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WASHINGTON, USA, November 14, 2002: The operators of Miss Cleo’s psychic hot line agreed Thursday to cancel US$500 million (yes, that’s 2,350 crore rupees) in customer bills to settle federal charges that the service fleeced callers while promising mystical insights into love and money. Hindus may find it difficult to believe, but such psychic hot lines are very popular in the United States. The settlement requires Access Resource Services Inc. and Psychic Readers Network Inc. to stop using pay-per-call numbers to sell their soothsaying services, the Federal Trade commission said. The two Fort Lauderdale, Florida, based companies, which promoted a national network of “psychic readers” on television and the Internet, also must pay the FTC a $5 million fine. Under the settlement, the companies did not admit to breaking any law but agreed to stop trying to collect money from customers who called the service and to forgive about $500 million in outstanding charges. The service also must return all uncashed checks to customers. Howard Beales, director of the FTC’s consumer protection bureau said that during three years of operation the service charged people about $1 billion and collected half of it — mostly from customers quite satisfied with the service. The service’s business fell sharply in the past year following the FTC lawsuit and is now shutting down, Beales said. The FTC filed a lawsuit in February accusing the companies of misdeeds including false promises of free psychic readings, tricky billing tactics to squeeze money out of callers and unrelenting and abusive telemarketing calls. The FTC said the psychic service promised a free reading, but consumers calling a toll-free number were directed to a 900 number charging $4.99 per minute. HPI adds: The FTC did not accuse Miss Cleo of not being able to provide psychic readings, rather the complaint had to do with illegal marketing, charging and collection procedures — practices regulated by general telemarketing laws.

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