‘This relationship is done’: Long-time Hudson’s Bay shoppers cut ties over paused rewards program

Decades-long customers of Canada’s oldest retail chain, Hudson’s Bay, are expressing their disappointment over unused reward points tied up in the company’s paused loyalty program after it filed for creditor protection a week ago.

Late Friday, the retailer announced that unless a more viable path forward emerges, it will begin liquidating its entire business in the coming days.

Many loyal customers who spent years accumulating points discovered that it became inaccessible with the ordeal.

“At this time, customers are unable to earn or redeem points. We are not able to track or accumulate points on transactions made during this time and apply them retroactively,” their website reads.

The retailer’s decision to pause its rewards program — worth an estimated $58 million in customer payouts — comes as part of its restructuring plan to avoid bankruptcy.

With the company filing for creditor protection on March 7, customers are left questioning the value of their past loyalty.

Linda Habl of Waterloo, Ont., is one of dozens of Canadians who wrote to CTVNews.ca in a callout to hear how consumers felt with the pause and their unused points. CTVNews.ca has not independently verified all the emailed responses.

“HBC, once my favourite go-to for quality fashion office workwear, lost me as a customer,” Habl said in an email to CTVNews.ca, noting the declining service and quality at the Kitchener location.

Ottawa’s Donna Boucher had more than $200 in reward points and was unable to access her balance due to technical issues in the weeks leading up to their creditor protection filing.

Boucher said she collected points through the Hudson’s Bay Mastercard, one of several options for customers. According to their website, the credit cards are issued and serviced by Neo Financial.

“The ability to apply for the card will be restored when the issue is resolved,” it reads.

“This situation did not happen overnight with the Bay,” Boucher said. “I feel very disappointed that I fell prey to a rewards program that was not honoured by the company.”

‘Why is the escalator not working?’

Hudson’s Bay’s plunge into the retail spotlight doesn’t come as a surprise to industry experts either. Lisa Hutcheson, managing partner of retail consulting firm J.C. Williams Group, told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview Wednesday that warnings signs have been visible for months, if not years.

“Why is the escalator not working and broken? Why are the lights burn(ed) out? Why are sections closed in the store with no merchandise?” she added.

When asked whether they could recover, Hutcheson said it’s not impossible, but will be “very difficult.”

Caity Goerke of Abbotsford, B.C., echoed similar feelings of disappointment. In an email, Goerke, a University of British Columbia student, said she used the HBC Mastercard as her primary credit card for years because of the reward program.

“I use my rewards points to buy things that I am not otherwise able to accommodate in my budget, like clothing, cosmetics, toiletries, and housewares,” Goerke said.

Now finishing up her graduate program in April, Goerke said she was hoping on using her HBC reward points towards job interview outfits.

Karen Kristoff of Peterborough, Ont., learned that deleting her online account required her to forfeit both her rewards points and store credit card – describing it as “harsh.”

Alana Lord of Bedford, N.S., shared that she, a longtime member, has nearly $100 in unused points and has decided to stop shopping at the Bay until a final decision is made on whether her Dartmouth location will remain open.

Lord said that she was “disappointed” that honouring the loyalty program would be akin to “giving product away.”

From a retail standpoint, Hutcheson said the company doesn’t have that “luxury” amid their financial struggles.

‘I don’t expect to shop there’

For Mark Heron in Toronto, Ont., the loss of reward points disrupted a planned furniture purchase. Heron intended to use his $115 worth of points toward a more than $2,500 transaction.

“I am not likely to make that larger purchase,” he said.

Other shoppers like Joyce Boon in Kelowna, B.C., and Daniel Varela in Whitby, Ont., feel misled by the company’s handling of the rewards program. Boon had been promised additional points worth $50 from a special promotion on top of the existing $49 worth of points she had – it never appeared in her account.

“I don’t expect to shop there until they reinstate the rewards points,” Boon said in an email.

Varela, a loyal customer of many years, said he’s “furious” with the treatment.

“I will never shop at Hudson Bay again. This relationship is done,” he said. “I understand that they have to restructure, but perhaps allowing people to only use a certain amount of (these) points and have a cap.”

As a longtime shopper, Donna Orsatti of Innisfil, Ont., said the Bay was her first department store choice for gifts, clothing and makeup. She says adopting a customer appreciation rewards system similar to Melanie Lyne or Laura, where points are earned based on spending within a set timeframe and must be used between 30 to 45 days before they expire, would encourage more frequent shopping.

“I hope the Bay can restructure by closing some stores that are not as profitable,” she added in an email.

Forty Hudson’s Bay locations out of the 80 across the country could be closed as part of a restructuring deal, which could affect thousands of jobs, The Canadian Press reported Monday. The company currently employs more than 9,000 people.

Retail experts warn customers holding onto the company’s gift cards to use them sooner rather than later. Hudson’s Bay said it is currently honouring outstanding gift cards – as of Feb. 1, that amounts to $24 million.

Whether customers’ points will be reinstated or if the loyalty program will come to a definitive end is up in the air.

CTVNews.ca reached out to HBC for comment, but did not receive a response.

With files from CTV National News’ Andrew Johnson and The Canadian Press