The shoddy – and ultimately distressing – marketing practices of some of the UK’s top mother and baby clubs, run by Boots, Tesco and Cow & Gate, have been exposed in an investigation on BBC One’s Watchdog Daily.
The programme centred on three would-be mums who had signed up for the schemes, which offer advice, weekly updates and vouchers for baby-wear and equipment, when they first found out they were pregnant.
However, all three subsequently lost their babies and tried to unsubscribe by following the links on the emails and even online.
But despite numerous attempts to stop the weekly emails, all three continued to be bombarded with highly targeted updates – including information about what size their babies would have been if they were still alive.
At its best, the technology which drives these communications is highly relevant for recipients; but for those who have lost their babies it only piles on the distress and serves as a constant reminder of their loss.
As one of those interviewed said: “Life as a bereaved mother is so hard on a day to day basis anyway, let alone when you’re getting mailings and emails reminding you. We just don’t need it.”
One of the women even sent a personal email to Boots executive chairman Stefano Pessina imploring him to unsubscribe her from the programme, but he failed to respond and the mailings continued.
After being contacted by Watchdog, all three companies apologised.
Boots, which operates the Parenting Club, blamed a technical error for the issue, which it claimed had occurred during a systems upgrade.
Tesco, which runs the Baby & Toddler Club, could not explain what had gone wrong, but maintained it would put systems in place to prevent it from happening again. Meanwhile, Cow & Gate said it was launching an internal investigation into the problem.
A spokesman from the Information Commissioner’s Office said: “Individuals have the right to object and unsubscribe from marketing communications. Anyone who needs help with this should contact us directly.”
Charlie says: “The issue of companies sending mailings to dead people has been highlighted for many years – it is estimated that more than 5 million mailshots go to the deceased every Christmas – but you’d expect companies the size of Tesco, Boots and Cow & Gate to have rigorous systems in place to ensure bereaved parents can unsubscribe from these clubs instantly. It is quite unbelievable that they seem to have such a laissez-faire attitude to these matters. And, as for Stefano Pessina, he should hang his head in shame…”