Complaints

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:05/06/2025

  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.

  I am writing to file a complaint regarding an unexpected and unadvertised price increase by ***********. When I first subscribed to their premium plan, I was charged $169.00 CAD. However, on May 3, 2025, I was auto-renewed and charged ****** CAD (an increase of approximately 77% with no prior notice or communication). To be clear I did not receive any email or other form of notification regarding this increase. And as a struggling university student working to pay off student loans, this gargantuan increase is not only unaffordable, but frankly fraudulent. I have now cancelled my subscription, but I am requesting a full refund of the $****** CAD charge due to the lack of transparency and communication regarding this change. Although I submitted a complaint through ************ customer service system, I was met with an automated message indicating that responses are currently delayed. Therefore, I am escalating this matter through the BBB to ensure that my request is processed. Please see the attached screenshots for my account/billing information.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/19/2025

  
  Thanks for getting in touch. Our records currently indicate this payment was refunded!
  
  In some cases, if you refund very close to your purchase date, your original payment will have never been processed and been removed from your card.
  
  If you still see the original charge and no refund, please contact your bank or payment processor.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/06/2025

  Type:Sales and Advertising 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 hereby submit a formal complaint against Academia.edu concerning the unauthorized withdrawal of 884 PLN from my bank account on May 2, 2025, for an annual Academia Premium subscription. This amount was debited without my knowledge, consent, or any form of authorization. In 2024, I was likewise alarmed when Academia.edu withdrew ************************************************ prior notice. At that time, I attempted to resolve the matter by calling customer support repeatedly; the sole representative I reached assured me the subscription fee would not renew automatically the following year.I only learned of the unauthorized charge on May 5 via my banking app. I immediately reported the incident to my bank and blocked the card, but the transaction could not be reversed. Simultaneously, I contacted Academia.edus support office to demand a refund twice.This notice I received on April 25, 2025 failed to:1.Confirm that I had previously revoked auto-renewal consent;2.Specify the exact amount to be charged;3.Explain or justify the price increase;****** the clear and conspicuous standard.Moreover:I never activated or used the service on May 2, 2025, and immediately requested *************** and Polish law prohibit any subscription fee increase or debit without the subscribers explicit consent.Academia.edus sign-up process is instant and effortless, yet cancellation requires multiple convoluted steps - it is a deceptive practice.The renewal notice was buried among daily marketing emails and rightly filtered as spam, giving me no genuine opportunity to object.Academia.edu has unlawfully debited my account, breached both California and ********* consumer-protection laws, and refuses to refund despite clear statutory rights. As a protected consumer and member of the academic community, I demand the immediate return of all unlawfully withdrawn funds. I respectfully request the BBBs assistance in mediating this dispute.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/06/2025

  
  Thanks for following up with this concern. After discussing this with our team, we've decided to grant you a one-time exception to our renewal refunds policy. However, moving forward we will not be able to offer refunds on renewal payments after your 30-day low cost trial and first year payment.
  
  Depending on your bank, you will see the refund show up anywhere between 5-10 business days from now. Thanks for trying it out.
  
  With your free account, you'll retain access to all our Academia free features, such as uploading and downloading single papers, messaging, basic analytics, title search, and your profile.
  
  Please let us know if we can help you out with anything else, and thanks for being a part of the Academia community!
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/08/2025

  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. Thank you very much, Dear BBB, for your quick and efficient assistance, it was extremely helpful. 

  Sincerely,
  ****** *********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/04/2025

  Type:Sales and Advertising 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.

  With no advanced warning, I was charged a ****** renewal amount for a subscription I believe to have been previously canceled. The renewal amount is excessively beyond what I have paid in the past and appears to be a way in which Academia.edu pads their profits, as evidenced by numerous similar complaints.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/05/2025

  
   
  Thanks for following up with this concern. After discussing
  this with our team, we've decided to grant you a one-time exception to
  our renewal refunds policy. However, moving forward we will not be able
  to offer refunds on renewal payments after your 30-day low cost trial
  and first year payment.
  
  Depending on your bank, you will see the refund show up anywhere between 5-10 business days from now. Thanks for trying it out.
  
