Retailer Warby Parker penalized for letting Kentuckians take online vision test
Republished from Kentucky Lantern
Warby Parker, an online retailer of prescription glasses, contact lenses and sunglasses, has agreed to pay at least $55,200 to Kentucky for allowing 69 Kentuckians to take its online vision test, contrary to state law, Attorney General Russell Coleman’s office said in a news release Friday.
Coleman’s office alleged that from July to October 2021, 69 Kentuckians were improperly given Warby Parker’s online test. “When the attorney general’s Office of Consumer Protection alerted Warby Parker of the problem, the company cooperated with the investigation and took the test offline,” the release said. “Following a voluntary settlement process, Warby Parker will be penalized $138,000. If there are no further violations for five years, the amount will be reduced to $55,200.”
The “Get a Prescription” page on Warby Parker’s website says the online vision test is available to people who “reside in an eligible state, due to state-level regulations,” and disqualifies residents of Alaska, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, New Mexico, South Carolina, South Dakota, Washington and West Virginia, using their two-letter postal abbreviations.
Kentucky consumers may complain about a business operating in the state to Coleman’s office at https://www.ag.ky.gov/Resources/Consumer-Resources/Consumers/Pages/Consumer-Complaints.aspx.
Kentucky Lantern is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com. Follow Kentucky Lantern on Facebook and Twitter. Kentucky Lantern stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
Donate to Kentucky Lantern here.
