English-language Mega-school NOVA in trouble for allegedly ripping off its students
Things haven’t been so good for English-language school NOVA recently. First they had several of their teachers busted for drugs, and now they’ve been investigated for ripping-off their students:
Private English school chain operator Nova Corp has been inspected by government authorities for allegedly requiring high cancellation costs from students and having provided them with false accounts on its cancellation policy, government officials said Friday.
Several schools of the chain featuring outlets located near railway stations have refunded canceling students the remaining value from their lesson fees paid in advance in smaller amounts than expected, the officials said.
Headquartered in Osaka, the leading English school business in Japan has also caused trouble with their clients by refusing unconditional cancellations with the argument that the cooling-off period had expired.
The law governing businesses offering private language courses ban the firms from providing false or insufficient accounts of their services and require them to accept cancellation unconditionally during an eight-day cooling-off period.
But Nova claimed that the cooling-off periods for the clients concerned were over as they had begun on the days the applicants registered their names and addresses with it.
In refunding for midterm cancellation, the Nova schools in question used a payment structure different from the one applied for the students’ enrollment, according to the officials.
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Tokyo metropolitan government have jointly conducted an on-site inspection and will slap an administrative sanction on Nova after confirming evidence of its violation of the law, they said.
Will nova be able to bounce back if found guilty of violations?
