Bounty: What Was Your Experience?

by Hannah Lazarus

I was in the hospital ward the day after giving birth to my daughter when a lady came round with her laptop demanding my name and address and asking if I wanted a photo of my baby. I could be forgiven for thinking that this was an NHS official! But I had recently seen an article from the NCT condemning the way that 'Bounty' is given access to new parents to collect their personal data and pass this on to commercial companies. So I knew what this lady was after! What shocked me was the way that she demanded my details ('Hello. What's your name and address?'!), rather than ask if I'd be willing to provide them!

The British Medical Journal (BMJ) has recently published an article by a GP condemning the NHS and some UK royal colleges from selling commercial advertisers access to pregnant women and new parents through such promotions as Bounty bags - which contain leaflets, money-off vouchers and sample products.

Belinda Phipps, chief executive officer of the NCT, is also critical of the way that the NHS allows Bounty access to new mothers. “Within hours of giving birth, they are being asked questions—their name and address, details of life insurance—and they give them in good faith, thinking they’re speaking to a hospital person. In fact it’s a commercial person. The NHS is condoning a sales team collecting data from mothers in order to sell their name on to commercial interests.”

What makes it seem more official is the fact that Bounty is the main distributor of child benefit forms, which are given out alongside the newborn Bounty packs. It saves the Government money (HM Revenue and Customs told the BMJ that “Bounty distributed 82% of all child benefit claim forms in 2011-12, averaging about 10p for each claim. If HMRC posted the forms individually the cost would rise to around 33p for each claim".) And it's easier to get your form handed to you in hospital rather than have to apply for the form when you get home - but is it right for this to be conditional on giving your details over to commercial companies? Should these be distributed by midwives or hospitals instead?

Many parents are unhappy with this practice. In January 2010, the NCT surveyed just over 1,000 parents. It found that half did not know, and were unhappy, that their details could be used to target advertising to them. A further 37% knew that their details would be used in this way and were unhappy with it. The remainder were unconcerned.

Although the section on contact details that parents fill in includes the information that “by providing your email address and/or telephone number you agree to be contacted by these channels as well as post,” many parents have told Belinda Phipps that they did not understand what they were signing up to. 

However, Bounty claims that its packs are well-received. In its January 2013 survey of 4,000 parents, over 90% of mothers said they were 'satisfied' with their packs.

What was your experience of Bounty after giving birth? Did you understand what you were signing up to and were you happy with your pack/newborn photos? Did you refuse to sign up? Let us know by commenting below:

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