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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

    • 257 total complaints in the last 3 years.
    • 57 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:02/11/2023

      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.
      I don't know when I signed up for Scribd; I truly don't remember. I don't even remember hearing about them. But when I recently started being better about my finances and checking my subscriptions, I saw that I had been billed by Scribd for $11.99 for the entirety of 2022 without having received so much as an email. Not that their emails went to my junk folder or I wouldn't check them periodically - they charged me with absolutely zero contact. The only email I have from them in my record is from early January, when I logged in to cancel my account. I never received invoices, payment confirmations, newsletters, ***** They didn't even email me when the subscription price changed from $9.99 to $11.99 in September 2022. And after I canceled my account, they had the gall to charge me for another month!These are the worst shady and scummy practices to get someone on a recurring billing subscription and have them forget. I have paid a total of $155.87 to them since January last year, and it is disgusting that they can get away with this. There are likely terms that have been updated that I have not opted into and I want them to know they cannot get away with this.

      Business Response

      Date: 02/13/2023

      Upon review of our system, we show that ******* purchased a subscription with us on December 10th, 2021, using the email address he provided of ******************** According to our system, his account was not canceled by him until January 13th, 2023, which is why these monthly recurring charges came through as normal.

      To confirm, when he purchased the trial, he agreed to the terms and conditions under the Subscriber Agreement (**********************************************************) that explicitly stated this was not a one-time purchase, but instead a recurring month-to-month subscription. Scribd does not offer a standalone free trial.
       
      Additionally, when canceling your subscription with us, a user will immediately receive a confirmation email of the cancellation to their primary email address on file. If they did not receive this confirmation email from us -- then the subscription cancellation was not completed successfully. We go over this in detail in our cancellation guide, found here: ************************************************************************************************

      In accordance with our Refund Policy (**********************************************************), we've refunded his most recent charge. ******* will not be charged again and his payment method will be credited within 3-5 business days. His free Scribd account will remain active, so h*** still be able to share documents and use Scribds free features. In some cases, full versions of documents available on Scribd may only be visible to Scribd subscribers. Should he decide to purchase a subscription in the future, he can cancel it at any time through his account settings page (*********************************************).

      Additionally, we have located *******'s recent support ticket, under ticket number #*******, and a specialist replied confirming the cancelation and refund. Please remind ******* to continue corresponding with us via email should he have any other questions or concerns moving forward. -VG

      Customer Answer

      Date: 02/14/2023

       
      Complaint: 19387471

      I am rejecting this response because upon reviewing my charges, I noticed that the price for the subscription went up and I was never notified. These charges are reflected as of August 2022. I am requesting a refund for all charges of ***** since August 2022. 

      Sincerely,

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

      Business Response

      Date: 02/23/2023

      We can confirm that there was a price increase for existing Scribd customers that occurred in August 2022 and all customers were notified via email 30-days prior to this change. We've also checked our email system and can confirm the customer received this email notification to the email address he has on file and that the message was opened/read. We apologize for any lingering confusion.

      Per our Refund Policy (**********************************************************), we are not authorized to ***** refunds for charges that are more than 30 days old. However, as a one-time courtesy for any frustration and confusion that this process may have caused, we have refunded the customer's recent subscription charges from September 2022 - December 2022.

      Moving forward, we are unable to authorize any further refunds due to the age of the transactions. Our payment processor will only allow us to access and edit transactions up to a certain timeframe, and the customer's bank may also have transaction limitations as well. Additionally, the customer had an ample amount of time to contact us to rectify any incorrect charges made on the account.

      The funds from these additional refunds will be credited back to them within 3-5 business days, though this can occasionally take longer depending on their bank's policies. As a reminder, their free Scribd account will remain active, and they'll still be able to read and share documents on our website and use Scribd's many other free features. Please remind the customer to continue corresponding with us via email in their existing support ticket should they have any other questions or concerns. -VG

      Customer Answer

      Date: 02/27/2023

       
      Complaint: 19387471

      I am rejecting this response because Scribd is alleging that they notified "all customers" including myself about the price increase, but that is certainly not the case. I only received my first email from Scribd when I began to complain to them. In fact, they asked me to verify my email on February 11, at which point I began receiving notifications. 

      Furthermore, as someone that is intimately familiar with payment processors and refund times, I know there are workarounds, both formal and informal, to compromise with what I'm looking for, which is a refund for all charges since August 2022. Put simply, I will not accept any response unless it's a refund of my charges since the price increase.

      Sincerely,

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

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:02/09/2023

      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.
      02/08/2023 *********** scribd took out a subscription of ***** which I have not subscribed to! This account was not subscribed and actually deleted when I saw there was a subscription fee. Yet somehow was able to take out funds from my account. This website has multiple cases with the same thing going on.

      Business Response

      Date: 02/10/2023

      Upon review of our system, the account under the email address provided does not have an active subscription or any subscription history with us. This account has also been deleted by the user previously. Since it's absolutely impossible for us to bill a canceled account, or without there even being an active account or subscription in the first place, any charges would be stemming from a separate account under a different email address.

