The Office of the Attorney General today obtained settlements with 21 convenience and dollar stores in the San Antonio area. The retail stores violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the Texas Optometry Act by selling contact lenses without requiring a prescription upon purchase. Undercover investigations conducted by the San Antonio Police Department found evidence that store clerks sold cosmetic lenses acquired from novelty businesses. Texas law does not exempt cosmetic lenses from the prescription requirement.
The lenses, illegally sold by the retail shops, potentially pose significant health risks to consumers as it is not known if storage conditions compromised the integrity of the lenses. In some of these cases, several of the wholesalers stored the contact lenses in the backs of vans. In the settlement, the store owners agreed to pay approximately $50,000 in civil penalties and attorney fees and to permanently cease selling contact lenses. Retailers also agreed to provide full refunds to consumers for a period of 90 days from the entry of the Assurances of Voluntary Compliance.