EC-Council HORRIBLE SERVICE...BE CAREFUL!!!!

HardlyComplain

EC-Council SCAM….HORRIBLE service, absentee organization!!!!
Back in Sept of 2016 I took my CISSP and passed the first time! I took the class, read the book and studied my butt off for months and passed the test on the first try. It paid off! As a result, I was able to get a new job and more responsibility.
Fast forward to April 2017. I took the EC-Council Certified Ethical Hacker class (40 Hours), purchased the book and studied like crazy (including the labs). Fast forward more to Dec 18^th 2017.
Dec 18^th 2017.
Step one, I visited the EC-Council website to find out how to schedule for the exam.
Website says under the eligibility criteria…and I quote:
“All the three programs, CEH, CHFI and ECSA v9 require the candidate to have two years of work experience in the Information Security domain and should be able to provide a proof of the same as validated through the application process unless the candidate attends official training.
If a candidate attends an official EC-Council training either at an Accredited Training Center, via the iClass platform, or at an approved academic institution, the candidate is eligible to attempt the relevant EC-Council exam without going through the application process.
Because the website was vague as to how to actually get an eligibility number on the website I tried to do what any normal person would do, call them.
First I called EC-Council on Monday Dec 18^th 2017 at 9:30am at the Florida office seeing as how I was located on the east coast at 1-844-HACK-CEH. After navigating the menu’s, I selected to speak with a live person, ended up going to a v-mail. I left a message stating that I had a question concerning test scheduling and left my number. I waited until 2:00PM EST and tried the same thing with the New Mexico location at 505-341-3228, exact same result so I took the same action and left a v-mail.
Next day Tuesday Dec 19^th I did exactly the same thing with the same result. Called again at 4:00pm eastern thinking that this must be some kind of fluke….nope…same result, nobody answered the phone.
Next day Wednesday Dec 20^th exactly the same as the 19^th…starting to wonder what’s going on.
I tried the EC-Council support chat option and they said to email my class certificate to cehapp@eccouncil.org. I sent the email, guess what…..no response for the rest of the week.




Next day Thursday Dec 21^st was getting nowhere fast so I gave social media a shot.
I reached out to the president of the EC-Council Jay Bavis through his LinkedIn page at
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaybavisi
I reached out to him in a very professional manner to let him know what I was experiencing.
Guess what…no response. At this point I am wondering if I have wasted my time with EC-Council.
In the morning I call the original testing center and explain to them that I seem to be hitting a road block. They assured me that they schedule tests all the time and for me to just come on into the facility tomorrow at 9:00am and they will handle everything. I do some extra studying on the night of the 21^st thinking this will all be over soon…..nope.
Next Day Friday Dec 22^nd I walk in at the scheduled appointment time of 9:00am, the testing facility tries to get me registered and for some reason can’t get a payment option for me to pay for it with my credit card. She proceeds to call Pearson Vu support. Pearson Vu tells the testing center that I have to pay for the testing voucher directly to EC-Council. We get me signed up and actually pay for the exam through EC-Council, the charge hits the credit card and guess what…still no eligibility number. At this point I have been at the testing center for an hour and a half and ended up having to leave with a receipt for $950 and no chance at taking the exam until after the holiday. I can Guarantee that I will not get a phone call back from EC-Council, no response from the cehapp@eccouncil e-mail and no response from the president. I am sooooooo thankful that ISC(2) did not treat me this way…..If I were you, skip all of the EC-Council certifications…..waste of time and Money.
Anyone else have a bad experience with EC-Council?

scasc

I feel your pain....going through the same thing myself. Trying to book my exam for the CCISO cert (only doing it as the damn training provider here wouldn't give me a refund just a credit note). Thought what the heck, may look good on the CV. The issue I am having is that I cant book the exam yet as EC Council have not sent me my exam voucher yet and I am going around in circles with the training provider too.

In a nutshell, For God's sake avoid these guys like the plague, much better certs and organisations out there. Stick to ISC2/ISACA/SANS etc.

E Double U

HardlyComplain wrote: »

Anyone else have a bad experience with EC-Council?

Many of us. Welcome to the club!

dkorzhevin

I've passed 4 exams from EC-Council: CSCU, CND, CEH, ECIH and working on ECSA. All bought from iclass (https://iclass.eccouncil.org/), exams attended and completed via ProctorU.

Mooseboost

You mentioned you did the course, which means you used iLearn correct?

If so then search through your original emails from the purchase and registration. You have to email them to get the voucher setup.

"Thank you for your iLearn purchase!

You have 1 year access to your video streamed lectures, e-Courseware and iLabs from today.We hold onto your exam voucher until you are ready to test as it has a cash value and expiration date associated to it. When you are ready to test email me and your voucher will be issued in 24 hours.

If you purchased any physical materials the tracking numbers will be issued to you in 48 to 72 hours and delivered in 3 to 5 business days."

