Bounty barred?

I've taken aim at Bounty on this site before, and also endorsed Mumsnet's attack on them, but this article on the Guardian blog by Vicky Garner is definitely worth a plug.

She highlights the obvious absurdity of paying a private enterprise £90,000 to distribute child benefit forms when it could be done for free by registrars - and reach 100% rather than 97% of parents - and when Bounty reps would be doing the rounds in pursuit of profit regardless.

More significant, however, is the opening anecdote about a rep's unbelievably insensitive treatment of a recently bereaved mother - not an isolated incident, as the comments beneath the article testify. As we know from personal experience, it's bad enough as a shellshocked couple just trying to find your feet as parents to be confronted by a grinning rep asking you to surrender your personal details and pay for a photo. How horrendous it must be for that to happen when you've just lost your child is unimaginable.

Garner has founded a campaign to oust Bounty from maternity wards. It'll be interesting to see whether the government, HMRC and NHS can continue to ignore what seems to be an increasing groundswell of opposition.

(Thanks to Polly for the link.)