      With that being said, we've located a recent ticket submitted by the user in regards to this issue. A specialist has already responded requesting additional information. Please have ************** continue to correspond with us via email so we can make sure this issue gets resolved for her in a timely manner. Thanks!

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:02/05/2023

      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.
      My credit card was used to incur monthly charges and a $91.15 charge in January. I reached out to the merchant and got a response letting me know that none of my accounts have active subscriptions. They then requested more numbers from my credit card and found that an account was opened with an email that I am not familiar with. I have requested that the account be closed and that I be refunded and the company stopped replying to my requests. The customer service number only redirects people to their email system to get a response. Any help to get my request fulfilled would be greatly appreciated. support ticket #*******.

      Business Response

      Date: 02/05/2023

      Thank you for informing us 

      We located the ticket the user sent us in our queue and can confirm their case was escalated on Friday February 3rd, 2023. We apologize for the delay over the weekend and have further escalated their case. 

      One of our payment specialists just replied to them via email, so please inform them to check their inbox (and spam) for our reply and we'll wait for their response so we can continue to assist them. Thanks! -EC 

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:02/02/2023

      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.
      SCRIBD has my credit card on file and keeps charging.No matter how many times I call, they keep charging again I want this to STOP and be refunded the amount of $12.71.

      Business Response

      Date: 02/03/2023

      Thank you for bringing this to our attention. 

      After further review we have not been able to locate an account with the information provided thus far. 

      Please have Jothsna submit a ticket directly to our support team here: *********************. We are happy to look into this further. Thanks again! - MR

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:02/01/2023

      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.
      Since June of 2022 we have been charged for this service, however we cannot find an account anywhere or find any way to cancel it. It just keeps charging to our Apple Card every month. No way to cancel. Have never used it? No way to contact the company. Found a support help on their website & Ticket claims 2 weeks or MORE to get a response. And thats even if we can figure out where the account is.

      Business Response

      Date: 02/01/2023

      Thank you for informing us. To clarify, Scribd is a digital reading subscription service. Any charges they are seeing would be for our monthly subscription fee. 

      We can help the user locate the account resulting in their charges, however, we need to get in touch with them via email 

      We located an email from the user in our queue that we just responded to now so we can assist them. Please advise them to check their email for our reply and we'll keep an eye out for their response. Thanks! -EC

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:01/27/2023

      Type:Customer Service 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 received an unauthorized email with an invoice attached to my work email address from ************************* for services NEVER ORDERED: "Good Afternoon ***********************,Enjoy reading with Scribd! Your new subscription will be activated right now. The Scribd app is available on iOS/iPad OS devices, Android devices, and devices like some Kindle tablets and the Nook Tablet. You can also use Scribd's website on a laptop or desktop browser. If youre interested in using our Scribd app, check out our article Installing the Scribd app for more information and detailed installation instructions.There is nothing you need to do in order to stay with us! The payment for this subscription will be taken off from the payment details that you mentioned automatically.You will be able to get the detailed information and our customer support phone number in the invoice attached. Call our customer care support if you have any problems with your subscription or if you want to cancel it.If youre looking to gift someone a Scribd coupon, we offer several different plans to suit your recipients needs. We offer various lengths of plans. Dont worry there arent any recurring fees, so you wont be charged again later.Yours,Scribd team"Since I am not permitted to open the attachment per company policy (which is likely containing malware), I went onto Scribs website and ******** pages and there is NO CUSTOMER SERVICE NUMBER. I refuse to file the complaint on their site for fear of tracking and more pfishing schemes.

      Business Response

      Date: 01/28/2023

      Thank you for for bringing this to our attention. 

       

      After further review, we were unable to locate any account with the information provided this far. We are happy to look into this further however, we will require additional information. Although we understand that ***** would prefer to not submit a ticket to our support team, in order for us to be able to further investigate this, we will need her to send a request directly to our team. ***** can submit a ticket directly to us via this link: *********************. Scribd takes customer support very seriously and we can assure her that her ticket will be addressed with the utmost care. 

       

      Once the ticket is submitted via the provided link above, the request will be escalated and a specialist will follow up with ***** within 24 to 48 hours. Thank you again, we look forward to getting this taken care of. - MR

      Customer Answer

      Date: 01/30/2023

       
      Complaint: 18939936

      I am rejecting this response because:

      1. the response "prompts" to submit a complaint directly on their site which means they will automatically add my email into their system and I refuse to allow that. Since I am not a customer of theirs at all, I will not be inconvenienced to do this. Additionally, as I stated previously, it is against my company's policy. 

      2. my demand is for this company to remove my email address from whatever list they got it from and stop sending pfishing and spam emails to my work email address. 

      3. I refuse to have any direct contact with this company because I am not their customer. 


      Sincerely,

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

      Business Response

      Date: 02/02/2023

      Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Unfortunately, we are unable to assist without more information. 