When I emailed them I had my voucher within a few hours.

I am curious though, if you purchased their course why did you need to buy a voucher from the testing center? Or did you take a course from another provider?

TechGuru80

The OPs name says it all lol.

Most of EC-Council's customer service comes from like Malaysia so when you contact them you have to allow them time to respond. In general you shouldn't be scheduling your attempt for any exam within two weeks, it should be thought out carefully. I think going through the application process, getting employer verification, and receiving my voucher...all took around 1.5-2 weeks total for me.

Also, as Mooseboost said, why did you have to buy a voucher if you took the course? Hopefully something weird isn't happening for you where you actually needed to apply for the experience waiver.

636-555-3226

EC-Council is a joke to most of us on the forums... It has its place, but I very, very rarely hear anybody here saying 1) they're proud they have an EC-Council certificate, 2) they had a great experience with EC-Council, and/or 3) they'd recommend EC-Council to others. My two cents, might be wrong, might be right, it's just the way I'm interpreting the things I've read here over the years...

[Deleted User]

636-555-3226 wrote: »

EC-Council is a joke to most of us on the forums... It has its place, but I very, very rarely hear anybody here saying 1) they're proud they have an EC-Council certificate, 2) they had a great experience with EC-Council, and/or 3) they'd recommend EC-Council to others. My two cents, might be wrong, might be right, it's just the way I'm interpreting the things I've read here over the years...

Well I hate to be a jerk but I have had good service with EC-Council and like being an LPT and would recommend them!

Tuningislife

I am currently arguing with them over a voucher. When I purchased the voucher through thier offical channels, it says "Does not expire", but when I went to take the exam with ProctorU, it said the voucher was expired. Called them, they said to email them. I emailed them, they said tough luck. I emailed back and said, no... not tough luck. They emailed me back at 1:30am EST and said they would forward it to the correct person. *Shrug* who knows what I will end with.

TechGuru80

It says on the actual email it doesn’t expire? I know when I took the exam in 2015, they definitely stated the voucher expires.

https://cert.eccouncil.org/exam-voucher-extension-policy.html

TechGromit

HardlyComplain wrote: »

EC-Council SCAM….HORRIBLE service, absentee organization!!!!

I don't know anything about them, but I also feel you should have given them more than 3 days to respond, especially so close to the holidays. A lot of people take vacations during the holidays, so you have to expect a slower response this time of year.

Tuningislife

TechGuru80 wrote: »

It says on the actual email it doesn’t expire? I know when I took the exam in 2015, they definitely stated the voucher expires.

https://cert.eccouncil.org/exam-voucher-extension-policy.html

Yea,
It does.
That is what makes it so special. There is a note in small letters that says the voucher expires one year from the issue date, but at bottom of the email it says, "Expiry Date: DOES NOT EXPIRE".

The voucher was purchased through official channels, the Academic Center for Excellence, so if it is wrong, it is wrong on their end.

Hello Student,
We are writing to let you know that your payment has been confirmed and your voucher is now available. Please see below:

• Order Number:[redacted]
• Order Date:12/04/2015
• Product Name: CEH ECC Exam Voucher w/ ProctorU
• License Code: [redacted]
• License Quantity: 1
• License Expiration Date: n/a

Please keep in mind that this voucher is used as payment for your exam.
Because you would like to take your exam remotely, you are responsible for scheduling your exam. Please make sure to schedule your exam at least 72 hours in advance so ProctorU is able to find you a proctor for your desired timeslot.
To register for and to schedule your exam, please create an account at https://www.eccexam.com/ in advance. You will also need to register with ProctorU at go.proctoru.com.
You may want to make sure your system is compatible with ProctorU, you can test that out here.
Thank you and good Luck on your test!
***For Partner Support and more detailed instructions, please email using this link or call [URL="tel[IMG]https://us.v-cdn.net/6030959/uploads/images/smilies/icon_sad.gif[/IMG]813) 402-0872"]813-402-0872[/URL]. For Technical support, please contact techsupport@eccouncil.org.
***Vouchers are not exchangeable. Please note exam vouchers are valid for 1 year from the date of distribution unless there is a version change. Exam Retirement Notice

License Code:

Recipient Name
Recipient Email
Expiry Date
Comment


[redacted]



Does Not Expire

mritorto2

sounds like too much of a hassel. I was going to take ceh after passing cissp exam.

I am now thinking just stick with isc2 and get ccsp

josephbutler

If you paid with a Visa credit card check out https://usa.visa.com/support/consumer/card-benefits.html

SaSkiller

So there is a thread on Linkedin with someone having a rough situation with Ec-Council, due in part to rough communication. While it appears the OP in that case may not be as interested in resolving the situation as they should, there were resources provided.

Try contacting these people:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/certifiedethicalhacker/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddyork1/

If all else fails, a nice public post seems to get their attention.