Today we’re having our roof repaired. Like many homes in Kumamoto, the kawara (roof tiles) were damaged by the quake. I added the “cooling-off period” image to this post because Japan’s cooling-off consumer protection wound up helping us save a lot of money on this project. Another company had come by our house, noticed that our blue sheets (blue tarping to protect the roof from water damage until repairs can be made) were not applied properly – something we were well aware of but unable to fix on our own. Since we had been unable to find a local contractor to do the job for us, when they offered to apply the tarping for free if we would sign the contract that day, we succumbed. They had done work for another neighbor whom we were able to talk to (and who seemed fairly satisfied) and so, despite misgivings about their pressure tactics and what seemed like a high price, we placed our seal on the contract. Later, however, I became convinced that the price we had agreed to was not just a little high but way too high. So, I called the prefecture’s consumer office
http://www.pref.kumamoto.jp/hpkiji/pub/List.aspx?c_id=3&class_set_id=1&class_id=1070
and got instructions on how to take advantage of Japan’s 8-day cooing off period. The cooling-off period allows consumers to cancel contracts without penalty. The cancellation process requires a written document that is sent to the company by registered mail. If you don’t think your Japanese is up to that, you may want to get some help from a native speaker. You should know, however, that you have a right to cancel a contract you have made within eight days.
By the way, the people who are working on my roof right now are doing the job at half the price that the other company demanded. They are from Ibaragi and did a lot of repair work after the 2011 earthquakes in northern Japan: