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PSA: Have You Canceled Your Account at Scribd? You Might Want to Double Check That

scribd[1]With the news coming out earlier this week that Scribd was cutting back its romance catalog (including titles from Harlequin), I’m sure some Scribd subscribers are thinking about cancelling their subscription (or have already done so).

And so I want to pass along a friendly warning about Scribd’s cancellation process.

Many companies have a relatively obvious process to cancel an online subscription. They may make you jump through hoops, beg you not to leave, but in the end I’ve rarely had trouble canceling a service.

Scribd, on the other hand, has set up their cancellation process so that it is easy to trick yourself into thinking that you’ve canceled your account before you’ve actually completed the process.

I had to find this out the hard way, and I’m hoping you can learn from my mistake.

Back in May I decided that I no longer needed my Scribd account, and I canceled the monthly payment – or so I thought. Much to my surprise, I discovered earlier this week that I was still subscribed to Scribd.

It turns out that, after navigating through 3 screens and after having told Scribd three times to cancel my subscription, I hadn’t actually canceled the account.

No, there was a 4th screen where I was required to scroll down, find the correct text entry area, give Scribd feedback, and cancel my account a 4th time before it would take.

Personally, I find the design of that process to be deceptive, but the more important issue here is that I want to help you avoid my mistake.

If you canceled your account at Scribd, go make sure they’re no longer charging you. And if you decide to cancel your account, please be more careful that I was.

We don’t want you to become part of the "gym membership" part of Scribd’s business plan (continue to charge people for a service they aren’t using). Scribd costs $9 a month, and if you’re not reading the ebooks that money is better spent elsewhere.

image by W_Minshull

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Have You Canceled Your Account at Scribd? You Might Want to Double Check That | The Passive Voice | A Lawyer's Thoughts on Authors, Self-Publishing and Traditional Publishing July 3, 2015 um 12:01 pm

[…] to the rest at Ink, Bits & Pixels and thanks to Russell for the […]


fjtorres July 3, 2015 um 1:00 pm

Speaking of… questionable… scribd practices:

After the purge, quite a few authors are finding that Scribd is now effectively charging subscribers to read their free books but won’t allow their paid books in their system. So scribd makes money off the authors but the authors can’t make money off Scribd.

Neat trick, huh?

Mackay Bell July 3, 2015 um 2:52 pm

I don’t know why everyone keeps saying Scribd doesn’t have a workable business model. It now makes perfect sense. Keep charging customers who think they have canceled. (No money goes to writers. Scribd keeps everything.) And only allow writers to publish books for free. (No money goes to writers again.) Seems like a very sound business model.

So, I assume all those people who say writers shouldn’t be exclusive to Amazon, and should be on all channels, are putting their books on Scribd for free.


Lisa Angelettie July 3, 2015 um 4:09 pm

Humph! I’m glad I saw this because I’m one of those voracious romance readers who’s ready to cancel. I can’t find any of my favorite indie authors. They definitely did the big chop.


puzzled July 4, 2015 um 12:26 am

I cancelled my trial membership in April.

While I still have an account, it is tagged as 'Your Scribd membership has expired', and my Cc is not being charged.


Alec July 4, 2015 um 4:29 am

You should report Scribd’s convoluted cancelation process to the FTC since companies have to cancel your membership promptly.

https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/#crnt&panel1-1


Anna July 4, 2015 um 7:47 am

Suggestion: why don’t you try using pre-paid credit cards on internet purchases. It’s easy and increases safety. You can delete a card anytime and create a new one with a new numbers in less that five minutes. You will likely receive text message notice of any single purchase.

Nate Hoffelder July 4, 2015 um 7:59 am

I would but the options I have found all add extra fees to the cost.


Teri Babcock July 4, 2015 um 2:01 pm

There’s an industry term to describe the kind of design that is deliberately created to trick, mislead, confuse and otherwise drive the consumer into making an online choice they don’t want to make: dark patterns.
There is a short course on design and ethics on Linda.com that discusses it.


Links To Blog Posts on Writing – July 2015 | Anna Butler July 26, 2015 um 12:33 pm

[…] Cuts Romance Catalogue – Mark Coker over at the Smashwords blog with a thoughtful analysis. Have You Canceled Your Account at Scribd? You Might Want to Double Check That – The Digital Reader on some dodgy […]


Leo Sigh October 28, 2015 um 6:19 am

I can’t understand why anyone has a problem canceling their Scribd account. Honestly, I can’t.

All you have to do is to follow the instructions on the screens that pop up. Sure, there are four of them so it’s a bit of a nuisance and, sure, they are desperately trying to get you to stay but…if you follow all directions, it’s as easy as cake. Literally took me less than 2 minutes.

