Problems with DSST

[LaceyLady]

Hello everyone,

I have taken ten DSST exams without a problem, but recently I tried to take DSST Money and Banking and ran into problems. After registering, paying, and signing in, when the actual exam started, an error message appeared on the page and I was not able to view or answer the questions. The proctor tried logging out of the system and logging back, and he tried moving my exam to a different computer, but neither worked. The proctor and I have been calling and emailing back and forth to DSST for several days, but the issue is not resolved yet. I received a reply from DSST saying that there is no record of the exam, but I did pay for the exam since the credit card statement shows that the payment went through already.

Has anyone had similar problems with DSST? Does anyone have any tips or advice?

This has been going on for several days and I really want to take this exam quickly without having to pay for it twice.

Ok, end of rant.

LaceyLady

[jam123]

I have never had this happen.

Did you use the same login/password for this exam as the others you have taken?
Did you use the same credit as before?
Does the credit card have your name on it?
Is this the same proctor as before?

[NAP]

When you log in to your account from home, can you see the receipt for the test fee or a score for the test (or something that says test in progress)?

My test center used to be able to allow me to use my username and password for the exam. Recently, I have had to sign in as a first time user again instead of using my established testing info. I have no idea why this is happening, but there is an error message when I tried to say I had already registered for previous tests. At this rate, I am going to have 4 accounts plus another one for the practice tests.

I hope this gets resolved quickly for you!

[LaceyLady]

I have never had this happen.

Did you use the same login/password for this exam as the others you have taken?
Did you use the same credit as before?
Does the credit card have your name on it?
Is this the same proctor as before?

Same login/password, same credit card, same proctor. The credit card does not have my name on it, but that was never a problem, besides the transaction on the credit card went through fine, so I don't think that would be the problem.

I was able to login, pay, and begin the exam; once I started the exam and the time began to count down, I was only shown the first question, and as soon as I clicked next, it showed an error message and I was not able to do anything.

[LaceyLady]

When you log in to your account from home, can you see the receipt for the test fee or a score for the test (or something that says test in progress)?

When I logged into my account on the same day (within two hours) the test was shown under In Progress. Since then, when I log into my account, the information about the test does not appear at all (not even a receipt).

I hope this gets resolved quickly for you!

Thank you. I sure hope so, too.

[LaceyLady]

The proctor and I have been going back and forth with DSST for several weeks. DSST claimed several times that there was no record of the exam and that I was not charged for the exam, even though the credit card was indeed charged for the exam. I, off course, replied that I was charged for the exam. Then DSST told me that I had to fill out a refund request, which I did. DSST replied to my refund request stating again that they could not find a record of the exam and asking for more information, which I provided. DSST then replied that they would look into the matter, and have not gotten back to me since.

Weeks had gone by and I needed to get this exam out of my way, so I decided to try to take the exam again (since DSST claimed they had no record of the failed attempt anyway and DSST was not getting back to me). I took the exam without any problems and passed with a score of 73.

Today I received a letter from DSST stating that the score for the exam that I took successfully has been cancelled because the exam was taken within 3 months of the previous one, and that they have sent an invalid score report to my college. Seriously! They have no record of the exam when it comes to giving me a refund, but they have record of it when it comes to cancelling my score!

I am not happy about this at all. I have had to pay for the exam twice and they are not accepting my score or giving me a refund when the reason I couldn't take the exam the first time was their own system error and not my fault.

This is the last DSST exam that I need to take, but it is giving me more trouble than all the others.

Sorry for the rant.

[Tedium]

Don't apologize for the rant. That is a really frustrating situation, especially since it is the last exam that you need to take. I think all of us on this forum should be more aware that situations like this are possible.

I have never had a bad experience with either College Board or Prometric or my proctor, but some of the stories that people tell are pretty scary. The one about being forced to take a test that was upside down on the screen comes to mind. I'm just thankful that stuff like that hasn't happened to me, and sad that these companies and proctors seem so unwilling to grant any sort of leniency when off the wall stuff like that happens.

From what you wrote it seems like you have only tried e-mailing them. Have you tried getting someone on the phone? Maybe you could get connected to someone who can actually help you then. I mean, I can't imagine how mad you are, especially after passing on your second attempt with such a high score. I would be pretty livid right about now. It seems like they could make an exception since both you and the proctor are telling the same story.

I really hope you get this sorted out. Please keep us posted about how it finally resolves. Good luck to you.

[LaceyLady]

Don't apologize for the rant. That is a really frustrating situation, especially since it is the last exam that you need to take. I think all of us on this forum should be more aware that situations like this are possible.

I have never had a bad experience with either College Board or Prometric or my proctor, but some of the stories that people tell are pretty scary. The one about being forced to take a test that was upside down on the screen comes to mind. I'm just thankful that stuff like that hasn't happened to me, and sad that these companies and proctors seem so unwilling to grant any sort of leniency when off the wall stuff like that happens.

From what you wrote it seems like you have only tried e-mailing them. Have you tried getting someone on the phone? Maybe you could get connected to someone who can actually help you then. I mean, I can't imagine how mad you are, especially after passing on your second attempt with such a high score. I would be pretty livid right about now. It seems like they could make an exception since both you and the proctor are telling the same story.

I really hope you get this sorted out. Please keep us posted about how it finally resolves. Good luck to you.

Thank you. Yes, I am quite angry about this right now. I haven't been able to get anywhere with the people at DSST/Prometric. They simply don't seem to want to do anything about it. Their unwillingness to fix their error and work with me, and their lack of customer service are disappointing.

I first tried calling them. I was on hold for a long time and, when I finally reached someone, he, although courteous and trying to help, was unable to find any information although he searched and searched. The phone call literally took nearly an hour and most of that time I was on hold. I called a different number he had given me, and, after being on hold for a long time again, the person just told me that my proctor needed to submit an error report, and she could not do anything for me. After that I tried email instead. I can't be on the phone for 30 minutes to an hour on each call. I used the phone to communicate with the proctor, but email with DSST. And btw the proctor did submit an error report, to which DSST replied (after several days) that I had not been charged for the exam, which was incorrect.

I will try calling them again since email doesn't seem to be working. I hope I will be able to get this resolved quickly.

[clydosaurus]

I'm sorry you're having such trouble.

At this point I think you need to start demanding to speak with someone higher up. I believe the DSST tests are a part of the Chauncey Group. Try calling their main number and be aggressive. ETS is notorious for having a lot of contingent workers and high turn-over.

[fm101]

Formerly part of the Chauncey Group, which was, more to the point, a division of ETS, the Educational Testing Service.

Now part of Prometric, also a division of ETS.