Widow calls for more Father's Day opt-out choice

Colette lost the father of her children to cancer

A mother-of-three whose husband died is calling on more firms to allow customers to opt-out of marketing for Father’s Day and similar celebrations.

Having navigated grief as a young parent, Colette Scarbrough-Jelfs is calling on more firms to allow customers to protect themselves from unsolicited marketing.

Colette met husband Andrew in Derby in 2002, and the pair married in 2009.

But three years later she became a single parent after Andrew died from adrenal cancer, aged 45.

At the time, Colette was 33 and her children were one, three and 13.

Andrew and Colette had three children together

Colette, who works for charity WAY Widowed and Young, told BBC Radio Derby: “It is fantastic to celebrate dads and mums and solo parents out there who are bringing up a child on their own.

“But it is one of those days through the year, like Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day, that if you’ve been bereaved, are really really painful days as well.

“I do completely get it, companies need to market out there, they need to promote these days.

“But if I was going shopping in the supermarket I knew there were going to be aisles that were advertising Father’s Day, I could avoid them or walk down them depending on how I was feeling.

“When you receive an email or a text message you’re not ready for it, especially when you’re in the comfort of your house with your barriers down.

“To receive an email that is shouting Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day in your face is really painful.

“This grief can hit so many people, there’s going to be sadness, but being able to build that barrier gives you the opportunity to not have things thrown in your face is absolutely amazing if that’s possible.

'Sensitive and considerate'

Many firms in a variety of sectors already offer the option not to have texts and emails sent in the run up to difficult days.

Charlie Du Puy, digital marketing executive at Go Ape, which operates outdoor activities across the UK, said their decision had been well received.

“For some people, emails about Father’s Day can be sensitive or painful," he said.

“With the technology at our disposal, providing our customers with a choice to opt out is the right thing to do. It may seem a small thing, but we've received lots of positive feedback because of this."

And food delivery firm Deliveroo said they had been offering an opt-out for several years now.

A spokesperson said: "We understand that Father's Day can be a difficult time for some of our customers, so we offer the opportunity to opt out of Father’s Day communications in the weeks ahead.

"This is something we've been doing since 2021 ahead of both Mother's and Father's Day to ensure our communications remain sensitive and considerate to all our customers."

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