Eyewear chain Oscar Wylee accused of lying about charity donations

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This was published 4 years ago

Eyewear chain Oscar Wylee accused of lying about charity donations

By Dominic Powell

National eyewear chain Oscar Wylee has been taken to court by the consumer watchdog, which claims the business failed to make thousands of charitable donations it had committed to.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission announced on Friday it had instituted legal proceedings in the Federal Court over the company's 'Buy 1 Pair, Give 1 Pair' program, which promised to donate one pair of glasses to a person in need for each pair purchased by customers.

The ACCC claims Oscar Wylee's 'Buy 1 Pair, Give 1 Pair' campaign exploited consumers.

The ACCC claims Oscar Wylee's 'Buy 1 Pair, Give 1 Pair' campaign exploited consumers.

Featured prominently on the company's website and social media channels, the company spruiked the program to shoppers alongside photos of disadvantaged children and the elderly.

However, the ACCC claims that between January 2014 and December 2018 Oscar Wylee donated just 3,000 pairs of glasses to underprivileged communities, despite selling over 320,000 pairs during that time.

"We allege Oscar Wylee donated less than 1 per cent of the glasses it said it would,” ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said.

It also alleges Oscar Wylee misrepresented its relationship with independent charities group Rose Charities in New Zealand, with the company claiming it had "partnered" with the group to build eye care programs in Cambodia and fund the studies of a local eye surgeon.

We are very distressed to have the Australian public misled about their donations to such a worthy cause as eye care in Cambodia.

Former Rose Charities chair Trish Gribben

Instead, the regulator claims the company's entire involvement with Rose Charities was limited to a single $2000 donation and 100 pairs of frames, given in early 2014. No further donations were made, despite the company continuing to claim it had.

Trish Gribben, who chaired Rose Charities NZ at the time of the donation, backed the ACCC's claims.

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"Rose Charities NZ is sad to say those allegations, as in the statement, are true. And our reaction is that we are very distressed to have the Australian public misled about their donations to such a worthy cause as eye care in Cambodia," she told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.

"In 2013 we were delighted to be approached by Oscar Wylee and receive a donation of $2000, with 100 spectacle frames. Then came one more $2000 — and we haven’t heard from the company since."

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Ms Gribben said no fees were paid to aid the study of a Cambodian eye surgeon and said she was disappointed with the company, saying "when false claims are made everybody loses faith".

Ms Rickard said the alleged misleading claims had "exploited consumers’ desire to support charitable causes".

"We are concerned that consumers may have chosen Oscar Wylee over other eyewear companies because they believed their purchase would result in Oscar Wylee providing glasses to people in need and supporting a sustainable eye care program in Cambodia."

In a statement, the company said it would "vigorously defend" the ACCC's court action and noted it has "always acted with good intentions".

"We utterly reject the allegations made by the ACCC, which do not reflect the range and scale of the community and charitable contributions made by Oscar Wylee," the company said.

"Oscar Wylee has to date donated more than 350,000 frames to charity organisations including Sight for All. Monetary donations in that period total $130,865."

Oscar Wylee was founded in 2012 by Michael Lim and John Teoh, the son of reclusive telecommunications billionaire David Teoh. Mr Lim left the company in 2015, and Mr Teoh brought his brother Jack on board to help run it.

The company runs 52 stores around the country and has a large online presence.

with Nick Bonyhady

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