ComplaintsforChristian Faith Publishing, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  02/17/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I am a published author with Christian Faith. I paid several thousand dollars for CFP to advertise and sell my book. I believe they took my money and did NOT advertise my book. The adds were to run after my book was officially released. I looked and listened to try my best to see an add anywhere. I did NoT see or hear even one advertisement. Needless to say, they did not sell even 1 book. Every book sold was sold before any adds were even suppose to run. After the supposedly adds, ZERO books were sold. So, they either took my money and didn’t bother to run the advertising or the adds were so bad no one bought a book. Either way, it should be illegal. My book is a good book with a great story. I believe Christian Faith took my money and because I’m a nobody from North Dakota, they did not even bother to sell or advertise it. I have had NO response from CFP when I have asked why zero books were sold. Did they even run an add? I don’t believe they did. If so, at least 1 book would have sold. Or the adds were so bad, no one bought a book. Either way, I feel I was wronged and it should be illegal.

  

  Business response

  02/27/2023

  Upon receiving this complaint, Christian Faith Publishing has attempted numerous times to contact this author regarding the stated claims, and our attempts have gone unanswered. The marketing services included within the author’s agreement do not include an ad service, nor is one offered by Christian Faith Publishing. Contrary to the claims made, we have completed and delivered all services within the signed agreement. The author chose to add on additional and optional marketing services; video trailer, social media launch, podcast interview and a printed promotional package; all of these services were completed as agreed upon, and they do not include the option for ads to be run on the authors behalf. As a new and unknown author, time may be required for sales to be generated, but Christian Faith Publishing is unable to predict or promise sales after a book is released. We are more than willing to provide additional marketing tips and ideas should the author like to explore other options. The author is free to contact us directly and we would be more than happy to address the author’s concerns and answer any further questions he may have.  

• Initial Complaint

  01/24/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I went through CFP for my book titled, ******* ** *** ******* I paid them a certain amount of money, and was told that I didn't have to give any more funds. Then they said that there was a miscalculation on their end, and asked for another $300 which I paid. Supposedly this was enough to continue moving forward, but then they came back asking for more money once more. I was to receive royalty checks every quarter of the year, but have yet to receive a dime from them. And it has now been 7 months which my book has been in stores. Friends and family who've tried to purchase the book get error codes. I call to speak with my publications specialist, but the calls are never answered. I leave voice messages stating that I'd like a call back, but they say that they can't reach my phone number. I don't know what else to do, or how to go about this issue.

  

  Business response

  01/30/2023

  Upon receiving this complaint, senior staff at Christian Faith Publishing contacted this author immediately. Since we take any concerns regarding sales reporting and accounting to the utmost importance, we reviewed the accurate and transparent process which we report, distribute, and handle author's royalties. We also discussed the ways we could work with the author to help him settle his outstanding balance. We also shared several free resources aimed at helping authors market their books and how it works in tandem with the publicity and marketing services outlined in the author's Publishing and Distribution Agreement. We enjoy working with this author and continue to invite him to reach out to us directly for any further concerns. He may always call our Author Support line by dialing toll free - 866-554-0919 and choosing option 2, when prompted.

