ComplaintsforIngramSpark

• Initial Complaint

  02/13/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My debut novel released on December 12th and ever since that time, I have had nothing but terrible interactions with Ingram Spark. They continue to be impossible to get ahold of (there is no customer service number, just a form you submit with 0 guarantee of when you might hear back. Sometimes I hear back in 3 days, sometimes it's 2 weeks and 90% of the time they do not even provide a solution). But I just opted my ebook into the Kindle Unlimited program which requires exclusivity. I turned off the distribution of my ebook through Ingram Spark two weeks ago. Come to find out through Amazon after a weird listing issue, that Ingram Spark is STILL SELLING MY BOOK WITHOUT MY PERMISSION. And, there's no one I can call about this. I can only submit support tickets and hope someone reads it, but it could be weeks before this is solved. All the while THEY ARE RECEIVING A PORTION OF MY PROFITS WITHOUT MY CONSENT. At this rate if they do not respond in a timely manner, I'm going to file legal claims against them because this is ridiculous. When I turned off distribution two weeks ago, I spoke with someone via the support ticket and ensuring it worked. They confirmed distribution was turned off. AND YET THE ***** IS STILL. ON. SALE. I am flabbergasted and beyond exasperated at how difficult they are to work with. The best part of all of this? There is no way to delete your book from their network. There is no remove button. I will have to wait and see if they respond to even delete it. This is cruel, ILLEGAL, and no one is holding them accountable. I have spent over $11,000 with them so far including $50 in revision fees for all of the books I've ordered, and they've taken hundreds from my earnings which would be close to $2k by now, but they take a large cut.

  Business response

  02/13/2024

  Hi,

  Thanks for sharing. We have contacted ****************** to resolve her concern with the cancellation of her eBook.

  Customer response

  02/13/2024

   
  Complaint: 21283292
  
  I am rejecting this response because: the response I have received is that you claim you're no longer selling my ebook when that is in fact not true. I haven't been contacted by anyone with a real solution or proof that you have removed my ebook from your website and that it's no longer listed on Amazon, B&N, and other ebook retailers. Simply telling me it's removed is no longer sufficient because I have proof that is not true. I require full verification via images that you have pulled my ebook from all retailers. 

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

  Business response

  02/13/2024

  Hi, 

  thanks for the update. Support has contacted ****************** and confirmed this has been cancelled. We will let her know we are monitoring as it can take some time for retailers to reflect changes.

• Initial Complaint

  02/12/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On 02 February, our organization, PhilosophyCenter, which had contracted with IngramSpark/Lightning Source (IS/LS) for purposes of print-on-demand and distribution of two nonfiction books, sent IS/LS an email directing them to cancel our these titlesEinsteins Moon and ***** Dream (ISBN numbers ************* and *************, respectively) and close our account. The following day, we received the reply from *******************, an IS/LS customer support agent, informing us that this requires additional support and would be sent to the next level of Customer Support. There was no explanation as to why this was necessary, as we were not requesting support but account closure. Many companies provide a readily accessible close account option for their customers in their dashboard. IS/LS does not. On 07 February, having had no further word from IS/LS, we sent them an email directing them to deactivate the above referenced titles in our account at once, delete our intellectual property files, and close our account without further delay. We warned them that we would take further action on 12 February if they did not comply.IS/LS has ignored this message. Our titles are still active on their website in violation of copyright and with blatant disregard for our intellectual property rights.This situation is disturbingly similar to the *** ruling in November, 2022, against Vonage, which was engaging in similar practices of delay through the routine escalation of customer requests for account closure to allegedly higher levels of support that led only to further delays, thwarting the efforts of consumers and small businesses who tried to cancel their service. As a result of these dark practices, the *** ordered Vonage to pay a $100 million settlement. We believe the precedent that the Vonage case established applies here, and urge the BBB to reach out to IS/LS to ask them to close our account, immediately after deleting our intellectual property.

  Business response

  02/12/2024

  Good Morning,

  Support has contacted ****** directly to expedite the closure process.

  Thank you.

