Fortress Japan Breaks its Agreement

Remember Fortress Japan? Back in 2008, they were caught stealing a page or two out of Nova's playbook with some underhanded sales tactics. The Kansai Consumer's Support Organization (KCSO) sued, and in 2009, Fortress Japan promised to change its ways and behave.

According to the Sankei shimbun, the KSCO has asked the court in December to force Fortress Japan to pay 1.5 million yen in penalties, claiming that the English school operator broke its promise not engage in unfair sales practices.

The KSCO says that despite Fortress Japan's promise, they still told potential students that they could take lessons any time and pressured them into signing contracts. The consumer group confirmed the practices with three individuals last November and demanded that each person be paid 500 thousand yen each in compensation. Fortress Japan, however, has asked for a reprieve and has not paid the money.

Comment: What else can be said? Fortress Japan is but one example of the persistent rot in eikaiwa. Both the Mainichi and Sankei reported in November last year that complaints about the way eikaiwas (self-improvement seminars, certification courses, and computer schools were also mentioned) did business were rising. Specifically, the Sankei article reports that a typical tactic is to call a customer, usually university students, and tell them they have some useful information regarding their job hunt. Once at the school, the customer is given a guilt trip (you'll never find a job without taking English lessons) and then made to sign a contract.

The rip-off continues...

Sankei article

就活生へ不当勧誘、英会話学校に違約金求め提訴　消費者ＮＰＯ

2009.12.25 11:05

就職活動中の大学生を対象に大阪や東京などで英会話や就職支援の教室を運営する「フォートレスジャパン」（東京）が、不当な勧誘をしないとした裁判上の和解条項を守っていないとして、ＮＰＯ法人「消費者支援機構関西」は２５日、同社に対する違約金１５０万円の強制執行を求める訴訟を大阪地裁に起こした。

訴状などによると、消費者支援機構関西とフォートレス社は今年３月、不当勧誘差し止め請求訴訟で和解。同社は不当勧誘の停止に合意したが、その後も「いつでも受講できる」と虚偽内容を伝えたり、威圧的に契約を迫ったりする不当な勧誘を続けた。

機構側は１１月末、３人に対する不当勧誘が確認できたとして、和解条項に基づき１人５０万円の違約金を請求したが、フォートレス社は猶予を求めるなどして支払わなかったという。