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***JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Missouri's attorney general has filed lawsuits against a television psychic hot line for allegedly violating the state's no-call law and consumer fraud.
"Miss Cleo should have seen this coming," Attorney General Jay Nixon said. "It doesn't take a crystal ball to realize that ripping off consumers isn't without consequences."
The lawsuits filed in St. Louis Circuit Court allege 94 violations of the state's no-call list. The company faces fines of up to $5,000 per violation if found liable for calling people who requested privacy.
Nixon said Missourians were billed for free services and that the company misrepresented reduced rates and waiver fees. For example, customers spent three minutes on the phone providing information including a name, address and phone number then were charged for time spent on hold waiting to speak with a psychic.
Missouri residents who never requested the service, including deceased people, have received bills for Miss Cleo's services, Nixon said. Moynihan said telephone companies are responsible for billing, not the company.
The company also charged consumers for calls made by minors who did not receive parental consent, Nixon said. Moynihan said the company has safeguards to prevent minors from calling, and only those who lie about their age can get through to the psychic.
Mark Pryor, Arkansas' attorney general, sued Access last year for alleged fraud, saying the company had "used just about every trick in the book to mislead and overbill consumers."***
The part that got me was people waiting on hold to talk to a psychic. Doesn't Miss Cleo already know their names, addresses, etc.? What's that? You say Miss Cleo doesn't do every call? There are multiple Miss Cleos? What's next? You don't suppose the Santa I got my picture taken with at age 5 might not have been the REAL Santa??????? If this is true, I've got one more reason to doubt my entire existence within this particular timeline of a future history.
D.B.
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