Complaints

This profile includes complaints for CFA Institute's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  CFA Institute

  915 East High St Charlottesville, VA 22902

• 

  CFA Institute

  560 Ray C. Hunt Drive Charlottesville, VA 22903

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/17/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On May 9th 2024, I registered for the level 1 CFA exam. Their policy states that you can receive a full refund if you cancel within 14 days. A few hours after registering for my exam, I filed a cancellation request. Upon submitting this request, there was a page error. I immediately submitted a message through their contact us page. I was told that I would receive my refund as soon as the issue was fixed. Since then, I have tried to submit multiple inquires with no help. It has now been over 3 months and I have yet to receive a refund.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/30/2024

  This acknowledges receipt of the complaint submitted by ********************. We are in the process of investigating this matter internally, including reviewing ********************' communications with our contact center. We will reach out to ******************** directly next week to resolve the issue.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/27/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On May 13th we issued a check to the CFA Institute for my annual dues, which were not due until June 30. On May 30, the check cleared. Shortly thereafter I completed the required professional conduct statement. The CFA Institute continues to claim I have not paid and still owe them dues. I want immediate credit for my dues and a personal letter of apology for the inordinate amount of trouble they have caused me. In addition, I want the organization to streamline operations so no one else experiences this horrible treatment.The p/w for the excel file with my bank info is Equine34.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/03/2024

  CFA Institute does not send physical membership renewal documents to our members, and we request that renewals be completed online at **************************************************************. CFA Institutes online membership renewal process requires verification of personal and professional details, signature on the membership agreement, completion of a Professional Conduct Statement, and payment.  The preferred method of payment is submission of member dues online during renewal. However, CFA Institute will accept payment outside the online system (including a paper check) if the member generates an online invoice to which non-digital payment outside of the online system can be applied.
  
  CFA Institute confirms receipt of ************** paper check, constituting payment outside of the system.Our initial review shows that ************ has not yet completed the other three steps, which would allow her to generate an invoice to which we can apply her check payment. ************ states that she has completed one of those steps (the Professional Conduct Statement), but we have been unable to locate a record of that completed Professional Conduct Statement. We also have not identified a record of ************ signing the member agreement. We are conducting an internal investigation and enlisting help from our IT team to better understand the situation before we proceed. The CFA Institute Finance team has indicated that they are on standby to apply ************** payment as soon as an invoice is generated. As noted above, we are unable to generate an invoice and complete the membership renewal until receipt of the signed member agreement and completed Professional Conduct Statement.
  
  CFA Institute values ************* longstanding membership with and commitment to CFA Institute. We will be in touch with her in the near future, by phone or by email, once we have finalized our investigation and have a better understanding of her renewal process.  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/28/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On February 5, 2020, I signed up for the June 2020 CFA level II exam, which cost $1,000. The exam, which requires 300+ hours of studying, was then cancelled due to COVID. I then changed the date of my exam to December 2020. The exam was once again cancelled. No longer having the capacity to study for this exam since I was now working very long hours, I was unable to push the exam to a later date. I was of the belief that I would be refunded or credited in my CFA account since the exam was cancelled twice, but they stated in an email that there was a window in which I could request a refund, or I could take the exam in 2021 (which I was unable to do). Now, having the capacity to once again pursue this exam, I have come to realize that I do not have a credit in my account. They responded to me stating they could not refund me and that they can only offer me a discounted rate if I take the exam this year, which is still a lot of money. I understand paying an amount if I were to cancel, for example, a hotel room two weeks ahead of time, given a certain amount of risk falls on the hotel to backfill that room, however, this is not the situation. I paid $1,000 for a service that was not provided. I have attached the initial receipt, the second receipt which was a credit to sign up, and the CFA Institutes response to me.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/08/2024

  The candidate was offered the opportunity for a refund during the established refund period in 2020, which he elected not to receive. Accordingly, the candidate is ineligible for a refund of his exam registration fees. Although the candidate is also not technically due a deferral, as the deferral window for affected twice-deferred candidates closed after November 2021, we have made an exception to the relevant policy and granted the candidate a one-time complementary registration for the August 2024, November 2024, or May 2025 Level II CFA Exam. We consider this matter closed on our end.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/15/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  CFA Insitute would not refund me my test fee. I paid for this earlier and was expecting to have my employer refund me for the cost. I have since left my employer and no longer need to take this exam. I do not work in the financial service industry and this product does not have any value for **** have explained to the team that I do not have a need to this exam or be a part of the organization

  Business Response

  Date: 11/16/2023

  We are in receipt of Mr. ***** notification. ************ previously reached out to CFA Institute regarding this matter, at which point he was notified that he had a 14-day post-registration window for which he was eligible for a refund or complementary exam transfer/deferral. He is currently well beyond this window, and is not eligible for a refund. We consider this matter to be closed. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/16/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the offer and/or response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  [Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.]
  
