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Bounty in the Daily Telegraph

38 replies

GeraldineMumsnet · 06/07/2009 13:17

Thought you might be interested in this story which quotes Mumsnet users.

OP posts:
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KingRolo · 06/07/2009 14:56

Good article.

It's disgraceful that the child benefit forms come in the Bounty bag. I accepted mine because of this, not knowing they were available online.

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CMOTdibbler · 06/07/2009 15:31

I remember sitting on my bed, curtains closed, hand expressing into a bottle for my son who was in SCBU. And the Bounty lady barged straight in and started asking about taking pictures - whilst I sat there, norks out.

They came into my cubicle every day, even after I got quite upset and said that since my baby was obv not with me, could they just leave me alone

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MilleniumHandNShrimp · 06/07/2009 15:46

Oh My! That is despicable!

When I had my DD nearly 3 years ago I never got a bounty bag. I only managed this by arriving at the hospital at 8 at night and going home at 11.00 the next morning.

Twas a bugger as I needed to get CB forms.

I had no idea that they had moved on to photographs.

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Frasersmum123 · 06/07/2009 16:09

This has been going on since I had my DS 8 years ago!

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Frasersmum123 · 06/07/2009 16:11

Though I love my Bounty bag and have just picked up my weaning one!

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JulesJules · 06/07/2009 16:18

Terrible.

In a slightly woozy state after a CS, I filled in forms in the bounty bag for what I thought was a prize draw. The fact that the bag was delivered to me in my hospital bed shortly after the birth of my baby, and also contained CB forms etc, I think validated it in my slightly unsound mind.

When I got home, with newborn and CS scar, I was hounded by loans companies - I got up to a dozen phone calls a day, when I was napping, feeding, when the baby was sleeping... Took weeks to get them to stop, I remember crying, pleading on the phone to get my details crossed off their list.

Unscrupulous bastards.

(And don't get me started on Patientline...)

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nickytwotimes · 06/07/2009 16:20

Thanks for linking to that.
The Bounty lady who visited me was absolutely fine and just popped in and out, but the mws in the ward I was in were pretty good at policing them. Many of my friends were harassed, tbh.

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Swedes · 06/07/2009 16:31

The Bounty woman that tried to photograph DS3 said the photograph was a security measure, then backed down when I said I thought she was from Bounty. I was shit hot, having fallen for it on three previous occasions, with DS1, DS2 and DD.

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SoupDragon · 06/07/2009 16:33

I had DD at home and wasn't bothered by them at all

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PrincessLayer · 06/07/2009 16:36

I'm not sure if it was bounty but there were some hard sell photographers going round the ward when I had my eldest nearly 10 years ago.
She was wittering on about security and how a photo could help identify my baby if "anything happened"

I'd barely slept for 4 days so was a touch cranky. She did not hang around.

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Swedes · 06/07/2009 16:39

PrincessLayer - Snap, that was the line my Bounty bag lady used.

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Frasersmum123 · 06/07/2009 16:43

It sounds a bit mean but I said no because I didnt want to spend lots of money on pictures of any of my DC's when they were newborn because they were all wrinkly and screwed up still (in that newborn way!) You cant really see them properly for a couple of days.

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muffle · 06/07/2009 16:54

It's terrible if they are intruding and bothering people and that should be stopped. But I never had a problem with them. They were very polite, the NHS staff made it very clear it was optional, we chose to have the photo (pfb!), and it's lovely. I appreciated the bag too.

Obviously they need to change the system - they could ask everyone on the ward "do you want a visit from a photographer?" and "do you want a bag of freebies and gubbins" and you only get what you say yes to. If you say no they are not allowed to bother you. If they don't comply, they get kicked out. But I don't think there's anything wrong with the concept in itself.

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spicemonster · 06/07/2009 16:59

From that article: "Bounty operates purely on a basis of choice with mums and hospitals and we take our responsibility very seriously. Every day thousands of new mums choose to receive a free sample pack and other services from Bounty"

Choose? Where does choice come in? When you're trying to pack up to get you and your new baby home from hospital (not to mention sleep deprived and very possibly drugged up to the eyeballs), picking out the essential CB forms out of the Bounty bags and chucking the rest of the tat away is hardly high on your list of priorities.

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Lulumama · 06/07/2009 17:06

could not agree more spicemonster

choice???

it is a disgrace that the government are aligning themselves with this , by putting CB forms in the packs

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bluebump · 06/07/2009 17:21

The lady at my hospital spun the old "security" line regarding pictures too with me, I put my hand over my DS's face and told her to get lost or i'd buzz a member of staff to get rid of her. She said it wouldn't make a difference if I chose not to have a picture taken as i'd still get a bag of freebies but I never did.

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FiveGoMadInDorset · 06/07/2009 17:28

NO pressure at all for both DC's she just put the bag on the bed told me about the CB forms, mentioned photos, cooed over the babies and out she went.

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kazbeth · 06/07/2009 17:32

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

llareggub · 06/07/2009 17:49

The Bounty lot trundled through the maternity ward when I was in 9 weeks ago. The hospital is riddled with c diff and some wards were closed due to a gastro bug. They were equipped with hand gels etc but didn't use it before picking up babies. She was very short with me when I told her I didn't want a photo costing £s.

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bronze · 06/07/2009 17:51

I turned down the bountybag and then was told off by the child benefit people for not having the form.

They hassled me every time except when my baby was in NICU when I could have done with some ackowledgment that I had a baby who was going to be ok.

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LovelyTinOfSpam · 06/07/2009 17:55

I had DD2 last week and the bounty lady come round. They weren't doing the photos 2 years ago but this time they were and i was quite shocked TBH that they were allowed to do it. Getting women when they are all emotional and knackered and trying to flog them "babies first picture". It is really really dodgy.

When she came to me i said I'd take the bag but no photo thank you very much, she made a face like I'd just farted at her.

Also gave my address but said absolutely no-one to contact apart from bounty and wouldn't give my phone number or email. Cue another fart-face.

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Andthentherewerethree · 06/07/2009 17:56

my experience of the bounty bags all three times was the same as

FiveGoMadInDorset on Mon 06-Jul-09 17:28:13 NO pressure at all for both DC's she just put the bag on the bed told me about the CB forms, mentioned photos, cooed over the babies and out she went

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spicemonster · 06/07/2009 18:24

I think it's dreadful that anyone's allowed to go bed to bed like a cheap door to door salesperson when you're in hospital for any reason whatsoever actually. Why not nip round to the cancer wards and try and flog them direct debits to Cancer Research while they're at it?

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EachPeachPearMum · 06/07/2009 19:18

First time I told them there was no way they were having my personal details, though they left their bag of crap goodies anyway, looking slightly hurt and v peed off.
Second time they didn't even offer- I obviously have "lentil-weaving cynic" printed on my forehead.

Young (18yo) girl in bed opposite was cooed over though whilst they snapped away

In fact the 2nd morning, she walked in with her trolley, took one look at me, turned 180 degrees and wheeled it back out! I must be a very scary lady indeed

I got my CB forms online and sent them by post once I'd registered DS.

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Bleatblurt · 06/07/2009 19:31

I was using a double breast pump when the Bounty woman knocked on my room door when I had DS3. It wasn't visiting hours so I assumed it was a midwife/doctor so called for them to come in.

I don't know who was more embarrassed, me or her.

She should never have been allowed to make her way alone around the wards/rooms.

She didn't leave straight away though! She stopped to tell me she'd been trying to get hold of me but hadn't managed as I'd been in SCBU every time she came around.

WHY did she even know where I'd been? She had no right to know where I or DS was.

Wish I'd complained now.

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