• Scribd

Scribd

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Overview

Scribd has a rating of 1.4 stars from 877 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers complaining about Scribd most frequently mention credit card, free trial, and customer service problems. Scribd ranks 199th among Ebook sites.

  • Service
    145
  • Value
    137
  • Shipping
    82
  • Returns
    109
  • Quality
    128
Positive reviews (last 12 months): 0%
Positive
0
Neutral
0
Negative
5
130
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How would you rate Scribd?
Top Positive Review

“Surprisingly good”

Dominik K.
7/10/23

Been a user for about 3 years now and I'm continually surprised by what I can find here, from mags, through books to audiobooks. All at a bargain price, half of ehat audible charges for 1 book a month.

Top Critical Review

“Not even worthy of one star!”

J. R.
3/18/24

Joined Scribd/Everand a month ago. Their "free trial" is not free. They charged my account twice within that 30-day free trial period...once after two weeks of the trial and then at the end of it. I canceled my subscription and notified my bank of the fraud. Not only am I disputing the charges but a Have had the bank remove the card from my account so they can't continue to steal from me. I had hoped this subscription would be good...it seemed so at first. Then, I found out that not only are they fraudulent in their charges but there's a limit on how many books you can read in a billing cycle. Initially, when you search online for a good ebook subscription, Everand seems like a good choice until you actually have to deal with them. The complaints about them outweigh the good reviews and all seem to have a common thread - deceptive business practices.

Reviews (877)

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Other

Reviews that mention popular keywords

credit card (172) customer service (117) trial period (29) bank account (28)
Thumbnail of user cuongl3
Viet Nam
1 review
4 helpful votes
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April 29th, 2018

It continuously charge my CC thought I have even never visited its website, just only once registered the trial

Thumbnail of user jerryg31
Scribd S. – Scribd Rep

Hi there - My apologies for the confusion; you are automatically billed after the free trial ends unless you cancel your subscription with us. I'm happy to help with a refund, though. Please send us an email to help@scribd.com and we'll be happy to help!

Thumbnail of user stevene144
California
1 review
6 helpful votes
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September 2nd, 2019

Each time there were additional hidden steps for cancelling the subscription. This practice is EXTREMELY dishonest. Buyers beware.

Thumbnail of user jerryg31
Scribd S. – Scribd Rep

Apologies for the troubles, a member of our support team can definitely help you with this! Please email us at help@scribd.com, then update your review with your ticket number and a member of our team will reach out to you shortly. Thanks!

Thumbnail of user lindym53
Morocco
1 review
0 helpful votes
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June 25th, 2023

I SUBMITTED 10 FILES TO THE WEBSITES AND STILL GOT TO DOWNLOAD NOTHING EVERY TIME AN ERROR MESSAGE APPEARS, TOTAL BS

Thumbnail of user jerryg31
Scribd S. – Scribd Rep

Hi Lindy, I am very sorry to hear you were not able to get the download you need. I would like to look into this for you to see what happened. Please submit a ticket through this link and your request will be escalated straight to my inbox: bit.ly/social-support-help Thanks! -LC

Thumbnail of user malavikap1
India
1 review
1 helpful vote
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April 15th, 2020

I cancelled my subscription months ago but money is still being debited from my account. ABSOLUTE SCAM AND ZERO CUSTOMER SERVICE.

Thumbnail of user jerryg31
Scribd S. – Scribd Rep

Hi Malavika, we’re so sorry for any confusion here! Since we can't bill a canceled subscription, it sounds like these charges might be originating from a duplicate account or unsuccessful cancellation. We’d be happy to investigate this and stop any further charges! Please reach out to our support team at help@scribd.com and update your review with your ticket # so we can escalate your case and get it resolved ASAP. Thanks!

