Junk mail and comm attempts

[ccamm]

Hey I'm new to the site. Old ex scientologist from the mid 70's. Fresno, Sacramento and Orange County missions. Grade 4 Power release for the wife and me. Ran out of money and wanted to start living and a family. 40 years later we're thinking of retirement and still married!
It is amazing that after this many years, multiple moves and new phone numbers I still can"t stop getting junk mail and phone calls. Once about a year ago I made the mistake of trying to "talk" to someone about stopping the junk mail. This opened a flood gate for the mailing department, case supervisors and on and on to try to talk to us.
We've had it. I would like to know if anyone out there knows how to put an end to it? Junk mail and phone calls.
Thanks,
CCAMM

 

[Enthetan]

They generally will not pay attention to any demand to stop mail and calls, unless the demand comes on some lawyer's letterhead.

 

[AnonyMary]

Hey I'm new to the site. Old ex scientologist from the mid 70's. Fresno, Sacramento and Orange County missions. Grade 4 Power release for the wife and me. Ran out of money and wanted to start living and a family. 40 years later we're thinking of retirement and still married!
It is amazing that after this many years, multiple moves and new phone numbers I still can"t stop getting junk mail and phone calls. Once about a year ago I made the mistake of trying to "talk" to someone about stopping the junk mail. This opened a flood gate for the mailing department, case supervisors and on and on to try to talk to us.
We've had it. I would like to know if anyone out there knows how to put an end to it? Junk mail and phone calls.
Thanks,
CCAMM

Welcome!! I know your pain, lol!

Well, I went and changed my phone number and made sure it stayed unlisted.
As for the mail, Like you, the calls lead to all the mail. I was getting double mail from at least 10 different entities/orgs - because my name was also misspelled and on the list. It was such that even the mail lady complained, lol. So what I did to stop it was I responded to some of the surveys from Flag, Super Power building and one of those Sea Org 'Recruitment' things, writing that I was NOT a scientologist. That I will never be a scientologist again and if they didn't take my name(s) and address off the list and stop mailing me their propaganda, I was going to sue them.

The mail stopped PRONTO. From all entities! What a relief

Changing the phone number was a very good thing. I switched to Skype telephone service for $30/per year plus $30/ per year for a new unlisted phone number and saved about $700 in phone costs per year, to boot. It's not the most perfect phone service because it relies on an internet connection and in living in a rural area there are problems with that on occasion, but it serves my purposes and I have been free of Scientology calls for several years now.
http://www.skype.com/en/rates/

 

[Auditor's Toad]

Only two things I've found fun :

1. Go through their mail & find PREPAID first class mail return envelopes. Make them as thick & heavy as possible. They will be postage due when received & must be paid for before ANY mail from that PO Box is released. Very effective.

On the other hand, if you mark mail " no longer at this address" or 'deceased" or 'unknown" no one will ever see it. That returned mail is put in the basement & never looked at. To take a name off the mailing list is a downstat - never going to happen.

2. On the phone telling them you never heard of that person is no go for stopping calls. Telling the person they are calling for is at their weekly meeting with their pyschartist & you'll have 'em call when they get back IF THEY ARE TOO DRUGGED UP is useless, too.

Only a few things have been effective, tell 'em so & so already knows about the flash raid this coming Sunday on LRon Hubbard Way @ 10: oo AM & will be there as agreed with mask & protest signs.

As works to tell 'em Xenu wants you to wipe BTs & clusters over as many scientolgists & then go on an info tour of OT 3.


Those are the nice ways to get rid of 'em. Really not so nice is a little air horn in the phone.
Medium not so nice is sexy talk in a majorly nasty way.

Most of the call in people are younf new SO members who have an impossible stat to meet & the chance of them taking you off a list is nil.

Also, that bunch is so majorly disorganized that they have lost track of where phone list & mail lists are so getting off a phone list may well leave you on 10 others - or a dozen other mailing lists.

If there is a piece of mail sent with all the name variations & differnt orgs, we still get about 30 pieces of each. When there is an event we'll get 6 different call ins.

I like the recruit for S0 calls. I tell 'em I'll consider if they'll send me a contract for 100,000.00 a year, 2 weeks off every 90 days, major medical & dental coverage for me & my family, 40 hours a week for a 5 day week, no days over 8 hours, all training & correction for whatever I do ( OR HAVE DONE ) at their expense "at will" employment. I tell 'em , you know, conditions like real job has.

