Business Profile

Book Publishers

Author Solutions, LLC

BBB Accredited Business A+Rated by BBB

Complaints

Customer Complaints Summary

92 total complaints in the last 3 years.
14 complaints closed in the last 12 months.

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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:01/02/2023
Type:Order 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.
DATE OF TRANSACTION ---OCTOBER 7, 2022 AMOUNT PAID ---$1299; REFUNDED ---$949; ----- MUST PAY --- $400 BUSINESS COMMITTED TO PROVIDE ---- please see uploaded NATURE OF DISPUTE----- not fully REFUNDED ******* PRESS --- did not reply -- please see uploaded ACCOUNT ADDRESS:WETSBOW PRESS, **************************************************************, *******************-- PHONE-- ************, EX-**** *********************--PHONE--************, EX ****
Business Response
Date: 01/10/2023
Dear BBB,
Thank you for giving Westbow Press the opportunity to respond to Ms. ********************* complaint.

Ms. **************** purchased the Essential Access publishing package in addition to ten image insertions on October 10, 2022. This purchase was paid for with the credit that was on the account after switching from a color book package to a black and white book package.

The manuscript was received on October 12, 2022 and was sent to the content evaluation team. It was reviewed and an email including the issues found was sent to Ms. **************** on October 28,2022. The manuscript included libel and privacy issues throughout. Examples of such were also provided in the email.

Ms. **************** sent a new manuscript which was then evaluated again by the content team.The manuscript failed for the same reasons previously. An email was sent that included examples of the libel and privacy issues. Some things had been changed but the content team deemed some things still recognizable.

Ms. **************** was given the guidelines both times to avoid committing libel or invading the privacy of someone or something. This includes hiding the identities of people, places, businesses, and entities in the manuscript so they cannot be recognized or discovered by the information contained in the work. For example,she would need to use a pen name, use false names for people and businesses,and use a false location so that no one could guess the identity. As an alternative, she could obtain notarized permission from all parties discussed in the manuscript.

Ms. **************** responded to the email dated December 7, 2022 that if we do not want to publish her book, she is fine with that. She requested that we refund her payment in full. The refund was processed on December 13, 2022 in the amount of $949 ($1,349 less $400). Per the attached Service and Distribution Agreement, Section 4. Termination and Refunds states if the agreement is terminated because the manuscript does not comply with content guidelines, we will refund 100% of the purchase price less a content evaluation processing fee of $400. This was reiterated to Ms. **************** in an email from the author satisfaction department on December 21, 2022. The email included the Services and Distributions agreement and the breakdown of the refunded amount. This calculation is indeed correct.

In closing, Ms. **************** was refunded $949 for the publishing package and ten image insertions per the attached Services and Distribution Agreement.

Sincerely,

***************************
Global Director of Author Satisfaction
Customer Answer
Date: 01/30/2023
Better Business Bureau:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined the response would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

[Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.]
I disagree with the excuses made or given by:
***************************, Global Director of Author Satisfaction of WESBOW PRESS, because of the following:
1. The PUBLISHER EVALUATED and ACCEPTED MY MANUSCRIPT. In fact, the PUBLISHER HAD MY MANUSCRIPT FOR MONTHS, and I had to email them more than once asking about the status of my manuscript.
2. The PUBLISHER EDITED MY MANUSCRIPT and INSTRUCTED ME WHAT NEEDS TO EDIT and MAKE CHANGES IN MY MANUSCRIPT.
3. I followed and DID ALL INSTRUCTIONS; I EDITED MY MANUSCRIPT and CHANGED ALL NAMES, COMPANY NAMES, EMAIL ADDRESSES, and PHONE NUMBERS. (I used the names of FLOWERS, GEMSTONES, and COLORS)
How could anybody say or think that what was or is written is about themselves? The NAMES, EMAILS, ADDRESS, AND PHONE ARE CHANGED. I can send you a copy of my manuscript, and you decide if this would identify a specific person.
4. The PUBLISHER CANCELLED MY ORDER; I DID NOT CANCEL MY ORDER.
5. If my MANUSCRIPT IS NOT WORTH PUBLISHING, WHY THEY ACCEPTED IT, RECEIVED MY FULL PAYMENT, EDITED IT, and have it for a long time?
My manuscript was reviewed and accepted by two publishers; I accepted one of them.
I have WESBOW PRESS EMAILS TO PROVE THE ABOVE. WESBOW PRESS MUST REFUND MY MONEY IN FULL THEY OWE ME $400.
Thank you
******************** De La *****

Business Response
Date: 02/01/2023
Dear BBB,
Thank you for again giving Westbow Press the opportunity to respond to Ms. ********************* complaint.

