Has The Society, or Any Bro or Sis, Ever Screwed You Out Of Your Money?

by LoisLane looking for Superman 41 Replies latest jw friends

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  LisaRose

  This super spiritual pioneer sister never ever paid me the money she owed me. But she goes to all the meetings, oh yes!

  Yeah, I feel kind of stupid now, because I bought in to the idea of this supposed "spiritual paradise" in Jehovah's organization. This idea was complete fiction. It's not that Jehovah's Witnesses are any worse than the general population, it's that they are no better. I was so blindly believed in this lie that I ignored all evidence to the contrary. You keep thinking these are oddball situations, an anomaly, you just met the bad Apple of the bunch. . It was only after many years that you realize it's all a lie, your so called "spiritual brothers and sisters" are just as likely to screw you over as your worldly next door neighbor.
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  Julia Orwell

  Although I believed about how honest jws were, I never got caught out cuz I neverhad any money to lend. And if I did, no one asked me and i wouldn't have lent it anyway, because of my own cynical nature. Lol, to think I was the person who piped up at the cash register if they'd under charged me or given me too much change back. Or if I'd forgotten to pay for some small item I forgot to pull out of my trolley. Gosh I'm so honest, because as a Christian, that's what I was supposed to be. The ones who weren't, and we know they are because of all these experiences, what did they think god thought of them? How could they think they could get away with breaking their god's rules? Or did they think their god wouldn't know, or make an exception for them?
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  AuntConnie

  Yes, beyond 77 times, we stopped counting how many crooks move on to new Kingdom Halls and begin their scam even after the secretary writes their letters (Call Me ASAP!) introducing the new family. Witnesses are programmed from infancy to believe their Brotherhood is honest and truthful, when people rip off a family in a large way, it's the Organization's fault for teaching lies that we are the "only true Christians on earth" leaving the victims stumbled and broken hearted.
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  Amelia Ashton

  One "elder"even stated to me "business and the truth are two seperate things , not to be confused together.

  I too thought it was only me and wow, that quote! I had the exact same thing said to me about the dodgy car by the bro who sold it to me. Surely "the truth" comes first and then business but clearly not for many. Why on earth do they claim JWs are the most honest people on earth. I am starting to believe they are amongst the most dishonest now.

  When I went to the other elder in our cong about the catering business I bought being illegal he replied "It's very difficult to run a legal business in Spain". Makes me wonder what else he was up to now.
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  joe134cd

  Had this foreign brother come and board at my house. Because he had family all over the world, he used to have a herendous telephone bill - these were the days before Skype. He suddenly decided to move out and left me his cell phone number to contact him, when the phone and utilities bills come in. Never heard from him again after that. The punk left me with about $600 owing - and this is going back 10-15 years ago. Oh and then I latter found out he was also going out and getting blind drunk as we'll.
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  gma-tired2

  In the 50s my dad not a JW just married to one was a contractor, who used his license to build our new Kingdom Hall, he spent time and money building this hall,, the current congregation servant was to reimburse my dad for money spent, he didn't. My dad never forgot his being cheated.
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  JWdaughter

  My non JW dad worked with a JW contractor who had a big business, looked successful, etc. The same year that he refused to pay my dad what he owed him for a couple of weeks work, he took his family on a vacation to Hawaii (wife and 3 sons). That was the one time in my life we went to a food bank.It was a hard time in the 70s for the construction business, but not for Bro Brown.

  Turns out he abused his wife viciously and taught his sons to do the same, so his character was obviously flawed in a myriad of ways.

  I will say OTOH that I knew a lot of good and kind JWs who would bend over backwards to do the right thing by anyone, JW or non JW.

  The point of all this has been made-JWs are just as bad and just as good as the rest of the world as individuals. The issue in the congregation is that it is so easy for the bad ones to get away with it as people like my mom are loath to confront an elder who ripped them off when they are just a publisher who doesn'thave a husband in the congregation and who wouldn't rock the boat if she needed to to save her life. To some degree I imagine it happens in other churches as well, but ripping off others is institutionally condoned by an organization who is more interested in presenting a good face to the world than of being a good face in the world.
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  SaritaJ

  My mum( a widow) was cheated out of a lot of money by a so called brother who was refurbishing her house.He bought 2nd hand and poor quality material and charged her a lot of money. When she reported him to the elders,then to the CO, they told her to let it go since he was a father with a family to feed.He too was an elder.

  The scripture about taking care of widows did not come up in the discussion.

  My mum was not the only sister he had conned.
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  NewYork44M

  As an elder I became aware of a situation in our congregation where a newly baptized person and his very odd friend "borrowed" $30 or $40 thousand from a frail old sister who they would pick up and take to the meetings.

  The non-witness son called our presiding overseer (that is what they were called in the olden days) and explained the old lady needed glasses and did not have any more money. The son then explained the whole sorted situation.

  The newly baptized brother and his odd friend did not deny that the owed the money; only that they were going to have a hard time paying it back.

  I left soon after. Given the age of the old sister, I can only assume she is long gone and that the borrowed funds are now considered a gift. What a witness to the non-jw son who was probably hoping for a small inheritance.
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  Aunt Fancy

  We too have had many who borrowed money or didn't pay for work done. For the most part we have never tried to hire or get work from the witnesses because there are too many problems from it. Their attitude is you owe us since you are doing better financially.

  We even went in and finished up a kitchen remodel that another brother started at a house where the husband was a witness but the wife wasn't. He really screwed them over and the brother went to the body of elders about it because the wife was threatening to leave, my husband was an elder at the time and he agreed to finish the job with the little bit of money that was left. When they brought the brother in to decide how to handle the matter my husband was the only one not in on the committee matter because he agreed to help the brother. By the way, this brother had done this to many other people, they did not DF him and he is now an elder still doing the same crap!

  I have a few stories and they all involve elders taking advantage of us financially. One had the condition that he needed to pay back his money he owed before they made him a servant again but the COBE that gave him that ultimative moved away and a year later they appointed him and he still owes us over $1200