NOVA Faces Action for Advertising Zero Enrollment Fees

TOKYO, Oct 17 (News On Japan) - The operator of English conversation school NOVA has been ordered by the Consumer Affairs Agency to implement corrective measures after the company was found to have misled consumers with false advertising about enrollment fees.

According to the agency, NOVA Language Company advertised on its website between September last year and April this year that enrollment fees for certain NOVA courses — normally listed as 22,000 yen — were being offered at half price or even free of charge.

However, an investigation revealed that there had been no record of the company offering the courses at the original price during the relevant period. Because of this, the campaign was deemed to have violated Japan’s Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations, which prohibits businesses from creating false impressions about discounts or special offers.

On October 17th, the Consumer Affairs Agency issued a formal order demanding NOVA take steps to prevent similar incidents in the future. In response, NOVA Language Company released a statement saying, "We take this matter seriously and will respond promptly."

Source: TBS

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