Ms. **************** purchased a publishing package through Westbow Press. This is a print on demand service that must pass the content standards before being published. Per the attached Services and Distribution Agreement, section 2. Fulfillment of Services states: Your manuscript and work must comply with our content guidelines and the Westbow Press Editorial Standards and all applicable laws and regulations. This includes evaluating the manuscript for issues like libel, plagiarism, invasion of privacy, etc. The manuscript was initially accepted based on the terms she agreed to when signing the agreement.
The evaluation is a very thorough process that takes time. The check-in coordinator informed Ms. **************** that we allow 3-4 weeks to evaluate a manuscript. Both evaluations were within that time frame.
Ms. **************** did not have an editing service as part of her publishing package. We do not make changes to the manuscript during the content evaluation phase.
As explained previously, Ms. **************** was given the opportunity and did make changes to the manuscript after the first evaluation. The second evaluation showed more changes were done as requested. However, the content evaluation team deemed it to be possibly recognizable. In addition, a pen name was not being used. It was Ms. ********************* given name.
Westbow Press did process the cancellation after Ms. **************** emailed If you do not want to publish my book, that is all right with me.The email was forwarded to management who then decided to terminate the contract as requested.
The manuscript was initially accepted based on the signed document stating that it had to comply with our content guidelines. As mentioned above, the manuscript had to go through a content evaluation process before moving to production. Each evaluation was within the 3-4 week timeline that was given to Ms. *****************
The manuscript did not comply with our content guidelines and Ms. **************** emailed saying that if we did not want to publish her book it was alright with her. Therefore the agreement was terminated and Ms. **************** was issued a refund minus the $400 processing fee as outlined in the attached Services and Distribution Agreement.

In closing, Ms. **************** was refunded according to the agreement terms $949 for the publishing package and ten image insertions. There was a $400 processing fee per the attached Services and Distribution Agreement.

Sincerely,

***************************
Global Director of Author Satisfaction
Customer Answer
Date: 02/13/2023
Better Business Bureau:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined the response would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

[Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.]
*Has the company addressed the issue of the dispute?------ NO, I HAVE EMAILS TO PROVE THAT THEY ONLY SHOW A FRACTION OF MY EMAIL, INCLUDING TO WHAT I EMAILED, "IF YOU DON'T LIKE MY MANUSCRIPT IT'S OK----- BUT REFUND FULL AMOUNT OF MY MONEY--- IF YOU DO NOT PUBLISH MY MANUSCRIPT REFUND THE FULL AMOUNT OF MY MONEY--- THIS I EMAILED TO ALL EMAILS I COULD FIND AT WESTBOW PRESS, I HAVE EMAILS TO PROVE THIS.

AND I AM SENDING THIS TO THE SAME PEOPLE I EMAILED AND PLEASE ASK THEM IF THEY SAY THEY DID NOT RECEIVE MY EMAILS I WILL SEND YOU PROOFS OF MY CLAIM AND THEIR EMAILS.

I BELIEVE THAT THERE ARE SOME TRUSTWORTHY, HONEST, GODLY OR ********* AT WESTBOW PRESS AND WOULD NOT LIE FOR $400. The Bible says LIARS WILL GO TO ****.

(I am NOT yelling, I am emphasizing)
WOULD WESTBOW PRESS PREFER TO HAVE A BAD NAME RATHER THAN REFUND MY $400?
I WILL REQUEST BBB TO EXPUNGE ALL THE ABOVE IF WESTBOW PRESS REFUND MY $400.
I AM RETIRED, JOBLESS, LIVING ON MY SS, I CAN NOT AFFORD TO LOSE $400. I AM A DEVOUTED ********* AND MY ONLY DESIRE IS TO SHARE THE **** OF GOD THROUGH MY EXPERIENCES, THE GREATNESS, FAITHFULNESS, MAGNIFICENCE, LOVINGKINDNESS OF ALMIGHTY HOLY GOD AND MIRACLES HAPPEN TO THOSE WHO BELIEVE AND TRUST IN ***********************.

