Yet more psychic woo with no indication of "for entertainment purposes only"

[Blue Bubble]

A work colleague of mine has pointed out that his ISP (NTLworld) is now providing psychic "services" at £1.50 per minute with no indication of it being for entertainment purposes only.

http://www.ntlworld.com/lifestyledating/psychic.php

Note the description of the woos: "Accredited by BPRB"

Any mileage in taking this up ?

[Muse]

Wow guys you're gonna love this!!
http://www.bprb.org/about_bprb_1510....9e97ad018b95f3

"Our Motto - Safety in Psychics"

This is just begging for an article :D

Woos certificating woos

[Blue Bubble]

Wow guys you're gonna love this!!
http://www.bprb.org/about_bprb_1510....9e97ad018b95f3

"Our Motto - Safety in Psychics"

This is just begging for an article :D

Woos certificating woos

Wonder if Vbloke can afford the £63 over-and-above his homeopathy course fees to become a Registered Psychic !

Hmmm... maybe we can play a few leetle games here ?

Let's ask Selfridge's if the Psychic Sisters are registered, and accredited by BPRB.

[vbloke]

steady on, one thing at a time...

this is from their application form - very telling...

HOW DO YOU DESCRIBE YOUR SKILLS?
(e.g. Clairvoyant, Tarot Reader, Medium etc.)

PLEASE LIST ALL YOUR RELEVANT EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS
(We need a complete picture of your career as a Psychic to date. Please include training in any related areas, such as Nursing, Complementary Therapies etc. Copies of any certificates / qualifications you hold must be included.Give as much information as you can. Use as a separate sheet of paper if necessary.)

PLEASE LIST ANY MEMBERSHIP OF OTHER PROFESSIONAL BODIES, PAST AND PRESENT
Please enclose copies of relevant documents as proof.

HAVE YOU BEEN TESTED IN PUBLIC OR UNDER CONTROLLED CONDITIONS?

HAVE YOU APPEARED ON T.V. OR RADIO, OR BEEN FEATURED IN ANY FORM OF PRESS?

PLEASE GIVE DETAILS OF ANY BOOKS, CD'S, TAPES, CARDS ETC. YOU HAVE PRODUCED.

Basically, they want you to sell and produce as much psychic guff as possible - hardly a ringing endorsement for...

Being a member of BPRB demonstrates and ensures that you work from the correct place within yourself, not your ego.

they also claim that there's EEC legislation that

are making regulation and transparency in the work of psychics vital. BPRB will ensure compliance with EEC legislation.

I can find no such legislation on the EC (not EEC, as that was renamed EC in 1992) website.

[Admin]

The BPRB is nothing more than an advertising tool for psychics to use.

<blockquote>"By joining BPRB you will demonstrate your professionalism and integrity, be kept informed of relevant issues, access professional development and employment opportunities, network with other professionals in this field, receive advice on employment issues and be included on the Register of Licensed Members."</blockquote>What we really need to see is some proof that these psychics can actually do what they say they can.

Self-regulation of nonsense by practitioners of that nonsense doesn't really count for much.

It's really just public relations at work.

Psychics pay their money and can use the BPRB membership in their advertising.

[vbloke]

I think this needs to be pointed out to NTL as strongly as possible.

[Admin]

I can't see a contact email other than for their products.

I'm sure there's a way.

[Nettles]

Because ntl's customer service has, in the past, been very unresponsive (though they're much improved), there are a few sites like nthell.co.uk and (even better) nthellworld.co.uk that give you contact information for senior customer service people.

I'm thinking we should offer psychic certification ... it'd be a great fundraiser. £53 a good price?

[Dr B]

I knew a guy once that had his pet cat registered as a church minister for some church in the USA.....anyone got any pets we could register on this one??? Should we ask them what their position is on psychic pets :D

If we can get "Toby" the psychic tortoise to be a registered member - showing how crap the process is - we can go to the press with that - humour is often the most effective route when dealing with the ridiculous....

[Admin]

Didn't Ben Goldacre get his dead cat accepted into the same association as Gillian McKeith PhoneyD?

It certainly showed up their exacting standards. In other words, pay your money and you're in.

[Admin]

Because ntl's customer service has, in the past, been very unresponsive (though they're much improved), there are a few sites like nthell.co.uk and (even better) nthellworld.co.uk that give you contact information for senior customer service people.

Thanks Nettles.

I'll have a look.

[Dr B]

Oh! I did not know that...just goes to show what a good idea it was.....

[Nettles]

I have to say, I'm not impressed by disclaimers about "entertainment purposes". It's like warning labels on bottles of wine in the States: pointless and easily ignored.

[Admin]

I still can't get a decent contact address for them. :-\

I agree Nettles, disclaimers are usually ignored be people yet can be used to good effect by companies wishing to absolve themselves from responsibility.

In general, reading disclaimers gives a good indication of the quality of product/service/information. If they feel the need to absolve themselves of responsibility, then why are they making claims in the first place?

I think the "entertainment purposes only" is a direct result of the fraudulent mediums act. It's a built-in get out clause that actually assists fraudulent mediums!

It may have been placed there (I'm not sure) to protect the likes of mentalists who do similar acts, but shows like Colin Fry's 6th sense simply flashes it on the screen for 3 seconds or so and that's the show off the hook!

[Mojo]

I think the "entertainment purposes only" is a direct result of the fraudulent mediums act. It's a built-in get out clause that actually assists fraudulent mediums!

I'm still not sure what the legal status of a disclaimer like this is. If, for example, a psychic is providing advice that they claim is accurate and useful, and that the recipient of the advice could be expected to act upon, then surely a disclaimer saying that it is "entertainment only" wouldn't be worth the paper it was written on, as it would be contradicted by the actual facts.