Man says he spent $15,000 received Scientology instead of treatment at Narconon rehab.
MLive: Man says he spent $15,000, received Scientology instead of treatment at rehab center
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By Danielle Salisbury, MLive.com, November 10, 2015
A West Virginia man alleges his credit score has dropped 200 points because he cannot pay bills for treatment he says he never received at Narconon Freedom Center, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility in Albion.
Joshua Currey paid $15,000 for 12 days at the facility, which he said ignored his life story or personal problems with addiction and instead purported to treat him with its standardized program of Scientology indoctrination and rituals, according to a pending lawsuit filed in June in Calhoun County District Court.
The center made false representations that it had a 70 percent success rate, was non religious and the cost would be fully reimbursed by Currey's insurance, the lawsuit alleges.
Narconon Freedom Center admits in 2011, its website contained a statement about its success rate. It denies the other allegations, according to a court document filed by a center attorney.
Currey, who found Narconon online, entered the center Oct. 5, 2011 and contends it never pre-authorized his visit with his health insurance company. While he was in "extreme pain" passing kidney stones, a counselor approached him and requested he sign credit card authorization forms for the center's upfront fees.
He was told he would be forced to leave if he did not sign the forms, according to the lawsuit. The center says this is not true.
It admits that it processed payments on cards it obtained for him, but denies most of his claims.
"Plaintiff was in so much pain he could hardly walk, let alone drive back to his home state," the lawsuit alleges. So, he relented and signed the forms.
Currey left the center on Oct. 17, 2011 "after realizing the program lacked legitimate treatment for substance abuse," the complaint states and discusses various center methods, including a sauna and vitamin regimen, and study of eight course books based on the works of L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology.
The center admits it uses some of Hubbard's writings and has a sauna program. It acknowledges Currey left after a short period of time but denies it failed to provide him with legitimate treatment.
About a year after his departure, he received word that the insurance company did not cover the cost because it was never pre-authorized. He was unable to make the credit card payments and his credit score has dropped, according to the lawsuit.
The suit also names California-based Narconon International, which licenses the center; the Association for Better Living and Education, which the lawsuit says is the Los Angeles body overseeing drug rehabilitation, education and criminal justice activities for the Church of Scientology; and Narconon Eastern United States, headquartered in Florida.
It is one of many lawsuits pending or resolved in the United States against Narconon.
"What we want, collectively as clients across the country, we don't want anyone else to walk into a Narconon facility thinking it is a secular, medically supervised drug rehab. That is our goal," said Jonathan Little, an Indianapolis attorney who has worked on cases involving Narconon.
The fight is not indicative of any issue with Scientology as a religion, he said. "If you were doing Muslim, Hindu or Catholic drug rehab, that's fine, as long as you know it going in."
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Man says he spent $15,000 received Scientology instead of treatment at Narconon rehab
MLive: Man says he spent $15,000, received Scientology instead of treatment at rehab center
http://ift.tt/1WQELvh
* * * * * BEGIN EXCERPT * * * * *
By Danielle Salisbury, MLive.com, November 10, 2015
A West Virginia man alleges his credit score has dropped 200 points because he cannot pay bills for treatment he says he never received at Narconon Freedom Center, a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility in Albion.
Joshua Currey paid $15,000 for 12 days at the facility, which he said ignored his life story or personal problems with addiction and instead purported to treat him with its standardized program of Scientology indoctrination and rituals, according to a pending lawsuit filed in June in Calhoun County District Court.
The center made false representations that it had a 70 percent success rate, was non religious and the cost would be fully reimbursed by Currey's insurance, the lawsuit alleges.
Narconon Freedom Center admits in 2011, its website contained a statement about its success rate. It denies the other allegations, according to a court document filed by a center attorney.
Currey, who found Narconon online, entered the center Oct. 5, 2011 and contends it never pre-authorized his visit with his health insurance company. While he was in "extreme pain" passing kidney stones, a counselor approached him and requested he sign credit card authorization forms for the center's upfront fees.
He was told he would be forced to leave if he did not sign the forms, according to the lawsuit. The center says this is not true.
It admits that it processed payments on cards it obtained for him, but denies most of his claims.
"Plaintiff was in so much pain he could hardly walk, let alone drive back to his home state," the lawsuit alleges. So, he relented and signed the forms.
Currey left the center on Oct. 17, 2011 "after realizing the program lacked legitimate treatment for substance abuse," the complaint states and discusses various center methods, including a sauna and vitamin regimen, and study of eight course books based on the works of L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology.
The center admits it uses some of Hubbard's writings and has a sauna program. It acknowledges Currey left after a short period of time but denies it failed to provide him with legitimate treatment.
About a year after his departure, he received word that the insurance company did not cover the cost because it was never pre-authorized. He was unable to make the credit card payments and his credit score has dropped, according to the lawsuit.
The suit also names California-based Narconon International, which licenses the center; the Association for Better Living and Education, which the lawsuit says is the Los Angeles body overseeing drug rehabilitation, education and criminal justice activities for the Church of Scientology; and Narconon Eastern United States, headquartered in Florida.
It is one of many lawsuits pending or resolved in the United States against Narconon.
"What we want, collectively as clients across the country, we don't want anyone else to walk into a Narconon facility thinking it is a secular, medically supervised drug rehab. That is our goal," said Jonathan Little, an Indianapolis attorney who has worked on cases involving Narconon.
The fight is not indicative of any issue with Scientology as a religion, he said. "If you were doing Muslim, Hindu or Catholic drug rehab, that's fine, as long as you know it going in."
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