*If not, why? ---- PLEASE SEE MY ENTIRE EXPLANATION BELOW

*Has the company met the agreement they outlined in their response?--NO, I ADDRESSED MY EMAILS TO EVERY PERSONNEL IN WESTBOW PRESS THAT HAS AN EMAIL DDRESS AND NOT ONE OF THEM EMAILED ME TO LET ME KNOW THAT THEY DO NOT OR DID NOT LIKE MY MANUSCRIPT.

IN FACT I RECEIVED EMAILS GIVING ME INSTRUCTIONS WHAT TO DO.
THEY COULD HAVE EMAILED ME-- I DO NOT LIKE YOUR MANUSCRIPT--- INSTEAD OF GIVING ME INSTRUCTIONS WHAT TO DO AND ALSO EMAILS ASKING ME FOR PAYMENT.
IF WESTBOW DID NOT LIKE MY MANUSCRIPT, THEY SHOULD HAVE NOT ASKED ME FOR AMOST $2000.
BUT THEY ACCEPTED AND INSTRUCTED ME WHAT TO DO WHICH I DID, EXACTLY WHAT IS ON THE EMAIL.
NO ONE EMAILED ME, "I DO NOT LIKE YOUR MANUSCRIPT" and
I NEVER CANCELLED MY ORDER OR MANUSCRIPT.

MORE OF MY EXPLANATION BELOW AS SHOWN ON MY EMAILS,
thank you-- ******************** De La Cueva

Regards,

Urduja De La *****

Business Response
Date: 02/13/2023
Dear BBB,
Thank you for again giving Westbow Press the opportunity to respond to Ms. ********************* complaint.

The manuscript in question was not evaluated prior to the purchase of the publishing package. The manuscript was accepted based on the fact it would comply with our content guidelines as previously noted.

The manuscript was evaluated twice and did not comply with our standards as outlined in the attached Services and Distribution Agreement. Ms. **************** was given the opportunity to make changes and chose to not make the changes. In addition, Ms.De La ***** expressed via email that if we did not want to publish her book that it was alright with her. Management accepted that as a request to cancel the contract.

The Services and Distribution Agreement states: If at any time, We terminate this Agreement because your manuscript or Your Work do not comply with our Content Guidelines or the WestBow Press Editorial Standards, in Our sold discretion, we will refund 100% of the purchase price, less a Content Evaluation processing fee of $400. The agreement was signed by Ms. **************** on October 10, 2022 and states that she has read, understands, and agrees to comply with the guidelines.

In closing, Ms. **************** was refunded $949 for the publishing package and ten image insertions. There was a $400 processing fee per the Services and Distribution Agreement.

