Richard
Super Member
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2000
- Messages
- 5,001
- Location
- Knoxville, TN
- Tractor
- International 1066 Full sized JCB Loader/Backhoe and a John Deere 430 to mow with
\"Holy fogged up crystal ball Batman\"
JUST when I was going to call and find out when I would be getting a tractor!
/w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://foxnews.com/story/0,2933,45661,00.html>http://foxnews.com/story/0,2933,45661,00.html</A>
The Federal Trade Commission and Florida authorities have gone to court to make the telephone psychic lay all her Tarot cards on the table and shut down what they call a fraudulent business.
The FTC complaint, filed Wednesday in the District Court for the Southern District of Florida, accuses the service of misdeeds including false promises of free psychic readings, tricky billing tactics to squeeze money out of consumers and unrelenting and abusive telemarketing calls.
"Considering the laundry list of unfair and deceptive practices in this case, it's a mystery to us why Miss Cleo and her employers haven't seen this coming," said Howard Beales, the agency's director of consumer protection. He said the FTC acted after getting more than 2,000 consumer complaints.
Known for her lilting Jamaican accent and gentle reprovals to lovelorn callers on her television commercials, Youree Dell Harris, or "Miss Cleo," may not even be a renowned shaman from Jamaica, Florida officials are saying in a lawsuit separate from the FTC's.
The two Fort Lauderdale, Fla., companies behind the telephone psychic reading service, Access Resource Services Inc. and Psychic Readers Network, have also been sued by Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Beales said the service promises a free psychic reading, but when consumers call a toll-free number they are directed to a 1-900 number charging $4.99 per minute.
An average call costs more than $60, Beales said, noting that nearly 6 million people have called the service. A telephone bill running into the hundreds of dollars is the first sign for many callers that they are being charged.
The phone service's lawyer said there are no cracks in Miss Cleo's crystal ball.
"The only unfair and irresponsible practices involved in the lawsuit are those of the FTC," Sean Moynihan said.
A person who answered a gate intercom at Harris' home west of Fort Lauderdale on Thursday said Harris had no comment.
Moynihan said the complaints are a "handful" out of millions of satisfied callers and that the service would fight the charges.
JUST when I was going to call and find out when I would be getting a tractor!
/w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://foxnews.com/story/0,2933,45661,00.html>http://foxnews.com/story/0,2933,45661,00.html</A>
The Federal Trade Commission and Florida authorities have gone to court to make the telephone psychic lay all her Tarot cards on the table and shut down what they call a fraudulent business.
The FTC complaint, filed Wednesday in the District Court for the Southern District of Florida, accuses the service of misdeeds including false promises of free psychic readings, tricky billing tactics to squeeze money out of consumers and unrelenting and abusive telemarketing calls.
"Considering the laundry list of unfair and deceptive practices in this case, it's a mystery to us why Miss Cleo and her employers haven't seen this coming," said Howard Beales, the agency's director of consumer protection. He said the FTC acted after getting more than 2,000 consumer complaints.
Known for her lilting Jamaican accent and gentle reprovals to lovelorn callers on her television commercials, Youree Dell Harris, or "Miss Cleo," may not even be a renowned shaman from Jamaica, Florida officials are saying in a lawsuit separate from the FTC's.
The two Fort Lauderdale, Fla., companies behind the telephone psychic reading service, Access Resource Services Inc. and Psychic Readers Network, have also been sued by Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Beales said the service promises a free psychic reading, but when consumers call a toll-free number they are directed to a 1-900 number charging $4.99 per minute.
An average call costs more than $60, Beales said, noting that nearly 6 million people have called the service. A telephone bill running into the hundreds of dollars is the first sign for many callers that they are being charged.
The phone service's lawyer said there are no cracks in Miss Cleo's crystal ball.
"The only unfair and irresponsible practices involved in the lawsuit are those of the FTC," Sean Moynihan said.
A person who answered a gate intercom at Harris' home west of Fort Lauderdale on Thursday said Harris had no comment.
Moynihan said the complaints are a "handful" out of millions of satisfied callers and that the service would fight the charges.
