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Business Profile

Internet Services

Scribd

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

Find BBB Accredited Businesses in Internet Services.

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

    • 270 total complaints in the last 3 years.
    • 59 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:11/30/2022

      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.
      Hello, I can't remember subscribing to Scribd and my Debit Card has been getting billed for a couple months now. I may have subscribed to your services in the past, but I honestly cannot remember. I tried to cancel my subscription because I don't use the platform, but I could not figure out my email and password that I used, so I was unable to cancel my subscription. I was billed on 11/27/2022 for ***** and would just like to cancel before the next bill if possible. Thanks again!

      Business Response

      Date: 11/30/2022

      Thank you for bringing this to our attention. 

       

      After further review, we were unable to locate any subscriptions with the information provided this far. We are happy to look into this further however, we will require additional information. That said, please have ****** submit a ticket directly to our team here: https://scr.bi/assist. Once the ticket is submitted, it will be escalated and a specialist will follow up with them within 24 - 48 hours. 

       

      Thank you again, have a wonderful day! - MR

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:11/19/2022

      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.
      I recently discovered that i was being charged for 4 years after i ended my subscription! That means I have been charged around 400 euros, for a service that i haven't used and i unsubscribed from. It's outrageous and a fraud.

      Business Response

      Date: 11/20/2022

      Please thank the user for informing us here as well 

      We can confirm an account was created with the users email in 2019. It was used to access some of our premium content, including most recently: Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir http://bit.ly/3OlShKl

      We normally can only refund accounts for charges made within 30 business days, or for any charges that *** have occurred during a support delay after the customer  first contacted us, as outlined in our Refund Policy.

      One of our agents already recently escalated this users case and was able to receive permission to refund the users most recent three charges. This was on November 10th, 2022. 

      I have also already escalated their case again after they contacted us via email again, and was able to refund a total of 6 months of charges. This is the maximum amount of refunds we are able to issue due to limitations from our Payment Processors, as I have already explained to the customer via email, so I hope this can prove beneficial to them. 

      Please inform them to email us back if they have any other questions about Scribd or our services. Thanks and have a good day -EC

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:11/11/2022

      Type:Billing 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 signed up for a service at SCRIBD about a year ago. I cancelled it and deactivated my account (or so I thought). I realized at some point last year that Scribd was still billing my credit card every month since September 2021. I tried sending an email around that time to stop billing and get a refund, but never received any response or attempt to resolve the issue. Theres no phone number to reach them either. This is an abomination and should be illegal. How can I not reach a company that claims that you can cancel at any time. I used it one time for a free trial and am getting charged every month for a service I dont need. As I can see from the complaints, this is a common practice. If you are considering subscribing to this service: DONT DO IT!!!!!!

      Business Response

      Date: 11/12/2022

      Thank you for bringing this to our attention. 

       

      After further review, we can confirm that there was an account deactivated under the email ******************. However, we did locate a second account registered under the email can**************** that the user is being billed for. The subscription has not been canceled and that is why they are still being billed. We would also like to mention that we were unable to locate any tickets for the user with the information we have gathered thus far. 

       

      We have gone ahead and canceled the subscription as well as refunded the last 6 months of charges. No further refund will be provided as our billing system has a 6 month limitation. If the charge is still pending, Asia will see the debit disappear from their bank statement. Otherwise, please allow 2-5 business days for the refund to process. 

       

      If Asia, has further questions, please have the user submit a ticket directly to our team here:  https://scr.bi/assist. Thank you, have a wonderful day. - MR

      Customer Answer

      Date: 11/12/2022

      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:11/07/2022

      Type:Customer Service 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.
      Scribed changed the way they let you modify your account. You now have to go through their website which times out (IE doesn't let you log in) whenever you try. Asking for help puts you through this same process. I fear I may have to change my banking information to get out of this issue.

      Business Response

      Date: 11/08/2022

      Thank you for bringing this to our attention. 

       

      Unfortunately, we were unable to locate a subscription with the information provided. However, we are happy to assist **** with the cancelation of his account. To better assist him, please have him submit a ticket to our support team here: https://scr.bi/and-review. A specialist will follow up within 24 - 48 hours. 

