I read recently that Miss Cleo (Carribean-accented TV psychic found here: http://www.callmisscleo.com) was sued for fraud. Obviously she and her colleagues are snake-oil salesman, but criminals? Is the “for entertainment use only” disclaimer not enough to absolve themselves of criminal/fraudulant intent?
Should TV physics be prosecuted for criminal activity?
I believe Miss Cleo & Co. are being taken to court not for pretending to be psychic, but for misleading customers about their charges.
I read somewhere (and I can’t remember where, I was in three different states last week) that Miss Cleo is actually a guy named Steve.
I bet she or he, as the case may be, saw it coming.
As I remember, the controversy is that they advertise “first 3 minutes free” or something, but Miss Cleo’s “psychic friends” intentionally draw out the conversation so that it always lasts much longer than that. When I heard it it sounded shifty, but I don’t know if it’s illegal per se.
That’s the differfence between a civil suit as the OP states as opposed to being charged with a crime. You can choose to bring suit for whatever you want but you’ve got to convince a judge and jury that it has merit. Crimes can only be charged when a specific law is broken.
Does Art Bell know about this? (Art used to say that all Steve’s were in a conspiracy to overthrow the world.)
Actually, I think that the fine print in Miss Cleo’s announcements is that the first 3 minutes are free if you talk longer than X amount of time. So you could call up and have a 10 minute conversation with someone, but you wouldn’t get the first 3 minutes free because you had to talk to one of their psychotics — er, I mean psychics — for at least 30 minutes! Some deal :rolleyes:
I believe you probably heard about this. The Missouri state attorney general is suing Miss Cleo (and her corporation) for fraud and violating the state’s “no-call list” - basically, an opt-in, ‘keep away’ list of phone numbers that telemarketers are supposed to consult before making their calls. They can get in big doo-doo for calling numbers on the list, which apparently Miss Cleo and her cronies did.
“TV physics” is what causes people to fly backwards through the air when they get shot; what allows cars to go on wild chases through crowded city streets and bash dozens of other cars, fire hydrants, fruit stands, etc. out of the way, without actually harming innocent bystanders and without grinding to a halt in the first fifty feet; but under other circumstances causes ordinary automobiles to explode in huge fireballs; allows sound waves to be propagated through a vacuum; and is what allows the Starship Enterprise™ to exceed the speed of light.
It’s pretty silly stuff, but I don’t think anyone should actually go to jail for it.
Here’s my question
If she’s so damn pyschic, why doesn’t SHE call ME!!??
She HAS been calling people, Miss Creant… hence the lawsuit. They started making calls TO people’s houses. Pretty disgusting IMO, but I guess they are all disgusting. Personally, I’d sue them for fraud simply because the commercial implies when you call you’ll talk to Miss Cleo personally (“Call me now for yer free readin’”) which is false advertising.
I never thought I’d say this but god do I miss Dionne Warwick right about now.