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Business Profile

Educational Research

Academia.edu

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

Find BBB Accredited Businesses in Educational Research.

Complaints

Customer Complaints Summary

  • 148 total complaints in the last 3 years.
  • 131 complaints closed in the last 12 months.

If you've experienced an issue

Submit a Complaint

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.

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Complaint status

Complaint type

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:07/24/2025

    Type:Order Issues
    Status:
    Answered
    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.
    For the last three years, Academia.edu has increased unilaterally their annual subscription, going from $49 in 2022 (which is what I signed up for) to $379 this year (last payment was made on ****** on July 21st, 2025). I firmly believe this is a scam. For example, on 2024 they tripled the price without any warning. They have denied a refund.

    Business Response

    Date: 07/25/2025


    Thanks for getting in touch. Our records currently indicate this payment was refunded!

    In some cases, if you refund very close to your purchase date, your original payment will have never been processed and been removed from your card.

    If you still see the original charge and no refund, please contact your bank or payment processor.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:07/24/2025

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Answered
    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 would like to request a refund because i did not intend to renew my subscription. I did not use the website or the premium features.

    Business Response

    Date: 07/25/2025


    Thanks for getting in touch! We're happy to look more into your payment for you.

    If you paid with a credit card, please provide the last 4 digits of the card where you see the charge, the date of the payment on your card, and the amount and currency.

    If you paid with ******, please provide your Academia.edu email address or ****** email address, and the date of the payment.

    If you don't know any of these, the email address that we sent the "Welcome to Academia Premium" email to will also help us look up your payment.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:07/23/2025

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Resolved
    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 6/20/25 I paid for a trial subscription at ************, so that I could read some pdf's. I am not a scholar, nor do I publish any thing.I cancelled two days later and deleted the app from my phone. I thought that was all I had to do.But on 7/20/25 at 12:01 pm my debit card was charged ******.I emailed them for three days asking for a refund. I called the number on the charge info and got a voice mail giving instructions for getting a refund.I never got an email or any other kind of notification from them prior to the charge.I got emails, just the standard premade letter informing me that I would not be refunded.I was unable to ever reach a real person to speak to about this!The final email I received stated that their policy did not allow a refund.Then I searched for info online and came across the recent reviews on Trust Pilot and found that there were HUNDREDS of others with this same issue with ******* husband and I live on social security, he is 82 yrs old and has to work a night job. We cannot afford to have this kind of money just stolen from our account.I WANT A REFUND of the ******

    Business Response

    Date: 07/23/2025


    Thanks for getting in touch. Our records currently indicate this payment was refunded!

    In some cases, if you refund very close to your purchase date, your original payment will have never been processed and been removed from your card.

    If you still see the original charge and no refund, please contact your bank or payment processor.

    Customer Answer

    Date: 07/24/2025

    Better Business Bureau:

    I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

    Sincerely,

    ***** *******

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:07/21/2025

    Type:Order Issues
    Status:
    Resolved
    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 have a transaction of $299 charged to my credit card of a membership that I did not subscribe to. Please submit a refund as soon as possible.

    Business Response

    Date: 07/22/2025

    Hi ******,

    Thanks for getting in touch. Our records currently indicate this payment was refunded!

    In some cases, if you refund very close to your purchase date, your original payment will have never been processed and been removed from your card.

    If you still see the original charge and no refund, please contact your bank or payment processor.

    Customer Answer

    Date: 07/23/2025

    Better Business Bureau:

    I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

    Sincerely,

    ****** ******

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:07/20/2025

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Resolved
    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 am filing a complaint against Academia.edu for charging me $379 for a Premium membership renewal without my consent, despite the fact that I explicitly canceled the auto-renewal option by the date of the renewal (July 7, 2025) through their website interface. I took all the necessary steps to prevent automatic renewal and notified them immediately once I noticed the charge showed up on my credit card account as tentative. Nonetheless, my credit card was charged (July 8, 2025) for another year of Premium membership, which I did not authorize (at a substantial increase by the way). I immediately contacted customer service (ticket #*******, explained the situation, and requested a full refund. However, they refused to issue a refund, claiming they do not refund automatic renewals, even though it clearly violated my cancelation request and rights as a consumer. This is a very significant amount of money for me and I believe it was taken against my clear request to cancel the subscription. I am requesting Better Business Bureau assistance in resolving this matter by urging Academia.edu to issue a full refund of $379.

