Glasses however, are a bit different in that they do not appreciate in value. and in fact to me her glasses seem completely worthless in monetary terms.

Like seriously, if this lady advertised on Adverts.ie " pair of Dior frames, diamanté encrusted legs, 4 years old, best offers please"
(a) would she get any offers at all?
(b) would you pair over a tenner for them??
(c) I can imagine some of the smart replies/offers she would get

They are really only worth something in sentimental terms to her.

Ultimately IMO, the fact that they are 4 years old is majorly going against this lady.

foggy_lad

amdublin wrote: »

Why must they replace or repair? Surely they should just "make good" the damage. How do you make good a pair of 4 year old glasses. Its a bit arbitrary.

Your example is a bit extreme.

Most cars depreciate in value so if you bought a car at €5k and. 4 yrs later it's resale value is €1k, your insurance is nit going to give you €5k.

Classic cars slightly different in that it may not depreciate as fast and may actually appreciate.

Glasses however, are a bit different in that they do not appreciate in value. and in fact to me her glasses seem completely worthless in monetary terms.

Like seriously, if this lady advertised on Adverts.ie " pair of Dior frames, diamanté encrusted legs, 4 years old, best offers please"
(a) would she get any offers at all?
(b) would you pair over a tenner for them??
(c) I can imagine some of the smart replies/offers she would get

They are really only worth something in sentimental terms to her.

Ultimately IMO, the fact that they are 4 years old is majorly going against this lady.

They must be returned to their previous state if requested or replaced

amdublin

foggy_lad wrote: »

They must be returned to their previous state if requested or replaced

And if this is impossible?
Imo the op should be compensated. But compensated at the glasses current worth, not their worth four years ago.

E.T.

With something like a pair of Dior glasses, would "age" depreciate them much? If you look on ebay, designer label goods often sell for at least as much as their original price, if not a lot more. I've seen Karen Millen dresses that are at least 2 years old still go for €150+, and Dior would be a much more expensive brand. It can make a difference if items are worn, but in some cases it doesn't. It might be worth having a look around to see if anyone is still selling the glasses, or if anyone is selling them second-hand, just to gauge prices.

ejmaztec

lucyfur09 wrote: »

I was giving the optician the benefit of the doubt that he's an honest guy.

Even an honest guy wouldn't want to reimburse you for the retail price if he could have got them for a lot less from a supplier.

wyndham

Are they like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Christian-Dior-Eyeglasses-Rhinestones-Swarovski/dp/B000LUE7DK

cocopops

Hi again everyone, just a heads up on what happened next!

My sister told the optician the black leg wasn't an option and she arranged to see the head optician. He was very apologetic and it turns out the offender is not long in the business so repairs aren't a strength.

He also said that Dior no longer make the frame so the only thing he could do was offer her a cheaper frame worth about 130 euro, for no charge. She decided to go with that option as she was getting fed up so she's happy enough and she got to pick from a selection of about six decent enough frames. Think she is collecting them on Monday. Allelluia!!

Thank you one and all for your advice and thoughts!
My sister is mortified I posted this about her problem but I knew it was the right place to come I think we've now got a new boards.ie convert

amdublin

Thanks for the update!

Lol about your sis/ you being a convert etc. Welcome to the club