Post by Cassus on Mar 19, 2010 10:29:01 GMT
Bad news today: psychics can (for the moment) still place advertisements, claiming to be psychic, as long as they don't make specific claims or guarantees of success.
My complaint against Stephen Holbrook:
scepticalletterwriter.blogspot.com/2010/02/stephen-holbrook-clairvoyant-or-not.html
The ASA response
yfrog.com/65asareplyholbrookj
"Thank you for contacting the Advertising Standards Authority. We have viewed the advertisement you refer to and considered the issue you raise in terms of the CAP (Non-broadcast) Advertising Code but there do not appear to be grounds for formal investigation on this occasion.
We note that the ad does not include any specific claims of success or guarantees of the service which might constitute a breach of the Code. The ad is stating what the advertiser is offering, and there do not appear to be claims, or guarantees of success, which we would expect the advertiser to be able to substantiate. Whilst we appreciate that the show being advertised will not appeal to all who see it, we do not consider that further action on the points you raise would be justified on this occasion, or that the specific content of the ad is likely to detrimentally mislead those who see it."
My complaint against Susan Hudd:
scepticalletterwriter.blogspot.com/2010/02/susan-hudd-hears-voices-in-her-head.html
The ASA response:
yfrog.com/02asareplyhuddj
"Thank you for contacting us.
As regulator [sic], we can intervene if, amongst other things, an ad risks provoking serious or widespread offence, poses a realistic risk of causing significant harm or of materially misleading consumers about goods or services. We have considered the ad and your complaint and, from what we've seen, we don't think it's likely that there has been a breach of the Advertising Code in this case.
We have reviewed the ad with your concerns in mind but in this case we don't feel that the ad is likely to risk materially misleading consumers to their detriment. The text in the ad does no more than state the nature of the advertiser's business.
While I understand your comments, there are no specific claims (about the accuracy of readings, for example) made in the ad. We consider that consumers generally will understand the meaning of "Psychic Clairvoyant Medium & Signature Reader" and that it is an individual's belief in their spiritual ability. On that basis, we concluded that we do not have grounds for intervention in this case."
Needless to say, I'm not giving up that easily. Time to start studying the new EU consumer protection regulations!
My complaint against Stephen Holbrook:
scepticalletterwriter.blogspot.com/2010/02/stephen-holbrook-clairvoyant-or-not.html
The ASA response
yfrog.com/65asareplyholbrookj
"Thank you for contacting the Advertising Standards Authority. We have viewed the advertisement you refer to and considered the issue you raise in terms of the CAP (Non-broadcast) Advertising Code but there do not appear to be grounds for formal investigation on this occasion.
We note that the ad does not include any specific claims of success or guarantees of the service which might constitute a breach of the Code. The ad is stating what the advertiser is offering, and there do not appear to be claims, or guarantees of success, which we would expect the advertiser to be able to substantiate. Whilst we appreciate that the show being advertised will not appeal to all who see it, we do not consider that further action on the points you raise would be justified on this occasion, or that the specific content of the ad is likely to detrimentally mislead those who see it."
My complaint against Susan Hudd:
scepticalletterwriter.blogspot.com/2010/02/susan-hudd-hears-voices-in-her-head.html
The ASA response:
yfrog.com/02asareplyhuddj
"Thank you for contacting us.
As regulator [sic], we can intervene if, amongst other things, an ad risks provoking serious or widespread offence, poses a realistic risk of causing significant harm or of materially misleading consumers about goods or services. We have considered the ad and your complaint and, from what we've seen, we don't think it's likely that there has been a breach of the Advertising Code in this case.
We have reviewed the ad with your concerns in mind but in this case we don't feel that the ad is likely to risk materially misleading consumers to their detriment. The text in the ad does no more than state the nature of the advertiser's business.
While I understand your comments, there are no specific claims (about the accuracy of readings, for example) made in the ad. We consider that consumers generally will understand the meaning of "Psychic Clairvoyant Medium & Signature Reader" and that it is an individual's belief in their spiritual ability. On that basis, we concluded that we do not have grounds for intervention in this case."
Needless to say, I'm not giving up that easily. Time to start studying the new EU consumer protection regulations!