Thumbnail of user karenm941
Texas
1 review
5 helpful votes
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December 3rd, 2018

Although their standard response will be "We're sorry that certain specific books are temporarily unavailable to you right now...". The truth is that they will throttle you after one audiobook. I started to read one book, downloaded others but never read. Today, for the s3cond month in a row they DELETED the books from my device remotely and I can only access them the day after they get another payment from me. I cancelled last time when they started this and was stupid to believe they had changed, They claim to have an unlimited service. They do not. They offer a few cheap, old and publicly available books unlimited and the rest are 1 or two a month. Just saving a book to read later counts against you.

They refuse to admit to how many books you are limited to and frame it like the publisher has limits. It's not true. My sister could log in and access the books but because I had listened to one audiobook, I could not. Each time, the books are miraculously available the day after I pay them again and I have to redownload after they process the payment. This is false advertising. Their responses on here claiming books are unavailable to you for any other reason than money are false. This "unlimited" shtick was a ploy to bring back everyone who left after their last escapade. Now I read their was a data breach at the end of November and "only" our usernames and emails were accessed. ONLY?! You can't tell the truth about unlimited books and I should trust you on that?

In addition, they remain in violation of the court settlement for blind readers. Their app and website are still unusable more than a year after the deadline. They could easily work with publishers and the NLS and maybe even get credit or a write off ala book share with publishers by allowing the blind access. Nope!

The bottom line? Do not buy the bs. If you have, cancel and run from this company. Go and use your local library and Libby or overdrive. It's free, has prompt honest service you can depend on.

Tip for consumers:
Don’t. They are not unlimited. Search google or reddit for scribd throttling.

Service
Value
Quality
Thumbnail of user jerryg31
Scribd S. – Scribd Rep

Hi Karen - I'm sorry to hear about your frustrations with our service and we're happy to explain our unlimited offerings to you in further detail. Please email us at help@scribd.com. Thank you!

Thumbnail of user km161
Arkansas
1 review
5 helpful votes
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March 16th, 2017

I opened a free trial on their website (not through itunes.) It said I had until March 12,2017 to cancel. On March 11,2017 at 7pm I checked my bank account and saw that I had already been charged! I went to cancel and found out I could not cancel until April 12. I still went through the process of canceling (yes you have to click through about 10 pages and find teeny tiny little font that says I STILL WANT TO CANCEL) it said my account would end on April 12, rather than the next day, March 12, when my free trial was over or that same day, March 11 when I wanted to cancel.

I contacted Scribd support on March 11 when all of this was happening and have yet to hear a single thing back from them. Now I am worried my card will get charged again since people say they are mysteriously being charged over and over again. PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM THIS SITE. THERE IS NOTHING ON THERE THAT IS WORTH A PREMIUM MEMBERSHIP THAT YOU CANNOT GET ELSEWHERE!

And since they apparently have customer service people that respond to THESE message boards (rather than their own customer service emails) I am writing this review... and adding my support ticket number.

Support ticket #*******
Email *******@gmail.com

GET AHOLD OF ME SCRIBD

Thumbnail of user jerryg31
Scribd S. – Scribd Rep

Hi K M. Thank you for providing your ticket number and your email. Unfortunately, and I'm truly sorry for this, we've received a higher than normal amount of emails recently and have been unable to respond as quickly as we'd like to. I've located your support ticket and replied with more information regarding your account and refund. If you have further questions, please reply to that ticket or just reply here. Thanks! -Donni, Scribd Customer Support

Thumbnail of user indujar
India
1 review
0 helpful votes
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September 28th, 2021

