How to avoid paying too much for prescription glasses and contacts By: Scripps National and last updated 2020-12-16 11:00:47-05 The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is cracking down on glasses and contact prescribers who may try to stop you from shopping around. The FTC sent warning letters to almost 30 different eyeglass prescribers. The letters say the prescriber must give a copy of the prescription to the patient without them asking. They can't charge a special fee for doing that and they canât force you to buy from them just because they did the examination. âHowever, there were a lot of prescribers that just weren't doing that,â said Linda Sherry, Director of National Priorities at Consumer Action. âIf you asked for it, in most cases, you would get it. They also are required to post notices in the offices to say that you have a right to your prescription and a lot of prescribers we're not posting those notices.â