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Resources for Businesses

My Home Location

Columbus, OH, USA

My BBB

BBB of Central Ohio
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Business Profile

Book Sales

Literati

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

Find BBB Accredited Businesses in Book Sales.

Complaints

Customer Complaints Summary

  • 13 total complaints in the last 3 years.
  • 2 complaints closed in the last 12 months.

If you've experienced an issue

Submit a Complaint

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.

Sort by

Complaint status

Complaint type

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:03/14/2025

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    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.
    After canceling my subscription last January, I received an email confirming the cancellation of the service. A month later, I was charged again for the two subscriptions I had. I filed a direct complaint with Literati and ******. Literati responded that they couldn't do anything since their system doesn't allow refunds, and I had to let ****** resolve it. It's incredible how thievish they are. The reason I canceled was due to the excessive progressive content in their books. Stay away from Literati.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:06/07/2024

    Type:Service or Repair Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    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.
    This is literally the worst subscription service I have ever used in my life.Lets start with the fact that on several occasions I have not received my subscription. They would charge me for keeping the books they never sent me. When emailed after a day they respond and attempt to rectify the situation.They ignore emails,They dont send age appropriate books, they sent regular page books on several occasions for a 2 year old who are prone to destruction. One time my child ripped a book up, I had to pay for a book she didnt even like because they sent a book that should be given for an older child. Thats why board books are a thing toddlers are destructive They give you 120$ in credit to purchase books you like - its all bs. Its not 120$ worth of books.They keep trying to charge my card for books that have already been returned and refuse to send me the next months subscription unless I update the card on file - which I dont need to do if Im just browsing the books which my subscription allows for. Ive asked them to cancel the subscription service because of this and to refund the money thats left for the annual subscription then. But they refuse to that unless I add a card. So they cancelled my subscription and arent refunding me my unused funds. Literally, worst money I have ever spent and I have bought a lot of useless baby things through out the years. Literati should just be cancelled honestly.I highly doubt theyll want to resolve this so Ill be spreading my opinion on every parent blog and review site I can find. In addition to forums like reddit, the bump, what to expect and baby center because this is just despicable. Motherhood is hard enough as it is without these predatory businesses taking advantage of you.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:10/31/2023

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    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 September 29 I ordered two annual literati subscriptions for $119.40. This was for a yearly subscription. The morning of October 30 I received notifications that I was going to be charged for two $119.40 subscriptions. I emailed the company immediately because if these charges went through I would be facing a domino effect of withdrawl fees from my bank. So far I have one bill that I haven't been able to pay. I received a response on October 30 confirming that I had wrongly been charged and will hear back once the tech team has responded to the customer service rep I have been working with. Last night both charges went through and received two $30 withdrawl fees from my bank. My monthly payment to the company chatbooks is going through now and I will not only not be able to pay I will be getting a third $30 withdrawl fee. This company has now cost me $90 on top of the $238.80 they wrongly charged me. On top of this I have a bill coming up on Friday that I'm worried I won't be able to pay.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:09/01/2023

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    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 subscribed Literati for a year . I dont like it so wanted to cancel my subscription, however I am not able to cancel my subscription right away . There is no way to do it in there app and when I call their business number no one picked up and offered to get a call back but there is no way to do that. I send them an email, but not sure if they will even reply. This seems like a scam to me and I would want to get full return beside the one book I decided to keep .

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:09/01/2023

    Type:Customer Service Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    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.
    It is nearly impossible to cancel this subscription service. They force you to search the website for where to cancel, then put you in a chat with a bot to complete cancellation. If you leave the chat, you didnt cancel. I have been billed for books I returned , they refuse to communicate with you about refunds owed and dont refund you. It took me over 40 minutes to successfully cancel my subscription!