May-20 Thank you for using your Debit Card XX3806 for a transaction of Rs. 840.08 at Scribd Netherlands BV on 24-05-2020 00:29:29 IST.
Jun-20 Thank you for using your Debit Card XX3806 for a transaction of Rs. 842.94 at Scribd Netherlands BV on 24-06-2020 00:29:31 IST.
Jul-20 Thank you for using your Debit Card XX3806 for a transaction of Rs. 827.26 at Scribd on 24-07-2020 00:29:28 IST.
Aug-20 Thank you for using your Debit Card XX3806 for a transaction of Rs. 828.83 at Scribd on 24-08-2020 00:29:42 IST.
Sep-20 Thank you for using your Debit Card XX3806 for a transaction of Rs. 813.70 at Scribd on 24-09-2020 00:29:29 IST.
Oct-20 Thank you for using your Debit Card XX3806 for a transaction of Rs. 815.56 at Scribd on 24-10-2020 00:29:30 IST.
Nov-20 Thank you for using your Debit Card XX3806 for a transaction of Rs. 819.99 at Scribd on 24-11-2020 00:29:33 IST.
Jan-21 Thank you for using your Debit Card XX3806 for a transaction of Rs. 807.86 at Scribd on 24-01-2021 00:29:30 IST.
Feb-21 Thank you for using your Debit Card XX3806 for a transaction of Rs. 802.24 at Scribd on 24-02-2021 00:29:29 IST.
Mar-21 Thank you for using your Debit Card XX3806 for a transaction of Rs. 801.32 at Scribd on 24-03-2021 00:29:31 IST.
Apr-21 Thank you for using your Debit Card XX3806 for a transaction of Rs. 833.50 at Scribd on 24-04-2021 00:29:31 IST.
May-21 Thank you for using your Debit Card XX3806 for a transaction of Rs. 807.57 at Scribd on 24-05-2021 00:29:31 IST.
Jul-21 Thank you for using your Debit Card XX3806 for a transaction of Rs. 823.53 at Scribd on 24-07-2021 00:29:31 IST.
Sep-21 Thank you for using your Debit Card XX3806 for a transaction of Rs. 816.90 at Scribd on 24-09-2021 00:29:30 IST.

Thumbnail of user jerryg31
Scribd S. – Scribd Rep

Thanks for contacting us here. We apologize for the trouble with these charges. Scribd is a digital reading subscription service. If you're being charged, there is likely a subscribed account causing the charges. So we can help you directly, please email us via our secure server here: https://scr.bi/assist, and one of our agents will assist you within one business day -EC

Thumbnail of user aritrag
India
1 review
3 helpful votes
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November 5th, 2019

So, a month or so ago, I subscribed for the Scribd free membership trial, thinking that I might need it. In the duration that I had my free trial, I looked up only one book for some research work I was doing. I was informed via notification when I signed up for the free trial, that I would be charged money if I continued with my account from 5 November onwards (when my free trial ended, and my first paid month began). I was sadly mistaken - Scribd, when compared to other sites, is utterly useless. Today is 5 November, 2019. I just got a message around an hour ago ago, saying that I have been charged INR 636.16 from my debit card, for the Scribd membership. I was not asked if I wanted to continue, or informed just before this happened, that it was about to happen. A warning beforehand would have been nice. I would have cancelled my membership immediately, before the amount could have been deducted from my account. My money has been deducted from my account without my explicit and express permission. Regardless, since I have not used Scribd services for the paid month that begins today, I have spent the majority of the past hour, trying to get a refund by contacting Scribd support, but every time I press the link to do so, I get a notification telling me that I must verify my account by activating the link Scribd has sent to my registered email account, which I will receive atmost within ten minutes. I have pressed the resend button multiple times, and gotten no link - and its clearly been more than ten minutes. I tried changing my email address thinking that that might work, but it has been to no avail. I still have not received the link. I have not used Scribd's services and I want my money back. I want it back immediately.

Thumbnail of user jerryg31
Scribd S. – Scribd Rep

Hi Aritra, we're really sorry to hear about this frustrating experience. Our team can absolutely assist you with this and get a refund processed for you. Could you please email help@scribd.com with the details and update this review to include your ticket #? That way we can connect you with an agent asap. Thanks!

Thumbnail of user teresah47
California
1 review
6 helpful votes
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August 22nd, 2016

Got a notification from my credit card that they charged me **the minute** I signed up for a FREE TRIAL. They are thieves.

