CII faces more exam trouble as candidates unable to book R06

FTAdviser understands that individuals are able to view the exam booking voucher on their CII account, but are unable to view and book this when it redirects to PSI - the exam centre and assessment provider.

Candidates facing these troubles have called CII customer services and were informed yesterday (March 21) that this exam was not open to book for a few days.

A spokesperson for the CII told FTAdviser today (March 22) that its systems show bookings have been made for R06 Financial Planning Practice. 

They said if candidates are still having issues booking their R06 exam, they should contact the CII’s customer service team who will be able to book it for them.

But customer service informed one candidate that it was having trouble booking exams for many individuals due to some errors in the linking of CII to PSI.

The customer service representative told the candidate it was unable to book the examination and the individual should try again tomorrow morning.

According to the CII website, examinations such as R06 are usually open to book three months in advance of the examination date.

For the exam earlier this year on January 25, it was available to book from November 22 to January 11. 

Yet, for the upcoming exam next month on April 26, the examination was not available to book over the weekend (March 20). 

FTAdviser understands that since contacting the CII, the website has updated to show bookings are open as of yesterday (March 21), with just over a month till the examination.

Gill White, chief customer officer of the CII, said: “The opportunity to book R06, which has been developed to help advisers develop and demonstrate their financial planning capabilities, is currently open according to our scheduled release timetable, namely open to book from March 21 2022 for the sitting on April 26 2022 with a closing date for entries on April 12 2022.

“The study our members and students are undertaking in difficult circumstances to understand clients’ needs, wants, values and risk profile remains essential to the financial planning process providing independent resilience which can adapt to changes in personal circumstances.”

Last year, the CII faced exam glitches as candidates having taken exams in the past 48 hours were unable to view their results and certificates online.

During the pandemic, the CII also apologised to candidates for “unacceptable instances” including problems with accessing remote invigilation sessions and technical issues during sittings.

Candidates had experienced a delayed start to a remote invigilated exam in July 2020, followed by some candidates experiencing technical issues with a remote multiple choice exam in August.

Technical issues continued in test centres in October 2020, with candidates claiming their computer system froze or shut down hours into the exam.

However, these issues continued into 2021. In March, the CII was forced to issue its exam results a day early after it suffered a technical issue, causing confusion among candidates.

In April, it was reported that advisers were unable to take exams due to system failure.

In October, Sian Fisher, chief executive officer of the CII, who is stepping down next year, said work was already underway to update its systems. 

She said the pandemic had impacted its events and exams business which was now moving to updated technology systems. 

sonia.rach@ft.com

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