Oh and you can be sure you have canceled your account when you get an email from Scribd saying your automatic payment every month has been canceled. And then they send you another one asking you to stay and offering you a free 30 days 🙂

And btw, I only canceled my account as I discovered I had a 3 month free account through a Samsung Galaxy tab I just bought, so I reverted to that one. But will definitely be keeping the service once the free trial expires as I love it.


Tracy February 23, 2016 um 11:35 am

I have cancelled my account twice now and been billed again the next month due to their deceptive cancellation practices. Three screens is outrageous enough, but to have to scroll down and confirm cancellation again (written in tiny tiny print versus the giant Stay with Scribd button) is completely ridiculous and deliberate deception. I did not know that authors receive no money. These are not ethical business practices.

Nate Hoffelder February 23, 2016 um 11:42 am

I’m sorry to hear that Scribd is still pulling this same shit almost a year later.


RAVIKUMAR n April 10, 2016 um 4:38 pm

I had given my credit card details on scribd ….it has been deducted amount by my account , as I dnt want t pay fr it ,so I have cancelled membership for a free trail for 14 days on same day , can I get back my money if I cancelled subscription ,???
Even I dnt want t put for renewal process ,can anyone help me in cancelling bank details on scribd I given ???


Sophie April 25, 2016 um 11:53 am

I have had a the same problem with SCRIBD cancellation process. I’ve went through the entire screen, added a feedback, and then again confirm my cancellation and was given a confirmation at the end of the page. However, this confirmation was never sent to my email but I assumed everything was cancelled since it was confirmed on their website. Just the other day, I realized that there was a membership charge to my account! I contacted the number that was on my credit card statement and of course there’s no answer…AND no option to speak to a representative. The other thing I can do is to email them and question about my account! It’s a pain in the butt to have to go through so much just to cancel an account. This is a fraud site. BTW, I found that if you create an account with OverDrive.com you can read books for FREE through your local libraries, including online books and audio! Save your money and stay away from SCRIBD. They’re a horrible company and they lack the resources to assist members.

Nate Hoffelder April 25, 2016 um 12:34 pm

When did you try to cancel, exactly?


Did You Know Audible Will Steal Away Your Credits If You Cancel Your Membership? | The Digital Reader August 14, 2016 um 8:48 am

[…] the bullshit policy. I didn't cut Scribd any slack when I criticized its cancellation process last year, and I see no reason to be nicer to […]


Ak January 25, 2017 um 9:21 pm

Just this evening I unsubscribed from Scribd. I thought it was a half decent site, but the cancellation process was one of the most stupid and foolish that I have ever seen.

Also this evening, I made a complaint to the FTC about it.


Jason February 8, 2017 um 1:58 pm

I recently signed on for a free month trial. I’ve cancelled my membership and am trying to deactivate my account, but it says that I can’t because I still have a membership? I’m worried that I’m going to incur billing because of this. Any suggestions?


Chimere March 31, 2017 um 10:14 am

This is ridiculous. My membership expired March 2016, I’ve been charged every month (to include this one). I have been working with Scribd for over 2 months now and nothing has been resolved as they have to have the last four of my card to find it. I figure me having an account in the past would have been good enough seeing that they are supposed to be a reputable business. They are gonna owe me over a years worth of charges.


Sue March 31, 2017 um 9:49 pm

I cancelled my account 2 years ago – have just been billed for 12 months.


Annabelle Madrid April 12, 2017 um 9:29 am

I have a problem in unsubscibing my account. What is the best thing to do to stop or cancel my account it is not helping me it continues add problem because it always deduct from my credit card. I intend to stop it . Hope you will tell me what to do.


Ashok kumar N July 3, 2017 um 4:44 am

I’ve cancelled my premium membership of(scribd) a month back but today $9 has been taken from my account without any prior information. How could they take someone’s money even after cancelling the membership? What should I need to do? Help me.


Jason Waterman August 26, 2017 um 11:53 am

Right now i was trying to cancel my scribd account for the past 3 days
First of all when they send me the UPDATE PAYMENT email .. when i click into and try to click the profile thing in the top right of the email, it goes straight back to UPDATE PAYMENT

Second .. i actually had to find my account by hitting the Account text in help. It brought me to the membership part … But then there was still no "Cancel Membership" button to click

Calling my credit card company and getting it blocked asap.
Very questionable practices.


Ricardo February 14, 2018 um 5:25 pm

They have made the same to me and I am almost 100% sure that I have completed the 4 steps. they have been billing my for 10 months without saying a word. In my coutry this is simply fraud


Will February 17, 2018 um 2:47 am

I have been getting charged by scribd every month since last July despite having deleted my account. I did this within a matter of days of starting that free trial as I new the service would not be worth the money for me. I thought I was mistaken but the scribd website confirms that my account is deleted. It’s ridiculous that they can still be charging me every month when the account no longer exists. In my eyes this is theft, pure and simple.