Sincerely,

***************************
Global Director of Author Satisfaction
Initial Complaint
Date:12/19/2022
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.
Xlibris charged my credit card $5,741.33, a credit refund was promised by *************************** of the *********************** but it has not yet been received.
Business Response
Date: 12/22/2022
Dear BBB,
Thank you for the opportunity to explain what transpired with ************** refund.
On October 21, 2022, ************ purchased the Black and White ******* publishing package for the discounted price of $2651. He also purchased six add-on marketing services. He opted to pay for these using a three installment payment plan, which added a non-refundable $75 payment plan fee,making the total $17,074. He made the initial payment of $5741.33 that same day. He signed and returned the Installment Payment Plan Agreement on October 21, 2022 and the Services and Distribution Agreement on October 27, 2022. Both are attached.
The next day, October 22, 2022, ************ decided to change the package he purchased and the funds of $5741.33 were set to be moved to the new packages. However, on October 24, 2022, he decided to stay with what he had already purchased.
On November 3, 2022, we received a chargeback for the initial payment made of $5741.33. When a chargeback is filed, the bank recalls the funds from us and retains the monies until they have heard from and reviewed both sides of the dispute. The bank then reviews the case, which may take up to 45 days before a decision and the awarding of funds occur. We did not hear back from ************** bank regarding the resolution of the chargeback and the funds were not returned to us. Therefore, ************ has received the funds from the chargeback. If he has not, he will need to follow up with the bank or credit card company. Because he filed a chargeback and received the funds that way, there are no funds for us to return to him, as they were taken from us when the chargeback was filed.
On December 13, 2022, ************ called in and said that he wished to cancel because he was going to publish with Random House. The refund was entered into the system that same day. It was also reviewed and approved that same day. It was marked paid on December 15, 2022. However, no funds were returned to the author by us, as the funds had already been take from us and returned to the author by his bank.
I have spoken with ************ and explained the above so he is aware that we are no longer in possession of the funds and that he will need to follow up with his bank if he has not received them.
In closing, *********** chose to file a chargeback on the initial payment made. The funds were taken from us and as of this writing, have not been returned to us. Therefore,if ************ has not received them, he will need to contact his bank or credit card company. I have spoken with ************ and explained this information.
Sincerely,
***************************
Global Director Author Satisfaction
Initial Complaint
Date:12/18/2022
Type:Sales and Advertising 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 have published 12 books with this company since ****. 3 of them last year. I have several on line sites all over the world offering my books including ********** Many many years went by without sales being recorded nor royalties paid. None in fact for all of 2022!
Business Response
Date: 12/19/2022
Dear BBB,
Thank you for the opportunity to explain ********************** royalties.
******************** has published twelve books with Xlibris. Online worldwide distribution is included in all of the publishing packages. Once a book is published, it is available through a number of distribution channels,including ****** and ***** and ******. The book is also available for sale through external retailers such as Amazon, ****** and *****, and ********
While this helps get books noticed, it is not a guarantee of book sales. Being for sale on ******* and other sites does not mean it is selling.As stated in Section 6. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES, in her signed Services and Distribution Agreement, SALES ARE NOT GUARANTEED. WE CANNOT CONTROL THE SUBJECTION PURCHASING DECISIONS OF CONSUMERS OR BOOKSELLERS. WE CANNOT AND DO NOT GUARANTEE SALES OF THE WORK.
That said, ********************** books have been selling over the years. She can see her royalty statements at any time on her author center. For her reference, the report from her author center is attached. There have been no sales reported to us for her books through the third quarter of 2022.
Below is her payment history in the last six years (which is our statute of limitations for payment reissuing):
Ck#******* 11/15/18 $.87 ($.34 tax withholding)
Ck#******* 11/14/20 $.87 ($.34 tax withholding)
EFT000000147150 11/15/21 $1.70
EFT000000157205 2/15/22 $4.66

The two checks are outstanding. Because we have confirmed that we now have ********************** correct address and she has provided her bank information, we will request that the two outstanding checks be reissued via direct deposit. Those will be included in the fourth quarter 2022 payout, which occurs in late February/early March. The two EFT payments were accepted by ********************* bank so she has received those.
In closing, ********************* books have been selling over the years, as evidenced on her quarterly royalty statements. Being available for purchase does not mean that consumers are purchasing the book. ******************** has been paid several times over the last six years. The royalty checks are outstanding and will be reissued via direct deposit in the fourth quarter 2022 payout.
Sincerely,
***************************
Global Director Author Solutions
Customer Answer
Date: 12/19/2022
Better Business Bureau:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined the response would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

[Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.]
Im supposed to be excited over 6 dollars and some change theyre going to send me? According to these people since 2014-8 years Ive sold LESS THAN TEN books out of TWELVE TITLES available throughout the world and Amazon and ****** and ***** and ******* and countless other sites for a total of FOURTEEN dollars and some odd sense royalty SORRY NOT BUYING IT. And neither are 188 dissatisfied customers on YOUR WEBSITE who threw thousands of dollars at them for NO positive results whatsoever. I also read 71 complaints on another credible site this weekend. HOW MANY COMPLAINTS does a company have to receive to put them six feet under where they belong? Where can I go to complain about the BETTER BUSINESS BUSINESS BUREAU?
Regards,

