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Business Profile

Internet Services

Scribd

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

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Important information

Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Scribd's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see

Find a Location

Scribd has 3 locations, listed below.

*This company may be headquartered in or have additional locations in another country. Please click on the country abbreviation in the search box below to change to a different country location.

    Please enter a valid location.

    • Scribd

      460 Bryant Street, #100 San Francisco, CA 94107

    • Scribd

      539 Bryant St Ste 200 San Francisco, CA 94107-1269

    • Scribd

      333 Bush St Ste 2400 San Francisco, CA 94104-2806

    Customer Complaints Summary

    • 258 total complaints in the last 3 years.
    • 58 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.

    Sort by

    Complaint status

    Complaint type

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:10/10/2023

      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.
      Much like the ****% of the people here, I have been getting charged behind my back despite cancelling the subscription for months. After realizing this, I noticed that I wasn't allowed to cancel at all because I tried and tried and tried to cancel through their website but it still said I'm subscribed!!!! When I would hit cancel, it led me straight back to the main page JUST like the first time I cancelled. At first, this made me believe that it has been cancelled because CLEARLY it registered as it LED me to a different page. However, this is not the case because what happened to me a few days ago when I tried to cancel again was what happened to me months ago when I decided to cancel the subscription only back then I wasn't aware that I wasn't allowed to cancel. When I contacted them, they gave me the copy/paste response saying "Our system doesn't show a prior cancellation on the account, which is why you were billed." as I have seen on here a countless of times after learning that this issue not unique to me. They only gave me 3 months refund back when I am owed at least 9 months of funds back. I want no less that what I am owed.

      Business Response

      Date: 10/10/2023

      Hello *****,

      According to our system, I can see that your account wasn't canceled until October 09, 2023 when you contact our support. Also, we have provided a total of six months refunds, which are the maximum amount of transactions our system is allowed to refund. 

      Please bear in mind that transactions made prior to a certain date are inaccessible for refund, as they have long been finalized.If you have any other questions, please let us know. Thank you again for contacting Scribd, have a nice day. -FP

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:10/09/2023

      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.
      Somehow I got a subscription to Scribd. It could have been that I signed up for a trial period, but I don't remember doing that. However, I have made several attempts to contact them to cancel, but I am still getting billed every month for $13.13. I have visited their website many times and when I enter my email address I get a message that indicates that the system can't find it and prevents me from cancelling online. I have also tried to call them to cancel it, but receive a message that I should contact them by mail. Attached is a copy of the letter I sent 7/4/2023. The last time I was charged was 9/29/2023.

      Business Response

      Date: 10/09/2023

      Hello ******, 

      Thank you for your message. 

      We haven't locate any active accounts with the email ******************** so we will need more information in order to locate the account and solve this situation. Please submit a direct ticket to our Payments advanced team with the link: *********************************

      As soon as we receive your ticket we will be glad to take a closer look into this. Thanks! -FP

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:10/07/2023

      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 purchased an annual Scribd membership on 10/20/2022. Scribd advertises "unlimited books" for the price of $144 a year. However, for the past several months, they limit the number of books I can access and tell me the rest will be available in 3 weeks. For the month of October, I currently have 2 books available. In September I had 4 books available and the rest were "saved". This is blatent false advertising and I will also be filing a complaint with the ********** Attorney General. I would like a refund AND I want access to the books I've selected. I'm disabled. I don't have a tv so I read books.

      Business Response

      Date: 10/07/2023

      We have reviewed ****'s support ticket and their Scribd account under the email address osud**@gmail.com to confirm that a member of our team did provide details regarding book availability, but we're truly sorry for any confusion regarding our library.

      While *************** find some titles not immediately available, there will always be something to read! Our article located at ********************** provides more information on this, which we did explain in support ticket #*******.

      Unfortunately, **** purchased their annual subscription on October 25, 2022, which is outside of our 30-day refund policy as seen on this link: *********************.

      Since the subscription has been actively used to access content, and transactions made prior to a certain date are inaccessible for refund as they have long been finalized, we are unable to provide a refund for ****'s annual subscription. However, if **** does need assistance canceling their subscription then they can respond to ticket #******* with that request and we'll ensure the subscription is canceled as soon as possible. Again, we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Thank you! -MW

      Customer Answer

      Date: 10/08/2023

       
      Complaint: 20709132

      I am rejecting this response because: YOU ARE FALSELY ********************** BOOKS". THIS IS CLASSIC BAIT AND SWITCH.

