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Educational Testing Service (ETS) Reviews (228)

Review: I had registered for a GRE exam at a [redacted] location and later wished to reschedule the exam to a US location. According to the ETS website, policy permits rescheduling up to four days prior to the test date with a fee of $50. Additionally, the website indicates to contact GRE services should the change be between test center systems. When I contacted the GRE services, initially I was told that it was possible to switch between the countries. That said, eventually I was told that because the test centers were in different systems, I needed to cancel my GRE appointment in [redacted] and schedule a new exam in the US. Moreover, the agent explained that because I would be canceling my appointment, I would consequently forfeit 50% of the original fees paid at $195.

My chief complaint is the unfairness of this situation. It is unfair to require some customers to cancel and therefore forfeit part of fees paid because they wish to switch between test center systems. It is equally unfair because it is ETS's prerogative to designate a center in one system or another, and the customers do not have a choice on what center exists in their region. It is further more unfair that ETS does not disclose such piece of information regarding rescheduling on their website and instead asks the customer to call their services, which creates a false sense of possibility and does not forewarn customers of the possible consequences prior to registration.

In conclusion, ETS has created an asymmetrical policy in which certain customers are penalized for a change that does not involve a penalty. Not only is this policy create unequal, it also only exemplifies ETS as the sole beneficiary of this policy without regards to its responsibility to its customers as advertised on their website.Desired Settlement: I wish to be refunded the unfairly forfeited portion of my fee paid for the first appointment, 50% of $195, which is $97.50.

Business

Response:

Please see our response below:From: TTA GRE Advocacy [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, July 11, 2014 10:32 AMTo: [redacted]Subject: GRE Refund / Exchange Issues - Case ID [redacted] Dear [redacted] We are writing in response to your refund complaint: We are unable to access a record in your name. Please respond with the name you registered with, your customer and or registration number as well as your birth date and your address. We await to review your case and assist you. Thank you, [redacted], AdvocateGRE Services

Review: I would like to make a complaint about Educational testing service, Damian H[redacted] Supervisor explained to me that I would not receive my test scores for a test that I paid $195.00 for because of a retest fee of $50.00 my bank is disputing in my name. I find it very unprofessional that test scores are not provided for a test that was paid for.

Furthermore, I am being charged a reschedule fee because at the time of checkout the test time frame is not fully stated. According to the company I am supposed to research how long a test takes. Why does a customer have to research a test they are paying for, why isn't that information available at check out? This is a misleading check-out procedure and the company should be transparent about exactly what consumers are paying for at the time of checkout.

I am highly disappointed that when I called to express my concern I was not able to speak with, James H[redacted] Lead Supervisor because he was "unavailable". Prometrics the provider of the test states this is GRE's policy and cannot assist with the confusion being caused to consumers when time frames are not disclosed at the time of check out.Desired Settlement: I would like the checkout procedure to be clear for consumers to see what time frames they are paying for and to be refunded $70 in fees.

Business

Response:

Test taker scheduled a GRE test and later released she needed more time and rescheduled her test. She is disputing the $50 reschedule fee and now an additional $20 chargeback fee. She paid $70 on December 21, 2015 and would like her money refunded. A one time exception refund of $70 will be applied once the account is cleared.

Consumer

Response:

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because: I did not state I needed more time. In your check out process it does not state the time span a test takes, misleading customers and charging them for an appointment full duration is not disclosed.

Regards,

Review: My problem begins when I went on May 23, 2015 to Baton Rouge, where I was staying at that moment, and took the TOEFL test without any kind of issues. Unfortunately I miss the test scores for 4 points, so I needed to take the exam again.

As everything went well the first time I took the test in Baton Rouge I decided to sign up in the exact same way, but this time I choose [redacted], because I moved here, Also my husband decided that he wanted to take the exam, so I followed the procedure as I did the first time and registered my husband for the test too.

On 06/27/2015 We went to the test center, but the personnel at the front desk did not allow us to take the exam because of issues with our names registration. (We were missing our second last name in the registration).

That day my husband and I were not the only ones with that issue. Two other guys from Spain were having the same problem. And there was also a girl who had the exact same problem as me (taking the TOEFL test in one center and being rejected by another center because of name registration issues), and she told us that ETS gave her a refund and.

The person at the front desk said that the 380$ that we paid for the tests will be forfeited. I told her: “it must be a mistake because I already took the test at Baton Rouge and the personnel at that test center did not say anything about it”. And her answer was, It was an error because they should have check your name with your passport.