      If ***** can submit a ticket directly to our support team with a screenshot of the email she received we can definitely further investigate this matter. ***** can submit a ticket directly to our team via this link: *********************. Once the ticket is submitted, it will be escalated to a specialist who will follow up with her within ***** hours. 

      Thanks again! - MR

      Customer Answer

      Date: 02/02/2023

      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. I am not permitted to enter their website to submit a ticket per my company policy. I reached out separately from my personal computer with the information and it has been address that way. 

      Sincerely,

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

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:01/24/2023

      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.
      Had a monthly Scribd subscription that started at $9.99/mo that increased to $11.99/mo and canceled the subscription in 12/2022. Just received a receipt for a yearly subscription for $119.99 that I never signed up for.No support on their site to get a refund or contact email info, just a canned bot response for refund -- "We apologize, but this purchase is not eligible for a refund. To cancel your subscription without requesting a refund, please select the Cancel option below. For personalized assistance with your account, please contact our support team."Have enclosed my payment history.

      Business Response

      Date: 01/25/2023

      Thank you for informing us. We apologize to the user for any trouble with their account or issues with contacting support. 

      I located the email they sent ** yesterday in our queue and their attached subscription. It looks like the subscription was canceled in December, however, it was restarted earlier this month for the annual subscription. Each account is only eligible for one free trial, which is why they were charged when they signed back up. 

      That said, we refunded the recent charge and canceled the subscription for them. We also emailed them back, so please inform them to check their inbox and spam for our reply via email and to let us know there if they need more help. Thanks! -EC 

      Customer Answer

      Date: 01/26/2023

      Better Business Bureau:

      I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ******** and have confirmed the refund.  This resolution is satisfactory to me.



      Sincerely,

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

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:01/24/2023

      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.
      Passed my subscription. The company on paused my subscription and charged me for another month. I reached out immediately to let them know that the subscription was supposed to be paused and I was not interested in another month of services. I also requested my money back. They told me because I opened the app, they were unable to refund my money. They then canceled my subscription all together. So Not only was I charged for a month of services after requesting cancellation, they are not allowing me to use services that were paid for. Was told to reach out to my bank and then after reaching out to my bank I was told by ScribD they were unable to assist with any matters because I had reached out to bank. Awful customer service awful experience and extremely upset for paying for services that this company is not allowing me to use.

      Business Response

      Date: 01/25/2023

      Thank you for informing us 

      Our pause feature is not intended for long term use. When choosing to pause a subscription, users will be presented with the option of 1-week, 4-week, or 12-week durations. Once the account unpauses, their next payment will pickup wherever they left off. So if a user has a week left before their next billing date, and they pause, they will still have that week when they "unpause".

      That said, the user was charged when their next payment was due. They reached out regarding the charge stating they were no longer interested in using Scribd, so we canceled the subscription for them. Once a subscription is canceled, it remains accessible up until the time that they have paid for, but we then do not charge them again. This is outlined in our Cancelation process here: **********************

      That said, the user had both used the subscription during their recent subscription period and has filed chargebacks. If an account is in use during their recent paid period or if the account has chargebacks on it, we are no longer able to issue refunds. Any additional requests for refunds will need to be addressed by their bank. This is outlined in our Refund Policy here: **********************

      If they have any other questions for us, please advise them to follow up with us via email so we can assist them. We appreciate your time -EC 

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:01/24/2023

      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've been charged by scribd for a monthly subscription since October after agreeing to the free trial. I unfortunately never realized I had this monthly charge until today, when I was charged 10,99 once again. I have cancelled the subscription as of today after noticing. I never used this service past the free trial window, and would appreciate if a refund could be issued for, at the very least, 3 out of the 4 months. Thank you for your time.

      Business Response

      Date: 01/24/2023

      Thank you for bringing this to our attention. 

       

      After further review, we have granted a refund of 3 months as a one time courtesy. No further refunds will be provided. If the charge is still pending, ****** will see the debit disappear from her bank statement. Otherwise, please allow 2-5 business days for the refund to process. 

       

      If ****** has any further questions, please have her submit a ticket directly to our support team here: *********************. Thanks! - MR

      Customer Answer

      Date: 01/24/2023

      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:01/23/2023

      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 reached out to Scribd on 1/10/23 about a subscription that I never applied for and once I heard the response, I never heard back. I only noticed the account when they pulled $11.99 from my account. I tried to talk to someone about cancelling and receiving a refund and they sent me a general email about needing a copy of the receipt, my account information, etc. I did not have any of these things because I never knew this company existed. I have sent multiple emails to the company and no one is responding. This is absolutely ridiculous! I never signed up for this company and the idea that they are able to pull money from my account is alarming.

      Business Response

      Date: 01/23/2023

      We appreciate the user informing us here and sincerely apologize for the delay. I located their email in our queue and it seems the email they sent ** and replied to them requesting the information we need to help locate the source of their charges. I will be assisting them with this directly from now on, so please inform them to check their inbox (and spam) for my reply via email and I'll keep an eye out for their response. Thanks! -EC

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