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.
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.
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.
In no way does Scribd offer "unlimited" reading and listening as they advertise. While they admit they throttle "super users" not only do they flatly refuse to define what that means, but I have continually been throttled after a single audiobook. And there has been nothing but horror stories about trying to cancel your subscription with this company. Stay far away from this scam.
Twice now, in less than a year, my copyrighted works have been illegally uploaded to this site. Scribd apparently doesn't feel they have any responsibility to exercise due diligence to check to see if those uploading actually own the rights to the works they are stealing, (and it would take, what? Two minutes of their time?)
They also don't seem to think that breach of international copyright law is grounds to ban a poster from their site - unless they do it repeatedly.
Bad form.
Yet another big company, ripping off the little guys with no consequence.
Hi Jeanette - I'm so sorry for this. Much of our document content is uploaded by readers in our community. If you see a document on Scribd that you would like remove, please send us an email to help@scribd.com and we will also ban the fraudulent user from our system. Thank you!
Most Scribd content has been uploaded by users who do not own the copyright, or from content that is hosted free on other sites.
If you're fine with illegal content, just download from a torrent site. No cost, more choices.
Thank you for your feedback. We can assure you that we take intellectual property rights very seriously and comply as a service provider with all applicable provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998. Please report if someone has posted your copyrighted content to Scribd or SlideShare without permission to our copyright team here: https://bit.ly/2Wc7W8v. We will definitely look into this with urgency. If you suspect that another person’s work has been posted without permission, please contact the author or publisher directly. Many publishers provide special forms or email addresses on their websites for readers concerned about possible infringements.
If you have any further questions, feel free to reach out to support here: https://scr.bi/assist. Thanks again, have a wonderful day! - MR
Really impressed. Current content up-to-date, unlimited use & downloads. Fantastic collection of audiobooks as well as books and other print material. Has most all fiction & non-fiction I'm looking for. I sometimes read along with the audiobook & this service is perfect. Allows users to download all content.
Thank you for the kind words, Ed! We're so glad you're enjoying reading with us.
As with so many others, this company keeps taking money from my bank account even after cancelling. I would like my money back, please.
This issue is that cancelling is a process that involves several steps. People may think they have cancelled but have not because they have not progressed to the final step. It's a deliberate deceptive ploy to stop people cancelling.
Hi Andrew - Thanks for bringing this to our attention, and 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 if you haven't already, and update your review with your support ticket number so we can get this resolved for you right away. Thanks!
I really enjoy the app. I haven't tried cancelling yet. I was spending C$240 per year on Audible, and have enjoyed over 80 audiobooks this year so far (fantasy, sci-fi, psychology, pop fiction, romance,. I've read lots of cookbooks. This year, I've saved over $500. I love the language lessons and I can listen to books I couldn't justify paying for. New books from some of my favorite authors are showing up monthly. New releases are there as well. My only sad reflection is that they don't have mags, but love scribd.
Hi Kyera - Thank you so much for your kind words. We really appreciate your support and look forward to having you as a customer for years to come!
I have been paying £9.99 for a Scribd subscription every single month from 17/05/2021.
I have cancelled my trial prior to this date so I am so confused as to why I was still charged without my knowledge and consent. I would like to get a refund for all those months of unused subscriptions please. I am also unable to receive email verifications to log into my account to use help desk. They would not arrive no matter how many times I resend. Support ticket #*******
I'm absolutely gobsmacked at the lack of support and outright disregard for customers going on with Scribd. If this issue is not resolved, I might have to involve the Financial Ombudsman because this situation is not at all ideal.
Tip for consumers:
Don’t use this site!!
Products used:
None
Hello, we are truly sorry for any difficulty you have experienced with the cancellation process as well as the delay in support. That is not the experience we want our users to have. We can assure you that customer satisfaction is of the utmost importance to us. After further review, it looks like one of our specialists has already reached back out to you on ticket #3698955. If you have any further questions or concerns, please direct them directly to her as she will be your best point of contact at this time. Thank you, have a wonderful day. - MR
UPDATE: I want to thank customer support from Scribd in this website. They seem to respond faster, and they finally do work on your problems. I got refunded without delay. Thank you!
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I have requested for a refund for an unused account service for the month of March. I have sent three tickets, one from my e-mail and two from their website, and still no response. It seems like they don't truly care about their customers, which is really sad! My username is tsalgado_12.
And I really hope, based on previous reviews on this page, that my subscription is truly cancelled. It will be a true headache if it starts getting money out of my account after having my membership cancelled.
Hi Tania. We're sorry for the delay in response to your tickets and thank you for providing your username. We were able to locate your tickets and have responded. Thank you for your patience. -Donni, Scribd Customer Support
This company is charging a subscription I never had. I accepted a trial which I canceled after a couple of days, this was in May. Now 17 July they charged me 10.99€ for a subscription that never existed. They do not answer the support tickets, neither the emails. Be careful with their offers.
Products used:
I didn't use anything.
