There is an article in todays Times newspaper about the Exclusive Brethren which is a not dissimilar group to the JWs in th UK ( shunning , no xmas , everyone outside of the group is worldly & bad association etc. ) There is a 2 spread page inside the paper with experiences from those who have been disfellowshipped etc.
The Charities Commission are looking into the group which claims millions in tax reliefs. I get the impression they are starting to clamp down on the many religions / pseudo religions that claim this.
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/faith/article4384092.ece
Unfortunately it is behind a paid firewall but I'll try to upload the article later as a PDF.