Oh, and they'd have to reinstate all my certs & awards, lift the declare, call in all the people who were made to disconnect & lift all the diconnections - & thrown in a Kha Khan..... and agree the G.A.T. does not apply nor any of the tech alterations implimented under the idiot dwarf. The response is invaribly a click on the phone call ending. They really have that communication thing handled, don't they ?


Have a little fun with 'em, you deserve it !

 

[Idle Morgue]

Find the address of a current scientologist staff member that is in and you believe will staying in - like an ED.

Send them a certified letter stating your new address and list that ^ address! All mail will go to the ED and they can deal with trying to stop it. Spend the hour and do it - send it to every Org - get the addresso I/C at Flag. Be very nice and professional - tell them you moved and here is my new address. It works wonders!

Another approach for the es pee's declared and have nothing to lose - file a complaint with the attorney general in your state, the state of california, the state of florida. It is our new ethics officer. Tell them you have written to the Church of Scientology and requested several times to take you off the mailing list. Collect the mail for a month and send it to the attorney general and tell them you are flooded with the crap every day and want it to stop but scientology will not honor your written requests. it is a blow to the enemy so do it!!

As for the phone calls - if you have caller id - you know it is a clam. Answer the phone with "hello - this is Betty when you are Mary. They will ask for Mary - tell them you have been getting calls from mary - she must have disconnected that number and you are getting her calls. You can even find a number in the phone book and give them that number as "mary's new number'.:wink2:

I am working on a new book - "Getting clams out and keeping them out". A guide to freedom for the ex scientologist Just kidding...seriously - these work - you just have to LIE to the clams. They are used to that though - and the fact that you are friendly is a boost to their miserable day of "being a clam in scientology"!!

 

[Auditor's Toad]

No scientology organization will ever accept anything that has to be signed for, period. They are extremely paranoid about signing for anything. You can thank old Ron hisself for that piece of insanity.

One of my fondest memories was of trying to hand deliver to OSA a rebuttal to a KR, it was thick & in a brown manila envelope & reception was afraid to take it as they "thought" it has to be some kind of legal papers ( this location was not where OSA legal was located ) at last someone that knew me came along and told reception to take - & deliver - my package pronto. And, at that time, damn near nobody knew that branch of OSA was located in that particular org!

Find the address of a current scientologist staff member that is in and you believe will staying in - like an ED.

Send them a certified letter stating your new address and list that ^ address!
<snip>
The rest is good info !

In the LA area they do use "private name, private number" to get around caller ID.

If I do not know who is calling I let the answering machine sort it out.

 

[Claire Swazey]

I've seen two things work. One of them I did, the other was something I saw when I was on staff.

When I was on staff, the missiion was served with something from the US Postmaster General, something about obscene and harassing mail. I think that whatever the law is about obscene mailings covers other repeated nuisance mailings since, obviously, nothing the mission was sending was about sex or anything like that. So we were served with that and told to cease and desist. The ED had us note the CF file and staple the thing to the CF card. Personally, I think she just should have shredded the CF file but you know how they are. I presume Incomm would have been notified. We never got a follow up on it or anything alleging that she was still getting the mailings, so I guess it all stopped.

The other was something I did. I opened a PO Box right near where I worked. It was convenient for me to just get my mail on my lunch break. Anyway, I used to get mail from orgs I never even heard or or had written to since the cult's computer system is such that all mailing contacts seem to get shared with other orgs. Very annoying. I was getting several pieces of junk a day. So when I moved and then the job location changed, I just closed the PO box without leaving a forwarding address. I notified all correspondents and creditors individually of my new address. I wasn't skipping out on my bills or anything, of course. But I sure didn't notify CofS.

I was still a cultie but was very much disgusted by the mailings. So since I was still active, whenever I went to one of their events and they wanted me to fill out one of their dumb survey things, I used to either NOT fill it out or I would (If I was being watched and monitored for such) and put my mailing address c/o the local org.