Hi there, and thanks for bringing this to our attention! We understand you're concerned about being charged and we'd be happy to look into this for you. Since we cannot bill you for a canceled subscription, it's likely the charges are linked to an unsuccessful cancelation or even a duplicate account. If you've created a support ticket, can you please provide your latest support ticket #? Alternatively, you can create a new ticket through this link: http://bit.ly/social-support-help. Once we receive your ticket #, a member of our team will get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks again! -MW
I had never even heard of Scribd before an $8.99 charge from them showed up on my credit card statement last week. I emailed them right away, only got an auto-response that I would hear back from them in 24 hours - then nothing. I emailed again a few days later, same thing as before. I have now FB messaged them, hopefully that will get through. I have never used their service before, and after this I am sure I never will. I don't know how they got my CC info (I know it wasn't stolen by an ID thief because who would steal a credit card to get a Scribd subscription?). I just want them to reverse the charge and ensure that it does not happen again. So frustrating.
Hi Gina! It looks like our support representative April recently sent you a reply to your support ticket with information on how your account was started, as well as that refund. Please let us know if you have any other questions on that support ticket. Thanks! - Zoë, Scribd Customer Support
I too fell for the scribd trap. I signed up for a free trial on May 3,2017, then cancelled my membership perhaps 15 minutes later.
Now it's two days later and my online Visa account shows an $8.99 charge from Scribd.
This is a free trial?
I've sent an email to customer service requesting they confirm my cancellation and refund all charges... let's see how it goes.
My user name is david3cutler-2 if the nice Scribd rep would like to take care of this issue.
Hi David. Thank you for providing your information. I located your ticket and have responded regarding your account and trialling membership. Let me know if you need anything. Thanks! Donni, Scribd Customer Support
Have been trying to cancel for 3 months in a row, NO success. I've tried to email them and they don't monitor emails, no customer service! Trying to cancel through their website just doesn't work. Help center is useless. The cancelation process is unnecessarily long and complex, designed to confuse and trap the subscriber. Make sure you spot and confirm all the "cancel" buttons, there are many. Have cancelled payment through CC provider and will dispute most recent payment. Complete scam and waste of time.
Tip for consumers:
Just buy the book you're looking for, don't waste your time looking for it on subscription websites.
Tip for consumers:
Buy the book somewhere else.
We're so sorry for any trouble you've had canceling! To confirm, you can absolutely cancel at any time and our customer support team is available via email to help. If you have an open support ticket, please let us know your ticket number, otherwise, please email us via this link: https://scr.bi/assist and one of our agents will assist you within 24 hours -EC
Go to setting on phone/iPad click on iTunes, then press your iTunes email and under manage subscription turn off Scribd. Just did that. I hope it works. I was great till lasted. One audiobook a month for $8.99 is too much. I can buy one for less at Amazon and keep it forever. Going back to my public library. They give me 10 audiobooks for free every month.
I've read the copy paste response about "other emails" but no, i was charged on my main one, and i cancelled at least three times; when I contacted them in 2017 about it they refunded the last charge only, even though I was complaining about all of them, and I've been charged for two months since September 2018, after a "free trial" i never activated in August, even though I haven't been on scribd at all this year.
I have sent an email asking for both months to be refunded.
Hi Hanna - We're happy to help with this; could you please update your review with your ticket number so I can look into this for you personally? Thank you!
There are options of a lot of books and other stuff. I didnt liked it because of "the books I was searching for were available the day after my trial has ended so that they could get one more monthly payment"
Hi Petur, we apologize if this has caused any inconvenience for you! Can you please create a new support ticket using this link http://bit.ly/social-support-help? We'd be happy to help provide a thorough explanation as to why you’re experiencing this with your library. Thanks! -MW
This is one at the worst audiobook services that I've ever used (and trust me, I've tried them all!) The more you use their services, the more of your "saved" list they take away from by saying the title (conveniently) will not be available until the day after your free trial ends. Boycotting this app not just for the dishonest billing policies but on principle if nothing else
Hi there Jacklyn, we can assure you that the free-trial we offer to new subscribers is the same as how your subscription would work while it's being paid for. While you may find some titles not immediately available due to individual reading habits, there will always be something to read or listen to! Our article here, https://bit.ly/2yPhpTq can help you with this, or we encourage you to email us at help@scribd.com so we can look at your account and provide a more personalized answer regarding this. Thanks!
I contacted Scribd and a representative returned my message saying he would refund the most recent billing. I hope he did that. Perhaps they are trying to clean up their practices. I would recommend if you do any "free trials" that you are careful to keep track and cancel when you need too.
I am a student and used my dad's card to sign up in Sept'19 to try out the website. However, I couldn't find the materials that I was looking for and applied for cancellation within 15 days at the max. However, I have been charged for almost a year now. When the complaint was raised, the team made a big fuss about being generous to refund a month's charge and then extended to 3 months. I don't understand how such unethical firms are existing and exploiting student's money. Such firms should brought to the law and be punished severely.
Wish I could give a negative rating but unfortunately no such options. Please let me know if there are any options to stop such people from exploiting other students.
As stated in our Subscriber Agreement here: https://bit.ly/32yAdXk, all accounts will be continuously charged monthly until you cancel. Additionally, our Refund Policy here: states, "You must contact us within 30 days of a charge for a refund". Providing refunds for more than one month is a one-time courtesy, and I am afraid we are not able to go any higher than that.