  With
  your free account, you'll retain access to all our Academia free
  features, such as uploading and downloading single papers, messaging,
  basic analytics, title search, and your profile.
  
  Please let us know if we can help you out with anything else, and thanks for being a part of the *******************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/06/2025

  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. Thank you for your prompt response. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  **** **********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/01/2025

  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.

  On Apr 22th, 2025, i was charged $249.00 for an auto-renewal for Academia.edu Premium. The previous year (my first), I paid $159/year. I received no notice of this huge increase or that the auto-renewal was about to process. I didn't notice the charge until I checked my credit card statement on April 30th and saw the charge. I immediately requested a refund on April 30thor a pro-rated return of the 50 weeks remaining in the membership. Academia.edu refused, citing a no-refund policy on renewals. These business practices are deceptive and exploitative: any respectable company should give notice of a price increase for a service, as well as giving notice that auto-renewal was upcoming to give the customer a chance to opt out. As I understand it, this is against the California Automatic Renewal Law (ARL), which requires that subscription services notify customers before their subscription automatically renews and provide renewal terms that include cost and how to cancel the service. ******** has also failed to comply with good business practices by refusing my reasonable request for a refund or for a pro-rated fee given that I was not notified of the greatly increased cost of the service or that the auto-renewal was upcoming. This is unconscionable.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/01/2025

  
  Thanks for following up with this concern. After discussing this with our team, we've decided to grant you a one-time exception to our renewal refunds policy. However, moving forward we will not be able to offer refunds on renewal payments after your 30-day low cost trial and first year payment.
  
  Depending on your bank, you will see the refund show up anywhere between 5-10 business days from now. Thanks for trying it out.
  
  With your free account, you'll retain access to all our Academia free features, such as uploading and downloading single papers, messaging, basic analytics, title search, and your profile.
  
  Please let us know if we can help you out with anything else, and thanks for being a part of the *******************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/30/2025

  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.

  Hello,I am reaching out to request a refund for the automatic renewal of my Academia.edu Premium subscription, which was charged on April 30, 2025, in the amount of $119.79 USD.1. Lack of Prior Notification No reminder or advance notice was sent before the renewal was processed. For a high-cost annual subscription, it is standard practice to inform users ahead of time to give them an opportunity to cancel if they wish. Without such a notice, I was unable to take timely action to prevent the charge.2. Opaque and Unconfirmed Cancellation Process I canceled the subscription on April 30, but I received no confirmation email or notification. This lack of transparency creates uncertainty about whether the cancellation has been successfully processed and makes the overall experience unreliable.3. Unfair Subscription Practices and Unclear Pricing While subscribing to Academia Premium is a seamless one-click process, canceling the service requires navigating multiple steps, provides no immediate feedback, and lacks confirmationpractices that make cancellation unnecessarily ************ addition, the amount presented at checkout did not clearly indicate that taxes or additional charges would be added. This can be misleading for international users who reasonably expect the displayed price to reflect the total amount due.Request In light of the missing renewal notice, the unconfirmed cancellation process, and the confusing presentation of pricing, I request a full refund of $119.79.Thank you.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/30/2025

  Hi ****,
  
  
  Thanks for getting in touch with this issue. It appears your account was signed up for our 30-day low-cost trial of our Academia Premium subscription. This is a month trial that is associated with an annual subscription. We show both in your upgrade email and on the checkout page that at the end of the trial you will be billed for a full year's subscription if you do not cancel. ******** does not offer any Academia Premium free trials at this time.
  
  As a reminder, Academia Premium includes great upgrades to our free ***************** such as Mentions (see who cites you), Readers (see who's reading your papers), our PDF packages of all documents related to a paper you like, and more.
  
  As it does not appear we have a record of you cancelling the auto-renew on your low-cost trial, you were billed for a full year of an Academia Premium subscription. Since it sounds like that wasn't intended, I have refunded your payment. Depending on your bank, you will see the refund show up anywhere between 5-10 business days from now. You'll keep access to all our Academia free features, such as uploading and downloading single papers, messaging, basic analytics, title search, and your profile.
  
