Editor’s Note: Roy Steinbach informed Global News late Thursday he received his prescribed medication from Shoppers Drug Mart.
A technical issue for Shoppers Drug Mart has left one London man without medication for days.
Roy Steinbach says he went into his local Shoppers last Saturday to get his various prescriptions filled. He says he was turned away due to a systems issue.
Loblaws, the parent company of Shoppers Drug Mart, confirmed Thursday that the pharmacy has been experiencing issues with drug prescriptions for several days.
A spokesperson for Loblaws says intermitted issues have impacted some locations’ ability to fulfill prescriptions.
The company says most stores are back online and working through the resulting backlog. It added there was no systems or data breach.
While Loblaws says the issue has been mostly resolved, Steinbach’s problems have only continued.
Steinbach says after not being able to fill his prescription over the weekend, Shoppers Drug Mart is now trying to charge him hundreds of dollars even though his medication is covered through the Ontario Disability Support Program.
Steinbach says after attempting to fill his multiple prescriptions last Saturday, he received a call earlier this week saying they were ready.
However, he was told on the phone he would be billed for some of the medicine.
After first paying and receiving an immediate refund, Steinbach says Shoppers called him Thursday requesting an up-front payment totalling $280 for some of the medication.
As a pensioner on the ODSP, Steinbach says he cannot afford the prescriptions.
“I have medications that I absolutely need daily and so I’ve been out for a few days and I’m afraid of getting sick,” Steinbach said.
Steinbach says in his most recent communication with the pharmacy Thursday, Shoppers told him it now had no record of him being on ODSP or being charged and then refunded just days ago.
“I don’t understand with such a large company why they haven’t fixed it yet,” said Steinbach, who added he has not received any estimate of when his issue could be resolved.
No alternatives were proposed to Steinbach by the pharmacy in how to remedy the situation, he says.
Shoppers did not provide an answer on when all issues can expect to be resolved.
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