• Initial Complaint

  01/18/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My manuscript was contractual signed with my signature of the self-publication manuscript named The ****** **** ** ***** ** *** **** **** with an amount paid $1590.00 before this year 2023 while the publisher specialist Thomas and Amber and Alisha each refused me, ********* ******* ****** ********* ****** ******* ****** ******** ***** with social security number ********* with date of birth ********** though this year 2023 on the 5th of January year 2023 is when I purchased United States Postal Service Money Orders listed serial number *********** total amount $1000.00 cash to Christian Faith Publishing Company 832 Park Avenue Meadville Pennsylvania 16335 also and United States Postal Service Money Orders listed serial number *********** total amount $400.00 cash to Christian Faith Publishing Company 832 Park Avenue Meadville Pennsylvania 16335 with a United States Postal Service Certified Mail Receipt Domestic Mail Only ******************** with both money orders and a copy of my valid United States of America Passport and a copy of my United States of America birth certificate and a letter card list the name of my manuscript and my recent email address ********************************** requesting access to my author portal that I HAVE NEVER HAD ACCESS THE ENTIRE FIVE YEARS SINCE 2018 AND PHONE NUMBER beyond their 1-800-955-3794 sample publication request phone number directly priority mailed scheduled to arrive on the 9th January year 2023, but so far the Christian Faith Publishers has all said that the $1400.00 money order totals never arrived and that there is no manuscript contract and that the Christian Faith Publishing Company receives charitable donations for free sample publications though the Christian Faith Publishing Company does not publish or self-publish manuscripts or books and that is why the website only provides a sample of how a self-publisher should design there sample information and that the 1-800-955-3794 never has publishers vocal.

  

  Business response

  01/30/2023

  Since receiving this complaint, senior staff at Christian Faith Publishing attempted several times to reach this author and help clarify her concerns and confusion, via phone and email. Up to this point, all of our attempts remain unanswered. Unfortunately, the business model this author describes is not accurate as we do not receive any charitable donations or operate as the states. We would be happy to further discuss her concerns and find a more positive way to move forward, however the author needs to return our calls and attempts to communicate. The best way to reach our Author Support Dept is by dialing toll free at, 866-554-0919 and choosing option 2, when prompted. She may also reach us by responding to the emails we've been sending as well.    

• Initial Complaint

  01/16/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In 6/2021 my book ******* *** ********* was published by Christian Faith Publishing Company. They informed me that my book would be sold on several online book stores. My book exceeded being sold on their allocated websites. My book is currently sold on Bookrun, Kobo-ebook, Google play book-ebook, Walmart online, Thrift Books, Barnes online, Instagram, Fishpond, Discover, Bookshop, Waterstone, World of Books, Bokus.com, Cherry Creek Books, Book Depository, The Products Hub, Russell, Pggen Books, Better World Books, Play Google. Com., Super Book Deals, price.ro, Hugendubel, V-King, Windy Books, elefant.ro, etc. I have only received $128.00 in royalties in the month of October 2021. I HAVE NOT received any royalties since this date. When I called Christian Faith Publishing they were very patronizing in telling me, that it depend on the quarters. This representative informed me I made under $100 in a quarter so I was not entitled to receive any monies at all until I made a total of $100 in a quarter. In the year of 2022 I received ZERO monies in royalties. I was told by this Publishing company that for each of my books that is purchased by any website or book store that Christian Faith Publishing sends out, I would receive $4.00 for each book sold. I noticed that when I look online 01/16/23 that one of the book stores stated they had 50 of my books left in stock. (This information is made known to customers when they go to a particular website to purchase a book and add it to their cart. ) This means they purchased over 50 books from Christian Faith Publishing. I have not seen any monies at all. Also when I was sent a copy of the front cover of my book, the last Publisher assigned to me patronized me. I told her that my face on the cover of my book was obscured. She insisted that I was wrong, that she was able to see clearly my face, why I couldn't see my face clearly? I didn't care for her energy, it was cold and she discarded my concerns.

  

  Business response

  01/30/2023

  Since receiving this complaint, senior staff at Christian Faith Publishing reached out to this author right away. We discussed at length the concerns the author presented and reviewed the way royalty are calculated and distributed. We also discussed the relationship between our distributor and their worldwide retailer partners to help clear up those concerns. Christian Faith Publishing handles sales and royalty accounting with the utmost importance and accuracy. Regarding concerns about the author's cover, we discussed revision options to ensure the author is happy with her cover. We appreciate her feedback and continue to invite her to reach out to us directly for any further concerns or misunderstandings.

