Strike at Canada Post: not easy to replace a credit card

The postal strike is causing headaches for those waiting for a new credit card after being victims of attempted fraud or simply because their old card has expired.

• Also read: The Canada Post strike costs SMEs $76 million per day

When Anatole (fictitious name) noticed a strange transaction on his credit card last week, he immediately contacted Desjardins to secure his account.

“The operator asked me security questions, then canceled my card and ordered a new one. She told me that it would be sent by mail, but that there would be delays due to the strike at Canada Post,” the young man told Journal.

A few days later, Anatole called Desjardins a second time to find out if his new credit card could instead be sent to him by a private messaging service like Purolator, but he was told that the card would only be sent once it was received. strike over.

However, Desjardins assured Journal that this solution is possible in cases of this type. “For this type of situation, people will be supported at 1 800 Caisses and will receive their card by private message service,” said a spokesperson, Jean-Benoît Turcotti, in an email.

“Everything is in place to ensure that people who have Desjardins credit cards can continue to use this payment method,” he added.

No card just before Christmas

Unfortunately, the same problem arises for people whose credit cards have expired, since new cards are usually sent by mail.

This is the case of a reader who complained about it to Journal. “We are the 1^is December and many children are waiting for their gifts, and many parents and families in our situation will not be able to use this payment method [pour les achats de Noël]“, she wrote in an email.

Called to react, Desjardins stressed that the cards are valid until the last day of the month on the expiration date.

“Cards expiring in December were mailed no later than December 1^is November and were normally delivered before the strike began. We also use a private messaging service to ensure that everyone receives their card before it expires,” explained Mr. Turcotti, adding that people who have not received their card can call 1 800 CAISSES.

In other banks

This difficulty is not the only one caused by Desjardins: all banks that issue credit cards face it.

However, the ways to resolve the problem vary from place to place. At TD Bank, for example, customers looking to obtain a replacement card during the strike must call to have the card “delivered to a branch of their choice.”

At the National Bank, they say they assess the urgency of customers’ situations “on a case-by-case basis” and work with private carriers to send cards.

“Note that renewals are usually sent two months before the cards expire, and that they are valid until the last day of the month of expiration,” added a spokesperson, Alexandre Guay.