Privacy commissioner looking into how long it takes to delete a PC Optimum account

Many Loblaws customers have complained to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada about how long it takes to delete a PC Optimum account. Some even say they can’t delete their accounts at all.

The commissioner’s office refused to comment in a Canadian Press report because the complaints were part of an active investigation.

In the same report, Loblaws says that it addresses every deletion request in a timely manner. However, to the grocer, a timely manner seems to be a few weeks, according to the Canadian Press.

If this sounds like an absurd amount of time, considering many other loyalty programs can be cancelled instantly, you’re not alone. In a response from the privacy commissioner, from someone who reached out to them about the account deletion issue, the government body stated that it has received many similar complaints.

Loblaws states that users will receive an email when their accounts are deleted, but I think if most people expect their accounts to be deleted instantly, it may seem like the whole system for deleting accounts is broken.

While it’s unlikely that the privacy commissioner’s office will act with overwhelming force, there is a chance that it will work with Loblaws to implement some reasonable timeframe that the grocer can follow to delete accounts.

That being said, I truly believe that Loblaws could work on its app/platform and implement a way for users to instantly delete their accounts without having to wait weeks.

Source: Canadian Press