That error foster me to register my husband in the exact same way as I did the first time and I did not correct my name for the second time I was going to take the test.Because I thought everything was ok.

Not Applying rules in one test center and then applying rules in others is confusing.

We have wrote to ETS many times and they answer has always been negative. They didn't even try to find a solution to our problem.

We appreciate your helpDesired Settlement: My husband and I would like that ETS reschedule our TOEFL IBT exam without charging any fees.

Business

Response:

Please see our response below:From: TTA TOEFL Response [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, July 16, 2015 1:54 PMTo: [redacted]Subject: [redacted] June 27, 2015 TOEFL Exam - Case #[redacted] Revdex.com Case #[redacted] - DJ [#[redacted]] Dear [redacted] Your complaint to the Revdex.com (Revdex.com), Case #[redacted] regarding the iBT TOEFL exam you were scheduled to take on June 27, 2015 has been forwarded to me for an investigation. Please accept our apologies for the problems that you encountered when you went to take your exam. You were not allowed to take the exam because you did not present the proper identification documents. You stated that since you were allowed to test with the same identification documents you presented at the test center in May 23, 2015, you should have been allowed to test on June 27, 2015. The TOEFL policy states……..”Prior admission to a test center based on a given ID document does not guarantee that that document will be considered acceptable. “ Your registration MUST BE EXACTLY THE SAME as listed on your ID. We apologize for any misunderstanding of the identification requirements. We encourage all of our test takers to review the policy and procedures for the iBT TOEFL exam prior to scheduling an appointment. The identification requirements are listed in the iBT TOEFL Test Information and Registration Bulletin and also posted on the TOEFL website. Unfortunately, we must uphold the previous decision. If you have further questions, we would encourage you to contact our Office of Testing Integrity. The phone number is [redacted] and email address is [redacted] Sincerely,Doris L. J[redacted]Test Taker AdvocacyTOEFL Services

Consumer

Response:

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

ETS said in response: "You stated that since you were allowed to test with the same identification documents you presented at the test center in May 23, 2015, you should have been allowed to test on June 27, 2015."They misunderstood my complain, I stated that since I was allowed to take the test on May 23, with discrepancies on the names, and I was not corrected at the time. I was confident about my registration and I kept my names the same way. It also fostered me to do my husband's registration the same way.Not being corrected the first time cost my husband and I, $380 and precious time.

Regards,

Review: I want a refund because I cannot get their product to download to any device I own. They refuse to issue that refund.

I purchased a study guide for Praxis test 5114. The order number was [redacted]. I have tried to meet all requirements for the download, but it will not download to any device I own. They issued a refund once, but they refuse to do it again. The product comes up and says it is damaged and cannot be repaired. I just want my money back.Desired Settlement: I purchased an ebook to study for a test: [redacted]. Order number: [redacted]. I have tried many times to download it, but it says the file is damaged and cannot be repaired. I have requested a refund which they refuse to give. The product is faulty.

Business

Response:

Please see the explanation and action below:The Order Services department verified that the product was not faulty or damaged. They were able to open and use the product.They did however, process the second refund under Refund # [redacted] The candidate may not have the latest version of Adobe Reader.

Review: ETS is holding my GRE scores for ransom because I send out a score report in error, immediately asked to cancel the transaction, ETS said they couldn't and to see their EULA, and after that I subsequently got my bank to refund the transaction. Now I can't see my scores, because ETS wants their $27, plus a $20 charge-back fee. Rather than challenging my bank, they'd rather hide my scores! I'm a student, they are a huge corporations; what they are doing is completely unethical! What kind of a message are they sending? Not only do they want the $27 from a transaction I immediately wished to cancel, but they want to charge me extra because I got my bank to cancel the transaction.

Hey ETS, what about the hundreds of dollars I spent paying to register for the test and study? Don't you guys have enough of a profit margin on that? These "education" corporations think they are providing a service, but you guys are just another agency creating barriers-to-entry is all, and you know it!Desired Settlement: I just want to be able to see my GRE scores. That's it. I don't want money and I won't sue, but I'm a student and I have scholarships and fellowships to apply for. You guys can't just vampire all of our youth's money just because you're a fat corporations that is seen as essential. ETS isn't essential, they're just testing people and making them think it is a good indicator for intelligence. They don't really NEED my $47 dollars, they just want to bully me for it now. I JUST WANT TO SEE MY SCORES FOR A TEST I ALREADY TOOK.