 

[Don Crom 3rd mo can]

I agree with Auditor's Toad, but with a slightly different angle. Send the BRE's back empty. Also do OTher recycling, have a box to toss all the "junk" in (minus your mailing address) and once you accumulate 20-30 pounds of it, seal it up, stick a BRE on it with a letter printed out that says something to the effect of:

Here's all your crap back. I've called and asked nicely to be taken off your mailing list(s). You didn't pay attention. ARE YOU "PAYING" ATTENTION NOW?? Next time someone calls and asks to be removed from the mailing list(s) think of me.

And of course leave it unsigned. If it gets to the point where 20-30 people a week are doing this, who knows what it could lead to.

As to phone calls: In your best Tele-Evangilist voice simply ask the caller: " Have you accepted The Lord Our Saviour Jesus Christ into your life?? All things are possible with God's Love. Pray with me now." Chances are it will go "click" quickly. Whatever script you want to make up, just have fun tweaking their noses'. Later than sooner they might get the message.


C-Ya DC

 

[F.Bullbait]

You can even find a number in the phone book and give them that number as "mary's new number'.:wink2:

So it was YOU! Grrr......... :wink2:

 

[NoName]

My fun with prepaid involves writing the following with a sharpie on the inside of the mailer:

"The Wog world is wonderful. You can blow too. 1-866-X-SEA-ORG. We love you and we will help."

Then I seal it up with my message invisible on the outside and stick it in the mail.

 

[programmer_guy]

Hey I'm new to the site. Old ex scientologist from the mid 70's. Fresno, Sacramento and Orange County missions. Grade 4 Power release for the wife and me. Ran out of money and wanted to start living and a family. 40 years later we're thinking of retirement and still married!
It is amazing that after this many years, multiple moves and new phone numbers I still can"t stop getting junk mail and phone calls. Once about a year ago I made the mistake of trying to "talk" to someone about stopping the junk mail. This opened a flood gate for the mailing department, case supervisors and on and on to try to talk to us.
We've had it. I would like to know if anyone out there knows how to put an end to it? Junk mail and phone calls.
Thanks,
CCAMM

Didn't you really mean "Grade V (5) Power Release"?

Anyway, I don't get the phone calls anymore since I changed my number but I still get the junk mail that I throw in the trash.
And I moved without leaving a forwarding address and they still found my new address.

The junk mail is not a big deal. I just didn't want the phone calls.

 

[Teanntás]

Hey I'm new to the site. Old ex scientologist from the mid 70's. Fresno, Sacramento and Orange County missions. Grade 4 Power release for the wife and me. Ran out of money and wanted to start living and a family. 40 years later we're thinking of retirement and still married!
It is amazing that after this many years, multiple moves and new phone numbers I still can"t stop getting junk mail and phone calls. Once about a year ago I made the mistake of trying to "talk" to someone about stopping the junk mail. This opened a flood gate for the mailing department, case supervisors and on and on to try to talk to us.
We've had it. I would like to know if anyone out there knows how to put an end to it? Junk mail and phone calls.
Thanks,
CCAMM

They're desperate - that's the simple explanation. The staff must be under tremendous pressure to get people into the idle orgs. I must say I feel some sympathy for those staff members. They will be driven out (hopefully) or driven insane.

 

[anonomog]

They're desperate - that's the simple explanation. The staff must be under tremendous pressure to get people into the idle orgs. I must say I feel some sympathy for those staff members. They will be driven out (hopefully) or driven insane.

I feel more sympathy for the people being harassed. This relentless stalking is frightening for how it can take away a person's feeling of power and control over their life. Creepy cult is creepy.

Jason Barclay told his story on Mike Rinder's bloge and included some time in the call center.
http://www.mikerindersblog.org/jason-barclay-tells-it-like-it-is/

***THE CALL CENTER***

To top this off, the next day my senior’s senior, Rebecca Christenson, began to hit me across the back of the head every day when I went to the Golden Age of Knowledge recovery WQSB. This continued for 6 months straight. It was known I was stuck in a major action and she knew that action restimulated me. As if it wasn’t enough that she ripped my juniors away from me. Going to the WQSB was a hell in itself. In theory our job was to call ex-Scientologists or people who fell off the lines, get them to talk about what went wrong and convince them to talk to the next person on the line. Unfortunately you were so pressed to make your quota of transfers that if someone yelled at you or said they were sick of your ‘cult’ you would assume it must have been your bad handling and would leave no phone notes so hopefully the next guy could have better luck. As a result you would mostly call people that have been getting harassed, threatening legal, on the do not call list or simply shocked that the last 15 people who ‘said they would help them get off the list’ were lying. In reality, your job was first to get the person to admit they were them by trying to sound like a casual friend (e.g. Hey Chris, how are you?). Then you would hope they could give up their ARC break so you could then hot potato them over to the ‘material consultant’. I would frequently get a hold of people that just moved or just got a new cell phone number JUST TO GET AWAY FROM THE CHURCH’S CALLS AND MAIL. I felt bad when I got them to admit their identity knowing they would continue to get calls and mail possibly until the end of time. My own twin sister fell into that category and started receiving mail a week after she moved to her new place.

