Serious advice please. Found shrapnel in our baby's nappies.

[M6L11]

To say we are shocked is the understatement of the century. It was a bumper bag of 78 nappies, which we bought from a huge chain store as a buy one get one free (156 nappies total). Having gone through about twenty of them we've found shrapnel in several, buried under the secondary layer of the inner nappy, out of sight.

To think our baby has been wriggling around in these nappies screaming in pain all week, which we were told was likely constipation, is absolutely sickening. Any ideas on first steps? Obviously contact the manufacturer but who/what else? I'm not happy to hand them over to the retailer/OEM for them to 'investigate' then 'lose' the nappies.

I know this has happened once or twice over the years but it's always been a case of a perfectly normal nappy with a rip made in it, with a whole razor laid neatly on top and 'it came with the nappy honest guv'. We have a whole bag of nappies peppered full of shrapnel buried in the material in such a way it can't possibly be tampering.

WTH is the sane next step? I'm raging atm. Trading Standards? Do they even deal with the public any more? Any help and advice appreciated. BTW yes she's been checked at A&E for metal fragments etc before finally posting here; we're not mentally deficient. It doesn't help I had my second kidney surgery today. I'm supposed to be on bed rest and instead I'm rushing round like a lunatic with my baby, bleeding in places you really shouldn't. D'oh.

One of the offending nappies.

Edited by M6L11 on Tuesday 18th August 13:37

[M6L11]

Foliage said:

If you think its been done maliciously then contact the police. If you think its a Quality issue then contact the manufacturer, trading standards and maybe even CAB for advice.

Lots of people are posting about 'compensation' but its clear to me from the ops post that he is angry and concerned considering the nature of the product and wants to make sure no one is injured by the product.

At least a couple of people posted sense. Thank you. We are not looking for compensation or anything of the sort. We're worried that there could be other babies out there enduring the same issue.

To answer some of the questions in the thread:

It's exactly what I said, shrapnel. Small pieces of jagged, irregularly shaped razor sharp metal embedded in the second/core layer of the nappy. We only noticed this particular piece last night because it was large enough to show through past the top layer. On further inspection more has been spotted and I dread to think what we have missed in the preceding days.

Our daughter has already received medical attention as per the OP. We're not idiots.

We didn't once mention compensation or vilifying the manufacturer (did you notice the absence of naming in the OP?). The PH brigade response about looking for freebies is laughable. Do you honestly think I want to exchange a branded pack of nappies full of metal for more of the same? Nor are we interested in receiving any money; we're worried about other babies suffering the same or worse. Have a word with yourselves. Ironically Consumer Direct (whom you have to go through to refer to TS) were trying to push the compensation claim angle. They were told in no uncertain terms that we're not interested and to stop ambulance chasing.

As for the comments about not worrying/stressing/panicking.... Are you parents? You find the cause of your baby's pain isn't after all constipation as you were first told, but rather razor sharp metal hidden in her nappies and she already has cuts in her bottom (potentially meaning she has metal inside her) and your advice is calm the feck down? Wow.

Trading Standards have asked us NOT to contact the manufacturer or the retailer, until they have made an urgent assessment of the packs and individual nappies today. Apparently that course of action often leads to exactly what I feared in the OP: the goods go 'missing' and nothing gets done. So well done to those pointing out the 'obvious' to 'quit over-reacting and go to the store/manufacturer'.

Thanks to those who gave constructive advice. Trading Standards are now on the case and we're waiting from a call from someone more senior after lunch to arrange a meeting.

[M6L11]

_dobbo_ said:

Jesus, PH once again fails to disappoint. This place can be amazing and awful, oh wait, welcome to the internet. I thought SP+L was for the most part a safe haven but I guess not.

Bloke posts about shards of razor sharp metal found in nappies and gets torn to shreds by a bunch of holier than thou sods criticising him for stuff he hasn't even said or done.

Razor sharp shards of metal in nappies, injured child, and the feedback is stop over reacting? Wow. Just wow.