       

      Thank you again, have a great day! - MR

       

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:11/05/2022

      Type:Billing 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.
      Support ticket #******* filed with Scribd on 10/15/22. Today is 11/5/22. Communication began with ************** then **************** then ************** Problem: I've been charged $11.99 on the 11th of the month every month between May 11, 2022-Oct 11, 2022. I did not sign up for Scribd. I do not have an account with Scribd (until I created one on 9/26/2022 for the purpose of initiating a complaint process -- *see detail below). I want to stop these charges and be refunded $71.94 for a service I do not have nor did I ever sign up for.Details:I first noticed the charge on 9/26/2022. I tried to call Scribd, but the only way to reach them is through an account. I searched my business and personal email to confirm I do not have any record of an account. Because I could not reach anyone without having an account, *I created one using my gmail address on 9/26. I was traveling for work and was not able to circle back on this until 10/15 after I saw that I was again charged on 10/11 by Scribd. Turns out I've been charged on the 11th of every month going back to May 2022. That is six months of charges totaling $74.91 for a service that I never have nor have I signed up for. But I cannot get any resolution because I do not have an account associated with the transaction. That is a problem that has had me stuck in a cycle of emails with the support desk since 10/15/22.They continue to request the first 6 and last 4 digits of the card, the type of card ****** Mastercard, etc.), and the date and amount of the last Scribd transaction. I have provided this information twice. They cannot locate the transactions. And there are no transactions associated with "my account" (*since that was created only after the fact!). I contacted Chase, my credit card company. They cannot stop the charges unless I cancel my credit card. I do not want to cancel my card but will be forced to do so if I cannot resolve this before 11/10/22 as I do not want this charge to hit again on 11/11/21.

      Business Response

      Date: 11/06/2022

      Thank you for informing us 

      We apologize to the user for any unknown charges or delay in support. Scribd is a monthly subscription ebook, audiobook, and magazine subscription. The charge they are seeing is for our monthly subscription fee.

      As we cannot charge without an active subscription, this means there must be an active subscription causing their charges.

      That said, I located the ticket they sent us via the ticket number they provided, and I am not seeing any actual responses from any of our support agents yet, however, I want to ensure they're being assisted to the best of our ability. 

      So I can help them directly, I have emailed them back requesting the information we need to find the active subscription. Please advise them to check their inbox (and spam) for my email and I'll keep an eye out for their response. Thanks! -EC

      Customer Answer

      Date: 11/10/2022

      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.

      We finally figured out that the account was linked to my son's email address. Apparently he needed to access a college textbook through Scribd but did not realize he was continuing to be charged. His email address is *********************. He logged on and canceled the subscription. It would be great if you could refund five months of charges, but we understand if that is not possible. This is on him. 

      Thank you,

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

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:11/04/2022

      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.
      Hello,I used Scribd while in college and in 2019, I canceled due to the fact that I graduated and no longer needed the service. I received a confirmation email letting me know that my membership was canceled on Monday, January 28, 2019 at 1:52 PM. I have since then received various emails asking me to rejoin. However, while looking over my bank statements recently, I noticed that I continued to be charged at least since 2021. I also contacted Scribd in January but have yet to hear anything back from them except for a confirmation email that they received my request. I have no idea what else to do but would like to be reimbursed for the payment which they had no permission to withdraw. I hope the attached documents help.

      Business Response

      Date: 11/04/2022

      Thank you for bringing this to our attention. 

       

      After further review, we can confirm that *****'s subscription registered under the email provided has been canceled since February 16, 2019 and she has not been billed for that account since January 17, 2019. 

       

      With that said, it seems to us that ***** has a duplicate account registered under a different email that. We are happy to look into this for her and locate the duplicate account as well as process a cancelation to ensure she is not billed going forward. As we will require additional information, we ask that ***** submit a ticket to our support team here: https://scr.bi/assist. Once she submits a ticket through the provided link, it will be escalated to a specialist and someone will follow up with her within 24 hours. 

       

      Thank you again, have a great day. - MR

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:11/03/2022

      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.
      I signed up for a free trial, and attempted to cancel after about 1 month. The company claims to have no record of my account, any attempts to contact them via email or phone result in a loop with no resolution. They have already debited my account several times and I've had to file a claim with my bank as well as get a new debit card. Ridiculous and unethical to continuously charge people with no way for them to cancel their membership.

      Business Response

      Date: 11/04/2022

      Thank you for bringing this to our attention. 

       

      After further review, we were unable to locate an account for ********* with the information provided thus far, this means that the subscription is registered under a different email. In order to locate the account she is was being billed for we would require additional information. At this time we only provide support over email however, our team would be happy to look into this further. 

       

      If she would like us to look into this further, please have ********* submit a ticket to our team here: https://scr.bi/assist. We are happy to further assist. Thanks again, have a wonderful day! - MR

      Customer Answer

      Date: 11/05/2022

       
      Complaint: 18355813

      I am rejecting this response because: This is the only email address I used.

      Sincerely,

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

      Business Response

      Date: 11/10/2022

      We understand the user created an account with the email they provided, however, we located that account and can confirm it is not subscribed. 

