Remember when Loblaws let it slip that they’ve been overcharging us for bread for years and years?

To apologize, the national grocery chain announced that there were two options for disgruntled customers:

1/ Join the class action lawsuit

2/ Register for a ~free~ $25 Loblaws gift card

With a class action lawsuit requiring lots of time, money and effort, hundreds of Canadians opted to register for the $25 gift card. It seemed simple enough at first: provide some information about yourself (i.e. your name, where you live, that you spent money on the bread that was price-fixed between 2002 and 2015) and the dolla dolla bills would arrive at your front door in no time.

However, it seems the process is more complicated than it was made out to be.

On March 14, it came to light that Loblaws demanded some customers submit a copy of their driver’s licence or hydro bill to receive their gift card.

https://twitter.com/evilkatefuller/status/973190628187213829

While some found this ironic, others pointed out the discriminatory nature of the system. “What if I do no shave a utility bill in my name as I am [of low socio-economic status] and my rent is all-inclusive?” one Twitter user wrote.

Another chimed in, “Why do people who can afford a car and utilities get a gift card but people like me, who can barely afford rent alone, don’t get one?”

https://twitter.com/LidaC1996/status/973773833831370752

Canada’s privacy commissioner has officially opened an investigation into the compensation process, according to the CBC.

When asked about the need for identification, a spokesperson for Loblaws said, “we are distributing tens of millions of dollars in Loblaw Cards — a natural target for fraudsters. Checking ID confirms that we are dealing with a real person, and not someone using their name or taking money that could otherwise go to them now or in the future.”