Thumbnail of user jerryg31
Scribd S. – Scribd Rep

Hi Teresa! I'm so sorry for any confusion here. It's not an actual charge; the system does a transaction to verify that the card used is valid but it's automatically voided when it occurs so the money will never process out of your account. It should be listed on your account a few days as "pending" and then disappear as if it never happened; the exact timeframe on when it disappears will depend on your bank however. It is just a method used to verify that the card provided at sign up is valid so the service can be successfully added to your account. We try to make this very clear in the confirmation email you received and! Apologize for any trouble it's caused for you! Let us know if you have any other questions via support@scribd.com. Thanks! - Zoë, Scribd Customer Support

Thumbnail of user veronikap11
Sweden
1 review
1 helpful vote
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July 12th, 2020

I had some trouble canceling subscription, but when I posted comment here they really replied me and refunded me
Thank you Scribd and Sitejabber.

Thumbnail of user jerryg31
Scribd S. – Scribd Rep

Thank you for letting us know, Veronika. I am so sorry for the trouble with these duplicate charges and for our delay in response! I have reviewed our system, and it looks like we have already refunded you and responded on your ticket #2797282. However, I have also gone ahead and directly responded to your ticket #2800015, so please let me know if you have more questions by responding there. Thanks for your time!

Thumbnail of user eugenias16
Georgia
1 review
2 helpful votes
  • Send Message
October 17th, 2019

When you cancel your account, you get an extra 30 days free WITH NO WARNING THAT THEY WILL STILL CHARGE YOU!

Thumbnail of user jerryg31
Scribd S. – Scribd Rep

Hey Eugenia - We definitely want to look into this for you. Can you please email the details to us at help@scribd.com so that you can connect with one of our support specialists? They have the tools to assist you and stop any future charges. Thanks!

Thumbnail of user silured
Australia
1 review
0 helpful votes
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April 17th, 2023

Yes, there's a great choice of books and more unusual titles than you might expect. So I tried the 30 day 'unlimited ' reading trial. I chose a few ebooks, thoroughly enjoyed reading ONE of them, had a quick look at a couple more and after that could not access any of the chosen titles, except the few I'd had a quick peak at. Apparently they'd all suddenly become 'unavailable' at the same time until, you guessed it, a date one day beyond the time when I'd have to pay. A lame notification explained that this was unfortunate but unavoidable because of publishers etc etc A$13.99 a month is a lot in times of financial struggle AND I don't get to keep ANY of my downloaded books if I discontinue the subscription! I can get by using Amazon ( which I philosophically despise with a passion and was hoping to get rid of and replace with Scribd) without paying A$13+ per month for ebooks.
At the very least the promise of "unlimited" reading on the free trial is false advertising, at worst it's a SCAM!
Some of the Ebooks are in tiny font and cannot be enlarged. The Ebooks where print can be enlarged do not go big enough for me to read without glasses, which is why I need to enlarge the font in the first place.
Look for free books on Amazon, the Internet Archive and the Gutenberg Press and AVOID Scribd!

Tip for consumers:
That I’d have to subscribe to review anything!

Products used:
Ebooks

Thumbnail of user jerryg31
Scribd S. – Scribd Rep

Hi Silure! We’re so sorry about any confusion regarding our library. While you may find some titles are not immediately available, there will always be something to read! If you haven't checked it out yet, our article (https://bit.ly/2yPhpTq) can help you with this. However, if you have any other questions, please feel free to connect with our support team directly by following the link bit.ly/social-support-help and we'd be happy to help. Thanks! -MW

Thumbnail of user lionelw14
Australia
1 review
7 helpful votes
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January 1st, 2018

1. I have read most of the other reviews here and agree with them all.
2. Scribd, you could do yourself a very positive benefit if you A. State up front that what you offer is a streaming service. ( not hid this in you FAQ, and leave it to subscribers to work that out, after you has siphoned off 1 or several months subscription fees. B. Deliver what you advise, simple and clearly if its a free trail, should not require a credit card subscription.
3. For the benefit of others, I will summarize my experience with Scibd.