M6L11, if you wouldn't mind PMing me the store/brand as well, I'd like to avoid these nappies for my two and check the ones we've got at home.

Amazing, isn't it?

Those who requested it have email. Still waiting for the call back from TS.

[M6L11]

marting said:

Maybe its because there was no need to even make the post in the first place. Call the manufacturer and supermarket, job done.

Do you post this in every thread, ever?

Caught speeding? Pay your ticket.
Parking fine? Pay your ticket.
Faulty goods? Take them back.
Broken car? Take it to a main dealer.
Illegal immigrant in your lorry? Send them back.

Don't be silly, man. It was 2am by the time we got home from A&E and as such nowhere was open to begin the process of making enquiries where it counts. As such I posted in a forum I frequent where there are known, capable legal bods who may have had enough relevant experience to provide some helpful pointers. By your logic we may as well close the forum.

As it happens Trading Standards explicitly asked us not to contact the manufacturer or the supermarket, as they wanted to handle it themselves on a broader level to ensure the recall is handled properly. So 'job done' is the wrong answer.

[M6L11]

Chimune said:

Whats amazing is that you:

a. spent time creating a post on a car forum asking what to do (which was rather obvious don't you think ?), rather than 7 seconds googling "Trading Standards".

b. wont tell us, your fellow car enthusiasts which make it was.

Given that my OP already indicated willingness to contact trading standards (indirectly, as MoP can't contact them direct any more) as well as the manufacturer I'm not sure of your point apart from idle arse-picking in between your powerfully-built directorship meetings? Since I'd already pointed out I'd be calling TS this morning, and was asking if anyone else needed notifying or if anyone had advice, I'm not sure how posting on the legal section for pointers is somehow flawed.

There's a naming and shaming rule and I didn't want to cause us any complications by naming brands before we'd taken advice from the proper authorities. Perhaps it's strange to you, but I didn't want to run around the internet shouting 'OMG brand X will kill your babies' before ensuring it wouldn't cause more problems than it solved. Thanks for your valuable input though, my secretary will be sure to give your invoice the attention it deserves.

[M6L11]

marting said:

All sound like fairly sensible solutions to each problem.

Of course, the 2am emergency response squad of specialist consumer advice lawyers are surely waiting with bated breath to advise you on a car forum.

I seem to have avoided that squad, thankfully. To my eternal gratitude, I have attracted the 11.30am just-woken-up-to-cash-my-JSA troll brigade instead.

[M6L11]

Chimune said:

[M6L11]

Dr Mike Oxgreen said:

Then what the flying fk are you doing wasting time whinging on a car forum about it then?

Okay, so it was 2am when you discovered the problem. So clearly you try the customer services number on the packet, and if that's not open then you wait until the morning. Why you think that some 'legal bod' on an Internet car forum is the appropriate help is beyond me.

Unfortunatey statistics determine at least half of us have to be at the bottom side of the intelligence bell curve. Ah well.

And yes, parent or not, you should calm the fk down. Don't use the "you're not a parent" sanctimonious bks on us. If I were in your position, I would be taking active steps to ensure that the problem is resolved as quickly as possible, and that means keeping calm. If you can't keep a clear head and think clearly in a safety-critical situation then I wouldn't let you care for my kids.


Just because I stated I was alarmed in my post, having just returned from hospital on two counts (my own surgery then A&E with my daughter), please don't assume that correlates to me running around like Frank Spencer the morning after. You have clearly read the thread so I'm not quite sure why you keep questioning the timeline of events. Just because I stated it was an alarming discovery and I was annoyed at the fact, doesn't automatically follow that I was not and did not 'ensure the problem is resolved... keep a clear head...' or anything else. You're very welcome to your own children. Should anything similar ever happen to them (heaven forfend) I should hope you would also find it alarming before formulating your plan of action.

Your high horse. Climb down sir.

[M6L11]

PurpleMoonlight said:

The Dr has given you the best advice on this thread.

