eBay faces court action over contact lenses

The online auction company eBay is being threatened with court action over claims that contact lenses were permitted to be sold on the site.

According to the law, the only permitted retailers of contact lenses are registered opticians and doctors. The General Optical Council claims people buying lenses online risk serious eye problems because they do not receive the checks necessary to ensure eye health. They have issued eBay with a court summons over the alleged sales.

GOC member Nathan Efron, said “Lenses sit directly on the eye, so even if they feel fine to the wearer, there is a risk of irritation and infection.

“These kind of problems could result in a wearer becoming intolerant, and not being able to wear contacts again.”

He went on to warn, “In a worst case scenario, it could lead to vision loss and blindness. So it is incredibly important to have lenses fitted by a qualified professional.”

The rules apply both to corrective lenses, and the recently popular fashion lenses – to change the colour of the wearers eyes.

eBay contest the claims, stating that the contact lenses were among items it did not permit to be sold through the site. Any listings they became aware of, a spokesperson for eBay said, were instantly removed. eBay said its listing policy clearly states that the sale of controlled drugs or items requiring a prescription from a licensed doctor, dentist or an optrician is forbidden.

Over 200 contact lens entries were posted for sale on eBay just two days ago, but have since been removed. If found guilty in the court case, a fine of up to £2,500 per charge could be imposed on the company.

The law governing the sale of contact lenses is set out in the Opticians Act 1989, amended in June 2005. There it states: “a person shall not sell and optical appliance unless the sale is effected by or under the supervision of a registered medical practitioner or registered optician.”

The case will be head on October 10 at the City of London Magistrates’ Court.