Post by Ali Elhassan

Dear LinkedIn community, Dear Members of the British Council, I would like to spot the light on a personal issue I am undergoing and wish for your kind support. On March 18th I undertook the IELTS exam at the British Council Sudan, but due to the situation of war taking place in Sudan, the British Council Sudan was shut down and all the relevant communication was transferred to Uganda at first. Trying to retrieve my IELTS certificate, I contacted the British Council in Uganda asking about the course of action but they were bound by their policies that prevented them from sending certificates via email and insisted I collect it in person, and that if I relocated they will arrange for it to be issued in my new location. Given the urgency of university submission deadlines, I have relocated to UAE with the hopes of obtaining my certificate from there. However, they informed me that all Sudanese transactions had been redirected to Egypt, and I could ONLY get my certificate from there. I explained to them that I can’t move to Egypt with my current situation, and they advised me to ask them to have it sent to me from Egypt by a courier and I afford all the expenses. In an attempt to do so, I sent many emails to the British Council in Egypt but I received no response in return. I had to file a complaint to the British Council in the UK and UAE only to get a response from the Egypt branch. Eventually, they replied by asking me to contact the British Council in Sudan to get my candidate number which I do not have. A seemingly impossible task in the light of the ongoing war in my country. I think they have no clear understanding that the British Council in Sudan had been shut down and there has been no available contact method with them since the 15th of April. I have sent the Egypt branch all the details I could provide, including my Passport ID, Reference number for the IELTS test, TRF number, and even the test place and date of the test in an attempt for them to help me get my certificate and I received no update. I have exchanged about 67 emails with different branches of the British Council including the UK, UAE, Egypt, and Uganda, filed 4 different complaints, and contacted customer services many times. Each time they respond by saying they've escalated my problem to the relevant department and I get no update on the matter. It has been almost 5 months since my initial complaint and so far no one helped me with my issue. As a war refugee, I am trying to look forward and your kind support will be greatly appreciated.