The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has opened an investigation into allegations that some Loblaw customers were unable to delete their PC Optimum accounts.
The office has received several such complaints, spokesman Vito Pilieci said in an email Tuesday.
He said the office could not comment further because the investigation is ongoing.
Loblaw spokeswoman Catherine Thomas said in an email Tuesday that the company will cooperate fully with the privacy commissioner’s office.
In an email to a complainant seen by The Canadian Press, an investigator from the commissioner’s office said he had received “a high number of complaints” about attempts to cancel PC Optimum accounts.
Several complainants claim they repeatedly tried to delete their accounts and that Loblaw did not respond to their requests, the investigator wrote.
“We have a process in place to close PC Optimum accounts as requested, typically within a few weeks and often much sooner. During the process, customers will receive an email acknowledging receipt of their request and another confirming the closure,” said Mr.me Thomas in an email Wednesday.
“When calls and/or online inquiries to our customer service team are higher than usual, it may take a little longer to get a response. We apologize to anyone who felt the delay was unreasonable.”
The PC Optimum loyalty program has more than 16 million active users, according to Loblaw’s 2023 annual report.
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner oversees compliance with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and the Privacy Act.
According to the Canadian government website, PIPEDA “sets the ground rules for how private sector organizations collect, use and disclose personal information in the course of for-profit commercial activities across Canada.”
Personal information under PIPEDA includes details such as an individual’s name, age, income or identification number.
Under the law, consumers have the right to request access to their data and have it deleted, as long as it is no longer needed, said Aaron Shull, executive director and general counsel of the International Center for Governance Innovation.
In the case of a complete deletion of a loyalty program account, it is unlikely that the company would still need the information, he added.
Shull noted that Loblaw’s privacy policy states that consumers have the right to request access to, correction of and deletion of their personal information. The policy says the company will respond to requests “within a reasonable time, consistent with applicable law.”
The likely outcome of the investigation would be that Loblaw and the commissioner reach an agreement on what constitutes a reasonable time frame, he said: “That’s essentially what the Privacy Commissioner will try to determine.”