ComplaintsforOnlineBookClub.org LLC

• Initial Complaint

  09/23/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Over the past few months, I have committed my time to reading, analyzing, and writing reviews for ten books as part of my work with this company. I went above and beyond in my efforts—some of the books I reviewed were not free, yet I still purchased them from Kindle to ensure I could deliver detailed, authentic reviews. According to the agreement, I was to be paid $20 for each review, totaling $200 for the 10 reviews I submitted. But what happened next left me utterly shocked and disappointed. After finishing my review for the book ************ by ***** ******, I was blindsided by an email from one of the editors, accusing me of plagiarism. The accusation was not only false, but it was also offensive and completely unfounded. I take immense pride in my work, and plagiarism is something I would never engage in. My reviews are the product of my own thoughts and insights, based on my in-depth reading of the books. To be accused of something so dishonest was a huge blow to my integrity. Without offering me any chance to explain or defend myself, the company went ahead and banned my account. Just like that, my work was invalidated, and I was shut out. This inconsiderate and unprofessional action not only smeared my reputation as a reviewer but also deprived me of the payment I was owed—$200, which I had earned through my hard work. I immediately appealed the decision, hoping that the administrators of the site would recognize the mistake and reverse the unjust ban. To my dismay, they too upheld the false accusation, claiming that I plagiarized someone else’s review. I couldn’t believe it! If they no longer required my services, the least they could have done was pay me the $200 that I rightfully earned before kicking me off the platform. But what they did was downright criminal: they kept my work, banned my account, and robbed me of my hard-earned money. This is fraudulent, unethical, and completely unjustified.

  

  Business response

  09/24/2024

  Hi, ******** ***** **** (a.k.a. ***** ******),
  
  You violated the Guidelines in multiples ways, so, even if the plagiarism was not true, you would still have to be banned from the Review Team.

  
  We do NOT owe you any money, and, in fact, you are technically required to return any payments already sent to you.
  

  #13 of the "Important: Other Terms and Policies" section of the Review Team Guidelines, to which you agreed when you accepted the books for review, states the following:
  
  "If you violate any of these guidelines or terms, you may be banned from the review team, and you will forfeit any outstanding payments."
  

  We only pay for reviews that adhere to our strict quality guidelines.
  

  The authors and publishers who are paying for our services require and deserve honest high-quality reviews from real readers.
  

   

  Thank you,

  Scott

  
  

  Customer response

  09/24/2024

  
  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.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******** ***** ****

• Initial Complaint

  08/22/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Good morning I want to report that this company is providing misleading and false claims to people that respond to their emails. I received an email advertising the opportunity to receive $60 to review a book. I was asked to buy the book, which I did, and after reading it, I was to write a review and receive payment. After I submitted the review, I was asked to edit it for grammar, spelling, etc, which I found quite reasonable. I completed the required edits and I received another list of edits. This went on for quite some time, probably 3-4 months of the back and forth with the review/editing team. Finally, I reached out to customer service and received a response from Scott who claimed to be the owner. Scott did nothing to help me in my request to get paid. He just referred my to links to the website, which are not helpful. At this point, it is clear this is a scam. I do not feel that they have any intention of ever giving my review a score high enough to get paid. I feel I was lied to and want a refund on the cost of the book that I bought.

  Customer response

  08/22/2024

  Please cancel this complaint.  The owner made thing right with me directly.

• Initial Complaint

  08/14/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I joined the Onlinebookclub as a reviewer of books. I joined via an email I received in late Feburary of 2024. The email was offering $100 to review the book "********* ********". I was asked to purchase the book, which I did, and write a review after reading it. I completed the review approximately 2 weeks after purchasing the book, mid March would be the time frame. Shortly after, I received an email to make some minor changes to the review, which was reasonable. After making the changes, I submitted the revised review. Again, I was asked to make changes. Being new to the club, I didn't question this, and again made the edits they requested. As you can guess, this has now continued into August. I have tried contacting the club itself to ask if this process is going to continue indefinitely, or if I will be getting paid soon. I keep getting very vague and unhelpful answers. They refer me to link to club policies and rules regarding payments that do not answer my questions directly. I recently sent them an email, asking them to spell out what they need from me to get paid or tell me why my payment has not yet been sent. Again, I get responses that are deliberately vague, misleading, or send me on a goose chase through a bunch of links that tell me nothing helpful. Please help me out. If this company is doing this to me, I can only imagine the countless other people whom just give up and let them get away this type of behavior. Please feel free to call me of you have any questions. My phone number is ###-###-####. **** *****

  Customer response

  08/15/2024

  Scott (who claims to be the owner)  reached out to me in regards to my complaint.

