NOVA's Woes Continue

NOVA is back in the news again with articles in the Yomiuri and Asahi shimbun detailing how NOVA just can't make its problems go away. These are quick-and-dirty translations, so if I've gone horribly wrong somewhere, let me know.

First, the story from the Yomiuri Shimbun.

METI and Tokyo consider punishing NOVA as complaints about contract cancellations increase

In the wake of the Supreme Court decision that found major eikaiwa school operator NOVA in violation of the Specific Commercial Transaction Law, it was learned that consumer centers across Japan are still receiving complaints and giving consultations about the expiry dates of points and cooling off periods.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and the Tokyo Metropolitan government raided NOVA and are considering administrative punishment against NOVA.

NOVA uses a point-based lesson system where lessons become cheaper with the more points one purchases. Former students who canceled their contracts filed lawsuits seeking refunds for the difference in unused lessons in which NOVA calculated their refunds at a higher rate than the lessons were originally purchased at. In April, the Supreme Court ruled the NOVA violated the rules regarding the cancellation of contracts which spelled defeat for NOVA in court.

Following the decision in April, NOVA changed its calculation method for refunding unused lessons and mailed letters to former students demanding larger refunds notifying them that NOVA would refund them as requested. However, consumer centers across the nation continue to receive complaints about problems with canceling contracts in addition to complaints about refunds. The number of complaints lodged against NOVA has sharply increased from 583 in fiscal 2001, to 1088 in fiscal 2005, and to 1955 in fiscal 2006. In April and May of this year alone, there were 401 complaints.

A common complaint was about the fixed point deduction when canceling a contract regardless if a student took lessons or not. If one purchased 600 points, equivalent to 200 lessons, at NOVA, upon canceling the contract, NOVA would deduct 200 points for every year in calculating a refund.

NOVA scrapped this system in October 2005 before the Supreme Court decision, but according to a counselor at a consumer center in the Kansai region, NOVA hasn’t obeyed the Supreme Court ruling.

While the Specific Commercial Transaction Law provides a cooling off period of 8 days from the day a contract is entered into, there were complaints that the cooling off period was short as NOVA deemed the contract to be effective the date a student visited a school and received a sales pitch from the staff.

A NOVA public relations spokesman said that NOVA’s expiry date for points is entirely legal and NOVA would not address the complaints. The spokesman also added that that NOVA also abides by the cooling off period.

ＮＯＶＡで解約相談急増、経産省・東京都は行政処分検討

最高裁判決で特定商取引法に違反するとされた英会話学校最大手「ＮＯＶＡ」（統括本部・大阪市）で、購入ポイントの有効期限やクーリングオフが可能な期間などをめぐる苦情や相談が、全国の消費者センターに相次いでいることがわかった。

同社に対しては、経済産業省と東京都が立ち入り検査に乗り出しており、行政処分を検討している。

同社は購入ポイントに応じて授業が受けられ、まとめて多くのポイントを買うと単価が安くなるシステムを採用。中途解約時に利用済みのサービスを購 入時の単価よりも割高の単価で計算する清算方法について、元受講生が差額の返還を求めて提訴。最高裁は４月、中途解約ルールは違法との判断を示し、同社敗 訴の判決が相次いで確定した。

同社では４月、こうした動きを受けて、解約金を購入時の単価で計算する方式に改めたほか、５月には、過去に中途解約し、追加返金を求める元受講生 に、「再計算のうえ、支払いに応じる」とする文書を送付した。しかし、全国の消費者センターには、単価の計算方法以外でも、中途解約をめぐる相談が続いて いる。同社に関する苦情・相談件数は２００１年度の５８３件から０５年度は１０８８件、０６年度は１９５５件と急増し、今年４～５月だけで４０１件に上っ た。

中でも目立っているのが、受講の有無にかかわりなく、中途解約時に一定のポイントを差し引く仕組みに関する苦情。同社では、例えば、通常の講座で ２００回分にあたる６００ポイントを購入した場合、１年たつごとに２００ポイントを使ったものとみなされ、中途解約の返還金額を算出していた。

この仕組みは最高裁判決前の０５年１０月に廃止されていたが、関西地方の消費者センターの相談員によると、こうした相談に対してＮＯＶＡ側は、最高裁判決後も一切対応していないという。

また、英会話教室は、契約から８日以内であれば、無条件で解約できる特定商取引法のクーリングオフが適用されるが、教室を見学して概要の説明を受けた際の日付が契約日とされて、クーリングオフの期間が短くなったとする苦情もあった。

ＮＯＶＡの広報担当者は、「ポイントの有効期限は、訴訟ではすべて適法とされており、苦情に対応することはできない。クーリングオフについては、きちんと応じている」と話している。

（2007年6月12日14時37分 読売新聞）

The story in the Asahi Shimbun:

NOVA president and Diet member meet with Osaka mayor over contract woes

In the continuing trouble over canceling contracts that plagues major English language conversation school NOVA, it was learned that the president of NOVA, Nozomu Sahashi, and LDP House of Representatives member Yasuhide Nakayama visited the mayor of Osaka, Jun’ichi Seki, to appeal the legitimacy of NOVA’s refund calculation method. The visit took place after the Osaka Municipal Consumers' Center, seeking to mediate a solution to the problem, issued an order to appear based on a city ordinance. The center ultimately gave up in it mediation efforts, and Mayor Seki denied that the order was a reason why he met with Nakayama.

According to the City of Osaka and other sources, the order to appear was dated April 18 and was addressed to Sahashi from the Consumers’ Center. Working to mediate a solution about complaints from citizens over small refunds when canceling contracts, the Center wanted to her directly from NOVA. In the Municipal Consumer Protection Ordinance, the city mediates on behalf of consumers to provide guidance or recommendations to problem businesses. If its recommendations are not followed, it can make the names of business public.

Nakayama and Sahashi met with Mayor Seki on the morning of May 22. According to the City of Osaka, Sahashi pleaded that NOVA was fighting to determine whether or not its refund policy violated the Specific Commercial Transaction Law (NOVA lost its lawsuit in April) and that it was cooperating with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Nakayama admitted that he said that it contradicted conventional wisdom for NOVA’s refund method to be struck down while it was still being contested in the Supreme Court.

Upon hearing this, Mayor Seki ordered an assistant to check the facts with the Consumers’ Center. The assistant contacted the head of the Consumers’ Center and asked about the events leading up to the order to appear, and then conveyed the information back to a secretary for Nakayama. Officials at the Consumers’ Center were also told of Nakayama’s and Sahashi’s visit with the mayor.