Eurolens.ie - Beware

shayg1971 · 08-10-2009 3:53pm #1

These guys have a .ie domain, and a brand that suggests they are Europe- based. At no point during their order process does it suggest otherwise.

Until your lens order shows up 6 weeks later by ground mail, shipped from the US with a customs bill for VAT and a processing fee. I used them for the 1st (and last) time recently because my new prescription is not widely carried. I had a bitch at their customer service's email address, but they've ignored that completely.

I went thru the order process again to make sure I hadn't missed some subtle fine print first time around. But no, it seens deliberately set up to hide the reality from potential customers. You could be lucky and have your shipment make it thru without a charge. Or you could get shafted.

There's plenty of EU based competitors, so advise avoid...

Squiggle · 12-10-2009 12:10pm

It's worth noting that if you're buying on line from outside the EU you can buy goods up to a value of €22 without incurring any VAT charges. Goods up to a value of €150 may be imported without payment of Customs Duty. To avoid these packages being stopped by Customs, the value should be clearly marked on the label. However, VAT and import duty is charged on importations of tobacco, tobacco products, alcoholic product and perfumes even if they cost less than €22.

keskusmis · 20-11-2009 5:14pm

I ordered my contact lenses from eurolens.ie thinking that they are Ireland based and that i got a great deal.

After 7-8 weeks of waiting they finally arrived and to my surprise I had to pay extra for customs, VAT and collect charges..:(

Never again!

ibarelycare · 03-12-2009 5:57pm

So pissed off with this company too. The first few times I ordered from them, they were fine, but in July I ordered a box of contact lenses and they took over a month to arrive. The box had been opened and searched by customs but I didn't incur any extra charges. I decided to give them another try, thinking that it was probably just unlucky that customs had gotten to it...I hope this is the case!

I ordered last week and the order status is still "Processing" and money still hasn't been taken off my credit card. Absolutely ridiculous. Mailed them today but God knows when I'll hear back from them. I know I shouldn't have used them again, but they're the cheapest site that I can get my Focus Colour Dimensions from (€43 for a box of 6).

yelselseivad · 18-07-2010 7:56pm

I got stung like many others ordering from Eurolens.ie As I used a link from Pigsback (Thankfully they've now removed it so might prevent some others falling into the same trap) and because it had .ie and free postage to Europe on their site I presume I was ordering from Ireland. I was quoted a price in euros but the amount went through my account in USD so the amount charged to me credit card was more. When I e-mailed them it was then that I discovered I'd ordered from the US. I had checked the returns policy etc before I ordered and the address was in the UK no mention of outside the EU except in very small print where I discovered TOO late that I 'could be subject to customs charges'. I contacted Visa who said I had to wait a month before they could refund me and low and behold on day 29 the lens arrived along with a request from the delivery guy for €50. Wish I'd read this post before I ordered. We were waiting so long for the delivery that I had to order more as my son ran out so got them in double quick time from Yourlenses who I'd used before and deliver from Sweden. BUYER BEWARE

loopymum · 20-10-2010 12:39pm

Just got stung here for VAT and PO charge as well, come to €20.96.

I am pissed off, just emailed them there.

TescoDiets · 11-11-2010 1:50pm

There are a few threads running on the topic of Customs Charges so not sure where to post this but just wondering if anyone has any advice.

I have an unusual situation where I purchased a bulk load of items to the value of around 150 quid. Then I returned one of the items to be repaired under warrenty. Then the returning item was held by customs. I explained I didn't have the original receipt as it was part of an earlier bulk order to the value of X. Now they are chaising me to pay the customs charges on the original goods dispite the fact that they let them through on an earlier date.

So even if do not claime the current individual item, can they still come after me for the cost of the original order which was not stopped by customs?

Seve OB · 13-12-2010 12:14pm

sounds like a major scam here

i was under the belief that you had to be an irish company to get a .ie website so there may be cause for complaint here

http://www.domainregistry.ie/

having said that, i've been buying lenses for years from www.aclens.com and have never had to pay customes duty of any kind

Dozen Wicked Words · 13-12-2010 12:20pm

Bit like shutting the door after the horse has bolted but, one way (but not foolproof) of seeing where a site is based, is using Flagfox on Firefox, If you put eurolens.ie into the browser the little flag in the right of the address box tells you they are in the US. Click on the little flag and it gives you more info.