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:07/11/2023

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    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 returned their product but despite many times contacting their customer service for a refund they ignore my attempts.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:03/27/2023

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    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.
    Literati published a formerly self-published book, Kid YouTuber: Season 1 by *************************** in 2022. They then immediately turned around and shipped the book out in March 2023 to my childs second grade Literati Book Fair in ****** ISD in *****. My 7 year old purchased the book and brought it home. It features graphic illustration of a fully **** MINOR male child, full rear view, on page 41. It features a similar graphic illustrated side view graphic of a DIFFERENT minor male child, again featuring the buttocks, on page 22. Both juvenile **** males are dripping wet. There is a depiction of a child carrying a huge stack of crates of alcohol (page 103) that tower over his head. This is a book for CHILDREN, features 6th grade boys, and Literati found it not only appropriate to publish this formerly unpublishable book, but then to MARKET AND SELL IT to elementary school children. It is also highly discriminatory (the entire premise is how much a non-disabled male hates/speaks terribly of/glares at/makes fun of a child with ***** Bifida in a wheelchair). The main character, in a graphic depiction, glares with his arms crossed at the child in a wheelchair and says You should go home. The terrains too rough for a wheelchair (page 69). Please note there is also a spelling error on the same page (stabalizer). I am absolutely disgusted. Literati began book fairs in 2022 and are clearly incompetent.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:01/27/2023

    Type:Customer Service Issues
    Status:
    Resolved
    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.
    the company will not allow me to cancel my subscription. there absolutely no way to cancel the subscription via the website. the only way is to use their online chat. once on the chat, they deliberately answer slowly, hoping you will step away from your computer. then the chat times off and you did not cancel. when you are able to withstand the delays, even when requesting "please cancel subscription," they will not let you cancel, repeatedly asking if you wish to switch to an alternative subscription.

    Business Response

    Date: 02/17/2023

    Hi *******,


    Thank you for the information.

     

    We're sincerely sorry about the shipping delays experienced in relation to her order. I can confirm that ***************** was fully refunded on January 30, 2023.

     

    We appreciate her feedback and apologize she was not able to reach a team member immediately when she contacted us. I can confirm that *****************************************;subscription was terminated within 10 minutes of her request being made. 

     

    Please let me know if I can provide further assistance.

    Customer Answer

    Date: 02/17/2023

    Better Business Bureau:

    I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********. while i was able to terminate my subscription, Literati deliberately made cancelling extremely difficult. This manipulative behaviour should be visible to future customers. 



    Regards,

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

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:01/23/2023

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Answered
    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 prepaid for a years subscription to Literatis *************** for $240. This was my 2nd year with this book club and they required prepayment. The book club abruptly shut down. They offered members the option to get books for the remaining balance from their sister company Dreamlight Books. I wanted to just get a refund but was not offered this. I did place a book order with Dreamlight but it has been a month with no fulfillment and no word of any attempt to actually do this.

    Business Response

    Date: 03/01/2023

    We're sincerely sorry about the shipping delays experienced in relation to her order. I can confirm that ***************** was fully refunded on January 30, 2023. 

     

    Please let me know if I can provide further assistance.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:01/17/2023

    Type:Delivery Issues
    Status:
    Resolved
    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 September 18, 2022, my subscription for one year in the Literati ********* was renewed. On December 12, 2022, I was informed by Literati that their Luminary book club was being discontinued and I was being issued a credit of $194.85 for the dreamlights.com bookstore to redeem my remaining balance. I placed an order on December 15, 2022 with Dreamlight Books. It is now January 17, 2023 and I have had received no books or communication about my order and no response to my inquiries regarding the order with Literati. On January 10, 2023, I sent a message to ******************************* requesting a refund for $194.85. I have received no response. Calls to the phone number for Literati (833-LIT-LOVE) get routed to a message that says no one is available and you will receive a call back, but there is no way to leave call back information. I feel this company engaged in deceitful practices by allowing renewal of annual subscriptions less than 3 months before closing the service and further perpetrated fraud by offering a "credit" for ordering books that have yet to sent or even have an order status communicated. I want my money back for the unfulfilled portion of the subscription I paid for.

    Business Response

    Date: 02/09/2023

    Thank you very much, ***************

     

    We did respond to ***** via email on February 3, 2023. She has been fully refunded, as requested.

     

    Is there anything else that needs to be done to resolve this issue for BBB?

    Customer Answer

    Date: 02/09/2023

    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.

    Regards,



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

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