Green 'eco-point' system tied up in red tape

Despite its success in raising consumer spending, the government's "eco-point" program, which rewards buyers of energy-saving electric appliances with points redeemable for gifts, has proved to be distinctly user-unfriendly.

Complaints have poured in about the program's inefficiency. People say it takes too long for the points to be awarded and some of the gifts they want, particularly farm produce, are unavailable.

Eco points are given for purchases of energy-efficient digital TV sets, refrigerators and air conditioners. Consumers can receive points worth up to 36,000 yen, or about 5 to 10 percent of the purchase price.

The program started in May, and eco points will be available for transactions through the end of March.

About half of the 2.65 million applications sent in by the end of September contained mistakes of some kind. Typically, required data was not provided, according to officials running the program.

By early November, more than 290,000 applicants had been told to resubmit documents, apparently because documentation required by the government is too complicated.

Although the process of mailing in an application, being awarded eco points and receiving a gift is supposed to take a month or two, that is not always the case. The eco-point secretariat seems ill-equipped to handle the volume of submissions or the mistakes participants make on their applications.

While the secretariat claims it makes as many corrections as possible, officials often tell applicants to resubmit their documents.

At the eco-point secretariat, up to 1,000 people input data and examine applications.

To answer inquiries from consumers, the secretariat has also set up call centers in two cities, with 450 staff members receiving 12,000 calls a day on average.

Still, many people are frustrated with the way the program is run.

"To be honest, I was really confused," said a 59-year-old woman in Tokyo.

She filled in an application and mailed it in August on behalf of her parents in Kagoshima, who had purchased an air conditioner.

She picked Koshihikari gourmet rice from Niigata Prefecture and muscat grapes from Okayama Prefecture to redeem with eco points.

"I thought my parents would be pleased to receive these gifts, which I expected to arrive around the Respect-for-the-Aged Day (on the third Monday of September)," the woman said.

However, when she called the secretariat in October, she was told to select another gift because the deadline for the grapes--which was not specified in the catalog--was at the end of July.

Her mother ended up choosing book certificates.

A 66-year-old man in Chiba, who bought two television sets equipped to receive terrestrial digital broadcasting, said it took him three months, after mailing the applications, to get his eco points. He had to make many calls to the secretariat during the period.

"I felt betrayed. I cooperated with the government's campaigns for saving energy and spreading terrestrial digital broadcasting," he said.

In filling out an application form, people need to write down the model number and the manufacturer's serial number of the appliance they bought, as well as the codes of the gift they want and the company that offers the gift. Each code consists of letters and numerals.

According to the government office promoting "green" appliances, which devised the eco-point system, many people write down the names of the desired gifts, not their product codes.

Applicants also need to attach a copy of the warranty from the manufacturer that carries the product's serial number. But some people, baffled by the red tape, send a copy of the warranty without the serial number.

The government also overestimated participants' use of the Internet. While about half of all applicants were expected to fill out documents online, less than 20 percent have used the Internet.

An advantage of an online application is that if people make a mistake while filling out an application, they are instantly notified on the screen--which would prevent them from having to resubmit an application.

"I would like to ask electric appliance retailers to advise their customers to apply via the Internet," said Keiko Omori, who heads the government office.

However, even if people fill out an application online, they still have to print it out and mail it with other documents required.

Wataru Yamaguchi, a senior researcher at the Daiwa Institute of Research Ltd., said, "It makes sense for consumers to do it all by mail if they really can't get all the application work done online."

He suggests the system be made more user-friendly, listing an obvious solution: Appliance stores give customers points or gift certificates on the spot and do the required paperwork for them later.(IHT/Asahi: November 26,2009)