Business

Response:

Plesae see our response below:Dear [redacted] Your complaint to the Revdex.com (Revdex.com), Case #[redacted], regarding the score report you ordered on the GRE website, has been forwarded to me for an investigation. You are stating that, “ETS is holding my GRE scores for ransom because I sent out a score report in error.” You ordered the score report online and the statement on the order site states: Ordering ASRs Online ? For faster processing, order additional score reports online. You will need to create or have a My GRE Account to use this service. ? When ordering ASRs online, you can select to send scores from your Most Recent, All or Any specific test administration of the General Test and/or Subject Tests. (These options are also available when you call GRE® Services to place an ASR order.) ? Credit/debit card only ([redacted]) will be accepted. ? Once a request is submitted, it cannot be canceled, changed or refunded. ? Score reports will be sent to your designated institutions approximately five business days after your order is placed. You canceled the $27.00 payment and this created a delinquent notation on your account. I understand the frustration you are feeling, but the score report was sent, even if you stated that you placed the order in error. As an exception, I can waive the $20.00 charge-back fee, but since the report was sent, you are liable for the $27.00 fee. Please contact me once you have made the $27.00 payment and refer to your Case #[redacted] I can then waive the $20.00 charge-back fee. Sincerely,[redacted] Educational Testing Service Test Taker Advocacy GRE Services

Consumer

Response:

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

I do not feel I should owe you all $20 because of something you are pulling out of a contract. You guys don't need $20 from me, that's made evident by the fact that you wanted $47 and are now looking for only $20. Why not just waive all of it, and then when I've be sending score to other institutions (something I don't need to do through you all, I can just get my university to scan and send the score reports they have in their possession, with a note saying that I wasn't involved in the process) I can pay when I'm actually making a purchase I need.You'd rather lose a long term customer than waive $20? The test alone costs much more than that, along with the price of the books you all sell. Again, why not just waive it all, and save both of us the trouble?

Regards,

Business

Response:

Please see our response to the customer rejection, below:Thank you for contacting the GRE Program Dear [redacted] We have received your response from the Revdex.com complaint regarding the GRE additional score report request placed on December 04, 2014. You are concerned because we have not agreed to waive the fee for the order placed, but have agreed to waive the penalty fee charged when you disputed the payment with your card company. As previously communicated to you, once a request is submitted, it cannot be canceled, changed or refunded. This information is made available on our website and in our printed materials. The information is also stated at the time of the transaction before you submit and confirm payment. We do realize that after you placed the order, you came to know that the report was not required by the school. However, the order had been placed and the report was sent to the school, which makes you responsible for the fees associated with the service that was provided to you. When you chose to dispute the charge with your credit card company we receive notification from your financial institution which will reverse the charge resulting in a credit to your credit card account, but not a cancellation of the order. This generates a bill on your GRE account for the amount of the additional score report request, along with a $20 chargeback fee as a penalty for disputing the charge after the service was rendered. This creates a total bill of $47. When there is a bill on your account, it places your scores on hold and no information is released until the bill is satisfied. This information is also stated on our website under "Payment Policies", stating: ¦All outstanding balances incurred from prior ETS tests and/or services must be paid in full in order to register for any future ETS test or service. As a customer service gesture we have agreed to waive the chargeback fee as an exception, however you will still need to pay for the order that was processed and mailed to your designated institution. Please reply back at your earliest convenience if you wish to remit payment and accept these terms. Sincerely, [redacted]nAdvocateETS/Test Taker ServicesTest Taker Advocacy Group Revdex.com Case # [redacted]

