Business Profile

Internet Services

Scribd

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This business has 1 alert

Pattern of Complaints

Complaints

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

Customer Complaints Summary

263 total complaints in the last 3 years.
75 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.

Initial Complaint
Date:11/07/2022
Type:Customer Service Issues
Status:
AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
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:Product Issues
Status:
AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
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 subscribed to Scribd, there was a free subscription and I cancelled before the free subscription runs out yet my card was charged. I tried to contact the company but they don't have an email or a phone number. They should refund me.
Business Response
Date: 11/06/2022
Thanks for informing us!
We reviewed our system for the user's email and can confirm it is not subscribed to **
We cannot charge without an active subscription, so there must be an active subscription under a different email resulting in their payments
Please advise them they can email us via this link: https://scr.bi/assist and one of our agents will help them within 24 hours. Thanks! -EC
Initial Complaint
Date:11/05/2022
Type:Billing Issues
Status:
ResolvedMore info
Complaint statuses
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:
AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
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:
AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
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:
AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
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:
AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
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:
AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
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
Initial Complaint
Date:10/15/2022
Type:Product Issues
Status:
AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
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 this app for a few years. Over the last several months every time I try to play audiobooks the audio will go silent for several seconds at a time multiple times throughout the book (over 20 times at least)I cannot replay these sections and I miss many areas of the book. I have tried on multiple occasions to reach out to support and nobody has gotten back to me or tried to resolve my issue in any way. I have tried to reach through multiple avenues and still zero response or resolution. I have asked for a refund and have gotten absolutely no response. The issue is still persisting.
Business Response
Date: 10/16/2022
We apologize for any trouble that this issue has caused ****************. Our iOS team is aware of playback issues within the app and is working as diligently with our audiobook provider to make sure this is resolved as quickly as possible. While we don't have an estimated time of resolution at the moment, we can confirm that her support ticket in regard to this issue (under ticket number #*******) was already responded to by an agent with a status update on the issue. Her ticket has been placed "on-hold" as our team works to resolve this issue, so that we may ensure that her concerns are tracked and that she receives an email update right away when the issue is resolved.

Upon review of her account, it appears that she has successfully canceled her subscription with us as of October 16th, 2022. She will not be billed again as we cannot charge canceled accounts that are no longer rendering services with us. If she is seeking a refund, she will need to reach out to Apple Support as her subscription was billed directly through them. We're happy to help **************** with her issue as much as possible, however, subscriptions purchased through the iTunes App Store are managed by Apple, and Scribd, unfortunately, cannot issue refunds or cancel them on her behalf. She can follow the link here to contact Apple Support directly for a refund: http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/

We hope this helps to clarify her experience, and we look forward to resolving this as quickly as possible for her. Thanks! -VG
Customer Answer
Date: 10/16/2022

Complaint: 18229367

I am rejecting this response because:
I did not ask for my subscription to be cancelled. I simply asked for a response (which I did not receive one the last two times I reached out until after sending this message. I also asked for a refund which was not given and I did not want my account cancelled.

Sincerely,

***********************
Business Response
Date: 10/19/2022
We thank the user for following up with us. To clarify, the user asked for a refund for the recent charge on her account, however, the account was created via Apple Pay/iTunes. As we explained via email for the user, we are not able to refund charges set up this way and they'll need to contact Apple Support for any assistance with that.
That said, one of our troubleshooting agents did reply to them via email regarding the iOS skipping issues. We are still working on resolving the issue and they are attempting to help the user out via email in the meantime. Please inform them to reply to us via email if they need more help. We hope they have a great rest of their day -EC
Initial Complaint
Date:10/11/2022
Type:Product Issues
Status:
AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
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.
Scribd refuses to bill me as a resident of ******* which I have been since ****. I currently use ******** Internet - the gateway does not have a GPS. When I subscribed to SCRIB - the gateway gave me a location in Washington - the current location is *************. As a result from 12/24/21 I paid $1.02 tax per month. The 9/24/22 bill included **** tax. ******* is a no tax state.I attempted to resolve this with SCRIBD through email with their support after subscribing - the bottom line was they refused to resolve it. I can provide copies of that correspondence.I do want to continue the service but I believe I should be billed accurately and am willing to take steps necessary to prove I am and have been a ******* resident. One could question just where these tax $ go - do they just provide additional income to SCRIBD?
Business Response
Date: 10/12/2022
We apologize to the user for any ongoing confusion or frustration. As we explained to the user via email, one's taxes and associated rates are heavily reliant on multiple factors at the time of signup. If they as the user are not currently within **********, it may prove beneficial for them to consult with their carrier and/or device settings, as these are likely defaulting to incorrect information based on its current automatic settings. These settings are independent of Scribd, and can only be corrected at the base level by the source which dictates their location (which can be through your carrier, device, or any other potential sources - we cannot determine this on our end, as Scribd itself did not set the location used within your signup).

If they have any other questions for Scribd, please inform them they can reply to us via email at any time. We are always happy to help as we can. Thanks and have a good day -EC
Customer Answer
Date: 10/12/2022

Complaint: 18197858

I am rejecting this response because:
At the time is signup - ******** showed me in Washington - when that changed to ********** - SCRIBD was able to change it to ********** and a higher tax rate almost a year after signup.
it should not be difficult for even a non-IT person to understand that without a GPS the Internet Gateway does not have an actual location - and there are many examples discussed on the Internet. Fubo has adjusted my location for local channels twice. Some of the devices I use to access SCRIBD do not have cell service and must use my home Internet.
Finally - the technical issues aside - the unwillingness of SCRIBD to provide an alternate method of location verification is unfair to all of the customers who have already or will move to home Internet whose gateway does not provide a location.
I am not just claiming I live in Montana - I can prove I live in *******.

Sincerely,

***************************
Business Response
Date: 10/19/2022
As a final reminder, one's taxes are heavily reliant on multiple factors at the time of signup and is not determined by Scribd. The tax they are being charged for is determined by their bank and they will need to contact their bank for any assistance. Scribd is physically unable to alter this on our end and we appreciate their understanding in this matter.
If they have any other questions about Scribd's services, please ensure they email us, otherwise, we wish them them best. Thanks. -EC
Customer Answer
Date: 10/21/2022

Complaint: 18197858

I am rejecting this response because:

SCRIBD submits an invoice for my account to PayPal - and PayPal pays it. PayPal has no involvement in any taxes that *** be included.
this is copied from SCRIBDs website
October 1, 2019
Some state and local laws require Scribd to collect tax on the cost of our premium membership. Starting in October 2019, the price for a Scribd subscription will include VAT (value added tax). If you reside in a location where Scribd is required to collect tax, the tax amount will be included in your recurring billing amount.
A s previously stated - SCRIBD does not base taxation on the location at the time of subscribing - if that were the case it would not change which mine did and would also conflict with reside in a location from above since people do move.
The issue is LOCATION and the unwillingness of SCRIBD to employ a process that accurately determines location including a process to correct any location errors that are not due to any action of the subscriber.
if the subscriber is not liable for the tax then it is being collected illegally.

Sincerely,

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

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This business has 1 alert

Complaints

Customer Complaints Summary

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