Took up the 30 day trail on 1 Sept 2017. Noted on same day that the PDF I was searching for was not in Scibd inventory, despite being lead to their site by my search engine, suggesting I would find it there... Unlike others, I didnt provide my CC details, instead, I download the IOS app to enable viewing the catalogue.
Once I confirmed ( on the same day) this site didnt have what I required I reviewed the FAQ and attempted both suggested methods to cancel the subscription ( Device and iTunes, both of which didnt work). I contacted Scribd support team (via email) and explained this to Ben (case number # *******) who stated he/they could not do anything, as I didnt subscribe directly with them, but had subscribed via Apple and that Apple had to cancel the subscription. Ben was kind enough to provide a link to Apples subscription. It this time I was over it, I only came back to the topic after noticing subscription fees on my CC. Once reminded of the Scribd subscription, I cancelled via Apple as suggested by Ben, but by this time 3 months had past. Upon cancelling I learnt that I had 9 book & 3 audio credits. Having been charged for these I decided take up the credits, 1 book and 3 audio. As I have limited internet access I downloaded them to enable listening and reading offline. I found it odd that every time I accessed the downloaded content ( with internet disabled) it would respond, stating I was offline and could not access the content. Once I connected and opened the content then disconnect from the internet, I could continue to access the offline content. ( this would suggest that Scribd are conducting an account subscription validation each time you access the offline content, to ensure you still have a paid up account.)
All was working fine until I received a message from Apple advising me that my subscription was to end on 31 Dec 2017. I understood this, as I had cancelled my subscription, as mentioned above) The hook came on January 1 2018, when I could no longer access any content and was being prompted to renew my subscription.
SUMMARY. Poor ethical responsibility Scribd.

Tip for consumers:
New users , Know clearly, that this (Scribd) is a streaming subscription service, not a content purchasing site, like IBooks, Amazon Kindle or Bookbud etc.

Service
Value
Quality
Thumbnail of user songw4
Malaysia
1 review
0 helpful votes
  • Send Message
September 3rd, 2020

I CANCELLED MY SUBSCRIPTION BUT YOU DAMN GUYS ARE STILL CHARGING ME FOR GOD SAKE YOU GUYS STOP SCAMMING MY MONEY PLEASE I NEED THOSE MONEY FOR FOOD!

Thumbnail of user jerryg31
Scribd S. – Scribd Rep

Hi there, we apologize for any confusion with our cancellation process. To clarify, it is absolutely impossible for us to bill a canceled account as you are no longer rendering services with us. This means that any charges you're seeing are associated with a duplicate subscription or an unsuccessful cancellation. In order for us to locate/stop these charges and get this resolved for you, please submit a ticket through this link: https://scr.bi/assist

Once this is done, a specialist will follow up right away to help -- thanks!

Thumbnail of user charnac3
Serbia
1 review
2 helpful votes
  • Send Message
October 22nd, 2019

Scammers scammers scammers scammers scammers scammers scammers scammers scammers scammers scammers scammers scammers scammers scammers scammers scammers scammers scammers scammers scammers scammers scammers scammers

Thumbnail of user jerryg31
Scribd S. – Scribd Rep

Hi ChaRna, we're here to help with any issues you may be experiencing with Scribd. Please email help@scribd.com with the details and update this review to include your ticket # so we can connect with you asap. Thanks!

Thumbnail of user gjkgf
California
1 review
3 helpful votes
  • Send Message
May 20th, 2015

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Gain trust and grow your business with customer reviews.

From the business

Explore over 170 million documents and counting from a global community of users. Find and upload text on every topic and niche, including research papers, official government documents, user manuals, and more!

Our monthly subscription starts at just $11.99 USD and automatically renews unless the subscription is canceled at least 24 hours prior to the next billing date.
A Scribd monthly subscription also includes access to Everand (ebooks, audiobooks, and more) and SlideShare (presentations and professional content).

Please visit our Help Center for answers to frequently asked questions and the option to connect with our support team for further assistance: https://support.scribd.com/hc/categories/360005188511

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Thumbnail of user jerryg31
Scribd S.

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