On November 15 I went to JC Penney Optical in the Lehigh Valley Mall, Whitehall, PA and ordered new glasses. I was assisted by the store manager, Jeff. He attempted to contact the insurance company (Aetna), but said the system was down because it was Sunday. He took my prescription and information, and said he would call me the next day when he had contacted the insurance company with my total and obtain my credit card information to process the order.
On Monday I received no call. I let a few days pass and called the store and spoke with Jeff. He said he had called several times and the insurance company's system has been down. He said he would try again and get back to me.
A few days later, I received a voice mail from Jeff that he was still trying, but was not yet able to get through.
More time passed and on 12/3/08, I called the store and spoke with Jeff again. He said he had left me a message (I didn't receive any) that he had a solution to the insurance problem. He explained that he finally got through to the insurance and that they didn't have our number in their records and were not able to find us by name. He said that if I gave him my wife's Social Security Number (the insurance is in her name) they could look it up. I said I would contact my wife.
I called my wife, who works for Aetna and she was stunned by the information what they had said. She immediately contacted Aetna Optical division, and had a conference call with the optical insurance provider. They were immediately able to find our records with our insurance number or by name. She asked if they would be able to find it by SS number and they said "no" and stated that JC Penney is not allowed to ask for our SS number.
She called JC Penney back and spoke with Tiffany who stated that said Jeff had gone home for the day. She explained what she had discovered and Tiffany again asked for her Social Security Number. She refused to give it to her and said that if they couldn't resolve this we would take the prescription elsewhere.
Tiffany called me back a few minutes later and said that she had gotten our insurance information and that my insurance is not the same as my wife's. She said my wife's is a $200 allowance, but that mine was only a minor discount and that it would be cheaper to just purchase the glasses with their sale and not use the insurance. This is not true. My wife and I have the exact same benefits, and in fact, it's not possible to choose different benefits for a spouse on the same plan. I cancelled my order.
I have read similar reports of JC Penney Optical employees misquoting benefits and coercing customers into paying for their glasses rather than use their insurance. I also find it amazing that for 2 1/2 weeks they were not able to obtain our insurance information, but in 10 minutes after my wife called they were able to get information (albeit, phony information). I don't believe they ever even called the insurance company.
I would strongly suggest that consumers avoid JC Penney Optical, or be very careful and confirm their insurance benefits before their purchase.
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