Canadian man locked out of $43K in PC Optimum points by Loblaws

A new report shines a light on a Loblaws shopper who recently had $43,000 worth of PC Optimum points frozen in his account before he could spend them.

Frank Zhang has saved 43 million PC Optimum points over his lifetime by shopping at Loblaws stores and using a PC Mastercard, but he was quite shocked when he tried to redeem his points in January and found his account locked.

According to a CBC Go Public report, the automated online help tool initially told him his account was frozen and that he needed to change his password to unlock it. That didn't resolve his issue, so Zhang called the helpline instead and was met with a different answer. The person on the phone told him that he'd broken the PC Optimum terms and conditions, but they refused to say which rule specifically led to his account being frozen.

A Calgary man named Jeff Mack suffered the same issue after having his 1.5 million points ($1,500) frozen last fall. At least the support channel told him his account was disabled because he had multiple PC Optimum accounts. Mack says that's untrue, and the company provided no proof that his information was linked to any other accounts.

In the case of Zhang, Loblaws told the CBC that his account was suspended and then removed completely because there was evidence that he was buying commercial or resale items. Zhang claims his innocence, and wonders why Loblaws won't provide proof of his alleged rule-breaking purchases.