British Council Reviews 

My experience with British Council IELTS was terrible. My English is quite good, but I received an unbelievably low score in one section that did not match how I actually performed.

What makes it worse is that if you want a recheck, they charge a huge fee again. The whole process honestly feels like another way to take more money from candidates.

I would not recommend British Council IELTS. If you are in Canada, seriously consider CELPIP instead. It serves the same purpose for many applications and may save you from this kind of frustrating and expensive experience.

Most ridiculous organisation, they archive my training account and they are behaving like super god . They ruined my all assessments worse place

I went to the British Council Dubai to register my son for the GCSE exam and the advisor who attended to me was very nice and helpful taking me through all the steps of the process. She has a good understanding of the job and was professional in what she was doing. I am very impressed with her assistance. Thank you Kausar David.

My experience with the online exam on August 7, 2026, for €276:

Registration was completed and was paid in full. I logged in before the required time, yet the official IELTS online testing platform completely failed to grant access.

A critical software glitch locked out a prepared candidate, causing a missed submission deadline and forcing the loss of an entire academic year.

Zero real-time support, no functional fail-safe, and total technical unreliability from a high-stakes exam provider.

Today I came to (Colombo- Sri Lanka)collect my daughter’s verification certificate. Since the sudden passing of my husband, I have been emotionally overwhelmed and absent-minded.

I would like to sincerely thank Zeenath from Customer Service. She recognized my emotional state with genuine kindness, empathy, and professionalism, and she went above and beyond to help me.

I worked for a reputed multinational company before, so I understand what excellent customer service looks like. I can honestly say that I have rarely experienced such outstanding care, compassion, and professionalism.

Bravo, Zeenath! Thank you for making a difficult day a little easier. Wishing you a bright future. Keep up the excellent work!

For my first time it was actually amazing. The staff was polite and very patient in Harare ✅. The computer based was user friendly and I didn't have any complications

I wish I could give them 0 stars. I took more than 7 weeks to process my refund, idiots.

Over the past MONTHS (from January 2026) I repeatedly contacted British Council Italy to resolve some issues with the booking of my IELTS exam booked in June. Despite multiple emails, they did not reply or they dismissed me without addressing my concerns (thank you Mrs R. For the worst support I ever received as a customer). I spent months in uncertainty and couldn’t focus on exam preparation due to the contradictory, delayed, and unprofessional communication. To avoid if you can

DO NOT BOOK YOIR IELTS TEST WITH THIS FRAUDULENT COMPANY. They take your money very quickly and then just as quickly they cancel your booking. They request proof of payment and ignore any type of proof… screenshot of transaction, PDF of transaction or formal proof from your bank. UKVI should be ashamed of themselves for using this as an approved provider. Despite over 12 emails WITH PROOF of transaction and 21 days later they have still not refunded my £188 and have still not booked my husband onto his test! I would suggest using Skills for English (another UKVI approved company) who within one week have made payment very easy, provided lots of test options and locations. Within one week I have booked and paid for the test and my husband has sat the test and received his pass result. Use Skills for English NOT The British Council!!!

I signed up for a subscription but after they took my payment, I suddenly I can’t access my account. Suddenly email and password are not matching. Password reset is not working (never once received an email!)

Emailed them and haven’t received any response at all! Terrible experience.

Bad customer service. My niece went for speaking exam with one of the IDs uploaded on her profile which is her passport, but she was refused to sit for exam not even reschedule, not even considering the fact that she was there on time with her passport, not even a blink that we paid 372USD at least give courtesy. Someone was bringing the id from home but they refused and asked to book again as if the money is raining. Very disappointing 😞 😕

The British Council is biased and a supporter of Schools craving huge amounts of money from parents. (white collar crime)
Mismanagement, administration issues, rude and arrogant staff, discrimination, and the list goes on and on... If there were minus stars, I would've opted for that, but Trustpilot says you must give one star in order to write a review, here I am.

My experience with IELTS Online was extremely disappointing due to inconsistent handling of technical issues.

During my Speaking test, there were repeated technical problems on the examiner’s side. Only on the third attempt was I able to complete the test, after a significant delay. Despite these issues, everything was considered acceptable from the provider’s side and the test proceeded.

The following day, during Listening, Reading and Writing, I had a technical issue with my mouse. I immediately informed the invigilator and followed her instructions. Although I explained that I could resolve the issue quickly and preferred to stay on the platform, I was instructed to leave the test environment. I managed to resolve the issue within a few minutes, exactly as instructed, yet my test was cancelled and I was not allowed to continue.

It is difficult to understand how prolonged technical problems on the examiner’s side were accommodated, while a minor issue on my side — resolved within minutes and in full compliance with instructions — resulted in cancellation. This raises serious concerns about consistency and whether candidates can rely on the guidance given during the exam.

We attempted to postpone the exam, but they directed us to download a form, which added to the complications. To make matters worse, if we cancel the exam, they deduct 25% of the total fee. I've never encountered anything more complicated—this fee is even higher than those charged by interest-bearing banks. This is the Abu Dhabi branch.

My wife has done multiple exams in the academic test. We needed a 7 in all to get registered for the AASW. She finally go the 7 in writing after purchasing more courses from them. And the tutors saw here older marks and thought it was strange. We even appealed and paid hundreds to get 0.5 marked up. They replied within ten mins with decision and took the money.

After finishing we see now that the EOI for OZ wants all 8s. But can be in the general. So we think she can get this as she now has all 7 in academic. But nooooooo, worst marks than before. We have spoken to others at the facility and they all have the same issue, also we see this in forums online. The Netherlands examiners are surly pocketing the money.

So now we are going to do the PTE from Pearsons. We hear positive things and is all accepted by visa application, and most of the third world is doing this to get in. So why shouldn't we now. Do not go to IELTS unless you really have too. Stay far away. Money grabbers only.

My son studies in British Council. Two years of Secondary Plus Programme and this year we`ve taken IELTS Preparation. My son studies in the 10th grade now. He improved his English with British Council very much. It is very convinient to study online as we have war now in Ukraine. I am thankful for all their programs. With them I hope my son will be a decent candidate for entering a university in Europe. Also it`s good that the class is small, 6 people. Just perfect to study.

My son recently attempted to take the IELTS Online exam through the British Council in order to be admitted to a bachelor's degree program.
Unfortunately, he encountered a series of persistent technical problems that made the process impossible.

Despite following all the instructions and system requirements, he was blocked by repeated errors four times out of four and only managed to complete it once. The rescheduling then took place several days later, forcing him to purchase a new test.
He appreciated the quick response from the support team, who always rescheduled the exam for him, but the result was always the same: although he used several computers normally used in the office and had passed all the preliminary checks, he was unable to access the exam due to audio problems, and the exams were ultimately canceled.
No refund was ever given, even though the operator acknowledged in writing that the problem was theirs, and there is no way to contact them afterwards except by email.

Furthermore, once the exam was scheduled for 3:00 a.m. (!)

A platform that claims to verify Internet stability should not allow users to proceed if the connection is likely to be interrupted during the exam.

I strongly advise others to think carefully before choosing the online format of the IELTS exam and to consider taking the exam in person at an exam center.

I think this is a scam

A wonderful warm welcome, incredible lady in Miss Fatima who made me feel at ease straight away. I really appreciate what the British council does for our community and meeting a member of staff, who is a role model for the wonderful Emirate of Abu Dhabi that we live in. Thank you for being amazing. Five stars ⭐️