Email: "Sigh of Relief When I Discovered Your Site"
Another woman's experience with Browne's staff.
Published: Jul 18 2008
Written by: Robert S. Lancaster
"Is this the Sylvia that works through God and does so much to help people in need? I asked for a refund."
- email author
Background
I receive several "thank you" emails every week from people who have examined the evidence on the site, and subsequently came to the conclusion that Sylvia Browne is not what she claims to be.
This article contains one such email.
top of page
The Email
Here - with the author's permission - is that email. As with all emails I publish here, it should be noted that this is simply one person's opinion.
Subject: Sigh of relief when I discovered your website - thank you!
From: [] <[]>
Date: Fri, June 27, 2008 12:39 pm
To: []
Dear Robert,
You may be interested to hear about my unfortunate experience with Sylvia Browne:
My husband and I had returned to Canada after a weekend in Chicago, the phone was ringing as we opened the door. The caller was a young woman who asked if I still wanted a phone appointment with Sylvia (I had requested this two years previously). She said if I was interested the cost would be $850 for twenty minutes, with a further ten minutes if needed to ask my own questions. I asked if I could call her back.
This was an amount I couldn't really afford, but decided to go ahead and book because of several extremely stressful past and present events in my life. I feel I have to give you some background for you to understand my feelings later on:
we lost our twenty- one year old son some years ago; six years ago our other son suffered a permanent disability at the hands of an inept doctor and is presently in the midst of a very nasty medical malpractice trial; I had just been informed that I could have a return of cancer, but would have to wa it two months for an appointment to see a specialist [no comment about our abysmal health service here in Canada]
Because of all of the above I was desperately in need of some sort of help - I guess I had read a couple of Sylvia's books two years ago and believed her to be sincere. I booked the appointment for May 18th. 2008. I was informed that Sylvia did not book exact times, but would give me a window of 12- 3pm ET. I was told to make sure that I had all my questions written out ahead of time. Also, Michael would call to confirm. This appointment was later changed by Michael to June 18th. On June 17th. Michael called to confirm the appointment for the following day. I was stressed to the hilt the following day as I prepared all my questions, set up the new phone recorder that I had bought for the occasion (and prayed that it would work), and did everything I could to make sure the phone line would be free during 12-3 pm.
I sat by the phone during the time from 12 - 3:30pm - no phone call. I called the number I had and a male voice told me that Michael was out and would be back in twenty minutes and he would have him call me as soon as he came back. He knew nothing about my appointment - quite curt. I phoned about thirty minutes later and this time he was quite annoyed and said Michael was still not back and made it clear that "he" would call me as soon as he walked in the door (in other words - don't call me again!). I forgot to mention that my credit card had been charged a month previously. I waited another half hour and called again - Michael-call me-as-soon-as-he-walks-in- the-door answered and said "Yes?". I said "I had an appointment with Sylvia today - what happened?". No reply from him. I said "Don't you remember, you called me last night to confirm this?" Verging on rude, he replied "Of course I remember if I called you - things happen, that's life, it will be July before I can rebook you!" NO apology, nothing, and as I said - rude, and with an attitude. I was dumbfounded by his attitude - is this the Sylvia that works through God and does so much to help people in need? I asked for a refund.
Fortunately the refund did come through, but my already fragile state was far from helped from this experience as the feeling is that my future must have looked so bleak that this was the only way that Sylvia could handle it. She would hardly be able to give me really bad news and would just find some excuse to cancel the appointment as she did - I thought!
I cannot begin to tell you how much your web site meant to me when I found it today - such relief. Thank you so much for all you effort and time in exposing this woman - I wish there were more people like you around, the world would indeed be a better place as the apathy virus is rampant in today's society.
Thank you a million times over, Robert, and my very best wishes,
[name]
top of page
My Reply
From: []
To: [] <[]>
Sent: Sun, 13 Jul 2008 10:40 pm
Subject: RE: Sigh of relief when I discovered your website - thank you!
Ms. []:
Thank you so much for writing. My apologies for the delay in replying, but the recent articles regarding Browne's Excalibur show have resulted in quite a bit of email, and I am just now catching up on much of it.
I'm so sorry to hear about the things in your life which brought you to the point where you called Browne. The loss of one child, and the permanent di sability of another... as a parent, I can only try to imagine what that has done to you. But it is, of course, just this kind of pressure that people like Browne rely on to drive people right into their scams.
I can't tell you how glad I am that my site was helpful to you, and that it helped you to come to the conclusion that you were better off for not having spent your hard-earned money on a "reading."
Have you sought help from other, more traditional sources, such as a grief counselor? It does sound as though you could benefit from someone who might help you to get your head around everything that has happened, as is continuing to happen, in your life. A competent grief counselor might be able to help you with this, and would not pretend to be able to talk with the dead in order to do so.
Could I have permission to publish your email on the site (without your name and email address)? I think it is yet another good example of things which can make a person vulnerable to Browne's con, and also of the treatment that many receive at the hands of her staff.
My very best regards,
Robert S. Lancaster
Webmaster,
www.StopSylviaBrowne.com
top of page
Analysis
This woman's story is yet another example of how someone who, at a vulnerable point in their life, decided to go to Browne for guidance. This is precisely what Browne, and others of her ilk, rely upon.
It is also yet another example of how callously many people feel they are treated by people in Browne's office. It is important to note that, as I mentioned earlier, we are only hearing this woman's side of the story. Perhaps Browne's staff would describe their conversations with this woman very differently. But the vast majority of email I receive describing interactions with Browne's staff report similarly rude behavior.
top of page
Conclusion
In her reply to my email above, the woman said:
Fortunately, with the help of your site I have bounced back to a certain extent and can feel optimistic again about the future...
Emails such as the ones from this woman continue to make me proud of what this site has accomplished, and keep me committed to presenting the evidence about Sylvia Browne.
My thanks to her for contacting me, and for allowing me to share our correspondence with readers of this site.
top of page
