Pearson Vue testing centers simply dropping the ball

[RichM]

I have a gripe with Pearson Vue and really struggling to deal with them. My CISSP exam is booked for next Monday 15 June. The PV website says the testing centers in my country are closed. I have not received any information from PV regarding re-scheduling. The telephone number for the testing center goes to voice mail. Website says to expect an email from PV...but nothing is forthcoming. I have been on the phone for 40 mins to speak with a call center agent who struggles to communicate in English and doesn't seem to have any ability to do anything. Must i pay $50 to re-schedule? Or simply cancel the transaction with my bank? I understand this is Covid related but wow...i expected better....

Any suggestions or shortcuts from fellow ISC2 associates would be appreciated.

[denbesten]

Squirrel away a PDF of the website notice that PersonVue is closed.  

Keep records, even if just a journal of your attempted phone calls and emails.  Most organizations, including PersonVue and (ISC)² have announced they are waving fees for Covid related reasons.  If you can show that you have made a good-faith effort, odds of fees being waived increase.  

Phones not being answered does make sense given that they are closed.  Most likely, you will find yourself straightening this whole mess out after the Covid crisis has passed and your local PersonVue employees have returned to work.  

[Shannon]

I contacted them some weeks ago to inquire about the provisions to take the CCSP. (Alas, it's not offered with online proctoring yet) Anyways, I communicated with them via chat, and just getting an answer to that took at least 2 hours --- 1st waiting in a queue to get one agent, then losing him, & having to wait for another.

I finally concluded that booking an exam at a test center during the pandemic is too much of a risk, given that the government can restrict travel at any time, & we have to comply. (If it took so much time for them to answer a query, I dread to think of what rescheduling / cancelling an exam might be like)

Since you're not getting very far when you call them, try the chat. As @denbesten said, it would be great if you can facilitate proof of your correspondence with them. Get them to confirm their policy on all this, & ask for an email address to reach them, since the usual communication channel doesn't work.

(Unfortunately, it seems they don't send transcripts of the chat to one's email address, so grab screenshots of this)

Good luck!

[Dave39]

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@RichM wrote:

I have a gripe with Pearson Vue and really struggling to deal with them. My CISSP exam is booked for next Monday 15 June. The PV website says the testing centers in my country are closed. I have not received any information from PV regarding re-scheduling. The telephone number for the testing center goes to voice mail. Website says to expect an email from PV...but nothing is forthcoming. I have been on the phone for 40 mins to speak with a call center agent who struggles to communicate in English and doesn't seem to have any ability to do anything. Must i pay $50 to re-schedule? Or simply cancel the transaction with my bank? I understand this is Covid related but wow...i expected better....

Any suggestions or shortcuts from fellow ISC2 associates would be appreciated.

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I feel your frustration. I echoed this in a different thread as I'm looking to book an exam. The PV portal was showing dates available in my area for centers I know were closed. I'm trying to get an idea when they may resume testing.

Pearson Vue customer service has been extremely disappointing. It is impossible to speak with anyone who can actually provide information.  No one answers the phone at the local testing centers and the global channels know very little of what happens locally. It's a shame since they are the only ones conducting these tests.

I understand we are in a pandemic and the offices are likely closed, but provisions could have been made to have remote staff available to answer calls. As others have recommended, keep records of any attempted correspondence. It's tough not knowing for sure, but I would assume they would reimburse you if you paid the cancellation fee.

I'm not sure you'll get anywhere with chat, email or phone. Personally, I've had little success. I have seen others trying to reach them via social media, eg. Facebook and Linkedin