Review: My daughter registered for the April 2015 biochem gre, then realized she had a conflict with her schedule and cancelled her spot 2days later. She registered for the oct 2014 gre at this time. ETS charged her for the April 2015 as well as the oct 2014 gre even though she cancelled the April slot within 48 hours. I thought it was an oversight and asked my credit card co to hold the charge ($150) for the cancelled exam . Imagine my surprise when I get a bill in the mail where there's a charge for the cancelled exam plus a chargeback penalty of $20; in other words ETS charges again for cancelled exam and adds a penalty. I called and spoke to three different people who refused to let me speak to a supervisor and told me they were following ETS refund policy which does not allow refund till April 2015 exam is over and the refund amt is 50%at that time. So ETS gets to keep my $150 for an extra 6 months for a service they're not providing and they refund only $75 AND I have to pay their"chargeback" penalty of $20. They're holding my daughter's results from the oct 2014 exam hostage by locking her out of their system for "delinquent fees" even though she paid the exam fee for the oct 2014 exam and ETS cashed it.Desired Settlement: I would like ETS to refund the entire $150 for the April 2015 gre since my daughter cancelled it within 48 hours of registration . I would also like ETS to refund the $20 "chargeback penalty" because I was only preventing my card from what I thought was a duplicate charge.I think it is very unethical to charge someone for unrendered services(in this case cancelled services) and to refund half the original charge after holding on to customer's money for additional time. Refunds should be 100%

Business

Response:

Please see our response below:Dear [redacted], ETS was notified by the Revdex.com (Revdex.com) that you submitted a complaint regarding the refund policy of your April 18, 2015 GRE® Subject Test. When you contacted the Revdex.com, you expressed your concern that, after canceling the registration, you would be required to wait until after the score release date of the April 18, 2015 test administration GRE® to receive your partial refund. You also voiced concern about receiving only a partial refund of $75.00. There is now an additional $20.00 on the balance because you asked for a chargeback of the $150.00 fee paid. Before the registration process, you were advised to read all policies and procedures located in the GRE® Information and Registration Bulletin located on the website www.ets.org/gre. When you completed the registration, you agreed to and signed a statement accepting the terms and conditions of the GRE® policies and procedures. Test takers are informed: ‘Refunds for paper-based tests are processed after the score reporting date…and you will receive a refund equivalent to half of the test fee. 'Therefore, the refund is processed under the assumption that our test takers are aware of this procedure and that a refund equivalent to half of the original test fee will be issued accordingly. Refunds are issued within six to eight weeks after the canceled test date. As a goodwill gesture, a one-time exception is granted to remove the $170 balance on your GRE account. Thank you for taking the time to contact us and providing us with the opportunity to provide clarification regarding refund of test fees for this administration. I wish you success in your professional endeavors. Regards,[redacted]Test Taker AdvocateEducational Testing Service

Review: I ordered TOEFL exam on 04 FEB 2014 and updated the score recipient listing on 05 FEB 2014. No score was sent to my intended recipient. Service representative says there is no record of recipient in their record and insists that I have to pay $18 for each report I want to send. No prier notice or any formed of confirmation email/letter regarding to the score report received before the the exam.Desired Settlement: I want a refund of the cost for sending report.

Business

Response:

Please see our response below:

From: TTA TOEFL Response [mailto:[email protected]]

Sent: Friday, March 21, 2014 11:30 AM

To: [redacted]

Subject: Case ID [redacted] Revdex.com Case [redacted] Score Reporting Refund Complaint

Dear Mr. [redacted]

We are writing in response to your score reporting refund complaint:

Our records do not confirm that you requested for your scores to be reported before the deadline to add your score recipients. We further confirm that no score recipients were deleted from your iBT profile.

You added the following score recipients on March 17th, 2014:

[redacted] Ordered

Department: Undergraduate Estimated Shipping Date: March 21, 2014

[redacted] Processed: Mar. 18, 2014

Department: Undergraduate Estimated Shipping Date: March 24, 2014 *

[redacted] Processed: Mar. 18, 2014

Department: Undergraduate Estimated Shipping Date: March 21, 2014

The charge of $54.00 is due to you. We are not offering any refunds for this transaction.

Please visit our website below which explains our score reporting policy:

http://www.ets.org/toefl/ibt/scores/send/

We apologize for the inconvenience and wish you much success with your future endeavors.

Thank you,

[redacted], Advocate

TOEFL iBT Services

Review: I was scheduled to take a Praxis 5047 test on February 12th. Due to test-site issues, that test was rescheduled for February 26th. While the scheduling process was taking place, I asked about test prep materials and was advised of some for sale on the website. I asked about the comparison but was assured that I was purchasing the correct one. Since I used the incorrect test prep material, I also failed the exam.

I missed one day of work on the initial test date that was cancelled. I missed another day of work on the 26th. Paid $139 for the original test, spent $17.95 on what turned out to be the incorrect test prep materials from ETS. Then I failed the test so I'll miss another day of work to retake, will pay an additional $139 to retake it and will most likely have to purchase test preparation materials from elsewhere. I called and emailed ets but so far nothing has been done to assist with my concerns.Desired Settlement: I would like a refund for the original $139 test and the $17.95 test prep materials. I understand that ETS cannot be held responsible for missed pay but I feel that they should be held responsible for charges paid to them referenced in the first sentence.