***************************
Business Response
Date: 12/20/2022
Dear BBB,
Thank you for the opportunity to again respond to ********************** royalties.
As stated in our previous response SALES ARE NOT GUARANTEED. WE CANNOT CONTROL THE SUBJECTION PURCHASING DECISIONS OF CONSUMERS OR BOOKSELLERS.WE CANNOT AND DO NOT GUARANTEE SALES OF THE WORK.
********************** books have been selling over the years, as evidenced on her quarterly royalty statements. Being available for purchase does not mean that consumers are purchasing the book. ******************** has been paid several times over the last six years. The royalty checks are outstanding and will be reissued via direct deposit in the fourth quarter 2022 payout. If ******************** has evidence to prove otherwise such as a receipt or reference to a sale we would certainly review further.
Sincerely,
***************************
Global Director Author Solutions
Initial Complaint
Date:12/02/2022
Type:Order 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.
*Date of the transactionMarch 12, 2022 *The total amount I paid was $3574.30 US/ $4803 CAD.*They were to provide me with a suite of publishing services, through their facility which I was led to believe was in ************.*The nature of the disputeAlthough there is nothing in the fine print of the contract stating otherwise, I was told upon my third revision that if after the fourth revision there were still issues, the book project could be terminated at their discretion, not something alluded to at all in the contract that I signed.There had been two previous Revisions made, and that process drug on because the individual I was corresponding with kept asking me for information which I had previously supplied.When I was told about this sudden possibility that my project could be cancelled at their whim, the individual I had been speaking to shocked me when she proceeded to tell me confidentially that if such a situation occurred she could switch me over to another publishing company, for which I would have to pay additional monies. I saw this as a classic bait and switch; I pay them for one thing, then they come up with some excuse and switch me over to Plan B, so they can make some more money off of me. I ended up speaking to a publishing veteran of 25 years with another company, and he informed me that this particular entity had hundreds of lawsuits pending, and complaints already filed with the Better Business Bureau. He cautioned me to likewise file a complaint.*Account #My assigned account number with WestBow ********************** was ID ***** *Upload supporting documents, including contract with WestBow Press that I signed
Business Response
Date: 12/06/2022
Dear BBB,

Thank you for giving Westbow Press the opportunity to address Mr. ***** complaint.
************ purchased the Online Platform publishing package on March 11, 2022 on a five installment payment plan. The first payment included a non-refundable $75 processing fee as indicated on the attached Payment Plan Agreement document.
Mr. ***** manuscript was evaluated on the following dates:July 1, July 28, and August 9, 2022. Westbow Press is a ***************** that has editorial standards established by HarperCollins in addition to the normal standards (copyright, libel, invasion of privacy, etc.). This is necessary to align with certain fundamental values in order to best serve others.
************ has corrected most issues in regards to both normal and editorial standards. In the most recent evaluation, the content evaluation team still found instances of Voice of God present. To delve deeper, that means the following: It is our belief that the only acceptable discourse by persons of the Trinity, angels, or demons that *** appear in a manuscript are those that appear in and have been accurately quoted from the Bible.
There were also still issues with Bible citations. Any Scripture must note the Book, Chapter, and Verse of the Bible. We will provide the appropriate verbiage for the books copyright page crediting the version(s)used but those must be noted throughout the manuscript.
************ has a few options at this time. The first is that he can switch to a different brand that does not require certain editorial standards. He would not have to change any Voice of God instances throughout the manuscript. However,
************ would still need to cite any Bible verse throughout the manuscript.
The second option would be to terminate the contract. He would be refunded the purchase price less the $400 Content Evaluation processing fee. This is outlined in the attached Services and Distribution Agreement in Section 4. Termination and Refunds. It states that if the agreement is terminated because the manuscript does not comply with our content guidelines or WestBow Press Editorial Standards, we will refund 100% of the purchase price less a content evaluation processing fee of $400.
These options were discussed with ******************** in October of this year. She had previously set up a phone appointment with ************ but was unable to reach him by phone. She followed up with an email on October 24, 2022 and did not receive a response.
Either choice can be discussed with ****************** as she is the person that ************ has been in contact with most recently.
In closing, ************ has the option of switching to a different publishing brand or cancelling the publishing package. He can contact the above mentioned person in order to proceed.
Sincerely,

***************************
Global Director of Author Satisfaction
Customer Answer
Date: 12/09/2022
Better Business Bureau:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this response/resolution is satisfactory to me.

