Anyone who wants to spend money trying to commune with dead relatives has never had so much choice.

There’s a growing array of satellite TV channels, Web sites, phonelines and even psychic churches which offer the services of mediums.

 But from next month, spiritualists will have to abide by strict new consumer protection regulations that are designed to give clients greater safeguards.

Some spiritualists want the government to rethink their plans to replace the Fraudulent Mediums Act of 1951 with new rules.

They say it will lead to the bizarre situation where mediums will issue disclaimers before they get to work in an attempt to stay on the right side of the law.

Psychics may have to tell clients that their service is simply entertainment or a sort of scientific experiment which has no guarantee of success.

The Spiritual Workers Association fears sceptics may bring malicious prosecutions.

They say they shouldn’t be treated like other traders. They view their strong beliefs as more akin to a religion than commercial transactions.

But critics say it’s high time psychics faced tougher controls. The British Humanist Association says there were only a few successful prosecutions for fraud under the old laws.

Should healers, mediums and fortune-tellers be subject to the same consumer rules as other traders?