That said, I am truly so sorry for the frustration here. If you have more questions, let us know by responding to your email to support. Your agent will be happy to do what they can. Otherwise, thanks for your time and have a great day.
I signed up for the free trial, but when I go to cancel my subscription, the website says there is no record of my membership, no credit card on file, and no payment history. Scribd deducted $8.99 from my account today..
Hi Simone - I'm sorry to hear about this! Most likely, you have two accounts with us, which is why you're not seeing any payment details when you sign in. Please send us an email to help@scribd.com and we can absolutely locate your second account and issue a refund. Thank you!
I have been a scribd subscriber for several months and at first everything was fine. I was impressed by the selection of books and articles. However, during the last couple of weeks the whole website turned into text only and it couldn't display any books, articles, or graphics. At first I thought that this was only a temporary issue but then it persisted. I tried contacting scribd and I could only find the address listed below. They have NO phone number and NO email. I even tried filling out a form located in an obscure part of your website but you didn't respond. I can't follow the instructions to go through my profile to cancel my memberships. That's why I'm filing a complaint against you guys. I will now call my bank to block you from charging my credit card. You guys a god damn scam.
Hi Ed, we're so sorry for any confusion surrounding your membership and would be more than happy to help you with any issues you're experiencing! You can find step-by-step instructions on how to cancel your subscription in our support article here: https://support.scribd.com/hc/en-us/articles/210134046-How-to-cancel-your-premium-membership
We'd also like to make sure that you get the additional assistance you need with any troubleshooting, so please submit a ticket through this link: https://scr.bi/assist
Once this is done, feel free to update your review with the ticket number you receive and we'll make sure this gets taken care of for your ASAP. Thanks!
I was charged $8.99 on 6th April, 2018 and got charged $8.99 again 16th April, 2018 with no prior notice and that's expensive taking into account the exchange rate in my country. I did not get any prior notification to that effect save for my bank records. I wrote *******@scribd.com and I got an automated message informing they will get back to me in 1 business week. Who does that? My ticket number is #*******. I'm absolutely livid and to think I wanted to give the service a chance. Seeing people having similar complaints is really disheartening to say the least.
Hi there - I'm sorry for the confusion. I opened your ticket and it looks like Denise responded to you letting you know that you were not double charged but there was a few week delay on your first charge as your card was declined by your bank. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to reply back to Denise's email. Thank you!
They make money by scamming people. I cancelled my membership 3 years ago but they intentionally have been taking money from my account. I demand a full refund of my £279 RIGHT NOW or I will take legal action. I have given them over three months to return my money but still no assistance and I have lost my patience now.
Ticket no: #*******
They are lying saying that they cannot 'physically' give me my money back even though the transactions are still seen in my account. What a joke. Their response: "While I do truly apologize, we are physically incapable of issuing anything further than 180 days (six months) out from the current date, as the limitations in place by our payment processors do not allow us to circumvent this; that is, the transactions have already been removed from our systems for actionable review."
Tip for consumers:
Don’t sign up for the free trial
Products used:
None
We apologize for any frustration. As w have already explained, 6 months is the maximum amount of refunds we are able to process in our system. If you have any other questions for us, please let us know via email, otherwise, have a nice day -EC
I signed up for the 14 day trial, and cancelled it two days later when I found that the only book I need is not in a citable format on scribd. Still, I found myself being charged with $8.99. I can explain what kind of "free" is in scribd's crooked dictionary? I hope everyone stay away from this stupid site!
Hi Allen, I'm so sorry for the misunderstanding! 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. I apologize for any trouble it's caused for you! If you aren't seeing that charge fall off after 5 business days, please email us at help@scribd.com and we can take a look. Thanks! - Zoë, Scribd Customer Support
After nearly 5 months of thinking I canceled my subscription to Scribd, I find out I've been being charged every month by them. It is because of their manipulative formatting when trying to cancel your subscription that I thought I'd cancelled my account. I am outraged and feel cheated. I have taken all personal information off that site and I suggest people do not subscribe to them. It has cost me over 40 dollars for not even using the site.
Hi Katie! I sent you a message on here on June 28, but have not heard back as of yet. I'd love to take a look and get this issue resolved for you. If you can email us at support@scribd.com, or if you can message us your account email address we can assist you. Thanks! - Zoë, Scribd Customer Support
I've been trying to unsubscribe for months! I've sent an email, as instructed in the bank info. I have unsubscribed using their website. I don't use their service at all, for many months! And still, they keep charging me! Do not subscribe! You won't be able to leave it!
Hello, we are sorry to hear you are still having difficulties. We are happy to look into this for you. To better assist you, please update your review to include your ticket number so that we can have it assigned ASAP to one of our specialists. Thank you. - mr
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
Hi Kay- I'm very sorry that specific books are temporarily unavailable to you right now. While we cannot guarantee the immediate availability of every title, all titles found using our Explore page should be available for unlimited reading right away: https://www.scribd.com/explore Still have questions? Email help@scribd.com - Thanks!