      As we cannot charge for the monthly subscription fee without an active subscription, this means there has to be an account under a different email resulting in their charges.

      To make contacting us simpler for the user, we have sent them an email in order to help them. Please advise them to check their inbox and spam for the email we have sent them and we'll wait for their response via email. Thanks! -EC

      Customer Answer

      Date: 11/15/2022

       
      Complaint: 18355813

      I am rejecting this response because: There is no other email associated with my online subscriptions.

      Sincerely,

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

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:11/01/2022

      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 have had a monthly subscription for the past 7 months with Scribd. For the past 4 or 5 months, the last week to 10 days before my payment is due again, all of my saved audiobooks, as well as all audiobooks that I search for are unavailable. These selections won't be available again until the day AFTER my next payment. My payments are due on the 8th of each month, and this month, all of my selections became unavailable on the 25th and aren't available again until the 9th of the following month- more than 2 weeks. I contacted customer service because they advertise and sell an "unlimited " membership, yet they have been limiting me for months. Their response states along with other statements that availability is based on my consumption but that I still have access to some content that they select. Clearly, this is NOT an unlimited membership. I pay for a month of unlimited content, yet I am only receiving a couple of weeks of unlimited content; after that, I only have access to content that I am not interested in. I believe this is false advertising and dishonest.

      Business Response

      Date: 11/03/2022

      Thank you for bringing this to our attention. 

       

      After further review, we can confirm that ******* has an open ticket with our support team (#*******) and we have explained the way our library works. Our library rotates as you read, some titles may go temporarily unavailable from time to time. Please have ******* check out Section 3 of our Subscriber Agreement: bit.ly/2R4PKLa.

       

      We have also escalated the request and a specialist will be following up with her within 24 hours. Thank you again, have a wonderful day. - mr

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:10/27/2022

      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 signed up for Scribd in May 2018, I cancelled Scribd in August 2018. I just found out this past August 2022 that they have been charging my credit card for the last 4 years. I have them admitting fault in email and showing that my account was closed. They have essentially been stealing from me for 4 years. Their customer service is nonexistent. I have sent LinkedIn messages to their head of accounting and to the company owner. No response. Small Claims Court, here we come!!! How can a company who "cancelled" your membership, continue to charge my credit card years after the fact. This is theft. After reading the reviews on this site, I would say this is a pattern of abuse of financial information by Scribd. Class Action Lawsuit will likely be happening once an attorney gets a whiff of this case. Scribd owes me an apology and 47 months x $9.35. Otherwise, the *** allowable small claims court in CA will happen and I will name the owner along with registered agent and the *** handling this trainwreck of a company. Scribd is guilty of theft.

      Business Response

      Date: 10/28/2022

      Thank you for bringing this to our attention. 

       

      We would like to advise ***** that once a subscription is canceled, we are unable to bill the account. If users see billing after cancelation, it is typically because there was a missed step in the cancelation process or they have a duplicate account that is not canceled. That said, we are happy to look into this.

       

      After further review, we have located *****'s ticket #******* and a specialist has followed up with him. If he has any further questions please have ***** follow up with the specialist directly as they will be the best point of contact going forward. Thank you again, have a great day. - MR

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:10/24/2022

      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.
      I signed up for a service at SCRIBD a few years ago and had cancelled it soon after, I made sure to also deactivated my account just in case they continue to charge me, but I checked my bank account and realized that I have been continuously charged EVERY SINGLE MONTH for it since 2021!! I tried to send them an email last month to get my refunds, because why am I paying for a service I don't use on an account that doesn't even exist?? As expected, I received no replies from them because this company seems to be a complete scam, considering the amount of people experiencing the same issue. It seems like there is no way they are going to refund me completely since they are scamming people and that's how they get their money, so i guess the only option for me to stop this is to cancel my current credit card and order a new one because there is nothing else I can do about it. If you are considering subscribing to their service, don't.

      Business Response

      Date: 10/25/2022

      Thank you for informing us 

      To offer some clarification, we are a monthly subscription service. We bring subscribers monthly access to the best ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines. The charges they are seeing is likely for our monthly subscription fee.

      I located an account via their email, but it's not subscribed to us. As we cannot charge without an active subscription, this means there has to be a different account associated with their payment method resulting in the charges.

      I reviewed our system for any emails from the user and cannot locate any in our queue. If they emailed us, please ensure they are using the correct domain [email protected]. 

      That said, we want to ensure they are assisted right away, so we have sent them an email to the domain they have provided here on the BBB. Please inform them to check their inbox (and spam) for our email and we'll keep an eye out for their response. Thanks! -EC

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