    Business Response

    Date: 07/22/2025


    Thanks for getting in touch. Our records currently indicate this payment was refunded!

    In some cases, if you refund very close to your purchase date, your original payment will have never been processed and been removed from your card.

    If you still see the original charge and no refund, please contact your bank or payment processor.

    Customer Answer

    Date: 07/24/2025

    Better Business Bureau:

    I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

    Sincerely,

    ******* *******

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:07/16/2025

    Type:Billing Issues
    Status:
    Answered
    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.
    July 1, 2025 charge on my monthly **** bill.I was charged for the renewal of a subscription to ********. I did not renew my subscription and asked them to cancel the charge they had put on my **** card. They refused. ******* informed me that the company making the charge was the only entity that could cancel their charge.The amount is ****** Euros which was taken from my account July 1.

    Business Response

    Date: 07/16/2025

    Hello ****** *****-Fahlstrm,


    Thank you for continued followed-up on this issue. After discussing this with our team, we've decided to grant you a one-time exception to our refund policy. However, moving forward we will not be able to offer refunds on renewal payments after your 30-day low cost trial and we will not be able to process any additional refunds for you on this subscription or any additional subscriptions.

    Depending on your bank, you will see the refund show up anywhere between 5-10 business days from now.

    With your free account, you'll retain access to all our Academia free features, such as uploading and downloading single papers, messaging, basic analytics, title search, and your profile.

    Please let us know if we can help you out with anything else, and thanks for being a part of the Academia community.

    Customer Answer

    Date: 07/21/2025

     
    Complaint: ********

    I am rejecting this response because:

    From: ****** *****-********* <**********************************************************************>
    Sent: Sunday, July 20, 2025 2:37 AM
    To: info <**********************************************************************************************>
    Subject: Re: You have a New Message from BBB Serving ********************** and ***************************, Complaint #********

     

    Academia has not refunded the money as promised. Please pursue them.

     

     

    ****** *****-Fahlstrm
    The yvind ******************* and Archives
    Ausias **** 17, 2 1
    ***** *********, *****

    ****************  Spanish cell

     



    Sincerely,

    ****** *****-fahlstrm

    Business Response

    Date: 07/22/2025


    Thank you for continued followed-up on this issue. After discussing this with our team, we've decided to grant you a one-time exception to our refund policy. However, moving forward we will not be able to offer refunds on renewal payments after your 30-day low cost trial and we will not be able to process any additional refunds for you on this subscription or any additional subscriptions.

    Depending on your bank, you will see the refund show up anywhere between 5-10 business days from now.

    With your free account, you'll retain access to all our Academia free features, such as uploading and downloading single papers, messaging, basic analytics, title search, and your profile.

    Please let us know if we can help you out with anything else, and thanks for being a part of the *******************

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:07/15/2025

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Resolved
    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'm writing because I was unfairly charged for a premium subscription by Academia.edu that auto-renewed.Back on or around June ******* I signed up for a one-month premium trial for just $1. I thought it was a one-time trial, and I definitely didn't plan for it to automatically renew into a full-price subscription. In fact, I cancelled my trial around two weeks before it was set to expire, specifically to avoid any further charges.Then, on July *******, I was surprised to see a bill for P ******** (equivalent to $99 USD) from Academia.edu. I've attached proof of this bill. I never got any clear heads-up or reminder about this auto-renewal, and I certainly didn't approve such a big charge. Upon checking my Academia account's email notification settings, I discovered that the option for "payments for Academia Premium" was unchecked by default, which completely prevented me from receiving any billing notifications. I've also attached a screenshot of this setting as evidence. Since I'm not a U.S. citizen, it's possible I missed some important communication, or maybe the auto-renewal terms weren't clear enough when I signed up for the trial.I wasn't properly informed about this charge and simply don't want to continue with a paid subscription at this price.What I'm looking for is a full refund of that $99 USD charge. I've already made sure to cancel the auto-renewal so this doesn't happen again.

