Monday 9 June 2008

Are you sitting comfortably?

For the last couple of evenings I’ve been curled up with a cup of cocoa and a good read. OK, so it wasn’t cocoa, and the read not so much good as interesting, because it was The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008!

I must point out at this stage that I have had no formal legal training, but this document is reasonably easy to read, and I wanted to be crystal clear about the ways in which mediums, psychics, etc., can now be prosecuted for cheating the public.

I would be grateful for any legal advice regarding my interpretations.

Part 2 – Prohibitions sets out what is considered unfair commercial practice, and what a trader cannot do without falling foul of the law.

A trader may not:

Mislead the consumer:
  • by using false information,
  • being untruthful, or
  • by making a presentation which is likely to deceive the average consumer,
which would cause that consumer to pay for something they would not have paid for had they known it to be false, untrue or deceptive.
(4)(a); (5)(2)(a)(b)

It is also misleading if the trader “provides material information in a manner which is unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous or untimely.”
(4)(b) 6.—(1) (b)

The final group of misleading actions is covered by Schedule 1. These include:
  • Falsely claiming to be a signatory to a code of conduct;
  • Falsely claiming that a code of conduct is endorsed by a public or other body;
  • Falsely claiming to be approved, endorsed, or authorised by a public or private body;
  • Falsely claiming to be able to cure illnesses;
  • Promoting goods or services in the media using editorial content paid for by the trader, if this is not made clear.
Most of the above are likely to leave 'mediums' such as Acorah in real difficulties. After all, he regularly “provides material information in a manner which is unclear, unintelligible, ambiguous"; he has already been exposed as untruthful, providing false information, falsely claiming to have been trained by a Spiritualist Church, and claiming to cure illnesses when he 'heals' people at his shows.

Proceedings can be taken against a trader up to three years from the date of the offence, and anyone found guilty of an offence under the regulations could be fined up to £ 5,000.00 on conviction in the Magistrates' Court, but in addition there could be a prison sentence of up to two years if convicted in the Crown Court.

So what defence is there for a trader accused under the regulations? Well, they would have to prove that they committed the offence because of:
  • a mistake
  • information supplied by another person
  • something beyond their control

However, any medium attempting to prove to the court that their incorrect information was supplied by the spirit of a dead person, and therefore beyond their control, is likely to get very short shrift indeed!

Those who advertise products and services on behalf of traders have a defence if they can prove they “did not know and had no reason to suspect that its publication would amount to an offence” under the regulations.

Obviously, such a defence will not be available when there is evidence that warnings had been given to the effect that its publication would amount to an offence.

In my next blog entry I will be looking more closely at the Spiritual Workers' Association’s plans for a code of conduct, and whether they will be able to use it to beat the legislation.

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