  Regards,
  
  *******************
  
  
  
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/29/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Hello, My name is ***************************, and my ID is *********. A few months ago, I received an email from Prometrics saying the date, time, and location I picked for my exam is no longer available, and my exam has been rescheduled. It also said If you are unable to test on the rescheduled date, time, and/or location listed above, you may reschedule your exam with a one-time reschedule fee waive. After receiving this email, I noticed my exam time was changed from 8am to 3pm as well as the location of my exam. Knowing for sure that I wouldnt want to give the exam in the new location and in the afternoon, because Im more focused in the mornings, I changed my study plan to prepare for a later date in February or May. I thought I was able to reschedule for free as that was what was stated in the email I received. A few days ago, I opened my account to reschedule my exam, only to find out what cfa institute means by rescheduling is moving the exam to another date in the same window. I was not familiar with this and there were no indication of this definition for rescheduling in the email that I had received and that I could only change the date and time in the one week that Nov exams are being held. Now, not only have I not completed my preparations, I also found out that there are no date, time, and locations that work for me in the Nov window. This wouldnt have happened if the email I received was more clear on what CFA means by the word rescheduling, so, I simply request a full refund or a fee waiver to defer my exam.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/08/2023

  Although the candidate was not technically due a deferral, we made an exception to the relevant policy and granted the candidate a one-time complementary deferral. We have closed this matter on our end.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/15/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My exam was scheduled on 16th Nov 2022 and on 14th I received an email that the exam got cancelled due to "site closure" and my exam will be rescheduled by prometric. Unfortunately around same time I was in process of purchasing the deferral. When I checked my email I found out about the email of exam cancellation by prometric due to logistical issues at the site. I immediately called prometric to confirm this and they confirmated that my exam will be rescheduled in the same exam window without any charge. I sent multiple emails to ******************************* but they never bothered to reply. I finally asked my bank to revert this payment and filed for a chargeback as the payment was not applicable as there was no exam on the exam date to defer and I have already been told my prometric that I will be rescheduled in the same exam window. After constantly calling them on their phone number, I was told to wait as my refund is under "management review". After a month of waiting and no response from them, I again called them yesterday and I was told my a very rude and possibly racist customer care representative ***** that I won't get any refund as there are no exceptions to the defer payment policy before hanging up the call, which contradicts their own statements earlier in which they said that my refund is under "management review". I would like to use BBB as first step to resolve this issue if not, will be filing a class action lawsuit against this illicit and unethical business practice as I just came to know from these complaints on BBB that they have been doing this to almost everyone and there are a lot of victims of this illicit practice.*********************** CFA ID: ********* Appointment confirmation no.: ****************

  Business Response

  Date: 12/16/2022

  This candidate chose to defer to a later exam. In this case,the exam candidate chose to pay to defer to a later exam, and now wishes to undo the agreement the candidate made to switch exams after the fact.
  
  Please see the attached screenshot of the agreement this candidate agreed to when selecting the option to defer the exam. Specifically, this candidate agreed that they:

  1) Understood they were canceling their existing exam appointment; and
  2) Understood that there would be no right to a refund even if the original exam is later cancelled.
  
  CFA Institute considers this matter closed, as the candidate is not eligible for a refund per the terms they agreed to.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/28/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I was scheduled to take an exam on 11/26 at 8 am and on my way to exam around 7 am was involved in an accident with another totaling my car. I was unable to make it to the exam and they are trying to charge me $400 for something completely out of my control.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/28/2022

  This is an extremely unfortunate event. In this case, there is an option for a paid deferral that this candidate can take advantage of. She was informed of this when she emailed about the accident on the 26th of November. This is the refund and deferral policy that this candidate agreed to when the exam registration was purchased. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/29/2022

  This situation was out of my control and I believe there should be waivers due to extreme circumstances. $400 fee is price gouging. I will be going to the state attorney general to file a further complaint. 
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/16/2022

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Hi,My name is ************************* and my ID is ******* I've been calling the customer service at CFA and sending emails since October 14th regarding my restricted account and I'm only told that someone will contact me within the next 48 hours or "in the near future" but no one called or sent anything yet.This is now beyond annoying specially that apparently I can't escalate or speak with a manager or nothing. I need a solution for my case as Im planning to register for CIPM level 2 exam. ID: ******* *************************

  Business Response

  Date: 11/21/2022

  Thank you for forwarding us this complaint. Please note that:

  
  1. We are bound by ** Export Control Regulations to enact due diligence requirements on certain transactions with foreign nationals who are citizens of restricted countries;
  2. Due diligence takes time and requires us to verify that certain individuals are not barred by law from receiving our services; and
  3. In this case, the entire due diligence period took less than three weeks, and we believe this is now resolved.
  
  ************************* has been notified that his account restriction has been lifted and we consider this matter closed.

  
  Sincerely,
  CFA Institute

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/21/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's offer.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  CFA Institute has resolved my issue. Thanks for your help.
  
  Regards,
  
  *************************