Fraudulent Mediums Act 1951

[Ocelot]

There's one of them there internet petitions doing the rounds again. It asks why the UK has the fraudulent mediums Act 1951 if it's never exercised. People are conned daily out of money on the promise of hearing from dead relatives or gaining a useful glimpse of their futures by people who have no greater talent than the ability to subtly determine what others want to hear and telling it to them.

Now I have nothing against an illusionist performing a mentalist act which is clearly for entertainment purposes only but see world of difference between that and Psychic Hotlines charging a premium rate and hiding "for entertainment purposes only" I see a further world of difference between those with such legal disclaimers and practitioners such as Sally Morgan and Derek Acorah who claim without reservation to have genuine powers. Again I’ve got nothing against them making that claim – I just think l that if they are to charge people money for services based on that claim then given that steps should be taken to ensure that they are not fraudulent.

The way I see it, to practise as a Doctor you must prove yourself capable, people make life and death decisions based upon your advice. Likewise a financial adviser or any other number of professions.

Similarly if people are making important decisions based upon the advice of psychics then it is important that they determine that there are not charlatans. We all know that there are charlatans in this field, they have been comprehensively debunked by sceptics from Harry Houdini to James Randi.

It appears that the UK legislation makes the presumption that anybody accepting money for such services is a charlatan. This is a presumption that I feel is overwhelmingly likely to be true. nonetheless I feel that a proper demonstration of psychic abilities in a scientifically controlled environment administered by experienced sceptics in the field should be adequate defence to such an accusation.

If Psychic claims are true they should be easily proven.

If you think that the law should be updated and applied then the petition is here.

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/mediums/

 

[Mephisto]

People are conned daily out of money on the promise of hearing from dead relatives or gaining a useful glimpse of their futures by people who have no greater talent than the ability to subtly determine what others want to hear and telling it to them.

As they say, a fool and his money are soon parted.

Although I don't like psychics, there are any number of LEGAL methods to separate a fool from his money, why should they be okay while others promising to contact a dead relative be wrong? When it comes down to it, even religion is guilty (to some degree) of the same thing psychics are.

Paying a psychic is like buying a pet rock - you get out of it whatever you can imagine.

 

[Ocelot]

As they say, a fool and his money are soon parted.

Although I don't like psychics, there are any number of LEGAL methods to separate a fool from his money, why should they be okay while others promising to contact a dead relative be wrong? When it comes down to it, even religion is guilty (to some degree) of the same thing psychics are.

Paying a psychic is like buying a pet rock - you get out of it whatever you can imagine.

The key point is fraud. If I you sell me an X box box on ebay and all I get in return is the cardboard box that a games console came in then I'm a fool. We have a here a legal way to separate a fool from his money. If instead you sell me an xbox, take my money and send me instead an inferior substitute that's fraud. That's illegal.

If you amze me with your powers of cold reading and I go away without acknowledging the clear disclaimer that it's all juist a trick then you've still earned you money fair and square. If instead you claim that you're a genuine psychic and I know that the fraudulent mediums act exists and that you haven't been imprissoned or fined despite your high profile career then I could be forgiven for assuming that the government is kinda confirming you're the real deal.

If in fact you are the real deal then you've as much interest as anyone in removing fraudulent copetition from the marketplace.

Either enforce it or strike it from the statute books.

 

[Lurker]

As they say, a fool and his money are soon parted.

Although I don't like psychics, there are any number of LEGAL methods to separate a fool from his money, why should they be okay while others promising to contact a dead relative be wrong? When it comes down to it, even religion is guilty (to some degree) of the same thing psychics are.

Paying a psychic is like buying a pet rock - you get out of it whatever you can imagine.

Mephisto, I disagree. First off, the medium charges for a service. It is a contract. The customer pays money in order to hear from a dead relative. The medium is not keeping their side of the contract when they cannot show they are actually in contact with the deceased.

Religion, on the other hand, does not require money at all.

Lurker

 

[Mephisto]

Mephisto, I disagree. First off, the medium charges for a service. It is a contract. The customer pays money in order to hear from a dead relative. The medium is not keeping their side of the contract when they cannot show they are actually in contact with the deceased.

Religion, on the other hand, does not require money at all.

Lurker

You're both right of course, but my point was that there are any number of methods of taking money from the intellecutally-challenged. In a perfect world there wouldn't be people making money off prescription medicines that cause worse problems than they cure, there wouldn't be Enron executives and no one would need snake oil from the most shifty people imaginable.

Fraud is certainly wrong, but we run into it in various degrees from commercials assuring us that this herbal concoction will cure erectile dysfunction to someone else assuring us there was WMD in Iraq. Psychics are a drop in the bucket compared to how people are taken by the unscrupulous on a daily basis.

 

[Darth Rotor]

You're both right of course, but my point was that there are any number of methods of taking money from the intellecutally-challenged. In a perfect world there wouldn't be people making money off prescription medicines that cause worse problems than they cure, there wouldn't be Enron executives and no one would need snake oil from the most shifty people imaginable.

Fraud is certainly wrong, but we run into it in various degrees from commercials assuring us that this herbal concoction will cure erectile dysfunction to someone else assuring us there was WMD in Iraq. Psychics are a drop in the bucket compared to how people are taken by the unscrupulous on a daily basis.

Not to mention false premises, such as this forum being allegedly populated by skeptics. Good thing there isn't a fee per use, or the woo stick would need to be swung a time or two.

DR

 

[jimtron]

Religion, on the other hand, does not require money at all.

Scientology does, IIRC.