    This is the last message in a string where he reached out to ask why I filed a complaint.  Note the last part where he states "it is a violation of company guideline"  to reach out to 3rd party vendors to resolve problems.

  I have tried for 6 months to solve this problem, so he will have to forgive me when nothing has been done to help me.

  
  Hi, ****,
  
  Thank you for getting back to me.
  
  
  
  My 24/7 hourly customer support staff who are paid by the hour are
  instructed to always do their best to help each and every person who
  contacts them. That is also why when they mark an issue as resolved on
  the support chat system, the user (e.g. you) is then prompted to rate
  their service on a scale of 1-10.
  
  It's simply untry that our "company policy is to avoid, evade and send
  people on a wild goose chases". Our policy is the exact opposite.
  
  However, if you believe Risper or Juma did not live up to our company
  policy, which is for them to do their best to answer all questions they
  are sent and to more than resolve any problems or issues a member
  reports to them, then please do let me know. In other words, if Risper
  or Juma provided worse service than I am providing right now, or
  communicated in a less professional or less friendly way than I am now,
  please let me know.
  
  We have over 5 million members. Even if 99.99% are ultra happy with us,
  that would still be over 500 people who are not.
  
  For a more accurate sampling of our membership's opinion of us, please see:
  
  ***************************************************************************************************
  
  
  and:
  
  **************************************************************************************************************************
  
  
  If you change your mind and decide to work with me directly instead of
  filing public complaints on third-party websites (which is a violation
  of the Guidelines), then please do let me know.
  
  I look forward to hopefully hearing back from you and getting a chance
  to work hard to go above and beyond to more than resolve any issues you
  have and to fully answer any and all questions you may have.
  
  
  Thank you,
  Scott
  ****************** ***** ** ****************** ******* **** ******** ******* ** ***** ****
  
  
  
  
  to me
  

  Customer response

  08/21/2024

  The owner, Scott, reached out to me agian and offered to "resolve my problem" if I got in compliance with company guideline.  What he meant by that was, if I drop my complaint with the BBB, he would help me out. 

  I have refused to do that, as his company hasn't done anything even though I reached out to them 8-10 times to try to work it out.

   

  Below is a snippet from the email he sent me.  The whole email chain can be made available upon request.

   

  Instead, my email (1) told you exactly what you would need to do to be
  paid, and (2) asked you a question that you did not answer.
  
  To reiterate part of what it said, you would need to come into
  compliance with the Guidelines to which you agreed before even selecting
  the book for review. Specifically, you would need to entirely remove,
  not revise, the BBB complaint.

  Customer response

  08/22/2024

  Please cancel this complaint.  The owner reached out to me and made things right.

• Initial Complaint

  05/21/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I did a review for them which was approved by the author of the book. I purchased the book and reviewed it to be paid per their request. They never paid me. Once i told them i felt like i was scammed they found two reasons for the review to be denied (which had already been previously approved) they kept my review up and kept the money. I also paid for a book i never really wanted to read.

  

  Business response

  05/28/2024

  Hi,
  
  Typically, the issue you describe is caused by not reading the Review Team Guidelines before submitting your review.
  
  Generally speaking, if your review was rejected for failing to adhere to the Guidelines, then that means it was just sent back to edit to fix the issues and re-submit, meaning this would be an easy fix for you.
  
  If you are having any trouble at all, you will simply want to contact the support team using the official contact form on the website. We have a professional support team working 24/7 to ensure all members can get quick fast support.
  
  
  Thank you,
  Scott

  Customer response

  05/28/2024

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  You should be alarmed. I plan in leaving reviews everywhere. I feel scammed. I have over 12 emails back and forth with your "support team" they were all very nice and professional but not at all helpful.  Zero followed up with me. 
  