  Customer response

  01/30/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********* and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
  
  Regards,
  
  ******** **************

• Initial Complaint

  01/03/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I published a book through this company in September of 2022. They have an Author’s portal set up where you can only check your book royalties for books sold outside the United States. I called the number on the author’s portal to check my book sales royalties, they gave me another number, and then the other number gave me another number. I finally called and emailed my publications specialist named Carlene M***** whom never answered. I see several of these same complaints already filed with the better business bureau. What Christians Faith publishing company is doing is putting all of our money into one account, COLLECTING INTEREST from it, then distributing the authors our royalties as they see fit, After a complaint is filed! This is UNJUST ENRICHMENT and is illegal!, and also violates every contract every author has! If their Author’s portal shows expedited book sales why would it NOT show book sales within the United States where we live??? Unless something devious and underhanded is going on! And why can you never contact anyone with these same exact issues, everyone says they don’t handle that so all the authors have to file a complaint with the better business bureau??? All authors own 100% of our books so Christian Faith publishing company collecting interest illegally is definitely UNJUST ENRICHMENT!

  

  Business response

  01/17/2023

  Senior staff from Christian Faith Publishing has attempted to reach out on several occasions to *** ****** with no answer and no call backs. We take anything regarding royalty management, accounting, and disbursement with the utmost seriousness and transparency, so the misunderstandings in this author's complaint do not happen. We strongly encourage *** ****** to reach out to us, so we may clarify his concerns and illustrate that we do not conduct business in the manner he claims. We supply authors a quarterly reporting of their sales. Since the last quarter just ended on Dec 31st, those numbers and accounting are made available by the end of the following month, which is this month. *** ****** will be able to review his sales report once they are accounted and posted. If there are any questions or concerns with those reports, we will be more than happy to investigate further as the accuracy of those numbers are handled with the utmost care and seriousness. We wish *** ****** the best and continue to encourage him to reach out to us and return our attempts to move in a more positive and productive manner.  

  Customer response

  01/17/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
  
  Regards,
  
  ***** ****** *l, this is the same basic response given to every complaint on them regarding the same matter. No one has reached out to me NOT once, and if so why wasn’t their contact information placed in their response? My complaint specifically states I called three different numbers to speak with them including my publication specialist, so what number am I supposed to contact them at ? Every number I spoke to said the same thing, “that they cannot address the matter call someone else”! What is this publishing company’s direct contact information regarding royalties??? It is NOT in the author’s portal or anywhere else public! 

  

  Business response

  01/18/2023

  Christian Faith Publishing has, in fact, reached out to this author on several occasions. Specifically, we left voicemails on 12/15/22, 12/22/22, and 1/4/23. We attempted calling twice today (1/18/23) with no answer and a full mailbox. The company number is displayed quite prominently in the Author's Portal in two different areas. Please refer to the attachment of *** ******'s author portal. I redacted the author's personal information and highlighted where our support number and the author's publication specialist's contact information is displayed. For clarity, the author support number is toll free at: 866-554-0919, when prompted choose option 2. Once the call is placed, please ask to speak to a supervisor (or a Senior Account Manager). We want nothing more than to help this author understand the process and clear up any concern and confusion, especially since his claims simply are not how we conduct our business. As you can see from the hundreds of positive reviews on the BBB and elsewhere, his experience is not the typical experience we want to provide at Christian Faith Publishing. We continue to wish him the best and encourage him to reach out to us, as our attempts continue to go unanswered.

  Customer response

  01/18/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
  
  Regards,
  
  ***** ****** *l,

  That is the first number I called they specifically tell you they can’t help and of course Christian Faith publishing knows that. Then they give you another number to call whom says the exact same thing,”they cannot help with that issue”!! That phone number serves no purpose in this matter at all and Christian Faith publishing knows that.

• Initial Complaint

  12/11/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I signed a book contract with them and paid some fees with the option to cancel the contract at any time. In turn they would refund all monies paid into the book contract. I sent my information back to them signed indication the cancellation of my book contract. They told me my money would be refunded to me and it has never arrived. The only reason they responded to me now was that started complaining about them over social media and they sent me a paper to renew my agreement instead of issuing me a refund. They are playing games since they are in control of finances that are supposed to be refunded.