  Customer response

  02/13/2024

   
  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. You may consider the complaint withdrawn and the matter resolved. Thank you for your helpful involvement.
  
  Sincerely,
  ***************************

• Initial Complaint

  02/05/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have tried for over a week to get some help with this company. I have tried tech support, email, and re emailing. They do not provide a number to speak with a live person. I need my book binding changed to hard back and they say they have lots of customers but we are paying for a service and no one calls you or emails you back. It is like they hold your products hostage.

  Business response

  02/05/2024

  Thank you for letting us know.

  Support is contacting ****************** to assist in resolving this concern.

  Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  01/10/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Have spent a week, average of 10 hours a day and many email / virtual contacts as well trying to get our service back up. They took our email accounts down over Christmas and cant get anyone (a real person) to help. We have been told everything from one person handles the account and she didn't do it right to we dont have an escalation process to get a live person to help. Only responses are 4hr hold times, transfers, and submit a ticket online. All to no avail even when charged extra $700 and nothing!

  Business response

  01/10/2024

  Greetings,

  Thanks for providing this. We can not find an IngramSpark account for *********************, or any correspondence with her. Could you please provide an account number or an ISBN of your title?

  Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  12/07/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Hi, I need some help. I have enlisted ****** to distribute my book, but it is being locked because of a revision requested days ago. There is no way to contact customer support (hangs me up with each number I try). Retailers have my book listed as "pre-order" even though THIS has been the publication date for over a year now. This book is very important to my family that it gets published today (Dec. 7). All I need is for my latest "revision request" to be cancelled and for ****** to follow through and allow my book to be posted. I need this to be in "Available for Printing/Download" status again asap. Please help! Account number: *******. ISBN: *****************.

  Business response

  12/07/2023

  Greetings, 

  Thank you for providing this information.

  Or support team is reaching out to react to this concern. We are aware this is a timely matter, and are reacting accordingly.

  Thanks.

  Customer response

  12/07/2023

   
  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 all involved!

  
  Sincerely,
  
  Danger *****

• Initial Complaint

  11/24/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Ingram Spark will not help me with logging in to my account. I have been a customer for several years, but all of a sudden my account has vanished. I logged in as recently as four days ago, but now my email has disappeared from their system. When I try a password reset, the email "doesn't exist." I know for a fact it does - I have hundreds of emails from them saved on the correct account. ******************** will not get back to me to fix this.

  Business response

  11/27/2023

  Thanks for this information. 

  **************** currently has an open ticket with our support team. We will reach out to her to resolve her account access concern.

  Thanks.

  Customer response

  12/05/2023

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  Ingram Spark was able to resolve the issue. I am satisfied with my interactions and have no more complaints.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

• Initial Complaint

  11/17/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Background: We recently uploaded about 20 book titles to IngramSpark, many of which are recognized as bestsellers on Amazon (all are already published with Amazon KDP). These books encompass a range of non-fiction self-improvement topics, for example productivity techniques. Each book has been meticulously prepared, ensuring professional editing, plagiarism checks, and high-quality layout and cover design.Issue: Despite receiving initial approval from IngramSpark, all titles have been put on hold for distribution. The stated reason for this action is an alleged violation of integrity guidelines, a claim that applies to every title we submitted. This decision has surprised us, given the thorough preparation and adherence to high content standards for each book.Attempts to Resolve: We have reached out to IngramSpark's integrity team multiple times, seeking clarification and assistance in resolving this matter. However, our efforts have not been met with the necessary support or specific guidance needed to address the issue. This lack of cooperation is concerning, especially considering the significant costs and resources we have invested in formatting our files and uploading all the files to meet IngramSpark's requirements.Request for BBB's Assistance: We are fully committed to collaborating with IngramSpark to resolve any issues and ensure compliance with their guidelines. However, in light of the current impasse, we kindly request the BBB's assistance in facilitating a constructive dialogue between our team and IngramSpark. Our goal is to understand the specific reasons behind the distribution hold and to work collaboratively towards putting those books into distribution.

  Business response

  11/17/2023

  Thank you for sending this.

