Hyderabad: A ruling by the Hyderabad District Consumer Commission-3 found ETS India at fault for not allowing a student to take the TOEFL Home Edition exam due to unclear identification requirements. The commission ordered the company to pay a total of Rs 76,900 in compensation and costs.
Madhupalli Ravi from Banjara Hills, Hyderabad, filed the case for his daughter, M. Kiran Sumedha Gupta. She paid Rs 16,900 on July 11, 2024, to register for the TOEFL iBT Home Edition exam scheduled for July 21. During registration, she selected Aadhaar as her ID, which the system accepted as “National ID.”
On exam day, the online supervisor denied her entry, insisting only a passport was valid. Despite the family’s attempts to contact ETS India to reschedule, they received no effective response. A legal notice sent on July 30 brought a brief reply, but the company eventually stopped communicating.
In its defense, ETS claimed its bulletin clearly stated a passport was necessary for the exam and candidates were instructed to read this in the confirmation email. They argued the cancellation due to ID issues was justified, and they couldn’t refund or reschedule.
The Commission noted that ETS’s acceptance of Aadhaar created confusion. It ruled that charging a high fee without clear instructions, then ignoring a formal complaint, was a service failure. This caused the student to miss academic opportunities and endure stress.
The Hyderabad District Consumer Commission-3 directed ETS India to refund the Rs 16,900 test fee, pay Rs 50,000 for mental distress, and Rs 10,000 for legal costs, totaling Rs 76,900, to be paid within 45 days.
