Eyeplan has confirmed that the eye care schemes provided by them, including the recently introduced Eyeplan Complete eye care and eye wear scheme, do not require a credit licence.

In January of this year The AOP, FODO, ABDO, FMO and the Association of Contact Lens Manufacturers issued joint advice on the requirements for a credit licence and compliance with the money laundering regulations.  This advice clarified the law with regard to optics, which is essentially that businesses offering payment in arrears need to have a credit licence and be registered with the OFT under the money laundering regulations.  There are certain exemptions, but failure to comply with the law does carry significant penalties.

In the light of the advice given, Eyeplan decided to look again at any implications of the law for Eyeplan Associates operating eye care schemes and in particular the Eyeplan Complete scheme, which includes the provision of eye wear.

Having reviewed the Eyeplan contract terms and sought additional legal advice, Eyeplan can confirm that, when implemented correctly, none of the Eyeplan eye care or eye wear schemes require a credit licence or registration with the OFT.  With the cost of a credit licence at £970 for a limited company or partnership and registration with the OFT at £115 per premises under the money laundering regulations, this cost can be a barrier for independent practices who wish to offer patients easier access to quality eye wear.

The Eyeplan Complete scheme offers an improvement on the traditional ‘interest free credit’ type arrangements by providing a pair of spectacles to a patient on an annual basis through a service type eye care contract. For the patient this means easier access to quality eye wear and eye care

The legal opinion that Eyeplan has received is that under the Eyeplan Complete scheme people paying in advance for an entitlement to products and services, so even if they take glasses at the start of the payment period, it is the entitlement that they have paid, rather than paying for the goods in arrears, so a consumer credit licence is not needed.

Simon Mills, MD of Eyeplan said “This is a very good example of what Eyeplan is always doing behind the scenes, always working to find new ways that independent opticians can best serve the needs of their patients.”

Eyeplan eye care schemes, including Eyeplan Complete, are available to independent opticians only.

By Chris Clemence
Commercial Director, Eyeplan Ltd.