Sorry to everyone who has been stung by the way.

Squiggle · 13-12-2010 5:13pm

Flagfox identifies http://www.opticalinstitute.com/ as being US based but it's based in Portugal and I know that to be true because I have bought lenses from them. http://www.domainsearch.com/index.htm correctly shows them to be based in Portugal, and eurolens.ie to be US based. I don't know how reliable http://www.domainsearch.com/index.htm is in general.

rsmike · 06-04-2011 11:07am

Silly me for not googling these guys before ordering lenses, I got scammed also, 5 week delivery and €15 bill from An Post.

I have just lodged a complaint with IEDR asking how Eurolens "demonstrated a real and substantive connection with Ireland" when they were given this domain ( that is one of the requirements to get an IE domain), and referred to this thread in my complaint.

Lets see how they respond

==========================

UPDATE: OK here is their response already from IEDR:

Thank you for your email

I am sorry you are experiencing difficulties with this company.

As you can see from this link, all companies need to provide a connection to Ireland:
(http://www.domainregistry.ie/index.php/mnudomregs/mnuquickguide)

One of the criteria is

- Copies of invoices (showing trade to or from Ireland)

This company that you refer to, does fulfil this requirement.

The issue seems to be with the information they are providing on their website, which
unfortunately we do not have any control over. We issue the domain name only.

I advise you to contact hotline.ie if you are concerned about the practises of this
website.

I am sorry I cannot help you any further.

Kind regards

So seems like they don't care that consumers are being scammed as long as they get their registration numbers up and keep the money rolling in.

Not sure about their recommendation to contact hotline.ie, as it looks like they deal more with illegal activity?

rsmike · 11-04-2011 1:58pm

Thought it was a long shot but decided to try a complaint to hotline, here is the reply:

=====================
The hotline.ie service acknowledges the report you have submitted.

The Hotline service handles cases of suspected illegal content on the Internet especially Child Pornography
which is specifically illegal under the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act (1998).

I regret to inform you that the report you have made is outside of the Hotline's remit. This is because the content provided is not illegal (which is where Holtine.ie can act) and what you are reporting is a consumer dispute and possible mis-advertising.

We suggest you refer the matters to the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs an/or the Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland
=======================

so now trying www.consumerconnect.ie ......................

nolo_ · 14-06-2011 8:09pm

any joy with that? i just got my lenses today with a customs bill. please wipe this website off the net!!!

Also, i had an argument with this company last week because the amount they charged to my credit card was a couple of euro more then what was on the online invoice (stated in euro). They initially wouldn't give the difference back to me. I had to quote contract law to get it.

rsmike · 14-06-2011 11:40pm

nolo_ wrote: »

any joy with that? i just got my lenses today with a customs bill. please wipe this website off the net!!!

Also, i had an argument with this company last week because the amount they charged to my credit card was a couple of euro more then what was on the online invoice (stated in euro). They initially wouldn't give the difference back to me. I had to quote contract law to get it.

No Joy, it seems our consumer agency is powerless, here is their reply:

Thank you for contacting the National Consumer Agency (NCA) with your query regarding the domain of the Eurolens website and apologies for the delay in responding to you.

We have referred your query to our Commercial Practices Division (CPD) for their review. However, from reviewing the information provided, it would appear that Lens Inc are trading as eurolens.ie. They are a registered body in Nevada and therefore, they are not subject to Irish Law or European Law. As this is the case, the query you raise has been closed by our Commercial Practices Division as Eurolens do not fall within the jurisdiction of the National Consumer Agency.

We trust you have found this information useful and if you have any further consumer related queries please do not hesitate to contact us on 1890 432 432.

