International Compliance Association  Reviews 440

Awful quality of work of the ICA service desk

My review was deleted for some unknown reason, but here it is again - no need to embellish your reputation!

I contacted the ICA service desk via online form on 31st of July 2025, and a more unprofessional and unskilled attitude is hard to imagine. A few years ago I studied on the AML course and corresponded with the customer support desk and I have never encountered such poor quality as now. The person who answers my messages does not read them at all, although several times I paid his/her attention to this, not to mention that he/she is unable to write their name in the signature as the ICA employees always did. The answers are generic and illogical, the information is incorrect, the issues raised in my enquiry have not been addressed – it looks like I am in correspondence with a bot. My request to escalate the issue is being ignored.
I wanted to enroll in a few more courses provided by ICA this year but after what is happening – no way!
ICA claims to have a high standard of quality in AML/CFT area, but if they are not even able to hire competent staff to work directly with customers, then what quality of service can we talk about?!
If ICA staff members read these reviews, check the whole thread "ICA: 00202204" – Are the answers complete, correct, competent and relevant?! Do you want to receive such answers yourselves from "no name"?!
With this attitude you are losing customers!

EDITED: A senior level employee from ICA contacted me on 4th of August 2025 trying to explain how I should respond to her subordinates' incompetence, instead of teaching them how they should do their jobs. The totally wrong information provided, irrelevant and good for nothing answers from the customer service desk do not seem to bother her at all. If their senior employee behaves this way, it is no wonder then that so many people write about poor customer services at ICA.
The case is closed. The business with ICA is closed too.

amazing experience .. staff was very understanding and helpful.

I would like to share my positive experience with ICA, especially highlighting Emma’s outstanding service. She was extremely patient, attentive, and professional, taking the time to carefully explain everything and help me resolve my issue. Her support made the process smooth and stress-free. Thank you, Emma!

Reached out to ICA via live chat and an agent called George helped me. Super friendly, extended a deadline, eased my stress. 10/10 from George!

Dear ICA Team,
I would like to share my positive feedback about your services. The structure and content of your courses are highly practical and directly relevant to real-life work in compliance and risk management. The learning materials are clear, well-organised and up to date, which makes it easier to navigate complex regulatory topics and apply them in practice.

I also appreciate the flexibility of your online learning format and the way the assessments are designed to test not just theory, but understanding and judgement. The overall experience has been professional and supportive, and I would be happy to recommend ICA training to colleagues who wish to deepen their expertise in compliance, financial crime prevention and regulatory risk.

I have contacted to be answered my some question for course so I join live chat.
Wherein, I felt very good as service was very noble and humble.

Person Sarina has good manners so your organization should promote her as she may be a growth full candidate for your organization.

I signed up to the anti-corruption specialist course, and found some technical issues when it came to trying to sit the exam. I used the live chat and they rectified it within a couple of minutes and gave me an additional month to complete the course, as a courtesy. Very happy with my experience overall.

Honestly, avoid the ICA Advanced AML Certificate entirely. It's a massive scam and a huge waste of money, especially compared to ACAMS, which is infinitely better—the difference in quality is night and day. The course cost over €3,000, and the content is embarrassingly basic; you can literally Google superior information for free. It was just a couple of lessons with zero guidance on the two assessments, which I passed easily, proving the whole thing is a joke and definitely doesn't measure real expertise. On top of the low quality, the tutor, James, was actively rude and wouldn't even accept questions from students. But the worst part was the administration and their predatory policies: I asked for a simple 48-hour exam extension months in advance due to a mandatory business trip, they flat-out refused, and then tried to charge me a shocking €250 resit fee. That alone shows they care about nothing but milking money, not education or student support. I have took another certification with ACAMS and i have to say they are sooo much better, ICA is just a joke.

Emily was incredible!

I needed to get a certificate back as I needed it for evidence within an interview, but had no way to access my account.

I contact support and Emily was able to resolve this for me. Great service.

Inconsistent marking and no accountability taken by the ICA for clear and obvious marking errors. I urge anyone to avoid this organisation at all costs - there are much better qualifications like FRM, CFA, CAIA, ACA etc.

I had joined for ICA Certificate in Anti Money Laundering in July , but I could not complete it during the two month`s period. Today I contacted the Support Team , Emily, She helped me to reopen the course module and exam. Thanks for the great support!

I'm very sad, I've been suffering for 5 months to determine the assessment 2, I sent many emails too late to get a response from ICA contact center
up today, I'm still suffering, although I paid money for a new date for assessment 2 concerning the GRC Certificate

ORDER CONFIRMATION NO C-FE-7943-86f1-ab5f

until now not received any confirmation FOR MY ASSESSMENT NO 2

He fulfilled all my requests. He provided very fast support.

Today, while submitting my second certification exam, I encountered a problem with uploading my response document.
Please note that it was a Monday and I was already at work, feeling extremely tired and stressed.
As we all know, stress can sometimes play tricks on our minds.

An angel from above, in the form of Joshua from the customer support team, guided me through every step of the submission process and explained everything clearly and patiently.
He was calm, supportive and helped ease my anxiety.
ICA, please know that your customer support service, thanks to Joshua, truly saved someone’s day.

I am deeply grateful to Joshua and perhaps to the person behind that name :)

This is a reminder of the power of human connection.
I would choose a human over AI a thousand times.

Always good, always efficient, always friendly.

I have been referred on to a number of different agents as my query was involved. I received prompt and efficient feedback from all of them. They all knew their scope and did not miss a beat when referring me onto the next agent, excellent service. Thank you.

UPDATE: I attempted again in late 2025 to reach out via email and phonr and still nothing.

Nobody picks up the phone. Customer suppory knows nothing about their own products. Email support is non-existent.

I’ve tried to pay for the Introduction to KYC/CDD Certification with ICA/Wilmington shared services LTD three times — 15/06/2025, 21/07/2025, and 11/08/2025. Each time, £1,098.00 has been taken from my account, followed by an error message and 'payment pending.'

ICA/Wilmington say it’s a bank issue. My banks (Monzo & Barclays) say it’s not — Monzo even gave me an authorisation code for Wilmington to push the payment through. I was promised an update by end of day. Nothing.

I now have £1,098.00 missing again and no course. If the payment system is this unreliable and customer service this unresponsive, it raises serious concerns about the quality and professionalism of the training itself!

**UPDATE**
15/08/2025:

Following my initial review, I was promptly contacted by Kirsty, the Learner Recruitment & Enrolment Team Lead. She provided answers to questions that the online chat team had previously been unable to answer. Kirsty explained the reason behind the failed enrolment attempts for the course I had paid for, and apologised for the lack of support I had received when trying to have the debited funds returned.

She has now successfully enrolled me onto the course, and I look forward to proceeding with my CPD. I appreciate Kirsty's swift and professional intervention, which has resolved the matter.

Amazing support for all enquiries. Very fast in responding to all questions.