  Please let us know if we can help you out with anything else regarding Academia or Academia Premium. Thanks for getting in touch!
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/26/2025

  Type:Billing 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 signed up for a free account with ********************** a few years ago in 2022 and have not used the site's resources since. I noticed a $499 charge on my credit card on 4/22/25. I called my credit card company to dispute the charge. They noticed another charge the year before for $249. I was not aware of that charge and researched and found the charge on last year's statement. I did not see that first charge and was not expecting it. Academia never sent any email reminders to the alleged subscription, reminding me that I allegedly have an upcoming renewal which would give me the option of opting out. Most reputable platforms send reminders to clients. I contacted Academia by their platform form since they do not provide a telephone number. Since I missed seeing the previous charge, I asked, at a minimum to be refunded the recent charge of $499 and for them to cancel my account. They did not send a copy of my form correspondence to my email. I have attached their response to this complaint in addition to the two charges on my card. ******** asked me to call them back after I hear from Academia. If ******** does not refund me, their charge department advised me to have them cancel my card to issue a new one for me so that Academia cannot charge me in the future. I am always ontop of subscriptions and charges and am frustrated that I missed the first charge since I was not aware of any paid subscription. I have a number of subscriptions and have never had this issue. I have not contacted ******** again, yet, but will after I send this message.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/29/2025

  Thanks for getting in touch over the phone! We see that your payment is
  associated with an Academia Premium renewal payment. Generally speaking,
  we are not able to process refunds for renewal payments - our 30 day
  refund policy is only for trial payments and first year subscription
  payments.
  
  However, after discussing this with our team, we've
  decided to grant you a one-time exception to our policy and process a
  refund for this payment. Depending on your bank, you will see the refund
  show up anywhere between 5-10 business days from now. Thanks for trying
  it out.
  
  With your free account, you'll retain access to all our
  Academia free features, such as uploading and downloading single papers,
  messaging, basic analytics, title search, and your profile.
  
  Please let us know if we can help you out with anything else, and thanks for being a part of the Academia community!
   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/01/2025

   
  Complaint: 23253610
  
  I am rejecting this response because: academia.edu made the appearance of resolving the issue by crediting my credit card on 4-29-25  (see attached screenshot with pending credit).  This morning, 5-1-25, the credit has since disappeared and not credited/posted to my credit card account (see additional screenshot). 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ****

  Business Response

  Date: 05/01/2025

  Hi *****,

  We do not see any further charges on this payment and have not billed you again. Please be aware refunds can take up to 10 business days to settle.
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/02/2025

  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. The credit of $499 has now been applied to my credit card account. 
  
  Thank you for your help by your representative ******** *. 
  

  Kind regards,
  ***** ****

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/24/2025

  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.

  For several months, Academia.edu (a deceptive name) with a deceptively named merchant's account ***************** has been charging my bank account $379. They gave me no warning of this and no explanaton. ******* has declined their payments, and each time has sent me a new credit card. However, Academia.edu tries and tries again. I have now received 3-4 new credit cards, which because of Academia.edu's persistance, have been deactivated and a new one sent. This has been disruptive. I've discussed this problem with B of A. After some internet search, I see that this is a common MO for this profit-making firm. I see that they have acted as though I subscribed to a "premium" account, though I had only subscribed to their bare-bones free account. I did not subscribe to a "premiun" account. In my 79 years of academic life, I have never encountered such a predatory company. Their website says:"Please update your payment method to avoid losing your Premium membership benefits."Since I have not paid them for this, I agree to "lose my Premium membership benefits," and consequently they should cease and desist making charges to my bank account.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/25/2025

  
  Thanks for getting in touch with your concerns on this issue. It looks like your payments on this payment method have failed, so no funds have been taken from your account by us. We attempted to bill you because it looks like auto-renew is indicated in your Academia Premium subscription settings. Any charges you're seeing on your card are pending charges only and should disappear in the next 5-10 business days.
  
  Please contact your bank or payment processor to learn more about why your payment method has failed, or try a new payment method.
  
  If you do not wish to be billed again, you don't have to take any additional actions. You'll lose access to all our great Academia Premium features, such as Mentions (see who cites you), Readers (see who's reading your papers), our PDF packages of all documents related to a paper you like, and more.
  