I would only get hit by Rebecca while I was sitting at my desk, and while trying to produce, and would always be out of the blue for maximal impact. Even if I was making my quota I’d still get hit across the back of the head in ‘enthusiasm’. I couldn’t believe she had been knowingly restimulating me all that time. I only found that out on the last day when she said, “I know this restimulates you but what you did ‘wasn’t ok’ ”.

On average we’d contact about 10,000 people a week. Of those we’d get maybe 100 to buy basics packages. Of those 50% would either send them back or simply didn’t do them. The other 9,900 were aggrieved and felt harassed so we could reach those 100 basics sales.

So you see you are calling a body of harassed and then venomously upset people. The only “nice” people you would call were ones that already had what you’re calling about and were current Scientologists usually disgruntled by our lack of admin. Lucky for them we’d start aking them about the next events instead!

The thing that shook me the most about that experience in the call center is that none of the other 40 Sea Org members present ever said anything or lifted a single finger in regards to my abuse.

I felt bad for all of the material consultants because if they were not regularly getting basics packages from this broken and hostile list of ex-Scientologists then their chances of ever having days off were zero.

The ‘execs’ declared that if you weren’t making a sale every week then you were off policy, not following the patter and should be further punished. If you were one of the poor souls who actually sold a package once a month then you would not be allowed to take libs at all on any week you didn’t sell a complete basics package $3,500 a piece (regardless of your post stats).

 

[TrevAnon]

What's with this getting off their mailing lists and all?

I'd like to be ON their mailing lists, so I can scan and post it all over the internet, mail it to Tony Ortega, Pooks, or anyone else who would like to have it for free etc. etc. etc.

Where do I sign up?

 

[Edwardo]

What's with this getting off their mailing lists and all? I'd like to be ON their mailing lists, so I can scan and post it all over the internet, mail it to Tony Ortega, Pooks, or anyone else who would like to have it for free etc. etc. etc. Where do I sign up?

I was getting emails every day from various orgs. I always had them go to a throwaway account, and while I was still in I'd check them now and then.

After I finally realized what was what, I started sending replies to all the emails. I wrote personal replies to every personal email. I told them of my concerns and gave them a few pertinent webpages to check out. My own experiences and info about the fake expansion stats, the straight dono regging being off policy, DM beating his staff.

I would often get a few emails going back and forth, particularly if I took it easy at first and got in comm.

I just sent a form letter (with similar information) back to all the bulk promo emails. I'm not sure how long it took, but it wasn't so long. I no longer get any email or normal mail.

I still check the account sometimes, but they have definitely deadfiled or secretly declared me. I still have the itch to tell a few more folk about what's what, but I wait till they start in with me.

 

[Free to shine]

What's with this getting off their mailing lists and all?

I'd like to be ON their mailing lists, so I can scan and post it all over the internet, mail it to Tony Ortega, Pooks, or anyone else who would like to have it for free etc. etc. etc.

Where do I sign up?

Ahh mate - if you get get a picture of the sheer VOLUME of the stuff you may not be saying that!

(Of course it's a great thing to leak them too.)

 

[Kookaburra]

What's with this getting off their mailing lists and all?

I'd like to be ON their mailing lists, so I can scan and post it all over the internet, mail it to Tony Ortega, Pooks, or anyone else who would like to have it for free etc. etc. etc.

Where do I sign up?

Well, you and I can commiserate.

All they ever sent me is a cease and desist letter.

I even gave a couple of OSA people my email address in case they wanted to blow. :confused2:

I feel most unappreciated.

 

[Takin Time]

CCAMM,
Here are some tips:

No scientology organization will ever accept anything that has to be signed for, period. They are extremely paranoid about signing for anything.