  

  Business response

  12/21/2022

  Christian Faith Publishing has reached out to this author on numerous occasions to help clarify his concerns. During the early stages of the process, the author indicated he wished to cancel his agreement citing a variety of reasons, such as financial concerns and spiritual warfare. Since the contract amount was financed and the process was started, we offered a termination agreement as well as forgiving the balance of the financed amount to the author, which he verbally accepted. He sent a screenshot of the termination agreement which could not be processed in that format. When asked to send a scanned or mailed copy, he refused. The original agreement does not state he can cancel at anytime nor would receive a refund. Furthermore, a refund was not offered to the author since the amount he did pay on his project did not cover the costs that were already invested. We are still waiting for the author to send his termination agreement in a format that can actually be processed so the rest of the amount he financed can be processed and forgiven. We sincerely wish him the best and regret his decision to cancel his project in the first place. 

• Initial Complaint

  09/05/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Working with CFP has been a nightmare. Getting them to answer phone calls and emails has been near impossible. My rep changed without notice. They have said things that turned out not true and promised things they couldn’t fulfill. I will never use this company as a publisher for future products.

  

  Business response

  09/08/2022

  Upon receiving this complaint, Christian Faith Publishing immediately attempted to reach out to this author. We have left several voicemails that continue to go unanswered. Since he reviewed and approved each step of the process, we could only assume he was pleased with the process and his completed project. We delivered on everything promised in this author's agreement and he offers no detailed information to his concerns, in this complaint. We would be happy to further clarify his concerns, if and when he would return our calls.  Despite this surprising and ambiguous complaint, we truly wish him the best.

• Initial Complaint

  07/17/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My complaint is similar to others filed against the company: Christian Faith Publishing, inc. Nearly $4,000 for vanity press. They promised to place my book in bookstores. They promised that I would have professional editors. There are still glaring errors, simple grammar, in my book. It is being "sold" online. I began work on this book in 1973, it is well researched and written. I am so embarrassed that friends have seen copies. Now, I have to start over, rewrite the manuscript, seek a literary agent to market my book to a traditional publisher. Mr. H***** check the book. Do you think anyone would want to buy a book full of errors?

  

  Business response

  07/18/2022

  Christian Faith Publishing distributes our authors’ work through Ingram Content Network, one of the largest distributors in North America, allowing for worldwide distribution. This author’s book is available to over 30,000 retailers worldwide (online and physical bookstores). We are very transparent and upfront about retail, distribution, and royalties, not only in our written agreements, but as well as the rest of the information given and discussed with the author. This author's book, both print and eBook versions, are in full distribution as explained and promised in the Publishing and Distribution Agreement.  

  
  Regarding the author’s complaint about errors in her book, Christian Faith Publishing provides an extensive copy-edit by professionally trained editors, based on the Chicago Manual of Style. We do not move forward in any part of the process, without the author’s direct approval. During the process, this author made several changes to her manuscript as well as a revision, approving each version along the way. If the author still has errors that needs corrected, we have revision procedures she has previously used, to address those concerns and we are happy to help her through that process.

  
  We will continue to reach out to this author to further address her concerns and wish her the best for the rest of her publishing journey. 
  

• Initial Complaint

  07/11/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My book the redeeming way sold more,7 copies. But Christian faith Publishing said no, and only gave me $18.22 for books sold. I know for a fact that my book sold over 200 copies. I sent them copies of sales recits to prove it.

