2023-07-28 04:00:00
Misinformation and messy customer service from insurer Canada Life put a spoke in the wheel of a retired ex-Service Canada investigator who struggled to get his heart medication and pairs glasses.
“They refused to reimburse me, saying that it was incomplete,” denounced Daniel Desgroseillers, who worked for thirty years for the federal public service. He was unable to get a simple refund for his glasses.
“I started calling and a recorded message hung up on me repeatedly. He would say, ‘Please call back later,’ and it was over,” he added.
Worse still, when Daniel managed to speak to someone, he had to re-explain his file from A to Z, with no more results.
To make matters worse, since he goes south like many snowbirds from November to April, he went out of his way to have his medication prepared as he has been doing for 20 years without a hitch with Sun Life, but a once once more it blocked.
“It’s frightening. I told them, “Forget it. I will pay them out of my own pocket. I’m going to manage with my six months of medication,” he sighs.
$515 million contract
Recall that the contract awarded in November 2021 to Canada Life to administer the Public Service Health Care Plan (PSHCP) amounts to nearly $ 515 million. Canada Life is owned by Power Corporation, controlled by the Desmarais clan.
“Sun Life had been there for more than fifty years and to my knowledge there had never been any mistreatment of requests,” laments Daniel Desgroseillers.
Last Friday, The newspaper told the story of a Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) retiree angry for the same reasons with Canada Life.
Since then, his case has been settled, but The newspaper is inundated with policyholders who complain regarding the poor quality of service from Canada Life, which prompted the Bloc Québécois last Tuesday to accuse Ottawa of chaining “fiasco following fiasco”.
Unable to say how many are affected
Joined by The newspaper, Canada Life might not say how many Quebecers are affected.
“Our teams continue to work diligently to resolve issues related to this transition,” said Diane Grégoire, General Manager, Communications-Quebec of Canada Life.
For its part, the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) was also unable to say how many files are pending.
“The Government of Canada continues to engage Canada Life’s senior management on a daily basis to ensure that it quickly implements concrete solutions to improve the plan member experience,” said the spokesperson. Word from TBS, Barb Couperus.
Increase in the number of agents, extended opening hours of the call center 7 days a week, acceleration of the registration process… the Canadian government has responded that measures are being taken by refusing to quantify the number of people who wait.
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