Job Discussion Forums

ginneyl · Joined: 21 Jun 2005 Posts: 9 Location: Hong Kong

i was offered a contract by ACC and had arranged a plane ticket to fly out to Nagoya. The manager's exact words were "We will offer you a contract." He had said that many times over a number of phone calls. A week before flying out, the manager called me and told me they changed their mind. Shocked

They decided NOT to hire me because they found someone else who was in the city. Because of the inconvience, I asked him to compensate me for my ticket. He said he would and has "disappeared". Mad

I have emailed him a few times with no response. Just tried calling the office but apparently the phone card doesn't work with my cell phone service provider.

Is it worth it to go thru a Japanese lawyer to see what I can do to claim 40,000 yen (price of my one-way ticket)? Or should I keep bugging the manager? I was told verbal agreements are nothing in Japan.

bailey35mm · Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2005 5:30 am Post subject:

Use the ticket, and come to the school and first politely ask for the person and the money he promised you. Your other option is pretty much to forget the money, and continue your job search since there are still a few schools looking for teachers(and this includes Nagoya). I`m the type of person who would just use the ticket, take it as a vacation, but still show up at ACC and get my money back. I`m sure others on this board will advise you in other ways to go about this. Good luck.

ginneyl · Joined: 21 Jun 2005 Posts: 9 Location: Hong Kong

i sent them another email saying i will contact a japanese lawyer and the japanese labour organization. got an email reply saying they will pay on monday. let's hope that's true...

goodcdnkid · Joined: 20 Sep 2005 Posts: 5

I used to work at ACC. About 4 and a half years ago now. Glad as heck im outta there. The owner, Mr. Adachi, was really nice when i first came to Japan. Helped me get setup, loaned me some money till my first payday.

I thought "This is great! Nice owner. Great students."

How quickly things changed after the first month. I was lied to behind my back by the Japanese staff. Parts of my contract were not fulfilled, ie. my apartment was NOT fully furnished. We had to use desks from the school for our dinner table. Our TV and VCR were both broken. I could go on.

I finally left after about 6 months. Decided that i did not need to deal with all the drama at the school and now im making about an extra 100 000 yen per month compared to ACC's monthly salary.

Any news on getting your money back from ACC?

Obnicus · Joined: 30 Aug 2005 Posts: 2

Ok.....I was offered a position with ACC just a couple of days ago. I haven't officially accepted the job yet. I really would like to leave to go teach but, I don't want to sign just any contract. I know that anything can happen and something could happen to me. Does anyone have any positive things to say about ACC? If not, I'd still like to hear the negative.

Anne0 · Joined: 08 Nov 2005 Posts: 22

I got a phone call from ACC a week ago. I was told I would be called back for an interview (which has not happened yet). I would also like some information in the real ACC.

Obnicus · Joined: 30 Aug 2005 Posts: 2

One thing that I can say about ACC is that when they tell you they are going on a certain date/time, etc.....that doesn't mean they won't call. I was suppose to talk to a Foreign teacher on a certain date and they didn't call. I thought that was it until they called unexpectedly a few days later. You may get a call later on and out of the blue but that's just my experience. Keep me posted if you learn anything ok?

teetee74 · Joined: 24 Sep 2005 Posts: 2

If you have any teaching experience you probably won't like working at ACC. They test the kids every 6 months and the tests are crap. I got into an argument with one of the managers because he said that we had to test 4 year olds on reading. 4 year olds who are native english speakers can't read! You are given a schedule but it changes regulary. They have what they call ticket classes and you can be told at 8PM on Thursday night that you have a ticket class the next morning at 10 AM when you usually don't start until 4 PM and if you have already made plans for the morning, too bad for you. The text book is awful. There are spelling mistakes in it and pictures of the Easter bunny on every page. The teachers now have to carry their flashcards (big and heavy) home every night because the owner thought that having the materials at the schools looked too messy??? You most likely won't live and work in the same city. Lots of travelling time. Anything else you want to know?