Business

Response:

Please see our response below:

From: PRAXIS [mailto:[email protected]]

Sent: Monday, March 24, 2014 2:09 PM

To: [redacted]

Subject: [redacted] Revdex.com [redacted] ID [redacted] ETS Case [redacted]

ETS was notified by the Revdex.com (Revdex.com) that you submitted a complaint regarding the Praxis II test administration in which you identified a number of concerns. I will try my best to address the issues you raised.

In your letter to the Revdex.com, you stated that you were advised to purchase the wrong test prep material and as a result, you failed to meet your state's minimum requirement for the Middle School English Language Arts (MSELA-5047) test which you took on February 26, 2014. When investigated, it was noted that you were provided information of the available test material but no action further action was taken by the representative to whom you spoke. The purchase of the test prep was completed online by the customer and there appears to be an error when making the selected purchase. It is indicated that the wrong selection was made as the customer inadvertently selected the 5049 test prep instead of the 5047 material.

When you contacted ETS about the error, we notified the third-party entity with which the order was placed, and as an exception, [redacted] contacted you to refund the fee for that purchase. An e-mail was sent to you on March 21 informing you of their decision to refund you and requesting your consent to refund the amount to your credit card. It was required that you responded to the e-mail. As of March 24, a response to the e-mail was not received. Your letter to the Revdex.com is used as your authorization to credit $17.95 to the credit card used specifically for this purchase. You should see the credit for this amount on your credit card within three to five days.

It is important to note that in our effort to provide test takers with familiarity of our test format, our Web site, www.ets.org/praxis delivers valuable information about our tests and services. The site offers both free and priced tests material: (a) Free test and (b)-Priced test materials. Priced test material offer a study guide which may be purchased as an eBook (electronic) or the hard copy for those who prefer this format. You chose the eBook prep material.

As informed by the representative when you contacted ETS, the study material is only a guide to the test and should not be used as its only reference. Both the free and priced prep materials provide information about the content areas that will be covered on the test. The Study Guide is not designed to teach you the content of the test or assure you a high score; the knowledge gained in the your years of schooling and experience in educational settings is the most important factor in determining how well you will do on the test. A review of course material or text books in any areas you consider weak may assist you in preparing for the content of the test. When reviewing the material, it is important to keep in mind that because of the number of editions of the test, it is impossible to cover all contents of the test in any one book.

You also made mention that you were compelled to take off from work to take the Praxis exam. The Praxis Program understands the difficulty test takers may have in scheduling exams due to conflict with working hours. The Computer-delivered tests offer a range of dates known as Testing Windows. Testing Windows for each test include Saturdays and Sundays as well as after-hours testing. These hours were specifically considered for test takers in your predicament so that everyone may have the convenience to schedule according to their work hours. I deeply regret that you were not able to complete the exam on the originally scheduled date and therefore had to be rescheduled. For this, I apologize. The test package offered in this exam has surpassed inspection as well as rigorous reviews. We do understand that because the test is Internet based, there will be connectivity problems from time to time over which we have no control.

Although we are unable to compensate you for the days taken off work, if you have receipt of gas, toll, or related expenses for the February 12 test date, you may submit them for consideration for reimbursement. We are however, unable to refund the test fee for the February 26 test admin. If the test could not be administered, you would be entitled to a full refund. Because the test was completed, scored, and reported and all the associated expenses paid for testing and scoring services, a refund cannot be issued. I can assure you that ETS makes every effort to foster a productive testing environment and accuracy in the scoring and reporting of our score, but in spite of our effort, we understand that every reported score will not meet the test taker's expectation. It is for this reason that our user states have made it possible that their teacher candidates are given the opportunity to retake their exams. Unfortunately, providing this service carries associated expenses to cover the costs.

Thank you for allowing us to complete an extensive investigation and I hope you find this information helpful. If I may be of further assistance, please let me know.

Regards,

Test Taker Advocate

Praxis Program

TRACKING NUMBER: [redacted]

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Description: Educational Consultants, Market Research & Analysis, Professional Services - General, Test Publishers

Address: 660 Rosedale Rd, Princeton, New Jersey, United States, 08540-2218

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