  

  Business response

  07/18/2022

  Christian Faith Publishing takes the integrity and accuracy of our authors' sales to the utmost importance. We immediately reached out to this author, upon receiving his complaint. We conducted an internal audit of his sales and compared them to the reports we received from Ingram (the world's largest book printer and distributor). No discrepancies were found and the reports matched identically.  We would be happy to further investigate the claim of the 200 additional books being sold with Ingram if the author can provide proof of the report's inaccuracy, however, this has yet to be provided. We wish this author the best of luck and we will be happy to clear up any further concerns he may have.
  

• Initial Complaint

  06/25/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  THERE IS NO LEGITIMATE PLAN TO MARKET YOUR BOOK The most important quality is the ability to market and sell the book not just assemble it. I could have assembled this book on my own and not wasted $3,672 on their useless and dishonest services. Since I signed with CFP I have not seen one red cent. The process has been a waste of time and an even bigger waste of money. I cannot in good conscience recommend their services to other authors. Indie authors have precious few resources. If CFP cannot deliver sales I cannot deliver my endorsement. I feel ethically responsible to warn others that they will be making a nearly $4,000 investment with no returns. I don't understand why the BBB continues to award an A+ business rating to a company that has swindled, betrayed, and hurt so many people. The public trusts you to hold corrupt businesses accountable, or at the very least, warn people about them. After CFP contacted me about this matter all they said was to peddle my own books to family and friends on Facebook. Their grand plan to market my book is for me to beg my own family members to buy it (people who already own some edition of the book) I was also supposed to receive a professional webpage. I have attached a photo of my novel's "professional webpage". It has at least 6 errors in a one paragraph description. This is an example of the level of quality they put into my book. I want my money back. I was swindled. I was very up front about the fact that I don't need a fake publisher to assemble a cute keepsake to put on my shelf. I was quite clear about the fact that I don't have thousands of dollars to waste and if they don't have legitimate marketing strategies they should keep their hands off my money. So I will go on every platform and contact the news media if that's what it takes to prevent others from being scammed. If your plan is to earn a living as an author and you require a company that can bring in legitimate sales DO NOT SIGN WITH THESE CHARLATANS.

  

  Business response

  07/08/2022

  Since receiving this complaint, Christian Faith Publishing has continued attempts to work out these concerns directly with the author. Her cell phone service is off and her home phone is not set up for voicemails. Our attempts for contact continue to go unanswered.

  Christian Faith Publishing is very transparent in the promised services it makes to our authors through the agreement that is signed and reviewed before the process even starts. We take great pride in how we assemble our books and do not proceed through the process without the author's stamp of approval during each step. We had someone from senior management reach out to this author on many occasions to get more information about her concerns. Regarding sales, the book market is a vastly competitive market to enter, especially as a new author. Being successful in the book market may take time and this author's book was only recently released (March of this year). While we provide marketing and publicity services, there is no way we can predict or promise sales. We have several marketing tips and services we provided to this author, in addition to the marketing and publicity services we completed in the agreement. If there were any issues with the webpage, book layout, or anything else we completed, then all she has to do is tell us and we're more than happy to fix it. The claims this author is making about Christian Faith Publishing are simply untrue, however we continue to wish her the best and encourage her to contact us to help move forward in a more productive and positive manner. 
  

  
  

  Customer response

  07/08/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********* and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
  
  Regards,
  
  ******* *****

  It was disheartening to receive yet more lies from these people. First of all, if they had trouble reaching my phone they could have and should have emailed me. We've communicated via email for two years but now all of a sudden they've forgotten how to send an email. Second, no one contacted me and offered several ways to sell this book. They made only one suggestion, for me to beg my family and friends on Facebook to buy it. (This is their professional marketing plan).  After I was originally told by CFP that they would be handling publicity for the book. I have attached emails to show that I was very clear about what I needed in a publisher. I was crystal clear about the fact that sales were my number one priority and if they could not sell the book they should not have taken my money. I found this company unethical, useless, misleading, and damaging to authors. I told my story and provided proof to all 30 of the indie authors at the last book event I attended and I will continue to warn people about this scam until I get every dime of my money back. I will also be contacting the news media.

*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. ↩