Psychic Readers Network

Lisa of Ormond Beach, FL, writes:
A 13-yr-old from our household and his 13-yr-old friend were home alone (summer) and saw an ad on TV for a free 3-minute tarot card reading (900#).

They called, and were put on hold. They never were asked their ages, and they never received the free reading. After several minutes, someone got on the phone with them and told them they had won a Nintendo 64 and 5 free games. Then they were put on hold again while someone "checked the availability" of the five games the two boys had chosen.

When 60 minutes had passed, a mechanical voice interjected and disconnected them - no reading, no free Nintendo 64, no five free games. Then the older brother (16 yr old) called the same number back and was connected through to a pay phone on some street somewhere! The total bill was $294.41 for the two calls.

This has since been removed from our phone bill and, after getting nowhere with Access Resource Services -- Psychic Reader's in-house collection agent -- we have paid a reduced figure of $203.29, so that our credit is not ruined.

Ultimately, as the adults in the house, we are responsible for the actions of our children, but our argument is that they were intentionally enticed to remain holding to get a free game set (geared obviously at young people) and chalk up the expense!

The boys were never asked their ages or if they had permission to call a 900 #, and they never received verbal confirmation of when charges would begin accumulating. What are the laws governing 900#'s, and is there anything that can be done to make them better/clearer, so that this doesn't happen to another family? We have taken the precaution of permanently blocking 900 # access from all house lines.

As I stated above, we basically "ate" it, to protect from credit ruination. I was able to negotiate a 30% reduction, because minors were involved, but, ultimately, misleading advertising and empty promises were to blame for this mishap. I had to borrow money to pay this bill - never a pleasant experience.

Lisa could probably go to Small Claims Court and try to recover most of the amount, claiming breach of contract because the Nintendo was never delivered. There is also some question as to whether a minor can legally enter into a binding agreement. We think the Federal Communications Commission should have banned 900 numbers long ago. They have no redeeming social value and serve mainly as a haven for this type of activity.

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