We use cookies to give users the best content and online experience. By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to allow us to use all cookies. Visit our Privacy Policy to learn more.

Manage Cookies
Resources for Businesses My BBB
Share
Business Profile

News Services

Substack Inc.

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

Find BBB Accredited Businesses in News Services.

Complaints

Customer Complaints Summary

  • 38 total complaints in the last 3 years.
  • 22 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:07/15/2025

    Type:Order Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    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.
    Last July, I signed up for a one-time class called Rhetoric in Real Life with a professor ****** *****. This July, I got a notification that I was signed up for it again or some sort of a subscription. This was a trick or some sort of subscription, My intention last summer was to register for a ONE TIME class. T The class this year is a repeat of last year's class; it is the SAME class this year.I had NO desire to subscribe to anything other than a CLASS! This is a trick and this company knows exactly what they are doing.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:06/10/2025

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    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.
    Substack takes $5 from my credit card as a "subscription fee" but none of my emails are subscribed to the substack in question. I have tried to resolve this through customer support, but it is seemingly not possible to contact a real human for customer support, as I have tried on 3 separate occasion and other resources on the internet claim to have the same issue.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:05/27/2025

    Type:Billing Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    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.
    On March 13, 2025 this company Substack Quote *** ***** . Debited my account at **** ** ******* for $ 109.20 . I have never heard of this company and certainly did not authorize this transaction . How they got my debit card no . I do not know .

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:05/08/2025

    Type:Billing Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    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 am a customer of the Substack platform (************). I have encountered two significant issues:

    Double Billing: I was charged twice for the same yearly subscription to one of the channels on Substack. Both charges were for $72, occurring on March 8, 2025, and again on March 27, 2025.

    Lack of Subscription Access: Despite being charged twice, my account subscription status incorrectly reverted to "free," and the platform is now prompting me to pay again for access.

    Additionally, Substack provides no direct customer service and relies solely on AI chatbots to handle customer issues. In my case, the AI chatbot failed to resolve or even adequately address my billing and subscription access problems.

    I request that Substack issue a full refund for the duplicate $72 charge and promptly restore my paid subscription access.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:04/07/2025

    Type:Billing Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    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.
    Should I want to delete my account associated with my email, I can't find the option! I looked online it says go to the "danger zone"; doesn't exist!

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:03/31/2025

    Type:Order Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    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.
    Substack has no support that's not AI. I am a paid subscriber to a Substack called Star Quality in which the public and private paid *** feeds are broken. The owner of the Substack has also reached out multiple times and has not gotten any response.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:03/30/2025

    Type:Service or Repair Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    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 use the Substack platform and monetize through their site. A service they provide is podcast hosting. My podcast *** feed is not working on the public nor private feeds. My paid supporters are canceling their subscriptions due to this error. When I have tried to reach out to Substack, I cannot reach a person, only an AI chatbot that messages in circles. Can I please get a real person contact at Substack to help fix my issue?

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:03/28/2025

    Type:Service or Repair Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    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.
    On 3/24/25 Substack's algorithm accused me of posting spam/phishing and locked me out of participating on the platform (which is an unjust accusation). I have proof that this is not true. I'm paying for a program called Writers at Work and there is a daily Notes Boost currently going on. But since my account is restricted, I can't access this for 5 days now! I filed an appeal on 3/24 and again on 3/26.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:03/26/2025

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    I purchased a gift subscription for a friend in November 2023. I was charged again on February 2025. She does not use this gift and I do not wish to continue paying Substack for an unused subscription. I have tried to resolve this multiple times through their support bot but have not received a response. It constantly tells me to log in. I cannot log in to an account since this was a gift and I do not have access.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:03/22/2025

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    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 am filing this complaint to report Substack, Inc.s unethical business practices, including its refusal to honor refunds, denial of valid subscriptions, and failure to provide accessible customer support.Summary of Issues:On March 15, 2025, I paid $359.10 for an annual subscription to TradeFlowDailys Substack (Invoice #7B1F8D54-0001).Per Substacks policy, refunds must be issued if requested within 7 days. I submitted my request on March 21, 2025, within the timeframe.Substack denied my refund, falsely claiming my subscription lacked payment information, despite attached receipts and correspondence with the publications owner (*****), who confirmed service cancellation and urged refunds.Substack provides no valid contact methods (phone, address, or responsive support), leaving consumers stranded.Public forums (*****************************************************************************************************************************) show widespread complaints about identical issues, proving systemic negligence.This behavior breaches BBBs standards for trust and transparency. I request that the BBB investigate Substacks practices, demand accountability, and ensure resolution for affected consumers.Attached are receipts, chat logs, Dennys email, and screenshots of public complaints. Contact me for further details.

Substack Inc. is NOT a BBB Accredited Business.

To become accredited, a business must agree to BBB Standards for Trust and pass BBB's vetting process.

Why choose a BBB Accredited Business?

BBB Business Profiles may not be reproduced for sales or promotional purposes.

BBB Business Profiles are provided solely to assist you in exercising your own best judgment. BBB asks third parties who publish complaints, reviews and/or responses on this website to affirm that the information provided is accurate. However, BBB does not verify the accuracy of information provided by third parties, and does not guarantee the accuracy of any information in Business Profiles.

When considering complaint information, please take into account the company's size and volume of transactions, and understand that the nature of complaints and a firm's responses to them are often more important than the number of complaints.

BBB Business Profiles generally cover a three-year reporting period, except for customer reviews. Customer reviews posted prior to July 5, 2024, will no longer be published when they reach three years from their submission date. Customer reviews posted on/after July 5, 2024, will be published indefinitely unless otherwise voluntarily retracted by the user who submitted the content, or BBB no longer believes the review is authentic. BBB Business Profiles are subject to change at any time. If you choose to do business with this company, please let them know that you checked their record with BBB.

As a matter of policy, BBB does not endorse any product, service or business. Businesses are under no obligation to seek BBB accreditation, and some businesses are not accredited because they have not sought BBB accreditation. BBB charges a fee for BBB Accreditation. This fee supports BBB's efforts to fulfill its mission of advancing marketplace trust.