Kyoto’s Nintendo Museum caught overcharging customers
The Nintendo Museum in Uji, Kyoto, has discovered some bogus behavior that has resulted in customers being overcharged on its premises.
The discovery affects their “BONUS STAGE” store located at the museum, and a promise of refunds for affected customers has been made.
On 6th February, the museum’s official website announced a discrepancy in the consumption tax applied to a selection of items sold at its “BONUS STAGE” shop.
“We have come to the realization that the consumption tax rate for some products sold at the Nintendo Museum Shop “BONUS STAGE” was incorrect” the official statement read, and it continued, “We deeply apologize to customers who purchased the products for any inconvenience caused.”
The issue revolved around three specific products offered at the “BONUS STAGE” shop.
Instead of the reduced consumption tax rate of 8% that should have been applied, these items were mistakenly sold with a 10% tax rate.
While the monetary difference per item might appear negligible, the aggregate impact on customers, especially those purchasing multiple items, could be more substantial.
The error appears to have been caused by a systemic issue within the shop’s pricing mechanism that appears to have been in place since it opened over five months ago in October 2024.
The affected products and the price discrepancies are as follows:
- Cookie Nintendo Museum: The correct price, inclusive of the 8% tax, should have been 1,620 yen. The incorrect price charged was 1,650 yen, a difference of 30 yen.
- Cookie Puller PIKMIN: The correct price should have been 1,080 yen (8% tax included), while the incorrect price was 1,100 yen, a 20 yen difference.
- Polvorone Animal Crossing: New Horizons: This should have retailed for 1,458 yen (8% tax included). However, it was sold for 1,485 yen, a difference of 27 yen.
The store is known for its huge range of Nintendo merchandise and the museum clarified that no other products in the shop were affected by this tax rate error.
The museum and the company which runs the store, Nomura Medias Co Ltd, have established a refund process for affected customers to attempt to rectify the situation.
Customers who purchased these items at the incorrect price are encouraged to apply for a refund of the difference using a form on the museums website.
Refund applications will be accepted until 30th June 2025, giving customers ample time to claim their refunds.
Some online commentators in Japan have applauded this as a transparent and proactive approach to resolving the issue.
Others have criticized the museum for placing the responsibility of requesting a refund on the customer rather just automatically processing refunds.
A few have outright accused the museum of deliberately overcharging, stating: “You cheated your customers”.
Nintendo recently had to downgrade its financial expectations due to a slow down in sales and while the refunds due to most customers affected by this error they will still negatively impact their bottom line.
The “BONUS STAGE” store continues to be popular part of the experience at the Nintendo Museum and it still has limitations regarding the quantities of products that visitors may purchase.
Please note that there is a limit to the quantity that can be purchased per person for the following items sold at the Nintendo Museum shop, Bonus Stage.
— ニンテンドーミュージアム (@Museum_Nintendo) October 4, 2024
□One per person
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Source: Nintendo Museum
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