Stop pissing about with Trading Standards.

Contact the store you purchased them from so they can remove any of the same batch from the shelves.

Contact the manufacturer so they can trace the batch to any other stores supplied.

Whether he has or hasn't, the additional ad hominem vitriol was unwarranted and irrelevant.

[M6L11]

marting said:

Wow, that's rich. Referring to me as apart of the JSA troll brigade and suggesting I was being silly for suggesting it didn't need a thread on a motoring forum.

You replied with sarcasm about the 2am lawyers waiting with bated breath to jump in to assist me. I replied with similar sarcasm to say your post was equally as irrelevant and unhelpful. I also said generically that I had apparently attracted the 11.30am trolls. I didn't mention you but if you decided the shoe fits that's your own doing.

You're so worried about me clogging up the forum by sharing my experience and asking for opinions, but yet can't help reply to a thread you (1) are clearly disinterested in and (2) think shouldn't be here. Why add to the spam? There's thousands of other irrelevant threads for you to comment on if that's your folly.

Pointing this out isn't equivalent to effing and blinding about someone's parental abilities because they posted their concerns on a forum they frequent to blow off steam until a more suitable avenue of enquiry was available. Had I been a frequenter of forums for people who build anime dolls I'm sure I'd have posted there too, had they provided a legal advice section. Had I posted in the Porche section I'd see your point. I posted in SPL, along with thousands of other posts seeking legal opinion on the most diverse of matters. You added nothing but scorn alongside several others. I refrained from telling you to insert a leek into your rectum and disappear to play alone, and would equally expect others to either reply on point or else keep their swearing and aspersions elsewhere. Not difficult, is it?

[M6L11]

Double post.

[M6L11]

Mr2Mike said:

No such thing was implied. Do you think it's impossible to deal with this situation without demanding compensation?

Why is everyone so bloody preoccupied with compensation? I think, as the OP, I'm one of the only people in here not talking about it!

[M6L11]

kev b said:

Just read through this topic, the tone of some posts is shocking and usually the stupid replies don't appear until the third page.

Anyhow, years back I worked in a metal bashing factory where I came into contact with metal swarf every day, for those who have not experienced it, tiny splinters of metal, some thinner than a hair can be very irritating when they get into your skin,something like a small electric shock when the catch on clothing, more than enough to keep a baby awake I am sure. I used to pick them out under a microscope when they were particularly bad.

[b]What disappoints me is that no-one has asked how the OPs daughter is doing, concentrating on points scoring and bhing instead.

OP has been to hospital, has an injured baby and all some of our community can do is snipe, I bet he would have found more sympathy on here if his car had been scratched in the hospital car park.[/b]

Just human nature I suppose, still not pleasant to witness though.

The same thought crossed my mind earlier Kev. Sad state of affairs really.

Thanks to everyone for the many emails and support off-forum, it has been appreciated. I am now liaising with Council Baby following their offer a few posts ago, to bypass TS (who still haven't done much of anything) and inform the manufacturer and retailer direct at higher levels. I'm still open to forwarding the nappies to TS if they want them, but we'll see what tomorrow brings.

Since it's inevitably going to come out tomorrow anyway the nappies affected were Pampers baby-dry size 4 (78 pack). Does that mean anyone with a different brand isn't going to be giving them an extra once over after reading this thread? Doubt it, so all the fuss about naming ASAP seems rather over blown. Either way hopefully there's some rapid and responsible action from the parties concerned in the morning.

[M6L11]

Pampers have asked for the production code and both they and Asda want the nappies back. During the course of publicising the danger we have come across TWO other sets of parents who have had babies injured by metal in Pampers nappies this week. Shocking.

[M6L11]

senorblm said:

And yet despite your OUTRAGE over something quite serious and dangerous, you heeded absolutely ridiculous TS advice and purposefully delayed telling the manufacturer who were in the best position to resolve the problem. In similar daily mail sensationalism those TWO other families could have avoided this happening to their children had YOU told the manufacturer at the earliest opportunity. Shocking indeed.