If you send something certified or registered mail (something that needs to be signed for) send it to the corporation's "Registered Agent", who is usually a lawyer. They WILL sign for it and they are legally obligated to give it to the organization. You can almost always find the registered agent online. Check in the org's state... usually something like business filings or Secretary of State. Each state is a little different in what they call it. But all Church of Scientology organizations are corporations and most have filed with their state. The Registered Agent is a public name; the official person for sending all legal notices.

They generally will not pay attention to any demand to stop mail and calls, unless the demand comes on some lawyer's letterhead.

Almost true. If your letters are nasty enough, some staff member will route your message to whoever is reponsible for getting you "deadfiled". That will help reduce the amount of mail you get (for years).

1. Go through their mail & find PREPAID first class mail return envelopes. Make them as thick & heavy as possible. They will be postage due when received & must be paid for before ANY mail from that PO Box is released. Very effective.

I return ALL BRE's (business reply envelopes). If I receive multiple mailings from multiple orgs, I mix up the brochure sets and return them in other org's envelopes. That way, they cannot collect and reuse the brochures. If there's a survey, I fill it out ultra-nasty and return that to the correct org. Sea Org recruit surveys are my favorite. If I have other junk mail like insurance or old-age or medical company promotions, I stick those in Sea Org BRE's so the SO member who opens it can get his or her brain tweaked by reminding them how their organization is neglecting their dependents.

Trying to return their mail will not work unless they used a first class stamp. Non-profit organization mail rate mail will NOT be returned. So don't bother writing "Not at this address" or "return to sender" on it. The US Post Office will discard it and NOT return it to sender.

If there is no BRE (like a postcard mailing, or a small org which cannot afford BRE's), I write some nasty note on it, scan it, and fax it back through an online free fax service.

By the way, you have to be nasty. Politeness will not work, nor will businesslike. You have to be rude, crude or threatening.

Find the address of a current scientologist staff member that is in and you believe will staying in - like an ED. Send them a certified letter stating your new address and list that ^ address! All mail will go to the ED and they can deal with trying to stop it. Spend the hour and do it - send it to every Org - get the addresso I/C at Flag. Be very nice and professional - tell them you moved and here is my new address. It works wonders!

Modify this a bit. There is a centralized address personnel office in Los Angeles.

Addresso Int
Central Addresso
Attn: Merav Ellis, Address Correction and Policing I/C
6331 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles CA 90028
(323) 960-3550
[email protected]

Merav is a sweetheart and if you can catch her on the phone you can go over the list of every org on whose mailing list your name is. You can tell her you want mail from Org X, but not Org Y. You can change your address and phone# with her on all list. It will eventually propogate down to all the orgs.

So using IdleMorgue's idea, change your address to someone who deserves that junk mail... like the ED of some org.

I only request that you be nice to Merav since she is a resource to everyone... including those of us who are out and don't want to hear from the organization.

I'd like to be ON their mailing lists, so I can scan and post it all over the internet, mail it to Tony Ortega, Pooks, or anyone else who would like to have it for free etc. etc. etc. Where do I sign up?

Contact Merav. (see above)

 

[TrevAnon]

Contact Merav. (see above)

LOL!

Will this also work from the Netherlands? Or would it be a better idea to call the Amsterdam org?

Note: I was never in.

http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/1460172
http://ocmb.xenu.net/ocmb/viewtopic.php?p=285107&sid=3053899665b152f21702d2e72321a621#p285107

 

[Lermanet_com]

Hey I'm new to the site. Old ex scientologist from the mid 70's. Fresno, Sacramento and Orange County missions. Grade 4 Power release for the wife and me. Ran out of money and wanted to start living and a family. 40 years later we're thinking of retirement and still married!
It is amazing that after this many years, multiple moves and new phone numbers I still can"t stop getting junk mail and phone calls. Once about a year ago I made the mistake of trying to "talk" to someone about stopping the junk mail. This opened a flood gate for the mailing department, case supervisors and on and on to try to talk to us.
We've had it. I would like to know if anyone out there knows how to put an end to it? Junk mail and phone calls.
Thanks,
CCAMM

Tell them you are a friend of mine, use my name and say or write them: if there were just ONE OT in $cientology they wouldn't HAVE to call or mail you.

Arnie Lerma