Psychics
are staring into a future of hard times
By
LINDA SUMMERHAYES and SARAH HOWDEN
THE
cynics would say they should have seen it coming, but psychics and fortune-tellers
fear they will soon have something far more serious to worry about than the jokes
and ridicule they have long endured. Their
work is about to come under the scrutiny of trading standards officers for the
first time. Changes
in the law mean they could be forced to prove they can do what they claim they
can, whether it's contacting a late relative or predicting your future. It
means city council officials – more used to dealing with overly aggressive
door-to-door salesmen or shopkeepers selling booze to school pupils – will
soon have to wade into more philosophical areas. Mediums and spiritualists fear
they will be prey to malicious complaints which will leave them in court with
no logical means of defence. After
all, how can you prove, or disprove, someone has had contact with the dead or
correctly predicted your future? "The
problem (with the law change], is that because it is open to interpretation it
can end up being very difficult for us," says veteran Morningside psychic
and clairvoyant Georgina Holds-worth. "The
symbols, words and pictures we get are correct, but sometimes the way we put the
information across may not be absolutely right. "I
think the law change also sends out a bad image of the industry, and I actually
think it will be quite hard on mediums. "Some
of them might not do readings anymore as they might be worried they'll be sued.
It is difficult and it is a worry. Can we prove what we do? "No.
It's like religion, isn't it – you can't prove it." Some
spiritualist churches in other parts of the country have started to take pre-emptive
action, peppering their clairvoyance sessions with the disclaimers like "this
is not science" and "this is just an experiment". Medium
Nikki Watson is also concerned about the effect it will have on Mystique, the
business she runs in Loanhead, with her mum Lynne Morrison. "By
its very nature it's open to interpretation, so a change in law and to have to
prove claims is going to be almost impossible," she says. "I
don't see how it will work, and how you can prove it. It is ridiculous. It will
affect quite a few people and businesses as a result." Mystique
offers one-to-one private readings and home visits and because it charges £25
for a half-hour reading, they will potentially be open to investigation. "These
laws send out a negative vibe and there will be negativity attached to the industry
as a result," adds Nikki. "People
are obviously aware that there are people out there who are doing it fraudulently
and are just doing it for the money, so the changes may make people think that
there are even more people doing that. It will cause a lack of trust. "It
would be easier to ask mediums to prove that they are doing it legitimately and
for the right reasons, rather than getting mediums to prove that they are accurate.
You just can't do it. People have tried to prove it for years and it's never been
possible, so how are we expected to do it now? We give guidance but we can't predict
what people will do – that's free will, and they make their own decisions.
So how can you give guarantees and prove this? "It
will impact on business, and we'll probably have to give a disclaimer to clients." Ewan
Irvine, an Edinburgh-based medium who travels around Scotland delivering readings,
shares the view of the established religious body, the Spiritualists' National
Union. He does
not expect his work in the spiritualist church to be affected, despite disquiet
among some church members. "I
think this will affect people who are charging for a service or a reading,"
says Ewan, who regularly attends services for up to 100 people, at Portobello
Spiritualist Church. "The
way I work is that I just get my travelling expenses from visiting the church. "Personally,
what I don't agree with is these psychic hotlines that charge a lot of money.
I think they do provide a service to use but I don't like to see people having
to shell out what is quite a lot of money. "I
think it's this kind of thing that the legislation will seek to protect people
from." Only
time and judicial precedent will tell if spiritual churches accepting donations
will be affected by the new Consumer Protection Regulations. They will begin to
cover the spiritual fraternity next month when the Fraudulent Mediums Act –
legislation that has offered protection to "genuine" mediums since 1951
– is repealed. Under
the existing Fraudulent Mediums Act, prosecutors have to prove fraud and dishonest
intent to secure a criminal conviction – something so difficult there have
been fewer than ten convictions in the past 20 years. The
legislation is targeted at premium rate psychic prediction phone lines and unsolicited
mailings that promise spiritualist services in exchange for a cheque. The Office
of Fair Trading estimates that such mailshots generated around £40m in revenue
for its senders in 2006/07. Mediums
fear they will be vulnerable to malicious complaints and face the risk of court
and substantial fines. Donald Busby, organiser of Body and Soul, a twice yearly
event in the Capital which welcomes healers, psychics and clairvoyants, says:
"The medium is increasingly popular and people are really interested in psychics.
"The change
in law could give the impression that it's trying to help people from harmful
charlatans, but the legislation is going to be an impossible thing to prove. The
better way to have negotiated it would have been to get people to sign a waiver
that they believe in the authenticity of the reader. You just can't prove what
they're saying, as it's up to the individual on how they interpret it." PROTECTING
THE RIGHTS OF CONSUMERS
ALL forms of paid-for paranormal activities will fall
under the new Consumer Protection Regulations. As
well as tackling a raft of more mundane commercial sharp practice, these regulations
will replace the Fraudulent Mediums Act 1951. Under
the old legislation, it had to be proven that any accused psychic was setting
out to commit a fraud. The first case was a man in 1952 on a charge that he did
in "purporting to act as a spiritualistic medium, unlawfully use a certain
fraudulent device, namely, a length of cheesecloth". He
was acquitted, setting a pattern for the last 50 years of very few prosecutions.
The new regulations
centre on "reasonable expectations of the average consumer". Persistent
breaches are punishable by an enforcement order similar to an Asbo. Breaking such
an order can lead to up to two years in prison or a substantial fine. | 