    Business Response

    Date: 07/15/2025

    Hello **** Timothy **************** appears your account was signed up for our 30-day low-cost trial of our Academia Premium subscription. This is a month trial that is associated with an annual subscription. We show both in your upgrade email and on the checkout page that at the end of the trial you will be billed for a full year's subscription if you do not cancel. ******** does not offer any Academia Premium free trials at this time.

    As a reminder, Academia Premium includes great upgrades to our free ***************** such as Mentions (see who cites you), Readers (see who's reading your papers), our PDF packages of all documents related to a paper you like, and more.

    As it does not appear we have a record of you cancelling the auto-renew on your low-cost trial, you were billed for a full year of an Academia Premium subscription. Since it sounds like that wasn't intended, I have refunded your payment. Depending on your bank, you will see the refund show up anywhere between 5-10 business days from now. You'll keep access to all our Academia free features, such as uploading and downloading single papers, messaging, basic analytics, title search, and your profile.

    Please let us know if we can help you out with anything else regarding Academia or Academia Premium by contacting us at ********************************.

    Customer Answer

    Date: 07/16/2025

    Better Business Bureau:

    Thank you for the update and for forwarding Academia.edu's response.
    I am pleased to confirm that Academia.edu has processed a full refund of $99 USD, which addresses my primary concern. I will verify the refund's appearance in my bank account within the next 5-10 business days.

    While I am satisfied with the refund, I felt it was important to share that the absence of prior notification for the auto-renewal, especially with the "payments for Academia Premium" notification setting being off by default in my account, significantly contributed to this misunderstanding. My earlier cancellation of the trial also led to my expectation that no further charges would occur.

    I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

    Thank you for your valuable assistance.

    Sincerely,

    **** Timothy *******

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:07/14/2025

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Resolved
    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.
    Academia.edu charged me double the amount of the yearly membership on July 11th for 299 dollars. The only notification I received from them was buried within an email that was one of seven or more spam emails they sent to me in the month of June. I have attached the email where I was notified, it is at the bottom in smaller print. You would need to read the whole message to see if included a substantial price increase. Also, my membership was set to renew on July 11th I cancelled my membership and contacted the company before business hours on July 11th. I have requested a refund twice and was denied because I am told it is against their policy to refund renewal fees. However, I aware I am not the only one who feels deceived a one hundred fifty dollar increase is not a standard subscription increase. It should also be noted when you call for a refund they request a name with spelling, currency, phone number, and other infromation. The message says they will not contact you back if you do not provide ths information. The list of information on a message is unreasonable. There should have been much more clear notification, a easy process to request cancellation the day, and complaints should be appropiately responded to.

    Business Response

    Date: 07/15/2025

    Hello Eleni *******,

    After discussing this with our team, we've decided to grant you a one-time exception to our refund policy. However, moving forward we will not be able to offer refunds on renewal payments after your 30-day low cost trial and we will not be able to process any additional refunds for you on this subscription or any additional subscriptions.

    Depending on your bank, you will see the refund show up anywhere between 5-10 business days from now.

    With your free account, you'll retain access to all our Academia free features, such as uploading and downloading single papers, messaging, basic analytics, title search, and your profile.

    Please let us know if we can help you out with anything else by reaching us at ********************************.

