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:07/15/2025

  Type:Product 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'm writing because I was unfairly charged for a premium subscription by Academia.edu that auto-renewed.Back on or around June ******* I signed up for a one-month premium trial for just $1. I thought it was a one-time trial, and I definitely didn't plan for it to automatically renew into a full-price subscription. In fact, I cancelled my trial around two weeks before it was set to expire, specifically to avoid any further charges.Then, on July *******, I was surprised to see a bill for P ******** (equivalent to $99 USD) from Academia.edu. I've attached proof of this bill. I never got any clear heads-up or reminder about this auto-renewal, and I certainly didn't approve such a big charge. Upon checking my Academia account's email notification settings, I discovered that the option for "payments for Academia Premium" was unchecked by default, which completely prevented me from receiving any billing notifications. I've also attached a screenshot of this setting as evidence. Since I'm not a U.S. citizen, it's possible I missed some important communication, or maybe the auto-renewal terms weren't clear enough when I signed up for the trial.I wasn't properly informed about this charge and simply don't want to continue with a paid subscription at this price.What I'm looking for is a full refund of that $99 USD charge. I've already made sure to cancel the auto-renewal so this doesn't happen again.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/15/2025

  Hello **** Timothy **************** 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 by contacting us at ********************************.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/16/2025

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  Thank you for the update and for forwarding Academia.edu's response.
  I am pleased to confirm that Academia.edu has processed a full refund of $99 USD, which addresses my primary concern. I will verify the refund's appearance in my bank account within the next 5-10 business days.
  
  While I am satisfied with the refund, I felt it was important to share that the absence of prior notification for the auto-renewal, especially with the "payments for Academia Premium" notification setting being off by default in my account, significantly contributed to this misunderstanding. My earlier cancellation of the trial also led to my expectation that no further charges would occur.
  
  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 valuable assistance.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  **** Timothy *******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/14/2025

  Type:Product 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.

  Academia.edu charged me double the amount of the yearly membership on July 11th for 299 dollars. The only notification I received from them was buried within an email that was one of seven or more spam emails they sent to me in the month of June. I have attached the email where I was notified, it is at the bottom in smaller print. You would need to read the whole message to see if included a substantial price increase. Also, my membership was set to renew on July 11th I cancelled my membership and contacted the company before business hours on July 11th. I have requested a refund twice and was denied because I am told it is against their policy to refund renewal fees. However, I aware I am not the only one who feels deceived a one hundred fifty dollar increase is not a standard subscription increase. It should also be noted when you call for a refund they request a name with spelling, currency, phone number, and other infromation. The message says they will not contact you back if you do not provide ths information. The list of information on a message is unreasonable. There should have been much more clear notification, a easy process to request cancellation the day, and complaints should be appropiately responded to.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/15/2025

  Hello Eleni *******,

  After discussing this with our team, we've decided to grant you a one-time exception to our refund policy. However, moving forward we will not be able to offer refunds on renewal payments after your 30-day low cost trial and we will not be able to process any additional refunds for you on this subscription or any additional subscriptions.
  
  Depending on your bank, you will see the refund show up anywhere between 5-10 business days from now.
  
  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 by reaching us at ********************************.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/16/2025

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

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/13/2025

  Type:Product 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.

  Greetings,Last month I subscribed to "Academia Premium Trial" for $1.But yesterday I surprised that Academia charged me $79 for annual subscription.I sent two requests to full refund for the charge of $79, associated with my account (***************************).This charge was made without my consent / under misleading conditions / not in line with their advertised refund policy.Their website (**********************************)

  Business Response

  Date: 07/14/2025

  Hello *******,

  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 by contacting us at ********************************.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/18/2025

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

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/12/2025

  Type:Product 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.

  Unauthorized Annual Renewal and Refund Refusal Despite Policy I am filing a complaint against Academia.edu regarding an unauthorized subscription renewal and their refusal to issue a refund.I initially signed up for a trial period, which later auto-renewed to an annual premium plan without any clear prior notice. According to Academia.edus stated refund policy, they offer refunds within 30 days of purchase for first-time subscriptions and trial renewals.I contacted them within 30 days of the renewal to request a refund, explaining that I did not intend to continue after the trial and that I had not used any premium features after the renewal date. Despite clearly meeting their policy conditions, they rejected my refund request.This behavior is misleading and violates their own terms. I am requesting intervention to receive a full refund for the annual subscription charged I can provide email correspondence, screenshots of their refund policy, and payment receipts upon request.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/14/2025

  Hello *****,

  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.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/15/2025

  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.
  

  After raising my concerns, Academia.edu reviewed my case and issued a full refund.

  I appreciate their willingness to resolve the situation and support their customers.

  While the initial experience was unexpected, their final response demonstrates that they do care about user satisfaction.

  Sincerely

  Kanan

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/10/2025

  Type:Product 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 started the trial, before the trial had ended I realized that this was not what I needed. I cancelled the subscription and renewal. I was charged after the fact. I called and was told that they would not refund my money. I emailed them with the same answer that they would not give me a refund. I am not happy that they would scam people and renew when you had already cancelled it.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/11/2025

  Hello ********* *******

  After discussing this with our team, we've decided to grant you a one-time exception to our refund policy. However, moving forward we will not be able to offer refunds on renewal payments after your 30-day low cost trial and we will not be able to process any additional refunds for you on this subscription or any additional subscriptions.
  
  Depending on your bank, you will see the refund show up anywhere between 5-10 business days from now.
  