Solair · 14-06-2011 11:43pm

Contact the national consumer agency

http://www.consumerconnect.ie/eng/

http://www.consumerconnect.ie/eng/Working_With_You/Submit_a_Consumer_Complaint/ (To make a complaint)

rsmike · 15-06-2011 8:09am

Solair wrote: »

Contact the national consumer agency

http://www.consumerconnect.ie/eng/

http://www.consumerconnect.ie/eng/Working_With_You/Submit_a_Consumer_Complaint/ (To make a complaint)

Errr, I did, that is their reply posted above

Solair · 15-06-2011 10:03am

Sorry, you posted the text in dark blue, which I can't read as my boards.ie account displays with a black background. It just looked like a blank post to me.

The National Consumer Agency seem to have nearly as much power as a very small kitten. No doubt, they were setup by our wonderful protect the vested interests FF-lead previous Government.

I wonder if it might be worth shopping them to US authorities?

They're very strict on dispensing lenses without a valid US prescription.

Info:

http://business.ftc.gov/documents/bus62-contact-lens-rule-guide-prescribers-and-sellers

Also, it might be worth contacting the Minister for Health's office and CCing your local FG TD.

Or, better yet, as your local TD to contact the Minister for Health's office on your behalf. They like doing that sort of thing, but it does actually get taken seriously.

the_syco · 15-06-2011 10:47am

Could you go down the route of taking the Eurolens.ie domain off them, as they are not based in Ireland? It seems rather odd, as I thought you needed to reside in Ireland to get an dot IE domain?

Solair · 15-06-2011 10:59am

Since you thought that you were dealing with an Irish company, I think this could be simple breech of contract. You are not getting the goods/services you agreed to i.e. you were totally unaware that you were dealing with a US Company.

Threaten to instigate Small Claims Court proceedings if they do not resolve this.

If they don't, then perhaps start he proceedings. They are very simple and very low cost.

http://www.courts.ie/courts.ie/Library3.nsf/PageCurrentWebLookUpTopNav/Small%20Claims%20Procedure

Gian-Pa · 06-07-2011 9:51pm

I got f*cked as well.
I thought it was Irish or at least UK.
I had to pay 17.59€ for Customs and waste 2 hours to go and get lost in Howth (An Post Kilbarrack Sorting Office)even though it was supposed to be delivered in city center.
If you have to pay for Customs and there is nobody when a try (once), you have to go to Howth (for the north side An Post deliveries).

Plus the joke that they say "your order has been shipped via FEDEX INTERNATIONAL MAIL SERVICE", yeah sure.

So for 55.36€ order I payed 17.59€ extra and for waiting 3 weeks? still cheaper than in VisionExpress (about 17€ less), but i'm sure I can find cheaper deal online.

So the verdict is don't shop at euroLens.ie and if possible report it as bad business if you can.

porterj · 10-11-2011 9:36pm

It would appear that this company is still operating this fraud, I have just been caught for €24.81 Customs charges, also they charged my credit card account for €3.83 more than their official invoice shows.

optician · 11-11-2011 3:49pm

they should be reported to the irish domain name registrstion.

.ie addresses should be based in ireland and if reported they can remove the website

porterj · 16-11-2011 3:52pm

I have reported euroLens.ie to the European Consumer Centre Ireland. They agree that the website is most misleading but the difficulty is that as the company behind this website is based in the US, they are not bound by EU rules which state that all taxes and charges must be clearly stated and that any material information must not be misleading. However as the company is outside Europe, they can take no action against them.

porterj · 16-11-2011 5:38pm

optician wrote: »

they should be reported to the irish domain name registrstion.

.ie addresses should be based in ireland and if reported they can remove the website

This is the message I got from .ie domain registration

"The IEDR is responsible only for the domain name itself and all .ie domain names have met our requirements before they are registered.

Unfortunately therefore we have no control over a how a business operates, or the content of
their website.

We therefore cannot help you with this issue. However, perhaps the people at hotline.ie will be able
to assist you.

optician · 16-11-2011 9:55pm

porterj wrote: »

This is the message I got from .ie domain registration

"The IEDR is responsible only for the domain name itself and all .ie domain names have met our requirements before they are registered.

Unfortunately therefore we have no control over a how a business operates, or the content of
their website.

