NOVA, a major language-school chain, will refund a total of 3.8 million yen to 18 students who were unable to use lesson tickets they had purchased, a Tokyo Metropolitan Government committee said June 12.
Akira Shoji, chairman of the Consumers' Damage Relief Committee, told a news conference that NOVA has accepted the panel's proposal to settle the dispute following claims from students that NOVA failed to offer what it had promised its customers. The committee handles claims and complaints by Tokyo residents about products and services.
According to Shoji, the 18 students claimed they were unable to make lesson appointments when they wanted, despite the school's advertisements stating that its students can reserve classes "at any time." The students, whose names were not released, also criticized NOVA's system of issuing lesson tickets bearing expiry dates. According to the students, they purchased hundreds of tickets when they joined the school, but found it impossible to use them all by the expiry date due to inflexible scheduling procedures.