NEW CONSUMER regulations that come into force today to protect the public from charlatans and sharp sales practices, have been welcomed as long overdue.

But the biggest shake up of consumer law in forty years has already deeply offended one section of the service industry - psychics and faith healers.

Under the new laws, they say they are being expected to tell customers that what they offer is `for entertainment only' and not `experimentally proven.'

The huge psychic industry is bound by the new regulations because they can charge for seances, Tarot and other readings, and clairvoyance.

But one of Manchester leading psychics, who works under the name of Eileen-Rose said: "It is certainly not just for fun, and it offends me that anyone should suggest it is."

The clairvoyant, who has thirty years experience of working in the Spiritualist Church, and offers services including Tarot, crystal and psychometry to customers, said: "People do need protecting from the charlatans in the business. Anybody can pick up the basis of Tarot, runes or palmistry from a book, but many others have a genuine gift."

Eileen-Rose who lives in Heald Green, Stockport said: "People come to see me about very serious issues. They may have just lost a child for example, or be faced with an overwhelming problem.

"A genuine medium can tell people what has happened to them, what is happening, and something of what will happen in the future. Many people that come to see me and people like me, go away feeling happier because of what I have been able to tell them."

Another Manchester-based medium said: "Clairvoyance is my life, not entertainment. Psychic ability is not about telling people whether they will win the lottery, but about awareness, and helping them understand why they're on this planet."

A spokesman for The Spiritual Workers Association said: "We will be legally bound to say we can't guarantee results, and that it is an experiment. We will have to tell them not take it seriously - that it's entertainment.

Ridiculous

"It's ridiculous. they are trying to make us deny what we believe in. We don't believe this is an experiment, and I think people will laugh when we say it."

Leading Manchester City Councillor Pat Karney says the Consumer Protection Regulations however are long overdue. "I welcome the tightening of the law, which will mean a better deal for consumers" he said.

"We are being ripped off by everyone from supermarkets to banks and the credit crunch makes it even more important that people are being protected."

The changes will ban more than thirty types of unfair sales practices outright, and tighten controls on traders from double-glazing to insurance salesmen.

The new law adopts an EU directive requiring all businesses to treat customers fairly, closing loopholes that rogue traders have previously been able to exploit.

Businesses breaking the law will face substantial fines and even prison sentences, depending on the serious of the offence.

Among tactics that are now illegal are bogus closing down sales, limited time offers that are later extended, false testimonials on websites and high-pressure sales techniques - especially those likely to harm the elderly, or vulnerable.

Consumer Affairs Minister Gareth Thomas said: "Honest traders understand the value of treating customers fairly, and they've had enough of losing profit to the small minority of rogues who use underhand tactics to get ahead.

"The Consumer Protection Regulations will deliver better protection for consumers, cut red tape, and put in place a simpler and clearer consumer law that will be easier to interpret and enforce."

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