[elfkin]

In response to my email yesterday about the safety of Bounty paper towels (which we use a lot!), I was given a reply stating I would need MY DOCTOR TO WRITE THEM A LETTER before they could let me know about this!!!!

I have printed here there response to my letter:

"Thanks for contacting us, Laura.

As someone who suffers from allergies, I certainly appreciate why you're interested in ingredient information. In our Consumer Relations office, we're provided with the same ingredient information that you see on product packages. For that reason - and for your safety - we request physicians write to us with very specific information so that we can have it researched as thoroughly as possible.

Your doctor may send a written request on office letterhead to:

Consumer Relations
PO Box 599
Cincinnati OH 45201
Attn:

Be sure to clearly indicate the full product name, fragrance, color/shade as written on the product which interests you.

Once we receive your doctor's request, we'll research your inquiry and hope to provide a response in approximately four weeks.

Please understand that we have your best interest at heart by following a strict process for ingredient information requests. If your doctor is anything like mine, he or she will be more than happy to send the letter.

We appreciate your patience.

Maureen
Bounty Team"

Outrageous! I wrote them a letter telling them my doc. certainly does not have the time to research all of the products I might want to use! Also, my doc. isn't the one who will be sick if there is contamination!!!!!!! I cannot believe they would ask for such a thing. I specifically asked about Bounty paper towels in my request and even explained the question in detail (glue on the roll, etc.). Is this not sufficient!!!! Please send them e-mails about this if you are as aggravated as I am! I spend so much time researching my children's products. The least they could do is answer the question!

[Canadian Karen]

What an insult! They are insinuating that we don't know enough about gluten to be able to "properly ask" the right questions!!! Yeah, like doctors have the time to actually do that!

Karen

[bluelotus]

Could you pass on their email address? I'll be more than happy to help you out.

[Rusla]

Please post their email address so that we can all send them a letter. I certainly hope they will pay the $25. a letter it will cost for the doctor to do this. How dare they insult our intelligence like we don't know what we have or how it affects us.

[elfkin]

Their website is www.pg.com
I then followed the cues to look at Bounty and went to the "contact us" area.
It looks like the e-mail address is pg@custhelp.com
If that doesn't work, try the "contact us" area of their site instead.

This really made me mad! I am glad to see the rest of you are as flabbergasted as I was! It has been an angry day for me - the Bounty thing and the McD's fries! I also spent hours (not an exageration!) in the grocery store calling manufacterers because I realized my hair product had wheat in it, and the hand cream I was using, and the whole oral-b toothpaste thing. My son has been having problems and we suspected contamination we hadn't found. Well, I guess we have found it! No wonder the poor little tike was getting sick! I feel so angry about all of this? Is it not enough that my children and husband (and all of you) suffer from this disease? Do we have to have all of these companies being such jerks about it!?
Please do contact Bounty. It will be interesting to see if they "back peddle". I did warn them in my letter that I was going to tell all my support groups and such this info.
They deserve whatever backlash they get! I guess you can tell I was pretty mad!

[elfkin]

I was able to find a phone number and called them. Bounty, Charmin, and Puffs are all gluten-free and no gluten in the adhesive used either. She took all of my complaints about the e-mail fiasco. She had an answer rather quickly to the question, so I don't know why they couldn't have simply e-mailed me the response earlier. I complained rather vehemently about the whole silly episode and explained why it was impossible for us to get a Doc.'s note everytime we wanted to check a product. I can only hope it will do some good.

[teebs in WV]

Maybe they don't want to put it in writing? Who knows - I'm glad you got an answer.

[debmidge]

you Almost want to reply "Ok, then, when I get my doctor's note giving me permission to buy your product, then I'll buy your product. Until then I cannot purchase your products."

It would make sense now that when a celiac is first diagnosed that they get this letter (without a current date) and file it away for instances like this.

Why do they care if their consumer is under doctor's care? That isn't their concern. This is another method of them avoiding the issue and we all know it.

[jenvan]

I think sometimes its all about the person you get on the phone. I have called the same company before several times and gotten different answers based on who picked up the phone...(or answered the e-mail).

[floridanative]

I got the same idiotic e-mail from P@G in Dec. When I saw the 'doctor needs to write us on their letterhead' part I almost fell out of my chair! I then composed a very blount note back to them indicating that my poor doctor rarely took a lunch break so I would not insult her by asking for a stupid letter to P&G. I let them know that since they didn't seem to know what's in their own products, their products were not for me.

Since then when shopping for anything, I'm trying to stay away from all P&G products on principle alone. I don't think care how many of us e-mail them complaints. The only way to hurt them and therefore make them listen is by not buying their products anymore.

[jerseyangel]

My doctor charges $5 for any paperwork that requires her signature. Imagine how much she could get for a product inquiry letter

[Timber4est]

They want to get stupid in their request for letters from our doctors? No problem, I can get stupid in my email!

Here is the email I sent them:

Subject Line: What silly requirements! Need Customer Service

Email:

Dear P&G,

With such a large company carrying such a wide array of products, I have had the displeasure of being told each and every single time I wish to know if any of your products contain gluten or not that I must have my Physician write a letter on his letter head and send it off to your P.O. Box in Ohio. Further instructions are that I must do this for each and every single product in which I need to know this information.

It isn't like I am trying to find out any of your trade secrets, I simply need to know which of your products are Gluten Free so that I can use them in my home. Why is this so hard for your company to deal with? Why is it so important for me to know? Because I have Celiac Disease and gluten destroys my body, from my brain on down to my toes. Every single organ in my body is ravaged with the mere introduction to anything containing gluten.