Some replies have been stupid to this thread but the general gist of it is right. You have made some poorly judged and even bizarre decisions in your handling of this.

The two other families had it happen BEFORE us and already reported it to Pampers - where did you think we found it? They were stonewalled and haven't heard anything since. So much for your patronising theory.

ETA: They didn't ask us to DELAY telling the manufacturer they asked us to let THEM tell them that day so we trusted them to. They failed. Not us.

Edited by M6L11 on Wednesday 19th August 15:05

[M6L11]

senorblm said:

Your child has been injured and you entrusted someone to escalate this with the manufacturer after they've had their lunch?! Goodness, perhaps re-read the thread and just think "Is there something I couldhave done differently?".

Edited by senorblm on Wednesday 19th August 15:14

Your thinking is understandable in that case, but as pointed out in the post above this one the company have already stonewalled two sets of parents with the same issue, and TS is the defacto enforcement body. Being told they were actioning a liaison with the manufacturer and retailer within the hour and would be in touch is about as responsible as one ought to be. After a few hours passing and not hearing back I've contacted the manufacturer and retailer, found other similarly affected parents and spread the word on social media etc. We've also contacted several news outlets on condition of no publicity and no payments are to be made to us. What more to do?

[M6L11]

Thanks again for sensible replies chaps. P&G Global HQ are already on the case and say they have sent teams to the factory in question etc pending receipt of the nappies. Various media agencies and national newspapers are all badgering for first dibs on the story and have been told that's fine provided we're not on show personally and they donate to a couple of baby charities who helped us when our daughter was born prem.

Hopefully a good result at the end, but for now despite continuous calls and whatnot the wheels do seem to turn quite slowly. It'll be in the nationals tomorrow apparently.

[M6L11]

ging84 said:

This truly is a sad story if true.
However the op being berated for not just going back to the retailer or contacting the manufacturer, then conveniently was vindicated by trading standard who against all current guidance asked him not to contact the retailer or the manufacturer. that part of the story at least is bullst.

A baby is classed as a very vulnerable user, and the hazard reported presents a risk of injury in normal use. These 2 factors alone mean that it would be classed as requiring rapid action according to the product recall guidance.

That's what you think? Sure:

Consumer Direct reference number 13008159 from Tuesday 18th August. John McCale at Liverpool City Council trading standards has his junior 'Amy' confirm they 'may have accidentally omitted to issue a Home Authority Referral to P&G yesterday, which was a mistake'. They confirm they wanted us to keep the nappies but have 'no resources or officers available' until next week. Feel free to call them if you think it's "bullst". The reference number above is all you'll need.

I have specifically asked about the public safety issues and issuing a recall. Mr McCale's deputy assures me they can't do anything until next week and P&G have said they 'don't think' anything will be issued to parents and/or retailers etc until the investigation is complete. Hence us going to the press. The P&G Global Consumer Relations reference is 23589845.

Please don't call bullst because it's hip. The facts speak for themselves.

Edited by M6L11 on Wednesday 19th August 18:41

[M6L11]

mcdjl said:

Is this you: https://www.facebook.com/michelle.barr.3781 (or your wife) its spreading....

That's my wife (maiden name) and yes she's had an awful lot of shares.

[M6L11]

Mojooo said:

Well Liverpool TS were taken to Judicial review for the way they were cutting their TS service


"Liverpool's staff numbers have been reduced beyond minimum level, with only four trading standards staff to protect a population of about half a million and serve the city's 12,000 businesses"

http://localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk/index.php?optio...

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news...

Which further serves to back up what I said. We were asked by them to hold fire and then nothing... P&G have also documented the delays caused by TS btw, it's not just on my say-so. They had to wait several hours today before arranging the courier, because we were waiting to get the reply from TS about whether they still wished to seize the goods. Their (shocking) reply meant P&G were told to go ahead and arrange collection.