      Sincerely,

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

      Business Response

      Date: 10/11/2023

      I have reviewed ****'s correspondence with us in their associated ticket with this issue, ticket #*******. We explained that while Scribd users may see that some titles are not immediately available, there will always be titles available for them to read. We also provided guidance on how to locate additional titles to read while waiting for these titles to become available in our responses to them. For further information, they can view our Subscriber Agreement (***********************************) and Terms of Use (**********************). -KM

      Customer Answer

      Date: 10/12/2023

       
      Complaint: 20709132

      I am rejecting this response because:

      Sincerely,

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

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:10/06/2023

      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.
      REFUND MEMisleading & deceptive website user interface. I cancelled the Free Trial immediately after signing up. I dont know why it still charged me on 29/9/2023. When I tried to log in, it said my password was wrong. After multiple attempts, I reset my password to the same password & logged into my account. For some reason, in the account, I was still subscribed, even though I cancelled it a month ago immediately after logging in. I tried to contact ********* kept asking me to log in even though I was already logged in. Then it kept coming up with a connection error & kept asking me to restart chat. Now, it has been connecting to **************** for half an hour. This website is a maze, glitchy & absolutely deliberately designed to be as misleading & deceptive as possible when you want to cancel your subscription. REFUND ME & STOP MAKING IT AS DIFFICULT AS POSSIBLE TO NOT BE CHARGED. Every other complaint says just about the same. Absolute fraudsters.

      Business Response

      Date: 10/06/2023

      We're so sorry for any inconvenience this might have caused! Since we're unable to bill a customer for a canceled subscription, it does sound like the original cancelation was unsuccessful, but we can definitely look into this to ensure there are no further charges.

      If ***** could reach out to us through the link *********************************, and then send a response here with the support ticket # they receive, we'll gladly have a member of our support team follow up with them as soon as possible. We'll be able to review the account to ensure the subscription is fully canceled and ***** any refunds that *** be available at that time as well. Thank you! -MW

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:10/03/2023

      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.
      Fraudlent charges. Unauthorized charges. Data Breach National Student Clearinghouse.

      Business Response

      Date: 10/03/2023

      Hello ******,

      I located the ticket you created with us about this issue, Ticket #*******, and I have sent a follow up email to you. We believe that we may have located the account that is causing these charges, however, we need some more information from you to verify that this is the correct account before we can issue any refunds or cancel this subscription. Because of this, please be sure to follow up with us via the email that we sent you so that we can get this issue taken care of as quickly as possible for you. Thank you! -KM

      Customer Answer

      Date: 10/04/2023

       
      Complaint: 20689097

      I am rejecting this response because: Resolution has not been confirmed.  I would like to know how they got my card information also ASAP!

      Sincerely,

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

      Business Response

      Date: 10/10/2023

      Hello ******,

      As we explained on your ticket with us (#*******) an account was created with the email ******************* on April 30, 2023 in order to access Scribd premium content. Once you created this account, you were prompted to insert your billing information in order to start your free trial. 

      We have deleted your accounts, email and billing information from our service. 

      Thanks! -FP

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:09/26/2023

      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 was charged ***** for FIVE MONTHS STRAIGHT for a subscription I thought I had cancelled months ago. When I went to go finalize this cancellation it took me to over 3 new tabs in order to cancel it. Each cancel subscription option was also on the very bottom of each page. I think this is why I believed I cancelled my subscription to begin with and I think this format was done on purpose to trick people. I have seen NUMEROUS complaints of this happening to other subscribers. I also never received emails informing me that my subscription was still active and I was being charged. I want my money back.

      Business Response

      Date: 09/27/2023

      Hello ********,

      Thank you for bringing this to our attention! I've reviewed our system, and I see that you filed a ticket with us about this issue, Ticket #*******. We subsequently canceled this subscription for you as well as refunded your 5 charges from us as part of the resolution for this issue. 
      We also merged your accounts together, and we've sent an email with the information for your account as well. Should you have any further questions for us, please feel free to reach back out to us, and we'll be happy to assist. Thank you! -KM

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:09/18/2023

      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.
      ******* repeatedly and never signed up for any account or trial I've been charged multiple times by this company on despite never signing up for an account or visiting their website at all. All charges were unauthorized and fraudulent. I reported all and disputed all fraudulent charges to my bank and submitted ticket #******* to Scribd directly, but they repeatedly ask the same questions (which I've already answered) and then do not respond and send "is your issue resolved?" a week later instead. So unprofessional & a headache! I shouldn't have to file a compliant on other websites to get their teams to pay attention and resolve an issue I've already reported.Desired outcome: Please, as I've already requested, delete any fraudulent accounts tied to the fraudulent and unauthorized transactions I've reported.

      Business Response

      Date: 09/19/2023

      Hello *********,

      I've reviewed your ticket, ticket #*******, and I see that we have already refunded your recent charge. We also deleted the account that was responsible for this charge as well as removed your payment information from this account. I also apologize for the back and forth in this ticket, but we had to be sure that we located the correct account before taking any action on the account in question.

      I hope this helps provide some clarity, and we hope you have a great rest of your day. -KM

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:09/18/2023

      Type:Service or Repair 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 own a enteprise in ************ and someone posted my work on the Scribd platform. I can't contact the publisher through Scribd and Scribd, in return is not making any contact with me on my enquiries to them. My company is called Edulis Cultivation. I am a Senior Research Associate with the ********** of Johannesburg and I am on the **** National Technical Comittee. I do really need to make contact with this ******** who uploaded my work to find out where she got it from in the first place.

