True Stories: A Brush with Scientology (Part Four)

If you want to learn about True Stories, it’s tag and what it represents, then please see my previous post.

What you are about to read is a True Story, and everything has been kept intact with what my memory holds.

Other articles in this series:
True Stories: A Brush with Scientology (Part One)
True Stories: A Brush with Scientology (Part Two)
True Stories: A Brush with Scientology (Part Three)

April 1999

I had every intention of entering the shop on Deansgate, demanding a refund for the stack of books as well as another one for this dangerous detox course I had stupidly paid upfront for.

…‘I figured getting the £800 quid back would be a bonus’…

After the facts had sunk in I was angrier with myself for being taken in again.

Less than ten years before I had joined that other scam, Amway and its legalised pyramid selling under the guise of multi-level marketing.

On that occasion I had mutated into a salesman complete with suit, managed to become an outcast to my friends, and found myself clapping raucously with an audience of strangers at a conference hall while listening to some bloke whittle on about how he no longer needed an alarm clock to arise for work.

Source
...'I had lost money trying to sell the 'plan' and Amways' overpriced products in 1991'...

Never again I muttered to myself. There is no get rich schemes or anyone who has ever demonstrated ‘Clear’ with any conviction.

Hubbard held a demonstration in Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium where he presented a young woman called Sonya Bianchi to a large audience including many reporters and photographers as “the world's first Clear”.

In the demonstration that followed, she failed to remember a single formula in physics (the subject in which she was majoring) or the colour of Hubbard's tie when his back was turned.

Not caring anymore I rambunctiously entered the shop startling Dreamer into attention, the book titled, 'Mastering the Stand-Up and Walk to Radiator Techniques' dropping immediately from his hands in surprise.

‘I want to return these books for a refund, and I won’t be attending the London course’, I demanded angrily.

…’was facing Scientologists with anger a good idea? The answer is a resounding yes’…

Dreamers’ stance changed immediately.

‘You can’t get a refund for the books as they are considered used, he said tartly and with an air of supreme confidence.

Source

‘As for the course, I can’t say right now.’, he continued in that same annoying tone that I felt was provoking as well as demeaning.

...'He knew what was going on all too well, this must-have happened many times before'...

‘No problem’, I said almost snarling, ‘I will make a claim to the credit card company’, and with that I hurled the pile of books directly at Dreamer who ducked, the books tumbling into a misshaped pile somewhere behind the counter before turning and striding out of the shop.

Dreamer hysterically screamed after me, 'YOU WON'T GET A REFUND, I'LL MAKE SURE OF THAT AND WE HAVE INFORMA..', the voice trailed off as the door slammed closed.

I knew what his claim about 'information' was regarding.

Fortunately, it was quite useless information unless I was to be blackmailed for not helping the bloke with the blood gushing out of his ears all those years ago, or taking Class A substances several years before.

Source
...'I was glad to rid myself of Dianetics, though I do regret not taking better aim before chucking it at him'...

They had nothing on me and I knew it. Had I told them some other personal memories then things could have turned out very differently.

Epilogue

• After calling the credit card company, some weeks later an agreement was made that I was able to claim 90% of the fees back for the ‘death detox’ course. This was all done without me speaking to any of Scientologists.
• Unlike @steddyman who was pestered by the Manchester Scientology branch, I was not contacted by telephone and hassled even once.
• Junk mail from ‘the church’ continued to intermittently be mailed through my door for several years before they gave me up as a waste of time. I found it gratifying that being a religion does not exempt them from paying postage costs.
• The audits I received (and probably recorded) were not damning enough to blackmail me into returning to the church. I had guessed right.
• To successfully escape the Church of Scientology with the smallest amount of hassle, I would recommend throwing all your useless Scientology books at the bloke behind the counter as hard as you can. It’s a small price to pay for that ‘clean break’.

Source

It worked for me; I got away and lived to tell the tale.

According to Jeffrey Augustine, author of the blog The Scientology Money Project, the church has a book value of $1.75 billion, and about $1.5 billion of that is invested in real estate. He also estimates that the annual revenue collected by the church is about $200 million - 5 Apr 2018

The above information is quite recent (2018) and yet the Scientology membership is shrinking. They still claim to be a religious organisation and thus are exempt from paying taxes.

All images are cited and are free to use, or in the public domain.

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