  We have reviewed the customer issue several times and have explained that the title in question is in violation of our catalog integrity guidelines.

  Thanks.

  Customer response

  11/21/2023

   
  Complaint: 20882807
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  We must express our disappointment with the lack of detailed clarification in the reply.
  
  We want to emphasize that the issue at hand is not limited to a single title but encompasses our entire catalog of approximately 20 books. 
  
  We have reviewed IngramSpark's catalog integrity guidelines on multiple occasions and can assert that our books do not violate any of the outlined standards. 
  
  We want to respond to the 9 points of the catalog integrity guidelines again on this occasion:
  
  1 Summaries, Workbooks, Abbreviations: Our books are original creations, not summaries or workbooks.
  2 Blank Pages Content: Our publications are content-rich and do not contain excessive blank pages like notepads or journals.
  3 Mirroring/Mimicking Popular Titles: Each of our books features unique content and design, distinctly different from popular titles in the market.
  4 Misleading Content: We ensure that all our book descriptions and cover art accurately and clearly represent the content within.
  5 Pricing Reflective of Literary Value: The pricing of our books is thoughtfully set to reflect their true literary value.
  6 Scanned Content Legibility: Our content is originally produced and formatted, avoiding any issues with illegibility or scanned material.
  7 Automated or AI-Generated Content: All our books are authentically authored by humans and edited by humans. AI tools have been used by human editors such as Grammarly, *********, Word/Google Auto-correct, Deepl. No mass production / AI content production, only human writers.
  8 Duplication Across Titles in Different Trim Sizes: Not applicable
  9 Public Domain Content: Each of our books features unique content and can not be classified as Public Domain Content
  
  Given the diverse range of topics from different authors covered in our catalog, including books in two different languages and various aspects of self-improvement, it seems highly improbable that a pattern of violation exists across all titles. 
  
  This perplexes us, as each book has been independently developed, professionally edited, and checked for content quality. 
  
  If a pattern has led to the halting of our entire catalog, please let us know with specific actionable examples, so we can work on resolving the issue
  
  We appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to a detailed response.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  White *****************

  Business response

  11/27/2023

  Thank you for providing this.

  We have reviewed the decision with our catalog integrity team. This decision stands and titles will not be reinstated for distribution.

  Thanks,

• Initial Complaint

  10/19/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I represent a small publisher in ********. I have been trying to process an order with ****** Lightning Source for over six weeks. Their automated "Status" for my title is incorrect and leaves me unable to place an order. Their "customer support" does not respond to emails or website-submitted communications. They have no functioning telephone number for support (it is a recorded message only). I would like SOMEONE from ****** Lightning Source to contact me so that I can follow through with the order my company would like to place.

  Business response

  10/30/2023

  Thank you for providing this information.

  Our support team has verified the availability of the title and has reached back out to *****************

   

  Thank you.

  Customer response

  11/01/2023

   
  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

  09/12/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I ***own Gypsy Shadow Publishing, an indie publisher, who has been uploading ebooks for resale on Spark for more than 3 years. Now Ingram Spark says my account no longer exists and they do not have any of the more than 200 ebooks I have uploaded for resale. I need an explanation of why the company does not have my files protected and in a secure location!Where are the copyrighted files I entrusted to them?When will I be allowed access to the account?Our company used to have a number of sales through Spark, but recently those sales have decreased. What is the reason? I am concerned with the integrity of the company and need an explanation. My emails are met with support staff responses, always willing to help, but clueless.Please help!

  Business response

  09/13/2023

  Thanks for this information.,

  We have contacted ********* to assist her accessing her account,

  Thanks

  Customer response

  09/13/2023

   
  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

  09/11/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have bren trying for a month to get a simple question answered. Every time I attempt to get on their website as a new customer I am refused. I have a new book out to promote and not being able to get on their site is financially hurting me. *************** ******************

  Business response

  09/11/2023

  Thanks for this information.

  **************** account had been closed. He has already been receiving help from our support team to open a new account.

  Thanks

*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. ↩