Consumers are not pigeons

Internet users and consumers of clairvoyance sites: check the content of the legal notices and the general conditions of sale.
Fashion phenomenon or lasting trend, the field of esotericism has been on the rise in recent years, giving rise to a highly coveted market. Clairvoyance by telephone or “audiotel clairvoyance”; prediction by SMS or email; consultation in person or by videoconference; clairvoyance by online chat, the internet abounds with clairvoyance offers in all its forms.

Likewise, platforms and sites specializing in the creation of online clairvoyance sites abound, offering everyone, regardless of their skills, the possibility of creating a turnkey or personalized clairvoyance site. The lack of regulation of the clairvoyance/mediumship sector unfortunately offers an ever more fertile playing field for charlatanism, which is why it remains essential to warn consumers about the increasing number of cases of fraud.
If the legal vacuum governing the profession remains, clairvoyance websites are still subject to the law relating to confidence in the digital economy (law no. 2004-575 of June 21, 2004).
According to this law, “Any economic activity by which a person offers or ensures the supply of goods or services remotely and electronically constitutes electronic commerce” (article 14 of the law).
Clairvoyance sites are therefore electronic businesses and must therefore respect the obligation to display legal notices and general conditions of sale. These sections aim in particular to inform the consumer about the general functioning of the site and the people to contact in the event of a dispute or dispute.
In the absence of these sections or in the event of incomplete information, the consumer must question the risks incurred by purchasing the services offered by the site consulted.
What is the content of the legal notices and general conditions of sale of a clairvoyance site and what clues should alert the consumer to the risks of fraud? We take stock in this article.
Legal notices: an indicator of ethics of clairvoyance sites

When creating a website, its creator must include a “legal notices” section.

The legal notices inform Internet users of the identity of those responsible for the site such as the publication manager and the editor in order to be able to contact the site for any dispute, dispute or illegal content.

Furthermore, legal notices inform Internet users about the nature of the information collected about them and the use made of it. They also specify the rights of Internet users to consult their transmitted personal data.

The legal notices of a website must be visible to Internet users. They are generally located at the bottom of the site’s home page so that they are easily consultable.

Legal notices therefore aim to protect Internet users; consequently, the absence of these notices or their inconsistency must question the consumer about the ethics of the site, particularly when online payment is necessary to access the services andservices offered.

Check the legitimacy of a clairvoyance site using the legal notices and the general conditions of sale (CGV).

Among the mandatory legal notices of a website, the company creating the site must include in particular:

company identity information

If it is a natural person, their first and last name and, if it is a legal entity, their company name.

the coordinates of the structure

The address where it is established, its email address, as well as telephone details allowing you to actually get in touch with it.

cookies.

Cookies make it possible to obtain information on the Internet user’s consumption behavior. Any website using cookies must inform the Internet user and obtain their consent.

additional mandatory information imposed by the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)

These notices specify the obligations to be respected in the context of data collection as well as the use that will be made of the data collected.

They also provide information on the Internet user’s right of access, questioning, opposition and rectification of their personal data.

Finally, the Internet user must be informed of the possibility of making a complaint to the CNIL (National Commission for Information Technology and Liberties).

the general conditions of sale (CGV)

The general conditions of sale are mandatory when the e-commerce site is aimed at individuals. They determine the obligations and responsibilities of each party to the contract.

The General Terms and Conditions must mention in particular:

the identity of the online merchant or the identity of his company, the products or services offered for sale, the price, the validity period of the offer, payment terms, delivery terms, the existence of a right of withdrawal, the guarantees available to the buyer (legal guarantee of conformity and guarantee of hidden defects), mentions relating to the consumer mediator etc.

Absence or insufficiency of legal notices on clairvoyance sites: strong indicators of the risk of consumer fraud.

Several clairvoyance sites identified do not comply with the legal notice obligation imposed by law.

If some sites do not have any legal notices, others write very incomplete and/or erroneous legal notices, leaving strong doubts about the ethics of the site.

The following examples illustrate the blatant lack of transparency of certain clairvoyance sites:

Total absence of legal notices from clairvoyance sites

clairvoyant-fkih-marocaine.com and astropedia.fr:

These sites do not have legal notices that can be consulted by Internet users. It is therefore impossible to know information concerning the identity of the company such as its first and last names, its contact details or information on the company’s registration.

In the event of disputes or disputes, the consumer has no contact address.

Insufficient legal notices for clairvoyance sites

cabinet-fabiola-voyance.fr/mentions-legales shining-voyance.fr/mentions-legales vivesum.fr/mentions-legales.html marabouts.fr/mentions-legales.php

On these sites, the “legal notices” section is clearly visible, but their content is superficial.

Although the identity of the company / natural person as well as thecontact details of the head office, the accuracy of this information leaves doubt in view of the insufficiency of the other mandatory information.

Also, the T&Cs are non-existent, giving no information on the responsibilities and obligations of the seller and the consumer such as the price of the services/delivery, delivery and payment terms or the withdrawal period on the internet.

The consumer therefore has no information on the progress of the consultations, their duration or their total cost.

Likewise, no information is provided on the use or not of cookies requiring the consent of the Internet user.

False or disguised legal notices

clairvoyant-marocaine.com/mentions-legales/

On this site, the legal notices are a little more comprehensive than the others but the content is incomplete and inconsistent.

The first lines of the legal notices do not give any precise information on the identity of those responsible for the site or the address of the head office. Only an email address and a telephone number appear.

The general conditions are described in a sub-section “services offered” and give very little information on the progress of the consultations.

Concerning the rates applied, the site mentions a price range going from 3 to 5 euros per minute depending on the indicator consulted while the content of the rest of the site mentions a rate of 0.80 cents per minute which does not provide any reliable information to the consumer.

Furthermore, the updating of the clauses seems doubtful since the clause concerning the consumer’s right of withdrawal and reimbursement mentions a right of withdrawal of 7 days on the basis of an article of the Consumer Code which no longer exists (article repealed in 2014).

Like the sites mentioned above, the lack of transparency is complete for the consumer, whether it concerns the conditions of execution of consultations or the applicable prices. Likewise, in the event of a dispute or dispute, no contact person is clearly identified.

Therefore, we strongly encourage consumers to check, before any online consultation and payment, the existence of legal notices as well as their content.

Sanctions in the event of irregularity in legal notices

The absence or irregularity of mandatory legal notices is punishable by law.

Also, a natural person faces a penalty of one year’s imprisonment and a maximum fine of 75,000 euros.

A legal entity is liable to a maximum fine of 375,000 euros.

Finally, case law has clarified that:
“the absence of legal notices constitutes an act of unfair competition because a company, by exempting itself from compliance with legal obligations, adopts unfair behavior towards other companies which respect them (Referred order, TGI Paris, November 21, 2017).”

Reference texts:
law n° 2004-575 of June 21, 2004 confidence in the digital economy Ord. summary proceedings, TGI Paris, November 21, 2017
Myriam (Lawyer)