"The second option would be to terminate the contract. He would be refunded the purchase price less the $400 Content Evaluation processing fee. This is outlined in the attached Services and Distribution Agreement in Section 4. Termination and Refunds. It states that if the agreement is terminated because the manuscript does not comply with our content guidelines or ******* Press Editorial Standards, we will refund 100% of the purchase price less a content evaluation processing fee of $400."
That is a satisfactory resolution.
Regards,
*****************
Initial Complaint
Date:11/28/2022
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 September 10, 2022, I spoke with *************************** from Westbow Press regarding publishing my children's book God Dreamed of Me which had previously been published on Amazon. According to **********************, our book would be placed in bookstores like ****** and ***** and local venues in the Children's section. He mentioned that there might be a nominal fee for offset printing the books, but it wouldn't be much. After paying nearly $3500 to Westbow and receiving 1 hardcopy (they initially had said there would be more) and 10 softcovers, we called local bookstores only to discover that the book would not be available in-store, and that should a patron wish to purchase the book, he/she would have to order it online. If we wished to have book signings, we must provide the books beforehand, which includes an additional cost, and Barnes&Noble doesn't offer this for authors. Westbow Press published a book for us that required very little effort from them since the book was already available on Amazon, and they lied and said that the book would be available in bookstores, which it is not. ****** & Noble does not carry POD books. We are now left with a $3700 deficit. We are requesting a refund in it's entirety.
Business Response
Date: 12/01/2022
Dear BBB,
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to respond to respond to Ms. ************* request for a refund of her publishing package.

On September 12, 2022, **************************** purchased the Color Pro publishing package for $2,774.25 with the Hardcover Publishing service as an add-on for $337.50. She elected to pay in automatic monthly installments, which added a non-refundable payment plan fee of $75 for a grand order total of $3,186.75. She signed the Services and Distribution Agreement the same day and the Installment Payment Plan Agreement on September 13, 2022, both via electronic signature (copies attached).

On October 7, 2022, **************************** signed the interior, pricing and cover approval forms that state she approved the publication of her book (copies attached). After the book files were submitted to our printers, the book was officially published on October 11, 2022. Our refund policy is stated in section four of the Services and Distribution Agreement. Because Ms. ************* book has already been published, she is no longer eligible for a refund of her publishing package or the hardcover publishing service.

Prior to the purchase of her publishing package, Ms. ************* publishing consultant sent a link to our website on September 10, 2022, which listed all the inclusions of our different packages (http://www.westbowpress.com/Packages/ColorBooks/PackageCompare.aspx). Placement in physical bookstores is not part of any publishing package that we offer. While publishing with us makes it easier for authors to be successful with being stocked in physical stores (due to services like our returnability program), we are unable to make that promise. Section two of the Services and Distribution Agreement states that we do not warrant that any particular contractor will offer an authors book for sale, as it is in the sole discretion of the contractor. Additionally, section six stipulates that sales of a book are not guaranteed as we cannot control the subjective purchasing decisions of consumers or bookstores. After reviewing communications between **************************** and her publishing consultant (including the full e-mail attached with her filing), we were unable to substantiate her claim that she was promised bookstore placement. Her consultant further clarified the information above in an e-mail to her on October 21, 2022.

Regarding free copies of Ms. ************* book, her publishing package included 11 softcover copies. With the add-on hardcover publishing service, she was also entitled to one hardcover author copy. The order for her free copies was placed on November 1, 2022 and delivered on November 9, 2022 **** tracking number 1Z878A440302803512).

In closing, we are unable to offer **************************** a refund for her publishing package as all services have been completed.

Sincerely,

***************************
Global Director of Author Satisfaction
Customer Answer
Date: 12/01/2022
Better Business Bureau:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined the response would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

[Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.]

We respect the fact that an agreement was made, however, per the email attached, we were told that our book was eligible to be placed on the shelves of bookstores in the children's section. After speaking to multiple bookstores, both local and national, they have stated that they will not carry our book as it is Print on Demand. Also, if we wish to do a book signing, we must provide the books beforehand. The buyback program that they touted is of no use because the bookstores will not carry it.
In our opinion, we signed a contract based on lies and misleading statements made by employees of ******* (************************* and others). We would never have signed had they not stated explicitly (refer to the email) that we would be available in bookstores.
We request a full refund.

