Complaints

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

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  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

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:01/24/2023

  Type:Product 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.

  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:

  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.

  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:

  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.

  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:

  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 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

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/19/2023

  Type:Sales and Advertising 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.

  Upon reviewing my bank statement, I have noticed unauthorized charges from scribd.com. Checked through my email accounts and found unopened unresponded emails from 2022. I had never signed up for the scribd.com account, and my online account was not activated. It was never used during the "subscription" period that I had never signed up for. I tried reaching out to their customer support with no luck. I need to have the 3 charges (November 21, 2022 / December 21, 2022 / and the most recent January 19, 2023) refunded. This is a scam what they are doing, taking someone's card information and charging it without the cardholder's consent. Please help resolve this

  Business Response

  Date: 01/21/2023

  Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

   

  After further review, we are not able to locate the charges with the information provided this far. Please have ****** submit a ticket to our support team here: ********************* and include the PayPal transaction ID to help us locate the account. Once the ticket is submitted through that link, it will be escalated to a specialist who will follow up with her within 24 - 48 hours. 

   

  Thank you again! - MR

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/11/2023

  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.

  Hello, I had signed for membership which being charged directly to my checking account in the amount of $10.73. Sometimes in may, payment changed without any notification, from $10.73 to $12.89 and I was being charged without my knowledge, since they were directly withdrawing from my checking account; a $2.16 overcharge, over 8 months (May 2022 to December 2022) totaling to $17.28.Additionally, on September 27th 2022, they charged me $35.00 in addition to the monthly fees of $12.89 that I didnt agree to. I have no idea why I was charged that much. Once I realized the fees went up, I went to my bank to see how long did they change my payments and thats when I saw the $35.00 charges. I have tried to reach out to them, took screenshots of my membership from their app with details of my bank account, and pages from my bank showing their charges and send to them. They dont have a phone number so all communication is through email, and they kept bouncing me off to 3 different people and suddenly stop communicating and to this day havent refunded my money.To conclude, I would still like to be refunded the overpayment of $17.28, along with the $35.00; for a total of $52.28 back in my bank.I had asked for them to cancel my membership as of December 31st, 2022, but they still charged me for ******* 2023!Please assist me retrieve my money back, as its the right thing to do.Sincerely,*****

  Business Response

  Date: 01/13/2023

  Thank you for bringing this to our attention. 

   

  After further review, we have located ******* open ticket #******* and have escalated it to a specialized team who is best equipped to handle their concerns. A specialist will be looking over the ticket and following up within 24 hours. If ***** has any further questions, please have them follow up with the specialist in their ticket. 

   

  Thank you again, have a wonderful day. - MR

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/06/2023

  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.

  Upon reviewing my credit card statements, found unauthorized charges from scribd.com. Checked through my email accounts and found unopened unresponded emails from October 2022. I had never signed up for the scribd.com account, and my online account was not activated. I had to request a password and found that the name they have on the account isn't mine. It was never used during the "subscription" period that I had never signed up for. A refund was requested for all charges that had been made on my account however they only refunded one payment per their "policy". Horrible business practice.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/06/2023

  Thank for bringing this to our attention. 

   

  After further review, we can confirm that the refund was processed through the automated system however, we are happy to look into this further. 

   

  That said, we went ahead and refunded the invoice for November 20, 2022  as we can confirm that the subscription was not used. If the charge is still pending, Taryn will see the debit disappear from their bank statement. Otherwise, please allow 2-5 business days for the refund to process. If ***** has any further questions, please have them reach out to our support team here: *********************. We would be happy further assist. 

   

  Thank you again, have a wonderful day!  -MR

   

   

   

   

   

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/02/2023

  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've been charged by scribd for a monthly subscription for over two years. I unfortunately never realized I had this monthly charge. I never used their services in my life. Nor have I heard of them. I want a refund for every month i've been charged.I have called Scribd, *** at their hard to find phone number and the answering service says it does support phone support and I was never able to speak to a live person regarding this authorized monthly charge on my credit card for more than two and half years, and I want the fully refund of all these two and half years monthly charges asap.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/03/2023

  Thank you for bringing this to our attention. 

