No, Boots is not giving away a free ‘baby box’ giftset

Facebook posts claim Boots is giving away free baby products to those who complete a survey. But this is not a genuine offer from the retailer. 

The posts share photos that appear to have been taken in a Boots store and show boxes containing baby products. Some posts say: “Boots are giving away big gift sets for babies! Take the survey and get a free box with baby food, clothes and toys! Exclusively for parents in the UK”, while others say: “Boots are giving away a big Baby Box to everyone who takes the survey! Available across the UK. Answer 3 questions and get a big Baby Box for your little one”. 

Comments on the posts include “The set is just perfect, fully meets expectations,” and “My sister won this set about a week ago. I was a bit hesitant, but now I think I'll give it a try. She's really happy!”

But Boots confirmed to Full Fact these are not an offer from the retailer. We could find no such deal being promoted on the Boots website or social media channels. 

Another sign that these posts are not genuine is that they link to a webpage that includes the Boots logo, but does not have the official Boots website URL address. The webpage also has buttons that do not appear to be working, for example the search bar, and those linking to Boots’s social media channels, as well as some links that instead go to a completely unrelated site. 

Under the webpage’s Frequently Asked Questions section, it asks “Are there any hidden fees?”, to which the answer says “Absolutely not. Once you’ve won, enter your details and we’ll take care of the rest”. 

The webpage directs users to “answer a short questionnaire” to receive the free “baby box”, and then to play a game to find the box containing the gift set out of 12 boxes. Once these are completed, the user is asked for personal information, including card details to supposedly pay the cost of posting the gift set. 

However, text at the bottom of the page says this will sign users up for a three-day trial membership that will automatically enroll them in a subscription at the price of £40.99 every 14 days, “unless you cancel within due time”. It adds that users would be billed by an e-commerce merchant in the Czech Republic. 

We’ve written about many other posts promoting fake deals from other retailers, including those that link to similar webpages asking users to complete a survey and submit card details. 

It is always worth double-checking whether posts sharing offers that seem too good to be true actually are. If a deal is genuine, it’s likely to have been shared by a company’s official page, which will typically have lots of followers, a verified blue tick on platforms like Facebook or Instagram and a significant post history.