  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: 07/11/2025

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

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/09/2025

  Type:Service or Repair 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 am disputing a surprise auto-renew charge of ****** which appeared on my card on July 5th, 2025. Academia.edu refused to refund this unexpected charge, though I contacted them 3 days after the charge appeared. I would like a refund as they have radically increased their fees without any notification well in advance of renewal and they provided no notice in advance of this renewal. The annual auto-renew charge on my account increased from ****** a year to ****** in three years! In **********, where Academia.edu is located, it violates the Automatic Renewal Law (ARL), which mandates that subscription services must, in a clear and conspicuous manner, notify customers before their subscription automatically renews, providing details about the renewal terms, cost, and how to cancel the service. The only email that I received regarding renewal, occurred on the same day that the renewal occurred; therefore, giving me no time to cancel.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/09/2025

  Hello  ***** *********,

  I'm sorry to hear about this negative experience. After discussing this with our team, we've decided to grant you a one-time exception to our refund policy. However, moving forward we will not be able to offer refunds on renewal payments after your 30-day low cost trial and we will not be able to process any additional refunds for you on this subscription or any additional subscriptions.
  
  Depending on your bank, you will see the refund show up anywhere between 5-10 business days from now.
  
  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: 07/10/2025

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

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/08/2025

  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.

  I subscribed to Academia.edu Premium and was charged monthly. However, I cancelled the subscription in June 2025 before the renewal period to stop recurring charges. Despite this, I, the user was charged for the subsequent month an amount of $39.75, despite the cancellation, on July 6th, 2025. While this amount might appear little, as a current college student and part-time worker, it has impacted me. When I requested a refund and explained the cancellation before the renewal, Academia.edu refused, citing their "no refund" policy. I did not receive a cancellation confirmation email, which made it difficult to prove the timely cancellation. Though I believe this a pattern with this website, as even when another cancellation was done by an agent of theirs, no confimation email was sent. I believe it a possible pattern of dishonesty and restricting costumers from collecting evidence of fraud and dishonesty. Though I have made academia.edu aware of this problem twice over on July 6th and 8th of 2025, agents have repeatly refused to offer me a refund or any sort of accommodations. I am concerned that the cancellation and refund practices are misleading and potentially violate consumer protection laws, especially since similar complaints from other users have been reported in the past.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/09/2025

  Hello Jemima ,

  After discussing this with our team, we've decided to grant you a one-time exception to our refund policy. However, moving forward we will not be able to offer refunds on renewal payments after your 30-day low cost trial and we will not be able to process any additional refunds for you on this subscription or any additional subscriptions.
  
  Depending on your bank, you will see the refund show up anywhere between 5-10 business days from now.
  
  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:07/06/2025

  Type:Product 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 am filing a complaint against Academia.edu for charging me $299 for a Premium membership renewal without my consent, despite the fact that I explicitly canceled the auto-renewal option well in advance through their website interface.I took all the necessary steps to prevent automatic renewal. Nonetheless, my credit card was charged for another year of Premium membership, which I did not authorize.I immediately contacted ********* customer service, explained the situation, and requested a full refund. However, they refused to issue a refund, claiming the charge was legitimate, even though it clearly violated my cancellation request and rights as a consumer.This is a very significant amount of money for me and I believe it was taken against my clear will. I am requesting the BBBs assistance in resolving this matter by urging ******** to issue a full refund of $299.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/07/2025

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

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/08/2025

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

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/29/2025

  Type:Product 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.

  Academia.edu has recently more than doubled their yearly subscription fee from 69 to 165. I missed canceling the initial rollover from my one month trial to a yearly subscription (mea culpa) but never received any notification regarding this, and was unaware that it had happened at all. Over the course of my paying for a membership (while I didnt realize I was) I frequently received emails from the company inviting me to join, and never received any emails indicating that I was, indeed, already a paying member. Today I received a charge for 165 GBP. Only upon looking back did I even realize that I had a membership for a service I have never utilized and have now had my fees doubled without my consent. This is absolutely purposefully misleading and I feel sick about losing this much money needlessly.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/01/2025

  
   
   
  Thank you for continued followed-up on this issue. After discussing this with our team, we've decided to grant you a one-time exception to our refund policy. However, moving forward we will not be able to offer refunds on renewal payments after your 30-day low cost trial and we will not be able to process any additional refunds for you on this subscription or any additional subscriptions.
  
  Depending on your bank, you will see the refund show up anywhere between 5-10 business days from now.
  
  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: 07/02/2025

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

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/24/2025

  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 June 15, 2025, Academia.edu charged me $159 for a Premium subscription renewal without any notice or warning. I believed the subscription was canceled and was completely blindsided by this charge. I received no email or alert that a renewal was coming or that this amount would be withdrawn from my ********** a student, I cannot afford to lose $159 unexpectedly. This charge created a serious financial hardship. I contacted the company within four days of the charge, clearly explained my situation, and asked for a refund. They refused and used the same template to respond to my emails.What is especially frustrating is the lack of transparency. Withdrawing that much money without any notification is not just inconsiderateit is misleading. There is no valid reason to keep a customer in the dark about a charge unless the goal is to make it harder to cancel. That feels predatory.Academia.edu claims to support students and researchers, but their actions show otherwise. Ignoring financial hardship, denying a refund despite timely notice, and charging without communication is unacceptable. I am asking the BBB to help me recover my $159 and to push this company to change its policies so no one else ends up in this situation.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/25/2025

  
  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.