We therefore cannot help you with this issue. However, perhaps the people at hotline.ie will be able
to assist you.

how can they say that they met their requirements before they registered if one of the requirements are that they are registered in Ireland???

porterj · 17-11-2011 1:02am

optician wrote: »

how can they say that they met their requirements before they registered if one of the requirements are that they are registered in Ireland???

The regulations state:

To apply under this class the applicant must be a public or limited company registered with the Companies’ Registration Office or any equivalent body in their state. For applicants not based in Ireland or in Northern Ireland, the evidence of a “real and substantive link to Ireland” will be requested.

I have asked how Lens.com demonstrated a “real and substantive link to Ireland” ,
I await an answer

optician · 29-11-2011 1:12pm

porterj wrote: »

I await an answer

any reply???

porterj · 29-11-2011 5:20pm

Their answer was:-

"Hi John

Thanks for your email.

The IEDR have rules and regulations which can be found on our website at www.iedr.ie

The IEDR is responsible only for the domain name itself and all .ie domain names have met our requirements before they are registered.

Unfortunately therefore we have no control over a how a business operates, or the content of
their website.

We therefore cannot help you with this issue. However, perhaps the people at hotline.ie will be able
to assist you.

Kind regards

Liesanne"

As well as the ie Domain Registry I have written to the European Consumer Centre who say they have no power to act as the company is in America and out of their jurisdiction.

I have also lodged a complaint to econsumer.gov Their reply is as follows:

"The participating enforcement agencies will use the information in your complaint to spot new trends, uncover new scams, and target suspect companies and individuals for law enforcement actions. It may help to ensure that others are not victimized in the way that you have been. You should know that submitting a complaint to this system WILL NOT necessarily trigger an obligation for any participating agency to investigate your complaint on your behalf."

I am not holding my breath!!

optician · 01-12-2011 10:43pm

porterj wrote: »

Their answer was:-

"Hi John

Thanks for your email.

The IEDR have rules and regulations which can be found on our website at www.iedr.ie

The IEDR is responsible only for the domain name itself and all .ie domain names have met our requirements before they are registered.

Unfortunately therefore we have no control over a how a business operates, or the content of
their website.

We therefore cannot help you with this issue. However, perhaps the people at hotline.ie will be able
to assist you.

Kind regards

Liesanne"

As well as the ie Domain Registry I have written to the European Consumer Centre who say they have no power to act as the company is in America and out of their jurisdiction.

I have also lodged a complaint to econsumer.gov Their reply is as follows:

"The participating enforcement agencies will use the information in your complaint to spot new trends, uncover new scams, and target suspect companies and individuals for law enforcement actions. It may help to ensure that others are not victimized in the way that you have been. You should know that submitting a complaint to this system WILL NOT necessarily trigger an obligation for any participating agency to investigate your complaint on your behalf."

I am not holding my breath!!

that is ridiculous. I blame the .ie registry fully because if a company has a .ie registry by its own regulation it suggests to the buyer that the company has a "real and substantive link to Ireland" and effects the buyers choice of website to buy from.

so the conversation has gone like this

why has eurolens.ie been given a .ie web address when it is an american company operating out of America?

This company met our requirements before we registered them.

What are these requirements?
That the company has a real and substantive link to Ireland.

How did they demonstrate this real and substantive link to Ireland when they are an american company operating out of America?
This company met our requirements before we registered them.

I would ask them to investigate exactly what "evidence" they showed for this, ask them in light of these revelations if they will remove the website from the .ie registry and also look to see if the national consumer agency can do anything about it because the consumer is being defrauded here.

OldNotWIse · 20-12-2011 3:53pm

I've been stung also! Wish I'd seen this thread first! Have emaile dthem so many times and keep getting the same "happy holidays, we apologise for any frustration caused" type replies. URGH!!!! Waiting a month now for my lenses so am heading into the festive season with one contact lens. Great :mad:

Will never order from them again.

PCRunner · 01-03-2012 12:50pm

Having just been stung I was all set to begin a crusade on this and then discover to my horror that this has been going on since 2004!

My first order from them arrived OK without customs charge and I was left wondering how they could be so much cheaper for a commodity-branded product. Now I know!

Caveat emptor lives on.

Eurolens.ie - Beware

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