Regards,

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

Customer Answer
Date: 12/02/2022
Better Business Bureau:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined the response would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

[Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.]
We respect the fact that an agreement was made, however, per the email attached, we were told that our book was eligible to be placed on the shelves of bookstores in the children's section. After speaking to multiple bookstores, both local and national, they have stated that they will not carry our book as it is Print on Demand. Also, if we wish to do a book signing, we must provide the books beforehand. The buyback program that they touted is of no use because the bookstores will not carry it.
In our opinion, we signed a contract based on lies and misleading statements made by employees of ******* (************************* and others). We would never have signed had they not stated explicitly (refer to the email) that we would be available in bookstores.
We request a full refund.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
In your email, you mentioned that they had addressed the issue and that the case was now closed, however, respectfully, they did not. We mention in the complaint that ******* directly stated that our book would be placed in bookstores. There is an attached email to support this agreement.
After speaking with several bookstores, none of them will carry a book that is Print on Demand.
Westbow stated otherwise.
We would like to request that the case be reopened and a refund made.

Regards,

***************************************
Initial Complaint
Date:10/11/2022
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.
Date of transaction July 23rd 2022.Amt. ******* US Deposit to book edits I was negotiating.No contract was signed it was pending until I had accurate word count.2 things interrupted this deal.One was a leg injury.Two was I realized my word count was 250 thousand quote was on 125,000.Next Master Card **** showed every ******* US was ******* so the ******* quote for edits was really ******.Once I realized the true cost I knew with my injury I could not afford to pay ****** US Dollars to get the job done. Furthermore I was afraid I'd get into it and they would find more and more to bill about. I asked for my refund Sept 8th authorized by ******************* pd.. I received ******* of my ******* pmt they withheld 10,% of ****. But I was never informed nor did I sign a contract as I still needed to forward actual word count. Furthermore I bought my printing package in 2019 and since then no followup. Almost Every time I call I have a new coordinator and when I email I get an auto response "I am out of office". Except ******************* who does eventually call back. I would like the ****** they withheld back and for all the stress in communication an upgrade to a premium printing package. I would like a monthly conversation set up with my coordinator until my book goes to print and a paid website. Furthermore please check the Company is not just selling packages and percentage of actual books produced. It might be a pyramid scheme or sell as many promises as possible invest that money double triple it then skim off profits from books when actually published. The original book consultant *************************** has left as so many others. I requested a call back to *********************** who replaced him and emails to ******************* and my Renzo saying if you aren't going to refund my money can I upgrade. No one called me back. I lost time and ******. Thankyou for helping return my hard earned money and alleviate stress this Company has caused me for over 2 years by being unresponsive to my needs *****
Business Response
Date: 10/17/2022
Dear BBB,
Thank you for the opportunity to explain Ms. *********** project and refund.
On May 30, 2020, Ms. ********** purchased the Bookstore Premier Pro publishing package for the discounted price of $1499.50. She opted to pay for this using a three installment payment plan, which added a non-refundable $75 payment plan fee, making the total $1574.50. She made the first payment of $574.53 that same day. She made the subsequent payments of $499.84 and $499.83 on June 30, 2020 and July 30, 2020, respectively. She signed and returned both the Services and Distribution Agreement and the Installment Payment Plan Agreement on June 4, 2020. They are attached.
On March 9, 2021, Ms. ********** purchased the Author Website Setup-Deluxe for the discounted price of $299.50. She paid in full at that time. On May 8, 2021, she requested a refund of the author website service, saying she was having one done for her business and would incorporate her book into that website. All refund requests follow a series of steps prior to receiving approval. We ensure the request is eligible for refund and, if so,the refund amount is calculated, and is in accordance with the terms of the authors Services and Distribution Agreement. This process can take ***** business days. Unfortunately, Ms. *********** refund was not processed until October 20, 2021. Because of this, we refunded the service in full. The amount of $299.50 was returned to the credit card used to make the purchase.
On August 8, 2022, she purchased Content Editing for $5000.She opted to pay for this using a six installment payment plan, adding a non-refundable $75 payment plan fee, making the total $5075. She made the first payment of $2075 that same day. No subsequent payments were made. Ms.********** writes Next Master Card **** showed every ******* US was ******* so the ******* quote for edits was really ******. We would like to clarify that she was not overcharged or charged incorrectly. The difference in the quoted amount and the charged amount is the currency conversion from US dollars to ******** dollars, since Ms.********** lives in ******. On September 8, 2022, the refund request for the editing was documented in the system. As stated above, it can take ***** business days to review the refund request. It was paid on October 4, 2022,within the aforementioned timeline, and Ms. ********** has confirmed receipt of the money. She was refunded in accordance with the signed Services and Distribution Agreement that she signed and returned on June 4, 2020. That agreement states in Section 4. Termination & Refunds:
For individual Services (not included as part of a Publishing Package):
Prior the beginning of fulfillment of individual Service(s):
0-90 calendar days after the purchase: 100% of purchase price, less $150 or 10% of the purchase price, whichever is greater

