Angry in the Great White North

Peer Sayed Sahib purports to be an astrologer:

We advise people from all walks of life. We advise and help people with their problems, and advise them how to tackle the most different situations in life. Though it is a true fact that everything and anything is in the hands of God Almighty and He is the one and only with insight into the future, there is always a STRONG POSSIBILITY to over come your problems and shape your future the way you want it to be, by perfect advice and divine help, and thats what we specialize in. Please go through our website and learn more about our history services and help..

Strong possibility that they can help? Sounds like an escape hatch, and probably a responsible one given the service they offer.

But the deeper you go into the website, the more concrete and the more grandiose the promises:

If you are facing any kind of problems or difficulties in your life and you have wasted your precious time with so called spiritual healeys [sic] who have promised you everything and have failed in fulfilling your wishes then try our services. you won't be disappointed and your wishes will come true. Listed below and on further pages are some of the problems we specialize in

Do you love some one and they have left you for any unknown reasons, and you want them back into your life immediately?

Try my special spiritual prayers for re-uniting, parted loved ones. Your loved one (GirlFriend/Boyfriend or Husband/Wife), no matter how stubborn or cold hearted they are, will come back into yours life in a few days. We specialize in re-uniting loved ones and securing your relationships.

Do you want a marriage of your own choice to the one you like?

We can pray for you, so if any body meaning your parents or family are against your wishes will agree with your choice happily.

Is your life affected by any kind of black magic or evil spirits or kala jadu?

We specialize in breaking any kind of black magic in 48 hours guaranteed

And of course, in this Canadian ad, he promises "100% GUARNTEED RESULT IN LESS THAN 1 WEEK".

Does this just mean Sahib will get back to you, or that he will actually have your problem solved?

According to people who watch Sahib's endless cycle of television commercials on Zee TV in the United States, he does promise real results:

If you are watching Zee TV here, you know exactly what I am talking about. Peer Sayeed Sahib, Baba something something...I can't even remember the names.... but there are bunch of such crooks out there who have found a new strategy to fool people here in US. Some of them are even becoming sole sponsors of some shows - I think Peer Sayeed sponsors ‘Kareena Kareena’. All these people claim to bring an end to your worries - some claim to do this within 24 hrs - GAURANTEED!!!! The worries could be of any kind - martial problems, business problems, kids giving hard time to their parents (no joke!), could not marry someone you love (huh) - they have answer to each & every problem - u name it, and they have the solution. How insane is that?

The sad part is, that I am sure, there must be people who are getting fooled by this entire hoax. Now I don't know about others, but I really think that what they are doing is so lame. All I could say is that they need to get a life and that Zee TV needs to stop telecasting such ads. And the funny part it, that these people have so much money, that every other day they have a new ad.... so I believe that people are actually believing what they are saying and contacting them!

Interestingly, one of the irritants for these viewers is that Sahib is running this operation from overseas, in England:

My family has had Zee TV and all for atleast four years and since then we have been watching these stupid commercials of Peer Sayed Sahib and Ajmeri Baba and Pundit Maharaj..and the list goes on. They are a scam..pakka scam and what makes it even more of a scam is that all three of them are sitting in London! Why would anybody that is in America call some guy that claims to be an astrologer or whatever and make a call to London!!

After a long run, someone noticed a change in the American advertising:

These commercials were aired w/o any restrictions b4, but then I guess someon sued Zee USA for stating stuff like "100% Gaurantee"...etc, so they didn't air them for a month or 2 (arnd mid '04) but after few weeks these commercials resurfaced with a legal disclaimer @ the end of the commercial.

The Canadian Code of Advertising Standards has a few things to say about this sort of thing:

Advertisements must not contain inaccurate or deceptive claims, statements, illustrations or representations, either direct or implied, with regard to a product or service. In assessing the truthfulness and accuracy of a message, the concern is not with the intent of the sender or precise legality of the presentation. Rather, the focus is on the message as received or perceived, i.e. the general impression conveyed by the advertisement.

[ed: In other words, if the obvious implication of "results guaranteed" is that the wish comes true, then that's what matters]

Disclaimers and asterisked or footnoted information must not contradict more prominent aspects of the message and should be located and presented in such a manner as to be clearly visible and/or audible.

[ed: I didn't see any disclaimers, and in any case, you can't say "100% guaranteed results" in one spot, and then put "not all results guaranteed" in a footnote]

Both in principle and practice, all advertising claims and representations must be supportable.

[ed: Well, that's a bit of a stretch for Saib, I think]

Advertisements must not exploit superstitions or play upon fears to mislead the consumer.

[ed: Ouch]

Being in neither English or French, and advertising only to the Islamic/Indian community, Sahib's advertising probably flies under the radar. That's too bad. I wonder just how much money is flowing out of Canada to Sahib's operation in Britain. Sahib is described by more than a few people as a pretty nasty piece of business, and quite possibly a criminal fraudster:

[link] I was also ripped off by that peer sayed sahib he use to live in scarbrough [in England] and then now he has moved to cheshire he took money of me long two years back for problem related to my love life and he was rood few times but because i had sent him the money and my details i was too sacred to say anything but eventually when he started to ask for big amounts i changed my number and and i didn't hear from him then.

[link] I obtained details of Peer Syed Sahib of Chesire via the Asiana magazine. I checked his website. I sent him a letter initally requested help with a health related problem, that I have been told is not treatable, but his advert seemed as though almost anything is achievable. He called me and we spoke - he requested I send him £100 and a photo of myself and details of my family. He also confirmed that he would get rid of my pain within a week and would call me bakc within 2 days. It has been over a month now. I have called him and left messages and once when I spoke to him he was rude and told me to call back. I am now too scared to do anything about it. He might know its me. He might cast a spell on me. I know I have been stupid. Please do not make the same mistake.

[link] I am one of peer sahib’s victims and am glad i just found out he is a crook. I consulted him for matters of the heart and migration His initial fee was $AU500. Then he asked me to pay AU$1200 for each problem. I paid the amount not suspecting anything then. After that he said that there is a problem with my first issue and he wanted me to pay AU$3800. I did and when i called him again to ask how it is going he said that this matter will be solved thoroughly if i pay up another AU$5000. This is when i got skeptical and was contemplating whether to pay as this matter has been bugging me. He was very rude and persistent then pressuring me to pay up and asking me to call in ten minutes to tell him if i could. I didnt and a month later I called back and he said he had stopped working on my issue becasue I didnt pay up the AU$5000. I was very suspicious when it dawned on me he wanted just the money because he was persistent about the AU$5000 and disregarded the fact that I had paid a huge sum of money before. I’m glad I checked the website and the blogs available about this prankster before deciding whether to pay up the final sum of money. Sahibji has told many lies stating that the money is to be paid to the person he buys his expensive ingredients from called Niem Mohammed who is actually himself!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So be warned everybody!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[link] i have been and am a victim of this Peer Syed Sahib Of Chesire. He has done nothing for me and is asking for more and more money. i do not know what to do. help me

Constant calls for more money? Veiled threats? Details about your family?

Maybe I will find the actual paper that ran the ad and give Advertising Standards Canada a call after all.