  
  Salome O****
  Official Reviewer Representative.
  Nisha D******
  Official Reviewer Representative
  Jeremie
  Official Reviewer Representative
  Valarie K****
  Official Reviewer Representative
  Kirsi
  Official Reviewer Representative
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ********

• Initial Complaint

  05/10/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On 3/7/24, I purchased a Guarantee of a 5-Star Review from OnlineBookClub for $297 for my book Instant Replay. I was told if I buy this Level 4 Package, I will be guaranteed to sell 1000 books. I thought it was a great deal. It really wasn't. For the past two months I have been trying to get the 5-Star Review they guaranteed and the 1000 book sales that never came. All I want at this time is my money back. The service was never performed. The review I did receive was 2-Stars and from someone who doesn't even read romance books. They never should have guaranteed any sales in their email (and yes I still have a copy of it). And they never should have guaranteed a 5-star review. And no, I don't want their review now. They have given me the run-around for the past 2 months and I just want this situation over with.

  

  Business response

  05/28/2024

  The information in the screenshot is correct.

  The way you are quoting it in your complaint is not correct.

  We did not and would never guarantee that your book would earn a 5/5 review, since we only offer tough honest reviews.

  Instead, what the email you screenshoted says, which is accurate, is that and I quote, "If our reviewer doesn't give you a 5/5 rating on the first review, as part of this special offer I will give you unlimited free reviews of updated versions of the book until you do earn a 5/5 review."
  
  A key word in that offer is the word "earn".
  
  I am sorry the first reviewer did not love your book enough to think it deserved a 5/5 rating, but we do not offer guaranteed positive reviews, only honest reviews.
  
  Per the offer, you are entitled to free re-reviews of updated versions of the book. To claim that, simply email me the updated version of the book when it is ready, and I will have a new review done for you at that time.
  
  
  Thank you,
  Scott
  

  Customer response

  05/28/2024

  
  Complaint: 21694821
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  This is the exact same information Scott has sent me. Never does he mention the 1000 sales that never transpired. That was also a guarantee in his email. I have seen no sales from his site. 

  All I want is my money refunded. The services were never done properly. And he misrepresented how his business works. I was guaranteed a 5-Star Review and 1000 sales. Neither has transpired. And it has been over 2 months.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** ******

• Initial Complaint

  01/31/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I accepted an assignment as a freelance reviewer for OnlineBookClub.org and I have had my first paid review accepted and published. I am awaiting a $5 payment for the review. I have fulfilled all of the requirements to receive payment. Prior to obtaining payment through a verified ****** account, I have been issued a new requirement to upload a "selfie with government issued photo identification clearly visibly in the picture". This was never a described or agreed upon condition of payment. The company has no stated privacy policy available on their website and the company provides no information about how sensitive personal information will be used, stored or protected. I have expressed my privacy and security concerns to the company and informed them that I do not have identification that can be used to comply this request. I am including the transcript of my messaging interaction with representatives of the company. The final exchange (also copied below) summarizes the issue: Thank you for reaching out. We understand your concerns about your privacy, and we assure you that your details stay private. These measures were not in place before, but have been effected to prevent fraudulent activities by members who work against our rules and guidelines. We do hope that you understand and will reconsider complying. This is response unacceptable. Your assurance about my privacy can not be trusted since your company provides no information about how sensitive personal information will be used, stored or protected. Photo id was not an initial requirement for payment. I have completed all of the requirements as set out on your website for this review and you have published the work I produced.

