Dear Candidate

I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for registering with British Council for your examination(s). For various reasons candidates may wish to receive a refund of exams fees. In order to be aware of your rights as a candidate please take a few moments to familiarise yourself with our refund policy

1. Refund Policy for GCE Exam Fees:

There are various instances where candidates may request a refund on their GCE exam fees:

i.After payment but prior to sending the candidate’s details to the Examination Board.

ii.After submission of Registration Form to Examination Board.

iii.After up grade of results of re-checked subjects

iv.Refund of excess payment

i.After payment but prior to sending the candidate’s details to the Examination Board.

Students sometimes ask for a refund immediately after paying for their exam fees but prior to the British Council sending the details to the exam board in the UK. In this instance, we will arrange to refund the total fees minus a small administration charge of Tk 750. In order to request a refund candidates are simply asked to submit the original deposit slips of British Council’s acknowledgement and the customer’s copy along with an application addressed to Examinations Services Officer (GCE), 5 Fuller Rd, Dhaka 1000.

ii.After submission of Registration Form to Examination Board.

Once entries are sent to Examination Boards, the extent of the refund is decided by the board. Candidates are  requested to submit an application addressed to Exams Services Officer as above applying for a refund for one of the following reasons: (a) Medical or (b) General. After submitting the initial request to the British Council, candidates will receive an acknowledgement letter, a general application form from the British Council and another from the Examination Board in question. Candidates are required to submit the duly completed forms to the British Council by 31 December for January sessions and 30 April for May-June sessions. The Examination Board will then decide on the percentage of money that the candidate is entitled to. Candidates are requested to wait till they hear from the Examinations Services. Please note that the British Council does not refund local fees under any circumstances.

NB: Please note that CIE do not offer refunds under b) General Reasons

iii.After up grade of results of re-checked subjects

Candidates who apply for up grading of results in any one or more subjects are entitled to a refund of fees (the local fee will be deducted). Please remember that the British Council are unable to arrange the payment prior to receiving the credit notes from the Examination Boards. Candidates are kindly requested to wait for our letter detailing when the refund is ready.

iv.Refund of excess payment

Candidate applying for a refund of excess payment are requested to submit an application addressed to the Exams Services Officer along with the original deposit slips of British Council’s acknowledgement and the bank copy. Tk 750 will deducted as administration cost.

NB Refunds once approved will be paid into candidate’s bank account within 14 days. Please also note that no refunds will be given for partial withdrawal

2. Refund Policy for Educational and Professional Exam Fees

For Educational, Professional and Other Exam Fees the British Council will refund the local fees in following cases only:

i.Serious illness e.g hospital admission or serious injury but not include minor illness such as a cold or flu (a doctor’s report in English is required)

ii.Natural disaster

iii.Loss or bereavement – death of a close family member

iv.Hardship/trauma – victim of crime, victim of a traffic accident

If you would like to get refund for any of the above reasons, kindly submit your refund application within 5 days of your exam date. Please note that the British Council reserves the right not to consider applications made more than 5 days after the test date.

Candidates are requested to submit a completed refund form along with appropriate supporting evidence i.e. medical certificate, local chairman/commissioner certificate, death certificate, police report within five working days of the test date.

Subsequent to approval, the British Council will refund the local centre fee to the candidate minus a administrative fee of Tk 750.00 within 14 days. Candidates are kindly requested to submit all forms and supporting documents to Examination Services Officer (Educational and Professional Exams), 5 Fuller Rd, Dhaka 1000.

NB. Candidates requiring a refund of board fees should contact the institution directly

3. Refund for EFL Exam Fees (not including IELTS)

For EFL exam fees (not including IELTS), the British Council will refund the local exams fees in the following cases only:

i.Serious illness e.g hospital admission or serious injury but not including minor illness such as a cold or flu (a doctor’s report in English is required)

ii.Loss or bereavement – death of a close family member

iii.Hardship/trauma – victim of crime, victim of a traffic accident

If you would like to get refund for any of the above reasons, kindly submit your refund application within 5 days of your exam date. Please note that the British Council reserves the right not to consider applications made more than 5 days after the test date. Candidates are requested to submit a completed refund form along with appropriate supporting evidence i.e. medical certificate, local chairman/commissioner certificate, death certificate, police report within five working days of the test date.

Please note that no refund will be issued in respect of a timetable clash with any other examination.

Subsequent to approval, the British Council will refund the fee to the candidate after deduction of administrative fee of Tk 750.00 within 14 days.

Candidates are kindly requested to submit all forms and supporting documents to Assistant Examination Services Officer (ESOL), 5 Fuller Road, Dhaka 1000.

NB. Candidates requiring a refund of board fees from Cambridge ESOL  should contact the institution directly

4. Refund for IELTS Exam Fees

The refund policy for IELTS is not set locally by the British Council in Bangladesh but rather by the partner organisations who run IELTS globally. Candidates are kindly requested to consult the refund policy in the IELTS application form for further details and complete the form available at the British Council accordingly. Refunds should be submitted to IELTS Administrator, 5 Fuller Rd, Dhaka 1000. Subsequent to approval, the British Council will refund the exam fee to the candidate minus an administrative fee of Tk 1500.00. Subsequent to approval refunds will be issued within 14 days.

5. Notes

i.The British Council make every attempt to be fair in all aspects of refunding money. However, should a  candidate be dissatisfied in any way with the refund policy or service received he/she is advised to write at the first instance to Examinations Services Manager, 5 Fuller Rd, Dhaka 1000.

ii.Should the candidate remain dissatisfied with this response, he/she should take the matter to the Director Examinations, British Council. This decision will be final and no further submissions will be received.

4th March 2005