The Fraudulent Mediums Act 1951 was repealed from April 2008 by the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading 2007 (CPR’s) which implement the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD). The CPR’s include rules prohibiting conduct which misleads the average consumer and thereby causes, or is like to cause him, to take a transactional decision he would not have taken otherwise’. Conduct could be deemed unfair if it deceives the average member of (i) the group to which it is directed or (ii) a clearly identifiable group of consumers who are particularly vulnerable to this type of practice.
The original Act required proof that the medium or healer was fraudulent. The changes will mean that a complainant can say they believe the medium or healer was fraudulent and it will be up to the medium or healer to prove they weren’t.
Spiritualism, and its associated practices, is a properly constituted religion recognised by an act of parliament. Spiritualism is a belief in life after death and one part of its practice is to show this through mediumship. Mediums can either be independent or affiliated to Spiritualist organisations. In other words you can be an independent medium and still a Spiritualist even though you don’t belong to a church group or consider yourself to be religious.
Most Mediums have been trained by Spiritualist organisations who work hard to train and support Mediums to work to the highest possible standards of truth and integrity. It is not the fault of either Spiritual organisations or Mediums that the training, for which they pay and to which they commit a considerable amount of time, is not recognised. Leaving them vulnerable to the flexibility of the Consumer Protection Regulations does not reflect the unique nature of the calling and the legality of practising mediumship and healing under the umbrella of the religion.
We are also deeply concerned that the flexibility of the Consumer Protection Regulations will result in the practice of Mediumship, Healing and other Psychic works being forced underground. This will be counterproductive because it will enable frauds to prosper in a way that is impossible if the field is legislated by an Act that reflects the uniqueness of the work
Finally, part of Spiritualism’s philosophy is that we each have free will and thus are responsible for our own choices and the results of these choices. Unfortunately, the culture prevailing within today’s society is not to accept any responsibility for one’s actions but to look for some one else to blame. Matters of spiritual belief have always been highly personal and nothing to do with consumerism, even if a service is being provided. (Read More ...)