    Customer Answer

    Date: 07/16/2025

    Better Business Bureau:

    I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

    Sincerely,

    ***** *******

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:07/13/2025

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Resolved
    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.
    Greetings,Last month I subscribed to "Academia Premium Trial" for $1.But yesterday I surprised that Academia charged me $79 for annual subscription.I sent two requests to full refund for the charge of $79, associated with my account (***************************).This charge was made without my consent / under misleading conditions / not in line with their advertised refund policy.Their website (**********************************)

    Business Response

    Date: 07/14/2025

    Hello *******,

    Thanks for getting in touch with this issue. It appears your account was signed up for our 30-day low-cost trial of our Academia Premium subscription. This is a month trial that is associated with an annual subscription. We show both in your upgrade email and on the checkout page that at the end of the trial you will be billed for a full year's subscription if you do not cancel. ******** does not offer any Academia Premium free trials at this time.

    As a reminder, Academia Premium includes great upgrades to our free ***************** such as Mentions (see who cites you), Readers (see who's reading your papers), our PDF packages of all documents related to a paper you like, and more.

    As it does not appear we have a record of you cancelling the auto-renew on your low-cost trial, you were billed for a full year of an Academia Premium subscription. Since it sounds like that wasn't intended, I have refunded your payment. Depending on your bank, you will see the refund show up anywhere between 5-10 business days from now. You'll keep access to all our Academia free features, such as uploading and downloading single papers, messaging, basic analytics, title search, and your profile.

    Please let us know if we can help you out with anything else regarding Academia or Academia Premium by contacting us at ********************************.

    Customer Answer

    Date: 07/18/2025

    Better Business Bureau:

    I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

    Sincerely,

    ******* ****

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:07/12/2025

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Resolved
    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.
    Unauthorized Annual Renewal and Refund Refusal Despite Policy I am filing a complaint against Academia.edu regarding an unauthorized subscription renewal and their refusal to issue a refund.I initially signed up for a trial period, which later auto-renewed to an annual premium plan without any clear prior notice. According to Academia.edus stated refund policy, they offer refunds within 30 days of purchase for first-time subscriptions and trial renewals.I contacted them within 30 days of the renewal to request a refund, explaining that I did not intend to continue after the trial and that I had not used any premium features after the renewal date. Despite clearly meeting their policy conditions, they rejected my refund request.This behavior is misleading and violates their own terms. I am requesting intervention to receive a full refund for the annual subscription charged I can provide email correspondence, screenshots of their refund policy, and payment receipts upon request.

    Business Response

    Date: 07/14/2025

    Hello *****,

    Thanks for getting in touch with this issue. It appears your account was signed up for our 30-day low-cost trial of our Academia Premium subscription. This is a month trial that is associated with an annual subscription. We show both in your upgrade email and on the checkout page that at the end of the trial you will be billed for a full year's subscription if you do not cancel. ******** does not offer any Academia Premium free trials at this time.

    As a reminder, Academia Premium includes great upgrades to our free ***************** such as Mentions (see who cites you), Readers (see who's reading your papers), our PDF packages of all documents related to a paper you like, and more.

    As it does not appear we have a record of you cancelling the auto-renew on your low-cost trial, you were billed for a full year of an Academia Premium subscription. Since it sounds like that wasn't intended, I have refunded your payment. Depending on your bank, you will see the refund show up anywhere between 5-10 business days from now. You'll keep access to all our Academia free features, such as uploading and downloading single papers, messaging, basic analytics, title search, and your profile.

    Please let us know if we can help you out with anything else regarding Academia or Academia Premium.

    Customer Answer

    Date: 07/15/2025

    Better Business Bureau:

    I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

    After raising my concerns, Academia.edu reviewed my case and issued a full refund.

    I appreciate their willingness to resolve the situation and support their customers.

    While the initial experience was unexpected, their final response demonstrates that they do care about user satisfaction.

    Sincerely

    Kanan

Academia.edu is NOT a BBB Accredited Business.

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