Coco,
Back in the 1950s, my dad bought a house from an "annointed brother" in the congregation (who was a voting member of the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society and attended the annual meetings). In the purchase contract, my father had stipulated that the hot water heater, which was leaking, must be fixed before closing. My father was very careful about all business matters, but when CH told him at close that the leaking heater was fixed, my dad believed him and signed the papers.
The day we moved in, we discovered that CH's "fix" involved drilling a hole in the floor under the leak and sticking a funnel in it so that the leaking water (which we were paying the city for) would go under the house (there to cause major problems as well).
Dad was angry but there was really nothing he could do, since he had signed, except fix the matter himself. He had to purchase and install a new hot water heater and then get the crawl space dried out.
This man's name became my father's designation for deceitful business practices. Yet paradoxically they continued as friends and the matter was never brought to the congregation. Dad just "ate" the expense.
Oh, in addition, this gentleman had asked to be able to continue to run his used car lot out of our back yard until he could find another location for it. This matter of finding another location took FOREVER. In fact, "_________'s Used Cars" remained in our back yard until one day I was running through the yard and punctured my forehead on a rusty car hood. I had to go to the hospital, and the car lot vacated soon after.
Sounds treacherous to me...
Ruth
