Carter Eye Center has a BBB rating of F Dr Harvey Carter false advertising again. This guy never learns. He has already been fined by the state of texas and is still at it. Just google Carter Eye Center Complaints It is no wonder he has an F from the BBB

Dallas, TX, October 7, 2009 -- Is it possible to get Lasik eye surgery for free? That’s what Carter Eye Center was offering recently in radio commercials. The ads claimed the center was conducting a clinical study and offered participants Lasik in one eye for free. Study participants were required to pay for Lasik in one eye in order to receive Lasik in the other eye for free.

At the same time, Carter Eye Center has been advertising "buy one, get one free" Lasik separately from the study offer.

Carter Eye Center, 5315 N. Central Expwy., Dallas, now says the study is completed, but continues to advertise the separate “buy one, get one free” offer.

In response to BBB requests, Carter Eye Center has not provided basic information about the advertised study or the continuous “buy one, get one free” offer.

As part of its local advertising review program, the BBB serving Dallas and Northeast Texas wrote to Carter Eye Center on August 12, 2009, asking about the “free” offer. The BBB was seeking information to show that a study was actually being conducted, and that the “free” offer was truthful.

Carter Eye Center replied on August 19, 2009, that the study was “designed to evaluate certain parameters regarding Laser Vision correction … The study involved the patient paying for the first eye surgery with the second eye surgery being performed at no charge or free for the patient.” Carter Eye Center also advised that the study was concluded.

"One of the BBB’s basic principles of truth in advertising is that advertisers should be prepared to substantiate any claims or offers and, on request, provide that substantiation to the advertising medium or the BBB, " said Jeannette Kopko, BBB Dallas spokesperson. "Because Carter Eye Center’s reply did not provide dates or other details of the study, the BBB followed up."

On August 31, 2009, the BBB wrote to Carter Eye Center, asking for “specific details regarding the study which Carter Eye Center advertised to consumers: the start date of the study; the end date of the study; and the number of participants in the study.”

The BBB also asked whether the advertisement was approved by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) prior to public dissemination, as called for in U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines.

Ads for the separate, continuous “buy one, get one free” offer appear on the center’s Web site, stating: “Buy One Get One FREE. IntraLASIK with the latest iFS Technology.” Details state that this is a limited time offer.

The BBB Code of Advertising states that, “in an offer of ‘free’ merchandise or service that is conditional on a purchase, the ‘free’ offer must be temporary; otherwise, it would become a continuous combination offer, no part of which is free.”

In the August 31 request, the BBB also asked how the study offer was any different from the continuous “buy one, get one free” offer. There’s been no further reply from Carter Eye Center to these questions.

Carter Eye Center has a BBB rating of F, on a scale from A+ to F. The reasons for the F rating include:
• Advertising issue found by BBB.
• BBB does not have sufficient background information on this business.

During the BBB’s 3-year reporting period, Carter Eye Center has been the subject of 5 customer complaints