So I decided to do a language program in Japan for 3 months from July to the end of September. Luckily the language school I’m thinking of, ISI, acts as a middleman when trying to find a homestay family. Recently they told me they have found a homestay family that can accommodate for me and sent me the invoice for my entire stay. I was wondering if this was normal. Usually, I thought when paying for living accommodations you pay a certain amount upfront like a down payment and then continue paying as time goes on. Another thing that seemed unusual was that they said they couldn’t tell me the location of the family until I paid as they are afraid people would cancel ahead of time. But isn’t that what a down payment is for? I guess I just want to know where to go from here because ISI seems like a legit language school but they’re not disclosing information about the host family until I pay for the entirety of my stay
Thanks
3 comments
I’m not going to lie… that sounds sketchy as fuck. They’re worried that if you find out where the family is living then you won’t want to live there anymore… and their solution isn’t to be upfront about it so that you can make an informed decision, but instead to try and hold you as a financial hostage. I’d nope out of that for sure.
No location no money. This is super sketchy like they might stick you hours away.
I’d understand not wanting to give you the complete address, but not even the station or anything?