Let's Japan.org Debunking Eikaiwa and Ramblings in Japan

The October 26 edition of the Yomiuri Weekly carries an article that illustrates how much of a scam the travel abroad sector is--it's all about money, and the rules to protect consumers from being swindled are few and far between. The YW takes a look at why Gateway21's clients will never see the ¥950 million they paid the company.

It should come as no surprise that there have been numerous complaints about Gateway21 in the past. Some of shady practices used by the company sound like they have been ripped from the pages of a NOVA manual. For example, after a person would ask for a brochure, Gateway21 would call them at night with a sales pitch or tell them that they had to attend an information seminar and then not let them go home once they were there.

Gateway21 acted as an intermediary that helped its clients find schools and accommodations overseas. It earned its money by charging commissions for its services. There are about 120 companies doing what Gateway21 does, but Gateway21 was the leader of the pack, propped up by strong sales through to its heavy-handed practices.

As President Tomomasa Fukui has admitted, most of the fees paid went for rent and staff salaries instead of paying for tuition or accommodations. The article notes that most of Gateway21's victims are women in their 20s, many of whom worked to save hundreds of thousands or millions of yen so they could study abroad. To say that they are angry at the way their money was squandered would be an understatement.

Tokyo-based NPO Ryuugaku kyokai has already handled more than 100 consultations, some of them involving fraud. A Kanagawa man explained that his grandchild was supposed to study in Europe next summer, but he paid Gateway21 last month after they called and urged him to deposit the fees. He gave them ¥2,090,000. Gateway21 went bankrupt four days later. The company has also been accused of making clients pay fees in monthly installments when the clients' itinerary had not yet been determined.

The Yomiuri Weekly then switches gears to explain the "neglected sector" that Gateway21 operated in. The YM trots out an anonymous insider to point out that contract trouble is rampant and not limited to Gateway21.

The insider describes a typical pattern that starts with businesses offering free counseling for students thinking of studying abroad. They listen to what the students want and where they want to study, but become aggressive in getting students to sign a contract. Even when a student won't be going overseas for quite some time in the future, they urge them to "sign now while the yen is still strong."

While a cooling off period applies to contracts for language schools and esthetic salons, no such period applies to contracts with study abroad agencies, and this is where the disputes over refunds emanate from.

What made the losses with Gateway21 so severe was that large sums of money were temporarily entrusted to the company, where it ended up being misappropriated. Had it been used to only pay for Gateway21's fees and been directly transferred to overseas schools to pay for tuition and accommodations, the actual losses would not have been so great.

The informant for the Yomiuri Weekly notes that the schools kick back anywhere from 5 to 20% of the tuition fees to the agencies as apart of a "commission back" system. Both the schools and agencies don't particularly like it when students make direct payments.

Moreover, there is no government ministry or agency to oversee this sector nor is there a set if unified laws to govern it. The director of the Japan Association of Working Holiday Makers notes that this is because when you mention "study abroad" it sounds like education, so that's the job of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, but it could also be "international" so that would be the responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but travel is also involved, so that also would include the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

He adds that the sector is susceptible to neglect given it's relatively small size of around 100,000 students. He thinks that part of the problem may stem from the fact that more people are leaving the selection of schools and the business of obtaining visas to the agencies, resulting in study abroad programs that are more like extended vacation packages.

Comment: This is just one story (I suspect that there will be more), but Gateway21 sure sounds like it was a chip off the old Nova block--pressure sales, contract disputes, misappropriated money, fraud. Seiko Noda, the current minister in charge of consumer affairs, has her work cut out for her should she decide to ever decide to do something about these businesses.

Original article

留学資金9億5000万円〝返金不能〟の業界事情

「資料請求をすると夜中に勧誘電話がかかってきたり、説明会に行けばなかなか帰してくれなかったり。以前から、この会社は問題が多いなという認識はありました」

留学をめぐるトラブル相談を受け付けているNPO留学協会（東京）の酒井雅典事務局長は、ゲートウェイ21の印象をこう話す。

同社は、留学希望者に海外の語学学校や滞在先などを斡旋し、手数料を取る留学仲介業者。留学仲介業者は現在120社ほどあるが、ゲートウェイ21は、強引な営業手法も駆使して急激に売り上げを伸ばしてきた大手だった。

同社は、福井伴昌社長自ら認めている通り、顧客から学費や滞在費として預かった費用の大半を、留学先に送金せず事務所の家賃や従業員の人件費に充 てていた。被害に遭った債権者の多くは、20歳代の女性。仕事をしながらためた留学資金数十万から数百万円を勝手に使い込まれてしまったのだから、債権者 の怒りが収まるはずもない。

留学協会にはすでに、債権者から100件以上の相談が寄せられているが、なかには詐欺まがいの事例もある。孫が来年夏、欧州に留学する予定だった という神奈川県の男性は、同社から「早く費用を振り込んでくれ」とせかされたため、先月22日に209万円を振り込んだところ、そのわずか4日後に破綻が 発覚した。

また、留学の行き先や日程も未定のまま、留学費用の「積み立て」と称して、毎月数万円を振り込ませていた事例も数例あった。強引な営業手法に加え、売る商品が決まる前にカネを取るなどが横行していたのだ。

放置された業界

ただし、程度の差はあるが、留学仲介の契約をめぐるトラブルは、同社だけに限らない。業界関係者が指摘する。

「代表的なのが、業者が留学希望者向けに行う無料カウンセリングです。行き先などの希望を聞き、留学先を斡旋するのですが、留学時期が当分先でも、『今は円高だから、すぐ契約したほうが得』などと強引に契約させ、トラブルになる」

語学学校やエステティックサロンなどの契約の場合、一定の期間内なら無条件に解約できるクーリングオフの制度がある。ところが、留学仲介業はこの制度の対象に含まれておらず、顧客はクーリングオフを行使することができない。

「基本的に業者の定めた返金ルールに従うことになるため、返金をめぐるトラブルが最も多い」（前出の酒井事務局長）

また、今回、被害が巨額になったのは、学費や滞在費も「預かり金」として同社に振り込まれ、それが流用されてしまったため。業者に支払うのは仲介手数料のみで、学費や滞在費は顧客が直接、留学先に払い込めば、こんな額にならなかったのだが、ここにも業界事情があった。

「学費の5～20％は、留学先の学校から業者に『コミッションバック』として渡るシステムになっているのです。顧客が直接払い込むことは、業者も学校も嫌がる」（関係者）

さらに、業界には所轄官庁はない。業法や業界統一のルールも存在しない。一口に留学と言っても、「教育」としては文部科学省だが、「国際」なら外務省、「旅行」なら国土交通省となるためだ。日本ワーキング・ホリデー協会（本部・東京）の福村英俊事務局長が指摘する。

「留学生は年間10万人程度と市場規模としては大きくないため、放置されてきた面はあります。ただ、最近は、留学先の選定からビザ取得まで業者任せの人が増えた。留学が〝パック旅行の延長〟になってしまっていることも、問題の背景にあるのではないでしょうか」

夢の留学、くれぐれも慎重に。