As my physician requires that I visit his office for him to write a letter for me, this means I have to take several hours out of my day, travel to his office, wait in the waiting room, sit in the examining room to tell him my conundrum with your company, wait for a week or two for him to write the letter, wait several more weeks for your P.O. Box personnel to forward each and every one of the thousands of letters my doctor has to send as your request indicated, ONE LETTER, ONE PRODUCT. I am quite certain my physician is in the business of practicing medicine, not sending thousands of letters to your company on my behalf. I also bet he would charge me an exorbitant fee as it will take his poor secretary at least a whole week to type out all of your products on stationary, let alone the fact that my physician would have to sign each letter individually as I am quite certain you would deny my request should his signature be in the form of his signature stamp. How do I know your mail room employee is even going to forward each and every letter out to the correct department or that each department will even bother to respond to the letters that by now have cost me a fortune to send to you?

I have a simple request, what products does your company sell are gluten free? Celiac is a disease that more and more people are being found to suffer from. As testing and the medical community advances in the field of Celiac Disease, no doubt the hundreds of thousands of us suffering from Celiac now will turn into millions of people as the field of medicine advances.

Really, you want my doctor to write a letter for every product?

Lets see here, let me tell you all the products in which I use, this way you can send me the exact address and the exact name of the person for whom will be responding to my physician. After all, you require that I have a professional send you my question, so I expect a professional to respond to my physician as would he when I spoke with him on the phone as his time spent is valuable to him and he doesn't want to waste it upon a minimum wage customer service representative.

Secret (I use several fragrances and types, do you require a separate letter for each one?)
Cover Girl foundation and loose powder (do you require separate letter for each type and color?)
Cover Girl Eye shadow (do you require separate letter for each type and color?)
Cover Girl Eyebrow pencil
Cover Girl Mascara (do you require separate letter for each type and color?)
Cover Girl Nail Polish (do you require separate letter for each type and color?)
Max Factor lipstick (I am a bit of a lipstick junky, do you require separate letter for each type and color?)
Max Factor blush (do you require separate letter for each type and color?)
Max Factor eye shadow (do you require separate letter for each type and color?)
Max Factor Mascara (do you require separate letter for each type and color?)
Max Factor Lip liner (do you require separate letter for each type and color?)
Always feminine products (do you require a separate letter for my night protection, panty shields and daytime pads?)
Tampax (do you require a separate letter for each absorbency letter and or color of the applicator?)
Herbal Essence hair spray (do you require a separate letter for each fragrance and hold level I use? I have several from normal hold to sprunch)
Aussie (I use several to include leave in conditioner, do you require a separate letter for each Aussie product I use?)
Infusium
Physicque (I use several styling gels here in various holds, do you require a separate letter for each individual product?)
Pantene (depending upon the season, I use several varieties of Pantene shampoos and conditioners, do you require a separate letter for each individual product?)
Head and Shoulders (I don't use, but my husband does and we share the same bed so it gets on my pillows)
Clairol (I don't use but my daughter uses your temporary hair colors and I do her hair, do I need a separate letter for each and every one of your colors?)
Noxzema (I use from time to time several of these products, again, a separate letter for each product?)
Ivory (I use many of the Ivory products, a separate letter for each individual product?)
Olay (I use about a dozen Olay products, again, you want a separate letter for each individual product?)
Swiffer (I use several products here, you want a letter for each variety?)
Tide (I switch fragrances each purchase, do you want a letter for each fragrance?)
Pledge (have used these since I was a little girl, oils, pastes and the likes, you want a letter for each one and each fragrance?)
Folgers Coffee (again several flavors depending on how I feel that day, a separate letter for each flavor and type?)
Vicks (both the plug in ones and the ointment and lip balms, a separate letter for each one and each flavor?)
Eukanuba (I have three dogs, each one on their own kibble, you want a separate letter for each? I also use the bites in gravy with them, all your flavors, you want a separate letter for each flavor?)
Pur (we have several types of pur water filters, you want a separate letter for each type of filter and water cooler?)
Luvs, (I don't use them but my nieces and nephews wear them and I baby sit them for their parents, do I need a separate letter for each size, boy/girl and type of product be it the diaper or pull up variety?)
Pampers (see Luvs as the same question applies)
Dawn (I love the new direct foam, separate letter right?)
Febreze (several types of this to include the CDs, separate letter for each fragrance or collection celiac disease?)
Bounty paper towels (do you want a separate letter for each print as the dye in each print varies?)
Charmin (both scented and unscented, you want a separate letter for each type?)
Dreft
Downy (I like many fragrances here, do you want a separate letter for each fragrance?)
Cascade (several dishwasher products here, separate letter for each product and fragrances?)
Mr. Clean (to include the car wash products, separate letter for each product and fragrance?)
Puffs Tissues (again you offer so many that I switch out between they types, a separate letter for each product and type?)
Millstone coffee beans (lots of flavors here depending upon how I feel, you want a separate letter for each flavor?)
Crest (you offer many types and flavors, you want a separate letter for each kind I use in my home?)
Gillette (several used in our home from the venus and mach to disposable when traveling, separate letter for each?)
Metamucil (several types and flavors, you want a separate letter for each one?)

Now, since you require me to have my physician (a professional) write a letter for each and every product I use in order to answer my "what is gluten free" in your product line. He requests that you send him the name and address of each of the CEOs over each product because he only wants to speak with your professionals. If any of the fragrances or specific types within each product line has several CEOs over that division, he wants each and every name and address to send his letters to.

Or, you can simply let me know which of your products are GLUTEN FREE and we don't have to waste all of our expensive professionals time here!

Deborah
address
phone number

[floridanative]

ROTFLMAO!! Timber4est - thanks for brightening my day!

[Canadian Karen]

That should keep 'em busy for awhile!!!! LOL!

Karen