  Thanks for your interest in Academia, and let us know if you have any questions.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/22/2025

  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.

  On April 20, 2025, I was charged ****** for the renewal of my Academia Premium subscription (website www.academia.edu).I did not intend to renew my subscription at this increased rate, and I did not receive any renewal notice or instructions on how to cancel within the time frame (between 15 and 45 days before the renewal date) required by the California Automatic Renewal Law (Business and Professions Code 17602(d)(1)).The only notice I received was an email on April 13, 2025, with a generic subject line (Update on Academia Premium), which I did not notice at the time. The email mainly included promotional content, and mentioned the price increase of 199 + tax only in the final few lines. It did not contain clear cancellation instructions, nor was it clearly identified as a renewal notice.Additionally, in my account settings, I found that all email notifications were enabled except for payments for Academia Premium, which was disabled by default, preventing me from receiving a proper alert about the charge.On the same day the charge occurred (April 20), I:- Immediately disabled the auto-renewal - Submitted a refund request through the Academia platform On April 21, I received a response denying the refund, even though I acted promptly and the renewal process failed to meet transparency and legal requirements.I am therefore requesting a full refund of ******.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/05/2025

  
  Thanks for getting in touch. Our records currently indicate this payment was refunded! We emailed you to confirm this on april 24. Please check your email ********************************  for ticket ID ******
  
  In some cases, if you refund very close to your purchase date, your original payment will have never been processed and been removed from your card.
  
  If you still see the original charge and no refund, please contact your bank or payment processor.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/21/2025

  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 am writing to file a formal complaint against Academia.edu regarding an unauthorized charge of $299 made to my account on April 15th. This charge was made without my knowledge or consent, and without proper notification of any price increase. This charge represents an increase of over 200% from the $79 I paid for the subscription last year. At no point did I consent to pay $299 for an annual subscription to Academia.edu.When I contacted their customer service, I was informed that they do not offer refunds, which I find to be both untrue and unethical. It is highly unprofessional and unacceptable for a company to impose such a significant price increase without clear and prior consent from its users.I have already contacted my credit card issuer to dispute this charge, but I am also filing this complaint with the Better Business Bureau in hopes of reaching a fair resolution and to urge Academia.edu to issue a refund for this unauthorized charge.Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to your assistance in resolving this issue.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/22/2025

  
  Thanks for following up with this concern. After discussing this with our team, we've decided to grant you a one-time exception to our renewal refunds policy. However, moving forward we will not be able to offer refunds on renewal payments after your 30-day low cost trial and first year payment.
  
  Depending on your bank, you will see the refund show up anywhere between 5-10 business days from now. Thanks for trying it out.
  
  With your free account, you'll retain access to all our Academia free features, such as uploading and downloading single papers, messaging, basic analytics, title search, and your profile.
  
  Please let us know if we can help you out with anything else, and thanks for being a part of the Academia community!
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/14/2025

  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.

  Im echoing the many multiple complaints on the BBB to attest that Academia.edu has used shady business practices over the last several years as they have increased their pricing from $99 to $299 (and some posting here have even been charged more). Ive attempted to cancel over 2023 and 2024, and I was again charged $299 after emailing them one week before my auto-renewal to ask for them to cancel my subscription, to which I received no response. I finally received a response after trying to contact them today on their website to ask for a refund, and they emailed me back to say I dont qualify for a refund. I have attached my email sent on April 6, 2025. I am asking for a $299 refund, though in an ideal world, I would have a refund for every year I did not want their service (which is, quite frankly, not worth the $99 they once charged). Academics beware.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/15/2025

  Thanks for following up with this concern. After discussing this with
  our team, we've decided to grant you a one-time exception to our renewal
  refunds policy. However, moving forward we will not be able to offer
  refunds on renewal payments after your 30-day low cost trial and first
  year payment.
  
  Depending on your bank, you will see the refund show up anywhere between 5-10 business days from now. Thanks for trying it out.
  
  With
  your free account, you'll retain access to all our Academia free
  features, such as uploading and downloading single papers, messaging,
  basic analytics, title search, and your profile.
  
  Please let us know if we can help you out with anything else, and thanks for being a part of the *******************