  Customer response

  02/01/2024

  The business has responded to my complaint directly and has provided payment for services rendered. I consider this issue resolved. Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  01/22/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On November 30, 2023 I booked a book review service from Online Book Review. The service of tier foiur which has an average turn out of 4 weeks. I contacted them when I did not even get a review after 40 days. During the Review Request stage for my book The Reset, I asked for the reviewer ******* ****, who had reviewed my earlier books T** ******* and *** ********. Please The request for the review can be found in the file REQUEST FOR A SPECIFIC REVIEWER – *********  The Online Book Club kept citing my choice of reviewer, which was the reason for the delay. Please see the file Reason for delay-Specific Reviewer- Gmail. PDF. On one occasion they also falsely claimed that the review was already done by point at the Review of *** ******** ( from last year). See Attachment OLD REVIEW.PNG. Then then promisd that the revew will be done on January 18, 2024. See attachment January 18.png Later, on January 3, the online book club told me that the reviewer will pick the book a week from January 3. Please see Specific Reviewer picking up the book.PDF. Please note that by then, the project will already be several weeks delayed. On the same day, the Online book club confirmed that the delay is because I chose a specific reviewer. Please see the Attachment Delay due to the Specific Reviewer-******* ****. PDF. When I finally got my review (50 days from request and 22 days late), I saw it was reviewed by someone else. Someone who did not read my previous books. So, all this while ONLINE Book Club lied to me, citing my choice as the reason for delay. See the review link h************************************************************. It's reviewed by Chris Powell, not ******* ****. PLEASE SEE THE ATTACHMENT REVIEWED BY SOMEONE ELSE.pdf.They kept me in the dark. They kept lying to me and delivered a poor product. This is a highly unprofessional and unethical behavior.

  

  Business response

  01/25/2024

  This was already refunded. I don't know why the client chose to leave a BBB complaint. We never refused to issue a refund. All he had to do was ask.

• Initial Complaint

  01/18/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I was sent an offer via email from Onlinebookclub.com to review a book for 50 dollars. The email offer simply states that you buy the book to review, review the book, and get paid 50 dollars once you submit in the review. Well, I purchased and reviewed the book I was instructed to. This morning, I received an email from Onlineboookclub.com, stating that my book review was essentially not "good enough"; that it didn't follow "guidelines". Also, I am unable to resubmit the review for further consideration. Keep in mind, I have never reviewed anything on onlinebookclub.org site before. The fact that I was a first-time reviewer, should have been taken into consideration. Please, again note that the email I was sent initially said nothing about these "strict guidelines", simply review the selected book and get paid 50 dollars for your efforts. The original email simply stated that I buy a book and review it. I feel that the offer made to me was very misleading. Not even an offer to cover the price I paid for the book; just a complete and utter refusal of payment of any kind.

  

  Business response

  01/24/2024

  Hi, *******,
  If your review was rejected for not meeting the Guidelines, then the email notifying you of the rejection would simply advise you to edit it to fix the issues and re-submit the review.
  
  If you aren't clearly seeing the word "re-submit" in the subject line of the email you mention (i.e. the one notifying you that your review had been rejected), then please forward that to me so I can get that fixed for you asap. You can email me at:
  
  ****************************
  
  
  Thank you,
  Scott
  

  Customer response

  01/25/2024

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  
  

   

  The message left by the owner and creator of OnlineBookClub.org.  The message sent to me, via email, was borderline harassment.  Please come to me with professionalism or not at all. 
  

   

  Sincerely,

  ******* *******

  

  Business response

  01/27/2024

  Hi, *******,
  
  How are you?
  
  This is Scott, the owner and creator of OnlineBookClub.org.
  
  Can you give me the name(s) of the staff members to whom you
  communicated before giving up and leaving negative comments on
  third-party websites (namely the BBB)? If you can, please also send me screenshot of the conversation you had with them or forward to me the full email conversation if it was via email.
  
  If anyone on team of paid support staff is not going above and beyond to  resolve issues when contacted, then they need to be fired asap.

  Once I see exactly how the team member failed to go above and beyond to help you, I can not only do what they were supposed to do originally for you, but coach or fire that team member as needed so the same thing doesn't happen to anyone else in the future.
  

  
  
  
  Thank you,
  Scott

  Customer response

  01/31/2024

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I just want the dollar amount that was promised to me.  That is it.

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

• Initial Complaint

  11/20/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  For the last 5 months I have been receiving emails from them and when I try to unsubscribe I get another email stating that it was rejected because the sender declared it as a spam request. I don't want emails from them nor did I request to Ever get them.

  

  Business response

  11/20/2023

  Hi, ******,

  It sounds like you are attempting to unsubscribe by sending a manual email reply to a noreply email address (hence why you would get an automatic email reply back saying your email didn't go through).
  
  All mailing list emails contain an unsubscribe link at the bottom. You can instantly unsubscribe yourself easily anytime by clicking that unsubscribe link.
  
