Privacy commissioner investigates Loblaws customer’s complaints over PC Optimum account
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) says it has opened an investigation after receiving “several” complaints against Loblaws from customers alleging that they have not been able to delete their PC Optimum accounts.
One of Canada’s largest retail loyalty programs, PC Optimum has more than 16 million active annual users, while more than $1 billion worth of points have been redeemed by customers since the program’s inception, according to Loblaws’ 2023 annual report.
The OPC said it could not provide further details about the complaints as the investigation is ongoing.
Loblaws spokesperson Catherine Thomas told the Star the company has a process in place to close PC Optimum accounts as requested, “generally within a few weeks and often much sooner than that.
“During the process, customers will receive an email acknowledging their request, and one confirming the closure. When calls and/or online requests for our customer service team are higher than normal, it may take a little longer for them to respond,” she said in an email. “We apologize to anyone who felt the timeline was unreasonable.”
The move by the privacy commissioner comes after a few rough months on the public relations front for Loblaw Companies Ltd., the nation’s largest retailer.
In March, the Competition Bureau of Canada opened an investigation into the parent companies of both Loblaws and Sobeys for alleged anti-competitive conduct surrounding leasing agreements that supposedly restrict retail grocery competition from other potential tenants. In June, the bureau said at that time “there is no conclusion of wrongdoing.”
Then in May, Loblaw stores became the target of a boycott organized by a Reddit group intent on forcing the grocery giant to lower food prices at a time when many Canadians were feeling the pinch of high inflation.
PC Optimum was formed in 2018 when Loblaw brought the Shoppers Optimum and PC Plus programs together. The now-popular unified program allows customers to earn and redeem points at nearly 2,500 Loblaw-owned stores across the country, including Shoppers Drug Mart, Real Canadian Superstore, No Frills, Independent, Zehrs, and Loblaws.
When it comes to security of personal information online, it is understandable that people who request their accounts and personal data be deleted “would be disappointed and frankly confused by an organization that wasn’t able to do that in a very timely fashion,” said Charles Finlay, executive director of the Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst, a hub for innovation and collaboration in cybersecurity at Toronto Metropolitan University.
“It is important because of course the more that your private data is held by more entities, the more exposed you are to having that personal information released or exploited in the event of a cybersecurity attack against an entity that holds your data.”
David Young, a Toronto-based privacy lawyer, says that under federal privacy law, organizations are generally required to obtain consent for collection, use and disclosure of personal information and that individuals can withdraw consent at any time, with some exceptions.
“That exists under our current law today and … if these individuals had a complaint with Loblaws, that would be the basis under the law which that complaint will be analyzed by the privacy commissioner,” Young said.
He added that current legislation, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, or PIPEDA, does not have an express right for customers to force organizations to dispose of personal information, known as “the right to be forgotten,” but such a right is contained in the current draft of the new Consumer Privacy Protection Act before Parliament.
With files from The Canadian Press
This article was first reported by The Star
