"The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax." - Albert Einstein, (attributed)

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ST online forum: 14 months to learn churchs decision on donation refund

"I WAS a member of City Harvest Church and left the church in December 2006. By the time I left, I had donated $5,500 to the church for its building fund project. After I left, I suffered financial difficulties. I was in between jobs and there were hefty, unforeseen medical bills. I was told by my friends and church members that I could seek a refund for my donation because there were similar precedents.

I asked two church leaders in my group, that is, the cell group leader and the zone leader, whether such a refund was possible, and they replied that the refund would not be a problem. The next month, I was told to send an official request via e-mail to the zone leader after I asked my cell group leader regarding the status of my request. Despite constant reminders, I received no response for months.

That was when I told my zone leader about my financial situation and the medical bills. He promised to expedite my request. Still, nothing happened. Finally, after 14 months since I first made my request for a refund with my two leaders, I received an official e-mail which said: 'We are unable to comply due to our policy on donations.' If it was merely a case of policy rules, why did it take so long to tell me I couldn't get a refund? This, on top of the fact that I was told at the onset that I could obtain a refund. I understand that my donation was freely given, but why the false hope?

Jeffrey Lim Yin Cheong"


There're also a few seditious comments below that. I wonder if they'll still be there in a few hours.

Interestingly, the ST online comments thread for this letter is missing, and the link to it is broken. Hoho.