Ellen November 16, 2018 um 11:54 pm

Gosh, I have the same problem. How can I get my money back?


RJ April 5, 2019 um 6:58 pm

I don’t even remember signing up for a trial subscription – I discovered it on my bill. I’ve contacted them three times and they only responded once, after several days, to say that I had a day to reply to them.

I have no account and no way to log in to do anything – the 1 message they sent said they can’t find me.

Looks like I need to report them to my CC company. I’ll probably need to get a new card and deal with that hassle, which I don’t want to do.

Maybe it’s time for a legal challenge… we can’t be the only victims.


Jepny Anak Jiheng August 28, 2019 um 5:36 am

I had cancelled the subscription sunce last March, and I am still being charged payment. In my record it is said been cancelled. How is this ? Why should I pay.. the cancellation was done already.

Nate Hoffelder August 28, 2019 um 8:34 am

I know, right?


Philip September 30, 2019 um 12:40 am

I just discovered the same thing on my credit card. Charges were being debited monthly since October 2018, totalling A$140. Scribd never sent a single email to me advising that these amounts were being charged. Other, reputable organisations send a monthly invoice to remind customers of their ongoing arrangements.


Nani Ranka October 24, 2019 um 6:12 am

The same thing is happening to me. It shows subscription is cancelled but my credit card is still being charged. What is the solution?


Pawel Pekal November 12, 2019 um 11:30 am

Have any of you get your money back? How about lawsuit (there’s many of us here)?


Feebee December 16, 2019 um 7:12 pm

Omg. It’s absurd how unethical this is! I tried to cancel 3 times, each time thinking I was done, only to be charged again the next month. I read this article and paid close attention this time and found the little link on a screen that confirms cancellation 3 screens AFTER it appears that you’ve cancelled. WOW. Insane.

Nate Hoffelder December 17, 2019 um 9:12 am

I know! Aren’t they terrible?


Dalton January 15, 2020 um 6:44 am

I cancelled I think back in September and just realized I have been being charged for the past 4 months. I know for a fact it said my account was cancelled when I did it originally, but when I logged in today of course it shows everything as active.

I assume maybe there was a glitch because maybe I cancelled in the app itself on my ipad and not on their website. I re-cancelled today and it is crazy how they hide that confirm cancellation link way down the bottom of the page, even though it says at the top you have cancelled. I also noticed it’s all over their terms of service that they won’t give refunds for anything passed 30 days. This is definitely by design.

The service was great initially, but I started noticing it was becoming harder and harder to find real books by real authors – their library is over-saturated with self-published trash made by people just trying to game the ebook market.

Let’s consider the fact too that you wrote this article in 2015 and they are still pulling the same scam in 2020. It’s crazy.

Nate Hoffelder January 15, 2020 um 7:06 am

criminal would be a better word

Kylie February 12, 2021 um 1:15 am

That’s what I thought too after clicking through four pages of "are you sure". Criminal to put them in tiny font in oddly placed locations on the page. This is an old comment, just felt like venting.

I cancelled but don’t see a way to remove my credit card info in the account settings?


Scribd Continues to Steal From Former Subscribers | The Digital Reader January 15, 2020 um 8:39 am

[…] of Scribd's victims contacted me this morning to complain about Scribd's […]


Andrzej April 5, 2020 um 3:47 pm

Hi guys, same here – I canceled in January 2020 and yesterday I found out at my account that payment order is still working… Earlier, in 2019, I tried to cancel, but suddenly the process was so misleading that it didn’t work. I just wrote to them to return my money. But as I can see it won’t be easy :-/

Nate Hoffelder April 5, 2020 um 3:50 pm

they’re slimy bastards, aren’t they?


Valentino April 14, 2020 um 3:46 am

It happened to me yesterday. I was convinced that I was out of the service. 10 euros wasted … I’m still angry!


Amy May 14, 2020 um 8:59 am

I cancelled my subscription and recived an e-mail that it was succesful and if I wanna resume my membership all I have to do is sign back up. But few hours later I recived an e-mail to vertify my mail address (after 20 days) and I wanna delete my account but to do so I have to sign up ( I’ve never signed off) and reading these horrible comments about them I’m not sure is it smart to sign up just to see if i can delete the account or to vertify mail for something I don’t wanna use.


KKK December 17, 2020 um 9:25 am

Thought I have cancelled my subscription in August 2019, I have never checked until yesterday, stupid me! In fact, there was no confirmation email… I was charged 9 euro a month until today, I’m pretty angry now!


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