      Business Response

      Date: 09/19/2023

      Hello *******,

      I see that you reached out to us about this issue in Ticket #*******, and that our specialist team is currently assisting you with this ticket. They reached back out to you requesting further information regarding this issue, and are currently waiting for you to provide the requested information. If you could please reply to the email we sent you with the requested information, they'll be happy to assist you further with this issue. Thank you! -KM

      Customer Answer

      Date: 09/20/2023

       
      Complaint: 20618563

      I am rejecting this response because:

      I do not have to complete endless forms, just to be put in touch with a publisher. 

      The situation is extremely clear and is not an opportunity for the cogs of the system to begin turning.

      This gatekeeping is not going to fly. Scribd has a deliberate method in place like this, because they do not verify any content being posted on their site.

      The level of informality is bizarre. 

      I need to be put in touch with that publisher!

      It my work and you have ENOUGH to verify who I am.


      Sincerely,

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

      Business Response

      Date: 09/22/2023

      We've confirmed that ******* did open ticket #******* with the Scribd support team on September 12, 2023. This ticket was escalated to a special team that handles this type of request and a member of that team issued a response to the ticket on September 14, 2023, requesting ******* fill out a specific form so that their request can be processed as quickly as possible.

      We kindly ask that ******* follow-up with us in ticket #******* if they have any additional questions or concerns regarding this issue and we'll gladly be able to provide further assistance.

      In the meantime, if ******* could please provide the information requested in that previous ticket response then we can move forward with their request. Unfortunately, we're unable to provide additional assistance if we do not receive that requested information. Thank you! -MW

      Customer Answer

      Date: 09/27/2023

       
      Complaint: 20618563

      I am rejecting this response because:

      I feel like I am repeating myself. You have everything you need. Your platform does not verify publishers. For the aggrieved, this gatekeeping process of yours simply does NOT suffice. 

      You are wasting my time with an unregulated platform playing around with peoples Intellectial Property.

      Put me in touch with the PUBLISHER AS REQUESTED! 


      Sincerely,

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

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:09/12/2023

      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 don't know why I'm receiving charges on my credit card statement from Scribd.com. Please refund all charges and do not charge my credit card again. Please send an accounting of what you are refunding. Please also provide me your contact phone number. I tried to contact you on your website and it was an endless maze that prohibited me from getting anything done. That's another reason for this complaint. Please provide me with your full name, direct phone number, direct e-mail address, the hours you're available, and the best time to reach you. In the future, please make your phone number available to those who need / want to contact you

      Business Response

      Date: 09/13/2023

      Hello *********,

      Thank you for contacting Scribd. I am sorry for the trouble this has caused. 

      I apologize for any inconvenience, however at this time we do not offer phone support. We are more than happy to help you via email. I didn't find an account in our system with your email.

      I was able to locate an account that *** be the source of these charges, registered with the email address t****ristiansalm*[email protected], which I have partially redacted for security reasons. 

      Can you please confirm whether or not this email address belongs to you? This verification process is necessary because the email address that you are contacting us from is either connected to a free account with no paid subscription, or there is no account associated with your current email address at all.

      If this email address belongs to you, please reply with the email address typed out in full to complete the verification process. This helps ensure that we have located the correct account to cancel, and can accurately process any available refunds.

      If you do not recognize this email address, please let me know so that we can further investigate the source of these charges, and escalate to our payments specialists as necessary.

      I look forward to hearing from you. In the meantime, have a wonderful day!

      Customer Answer

      Date: 09/13/2023

       
      Complaint: 20594378

      I am rejecting this response because:

       

      hi that old email address you have **************************** is one that a hacker took control over and I no longer have control of it. If you could delete that account, I would appreciate it.

      I believe the email I've used when contacting your service has been: *********************** Thank you for your response I look forward to hearing back from you. Thank you!

      Sincerely,

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

      Business Response

      Date: 09/14/2023

      Hello *********,

      Thanks for bringing this to our attention! I did not locate an active subscription linked to the email address ***************************** We will have to investigate this further, but we will need additional information that is not suitable for this platform. Please submit a ticket via this link: bit.ly/social-support-help Then reply here with the ticket number, and I will be sure to escalate your case. Thanks again and have a great rest of your day. -FC

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:09/05/2023

      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 attempted to reach out to them via phone, but couldn't establish contact. This situation raises suspicion that they might be involved in fraudulent activities. My main goal is to secure a refund for the charges. It's worth noting that I've been consistently billed since January 2020. Observing similar complaints from many others, I'm convinced that this recurring issue is not a mere oversight. (44 transactions)

      Business Response

      Date: 09/05/2023

      Hello Viet, 

      Thank you for your message. We haven't find any accounts with the email ********************* so we need to connect you with our advanced team for more information. Please submit a ticket using the direct link: *********************************. As soon as we receive our message we will take care of this issue. Thank you! -FP

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