   

  After further review, we have located the subscription that Weibo is being billed for. We can confirm that a free trial was started back in 05/12/2020 in order to download "Calculus (9rd Edition) - ***********************, ************************* and ***********************". The subscription was never canceled which is why ***** has been billed since. 

  That said, we do show that the user has now canceled the subscription as of January 03, 2023 and no further billing will occur going forward. We also went ahead and processed a refund for the last 6 months as a courtesy however, no further refund can or will be provided. Our billing system unfortunately, does not allow any refunds to be processed beyond six months which is why we have processed a refund for the maximum amount of 6 months. 

   

  If any of the charges are still pending, Weibo will see the debit disappear from their bank statement. Otherwise, please allow 2-5 business days for the refund to process. If Weibo has any further question, please have them submit a ticket to our support team here: ***************************;

   

  Thank you again, have a wonderful day. - MR

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/02/2023

  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 recently found monthly charges to my PayPal account in the amount of $11.99 from August 28, 2022 to December 8, 2022. I used this service one time to listen to one Podcast and immediately cancelled. I have not gone back to their Website or used their services since. They offer no way to contact their customer service department other than a bot based loop that never gets you to an actual customer service representative. I couldnt find any email address readily available on their site either. This company should not be in business and after reading how many others have had similar complaints Im not sure why theyre still being allowed to operate.I am requesting a full refund for these charges as they were not authorized nor was their service utilized by me after my cancellation request. I have put in another request for cancellation. I would also like an acknowledgement that has been received and processed.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/03/2023

  Thank you for informing us.

  We located the users account via their email and can confirm it is not subscribed to **, however, we located a related account under a different email. That account is subscribed and resulted in their recent charges. 

  I have canceled and refunded that account. If the payment was still "pending" please inform them they need to allow some time for it to cancel, otherwise, refunds typically process within 3-5 business days. 

  I have also sent them a follow up email, so please inform them to check their inbox (and spam) for our reply via email and to reply on that message if they need any additional assistance and I'll help them out ASAP. Thanks! -EC

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/27/2022

  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 two trial accounts on scribd last year and canceled each trial before ends. I know see that my credit card has been charged for more than a year, twice a month. In total my credit card is charged 25 times without me even knowing it.I want full refund.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/29/2022

  We apologize to the user for any confusion and we appreciate them letting us know. 

  We located the two accounts via their email address and we can confirm neither were canceled by the user until after their most recent payments went out. As explained in our Subscriber Agreement (**********************), charged are on a monthly basis and will continue until unless their subscription is terminated by Scribd or canceled by the user. 

  That said, we have refunded their most recent payments as outlined in our Refund Policy (**********************). If either payment was still processing. they need to allow time for it to cancel, otherwise, refunds typically post within 3-5 business days and they will not be charged again. 

  I have also merged their accounts together to prevent future confusion and sent them a follow up email containing more information on their merged accounts. If they have any additional questions or concerns, please advise them to respond to me via email and I will assist them there as soon as possible. 

  Thank you for your time and have a great day -EC 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/29/2022

   
  Complaint: 18647982
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I clearly remember canceling both accounts prior the end of my trial. I even got a message that you still have x amounts of days to enjoy although you have canceled the accounts. If it has not gone through, I think it is an issue with your website (or the way you are handling the cancellations) 

  
  The fact that my subscription was still ongoing is beyond me. I am sure you agree that paying double the monthly fee from the same credit card for accounts that I canceled is not reasonable. I would need full refund for these accounts. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************** *****************************

  Business Response

  Date: 01/07/2023

  Thank you for bringing this to our attention. 

   

  After further review, we have confirmed that neither account was canceled which is why the user was billed on both accounts. That said, we went ahead and canceled both subscriptions as well provided a total of 6 month refund on each account. No further refunds can be provided as our billing system has a 6 month limitation. Please let ******** know if the charge is still pending, he will see the debit disappear from his bank statement. Otherwise, please allow 2-5 business days for the refund to process. 

   

  If ******** has any further questions, he is welcome to submit a ticket directly to our team here: *********************. Thank you again, have a great day! - MR