Bounty & Emma's Diary - should i sign up?

[Bump2012]

I'm new to this and would love some advice - should i sign up to Emma's Diary and Bounty? Any thoughts greatly appreciated as i really dont know whether to join or not. TIA

[Sparklingbrook]

Is it free? Emma's Diary is the most unintentionally hilarious thing you will ever read. It was ten years ago anyway, and I believe it still is.

[EthelredOnAGoodDay]

Don't sign up to bounty unless you want to receive junk mail for the rest of your life...

[EthelredOnAGoodDay]

And sparklingbrook is right, emma's diary is hilarious!

[BornToFolk]

And you will get called at all hours of the day by Emma's Diary. I had to ask about 10 times to be removed from their list as they kept calling with "offers". Just what you need when you've got a tiny baby...

[hermionestranger]

Not worth signing upto IMO.

When I had ds1 the free stuff was ace, with ds2 it was rubbish an Emma's diary call all the time!

[EthelredOnAGoodDay]

I feel quite strongly actually that the bounty ladies should not be able to come and accost you on the post natal ward when you are out of it in a state of joyful post delivery euphoria and get you to sign up to all their marketing crap and buy those terribly expensive and frankly shit photos....

[PeahenTailFeathers]

I've got the free stuff from them and it's been okay but I've not had any phone calls (yet ). It's also worth signing up with all the big online baby sites such as Avent, Cow & Gate, Aptamil, Huggies, Pampers, Boots, Hipp Organic and so on for the free samples and newsletters.

[nobodyspecial]

Don't sign up to Emma's Diary whatever you do. Even after ticking the "don't contact me" box, I had phone calls (and still do once a month) TWICE A WEEK from fucking E-ON and SCOTTISH POWER....on my HOME PHONE AND MOBILE.

I would recommend signing up to Aptamil and Cow&Gate though - even if you plan to breastfeed, as they send you a cute polar bear and cow cuddly toy. Boots are good too as they send you loads of vouchers that you can actually use.

[ninani]

And what do you get from them? ONE Pampers nappy every a couple of months???? You get my point! The first package they give you at the hopsital has a nappy, a towel, a small box of washing powder and a few other things. And lots of "free" gifts along which they force you + items that you have to buy (like disney books) if you still want to keep them and return then at your own cost if you don't want to keep them. I had NEVER filled the form for the disney books because it was clear that they send you more books apart from the free ones. But because I signed up to receive free bounty stuff/news they somehow gave my name to a publisher who sent me the free books + others to pay for!! It's not that we hadn't told them at the hospital that we didn't want to give our name to others!! Pampers children's developement was nice every a couple of months but why sign up just for that when you get so much junk mail anyway??

[Bump2012]

Crikey, looks like i need to tread carefully and think twice before i sign up. I naively expected helpful, interesting info plus a few nice freebies but those in the know seem to think otherwise. Thanks for all the responses and for the tips on other Clubs to join, much appreciated. Happy weekend to everyone.

[Joygirl78]

The free stuff equates to a few individual nappies and some single portions of washing powder. Not worth it for all the junk mail and hassle phone call cold calling. For useful advice try babycentre emails, and for money off vocuhers join mothercare, boots and the big supermarket baby clubs and select email contact only

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

DO NOT SIGN UP!

And you can get your Bounty pack in hospital without signing up. Just say no thankyou when they ask for your details. And say NO to the random baby photographer who will no doubt be on the ward as well.

Thankyou mumsnet for warning me about those in advance.

[Sparklingbrook]

I think Emma's Diary is online isn't it?

[KatAndKit]

Yes, Emma's diary has a website now. It is a pile of shit of course.

[Sparklingbrook]

Shit shit. Or hilarious shit? Kat?

[KatAndKit]

Well, the Read Emmas Diary section is the same as what was in the paper version, the child is still referred to as Flump and Emma is still coming across as quite dimwitted. There is a blog section where equally dimwitted people are contributing their tuppence worth as well.

[Sparklingbrook]

OOh I may go and have a look Kat. For old time's sake.

[Chubfuddler]

Boots parenting club is worth it, you get double points and a free change bag. Or you used to.

[HardCheese]

Emma is a considerably more dimwitted Bridget Jones, speaks fluent cliche, has an unborn baby known as Flump, and is married to Nick, who is an unappealing combination of emotionally-inarticulate caveman and slightly wet middle-management-type, who probably wears those shirt-and-tie combos you buy in boxes. From what I remember he seemed to worry a lot about fatherhood meaning he couldn't go on 'nights out with the lads'.

I ended up firing it across the room.

[littlemissnormal]

I signed up for bounty and the only decent thing was a £5 TU voucher for sainsburys so got a pack of sleep suits for £6.

[bouncysmiley]

Not unless you want to recieve constant cold calls from all the companies they pass your name onto without permission and junk mail....still coming depite the fact i didn't ask for it and asked Emmas diary to take me off their DB when they cold called themselves.....grrrr

[TruthSweet]

I was in hospital with DD3 and in the dayroom with another mum, we were talking about the Bounty packs and I mentioned that I had heard of mothers being told they have to sign up otherwise they can't get their child benefit forms (they are in the post-natal pack). We laughed as we both thought it was a bit of an urban legend and they wouldn't be that silly seeing as you can get the forms in the JC, post office, online....

The Bounty lady turned up then, I declined the pack (I had years of junk mail from DD1 so didn't want that again) so she told me I had to have it or my baby wouldn't be able get the CB she was entitled too. Not an urban legend then! BL was furious I wouldn't accept the pack or give her my details and was very unpleasant to me (all smiles for the other mum who wanted the pack!)

A friend had her baby a month or so after DD3 and in a different hospital/different county got told she had to have the Bounty pack or no CB for her baby. She had already downloaded the form and filled in all bar baby's name & DOB (a very organised type!).

SO basically it is hand over your details or you can't claim a benefit you are legally entitled to and can get the forms elsewhere any way! Dodgy tactics I say.

[Bump2012]

Thanks for all your responses, really helpful. . Some of the other clubs sound interesting especially for the shopping vouchers. I don't want to sign up to loads given junk mail risk!! If I only do a couple which should I do and what should I expect?

[Bump2012]

Oh and agree some dodgy tactics going on. Naughty!

[heartmoonshadow]

Hi,

Just do what I do - only give your real email address as you can set them up as spam then give two false telephone no.s for mobile and house. It works for us simply because we are ex directory so even with our home address they can't find out number.