  However, if you do have trouble unsubscribing when you using the unsubscribe link, and likewise are unable to reach us by email for some reason, you can alternatively contact me easily on social media:
  
   ********************************************
   ***************************************
  

   

   

  
  
  Thank you,

  Scott

• Initial Complaint

  10/19/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have spent the last two weeks attempting to get a refund from this company. The owner has stated he will not give me a refund until I remove any critical online comments I have made on other sites, including a complaint I posted on BBB. I have offered to remove the comments once I receive the refund. (His refund policy is clearly stated on his website, and nowhere does it mention anything about refusing a refund for such a reason.) He is now trying to bargain with me. He will send me half the money, I remove the negative comments, and then he will send me the other half. He says he doesn't trust me to remove the comments. He has also offered to get someone to post a 5 star review for my book on **********. This is a clear violation of ****** review policy, and could put me in jeopardy of my relationship with ******, who prints and sells my book. I want a refund. He has promised me a refund but with conditions that were not stated on his website at the time of purchase. Changing the rules once the transaction is completed is not a legitimate business practice.

  

  Business response

  10/20/2023

  Hi, *****,

  While we do have a satisfaction guarantee, we do not offer a "no questions asked full refund at the smallest issue" guarantee. That is very clearly stated on our terms.
  
  The reviewer read your book in full, wrote a great professional review. Then you asked the reviewer to also leave a ****** review on ****** too, which the reviewer also did for you.

  The ****** review was done upon your request. We didn't bring up anything to do with ****** reviews, you did.
  
  Then, after the reviewer as a friendly extra courtesy left an extra ****** review on for you, that is when the complaints started coming from you, after we had already delivered the original service you ordered and more (the extra ****** review that you yourself asked for).
  
  You were upset and suddenly 'dissatisfied' because the reviewer left that extra review on ******.***** instead of **********, since the reviewer happened to live in ******* not the ***.
  
  In your first email to me about the issue you wrote, in part, and I quote,  "Then the second review was posted on ******.**. This review does nothing for my book. I don't know, an ******** company stating to an ******** that a review would be posted on ****** would lead someone to believe that it would be on **********, not ******.**."
  
  Thus, in reply, I told you we can easily get that fixed for you at no additional charge to you. We can have the review put on the ********** version instead of the *********.** version of ******. We are always happy to go above and beyond to fix any issues like that, at no extra charge. That's our guarantee.
  
  Even though no ****** review at all was included with what you ordered and was just an extra service we provided after the original service was fully provided, I would have been (as I expressed to you) more than happy to go above and beyond for you by getting you the ***m ****** review you were asking for at no extra charge in place of the *********.** review that was left for you after you had asked for an ****** review at no extra charge, which we had already provided before you ever contacted me at all.
  
  When submitting your original review request, you chose the "No Restriction" open in the drop-down menu for "Reviewer Country" and likewise for the "Reviewer Religion" section. It was completely within your power to choose a reviewer from the ***. You choose where your reviewer is from, or if there is no country restriction.
  
  However, nonetheless, in my interest to not only honor our satisfaction guarantee but go above and beyond, I offered to have a second ******** reviewer read and review your book, at no extra charge to you.
  
  I am confident I not only honored the terms of our satisfaction guarantee but that I went above and beyond in doing so, offering to not only fix the small issues with extra free-ads you requested but go above and beyond to more than fix them.
  
  
  Thank you,
  Scott
  

  Customer response

  10/23/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  This issue is not about the country of origin of the review. This issue is about the refund policy you have on your website. You are not honoring the policy clearly stated on it. You have already said you would return my money, but only if I remove any negative comments about your company on the internet. No where in your return policy are these conditions stated. If this is the policy, then they should be outlined on your website.On October 13, you wrote "Please do let me know once you've removed the comments you went left publicly on third-party websites.Then if you would really rather a refund then getting a whole new review on ****** from a *** reviewer, that will be fine." Then on October 16, you wrote "I'll send you a 50% refund upfront, then you promptly remove all the negative comments you left on third-party websites, and then I will send the remaining refund. Let me know if this works for you." .
  

  I have let you know this does not work for me. Please refund my entire $148 as I've requested.
  
  
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** Denton

*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. ↩