GMAT Technical Failure

Question

I had the worst test day experience ever; the GMAT system went down after i finished the quant and verbal part where i thought i did really well. I waited for over 2 hours for them to reconnect to the server so i would be able to finish the exam. After over 2 hours they managed to do so but because the time of my exam was running in the background my exam was gone. I am so devastated and upset, i studied for over 6 months for this day and i spent half of the time just waiting in a boring waiting room with no access to any sort of entertainment. I was provided with an incident number but after calling the GMAT customer service they told me they can't to anything for the next 3-5 business days as they have to analyse the incident first. My problem is, this was the only time I am able to take the exam, I am flying on a 3months backpack trip on monday. Moreover, I tried to rebook an exam for when ill be in Dubai, willing to give up a day of my travelling, however due to their 16 days policy, i am not able to rebook the exam. I am so so upset and angry and devastated ... anyone else had an issue like this before? i tried to contact them through email etc. but nothing they can do for me

GMATNinja · Answer

Ugh, that sounds awful. Unfortunately, things like this happen sometimes. Generally speaking, they'll offer you a free retake in situations like these, but they don't typically waive the 16-day waiting period, because you're likely to see some repeat questions if you retake it soon, and that would give you an "unfair" advantage.

(Though my personal opinion is that you probably deserve an "unfair" advantage. But that's just my opinion.)

In any case, keep calling them to harass them for a resolution, and explain your situation. You never know, they might decide to give you a chance to retake when you're in Dubai.

Good luck with everything, and welcome to GMAT Club! And please let us know what happens.

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Wow, that does sound terrible. I agree that you should keep calling GMAT, and also try to escalate your issue to someone as high up as possible, so they can do what they need to to help. Certainly keep us updated on the outcome.

souvonik2k · Answer

Hi
Sorry to hear of your awful experience. It seriously is frustrating. They will give you a retake but the 16 day period is a bottleneck in your case. Keep calling them and sending mails. Hope something good happens. All the best.

random49 · Answer

Sorry to hear that you had to go through this experience. If you haven't already tried the GMAC Chat option online - do try that. They're super quick and efficient on chat. I had issues with my exam center too and the chat option worked well in my case (I'm from India).

Sent from my Pixel 2 using  GMAT Club Forum mobile app

adkikani · Answer

random49

Can you please share the chat link? I was unable to find it on mba.com. TIA.

random49 · Answer

Hi  adkikani

Once you log on to mba(dot)com, go to the 'Contact Us' section. 
Look to the bottom right of the page of the 'Contact Us' section. You will find the chat service there. 
Note that the chat service is open only from Monday to Friday between 8 AM and 5 PM CT.

Hope this helps!

GyMrAT · Answer

Sorry to hear about that bud!!

Hearing about such cases every week now, sorry for everyone that has to go through such an ordeal on their D-day.

It will be helpful, if you can provide the details of the Test center, i think most of the recent cases reported are from Mumbai & New Delhi.

Is there any update from GMAC? I hope they have given you a free retake.

Thanks,
GyM

af00386 · Answer

Unfortunately still no updates yet ... and its been exactly a week now! I called them multiple times and emailed every possible address out there but they said i would have to wait 3-5 business days so that they can review the case ... I am not too sure whats to review there, it was clearly a technical failure. Its been 5 business days now though and still no update nor a refund! I am very unhappy with GMAC and how they have handled this situation.

GMATNinja · Answer

I'm not surprised, unfortunately. There's been a very noticeable dropoff in GMAC's customer service in these situations over the past five or ten years. I have a growing pile of disturbing stories, sadly.

Keep on them, af00386! They'll eventually do the right thing.

Keep on them,  af00386 ! They'll eventually do the right thing.

GyMrAT · Answer

This is such scary stuff, i hope the issue is resolved for you now bud!

Will be great to hear from you, stay strong!!

Appreciate your efforts in letting everyone here know your ordeal.

Regards,
GyM

af00386 · Answer

I got an email today offering me a refund for a free reschedule. That’s exacly 2 weeks after I was supposed to take the exam. On the phone they told me I should get a reply after 3-5 days. I’m super disappointed as I am on holiday now until mid September which means I am unable to take the exam any time soon. It’s really frustrating as is I’ll have to invest a lot of time again in autumn to get up to speed and revise all the materials. Overall, I am not happy how GMAC has handled this situation and “just” a free refund isn’t really helping me much.

Posted from my mobile device

Posted from my mobile device

GyMrAT · Answer

Damn, that is a nightmare! So frustrating. Sorry that you had to go through such stress.

Well stay positive & look at the bright side.

Enjoy your holiday!

Cheers!
GyM

nishantd88 · Answer

Well I too had a similar situation,wherein the system went down for a few mins and I lost some time in the VA section. Even in my case they took about 2 weeks to get back with a free reschedule, which I had to take about 3-4 months later when I had time again to get up to speed. So yeah unfortunately that's how they seem to work. The customer service is quite bad indeed. The commitment of replying in 3-5 business days is never kept.

gotoeurope · Answer

It must be a nightmare. A truly unfair situation. Hope you have even better test and get a score you’ve wanted. 
Where was the test centre with the issue? I think you should submit a complaint report.

Posted from my mobile device

Gagoosh · Answer

really sorry to hear..just one personal piece of advice -while in Dubai, don't book New Business Horizon as your exam center. I too have had a nightmare of an experience there. Like you, I also could not re-write the exam because of their 16 day policy. GMAC gave me a free attempt later though, but since the deadlines for my school expired before they responded, it did not help me. Let us know how it goes.

MoAva · Answer

nishantd88 I've had a similar horrifying experience and am still awaiting a resolution.

I first attempted the GMAT online exam on 2nd May (when physical whiteboards were not permitted). When their policy changed to allow Physical whiteboards I was given then chance to take the GMAT online exam again (had to pay the exam fees again) under the condition that the score from my second attempt (with physical whiteboard) would be considered only if it is higher than the score from my first attempt. Otherwise, the score from my first attempt would be retained (fair enough).

However, during my second attempt, I lost a few mins during the quant section due to a technical glitch. I had to restart my exam and continue the remainder of the exam in a complete state of panic. However, I completed the exam (despite lesser than the stipulated time) and got my score which was obviously not satisfactory. I reported asking to allow me a retest.

A. They're not clarifying my request for a retest
B. They are not commenting about the validity of my current score
C. I don't know if my current score will be nullified if they allow a retest (that's scary, my current score is 710 and I don't want to end up in a scenario where I get less than 700 in the retest and lose my 710 which I rightfully earned with lesser than usual time limit)

Does anyone know what happens to the previous score if a retest is permitted?

mayashu · Answer

Hi  random49   nishantd88  : Really sorry to hear about your experience. Did you guys request a reschedule yourself, or you had to retake another examination because the score was canceled? Was there any email from Pearson mentioning that your score will be canceled?

I had a similar situation in the test center exam. The computer was disconnected for 3 minutes. The invigilator shifted me to a different computer. I must say, I did not lose any time, as I was able to restart from the time when the exam was disconnected. I ended up scoring a 720.

I have not received any email from Pearson that my test is under administrative review, or that my score will be canceled for technical reasons.

It has been 1 week already ( 5 business days ), but I have yet to receive my official score on my mba com profile. I called my test centre and they mentioned that they have raised a case with Pearson, informing Pearson that there was a temporary disconnection in the middle of the examination.

I am worried that GMAC will cancel my test score, for no fault of my own.

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