Therefore, the refund was calculated as $5000-10% or $500.Ms. ********** paid $2075-$75 non-refundable payment plan fee-$500=$1500. This amount was refunded to the credit card used to make the purchase. (Due to the conversion from US dollars to ******** dollars, this would be about $2100 that Ms. ********** says she received). The reason for the holdback was already explained to her via email on October 7, 2022.
Ms. ********** writes Furthermore I bought my printing package in 2019 and since then no followup This is not accurate. She purchased her package in 2020, not 2019. And below are a handful of the interactions that shes had with just her check-in coordinator and editorial staff.
She was contacted by her check-in coordinator via email the day after she returned the agreement, to which Ms. ********** responded that it would be 4-6 weeks before she had all material ready to submit.
She spoke with the coordinator on August 17, 2020 that her material would be ready the following week.
On January 29, 2021, she spoke with the coordinator about the submission of the materials.
The coordinator sent her an email on February 3, 2021, stating that he was yet to receive her material. Later that day, he sent her another email, confirming receipt of the Submission Information Form and that Ms. ********** was still finishing the manuscript.
After the manuscript was received, it was reviewed for content. All submitted manuscripts and materials for publication undergo a content evaluation. The evaluation looks for issues that could potentially put the author at risk for legal entanglements such as invasion of privacy, libel, defamation, copyright infringement, or fair use law violations. Her manuscript failed the initial evaluation. This information was emailed to her on February 26, 2021.
The coordinator emailed her on May 13, 2021, spoke with her on June 2, 2021 and July 6, 2021.
She was emailed on July 20, 2021 that her manuscript was beginning the editorial evaluation and again on July 23, 2021 that the editorial evaluation was complete.
On September 27, 2021, the coordinator called and discussed the progress of reviewing the edited manuscript with her.
On September 13, 2022, she spoke with her coordinator and confirmed that she would continue with the publication of the book.
We respectfully decline Ms. *********** request for the amount withheld. The refund was calculated in accordance with the Services and Distribution Agreement that Ms. ********** signed and returned.
We also decline her request for an upgraded package. We refunded the author website in full due to the delay in processing. While there has been a turnover in staff on her account, it has not delayed the fulfillment of the project.
She writes that she would like a monthly conversation with her coordinator. She will need to set that up with her coordinator. She can email ********************************* at ****************************************** and request this.
She also wants a paid website. We decline this request. Ms.********** already had an author website and chose to cancel it because she was going to use her business website instead. We are unclear as to why she wants a service that she requested be refunded. We will not be giving her another one at no cost. She can purchase another one if she would like.
In closing, Ms.********** is not due a full refund on the content editing, as the refund was calculated in accordance with the Services and Distribution Agreement that she signed and returned. We will not be upgrading her package due to stress in communication. She can request a monthly appointment with her coordinator. We will not be providing her with a free author website. She already had an author website and chose to refund it.
Sincerely,
***************************
Global Director Author Satisfaction
Customer Answer
Date: 10/19/2022
Better Business Bureau:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined the response would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

[Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.]
Thanks. I have requested a signed copy of edits agreements. The rest is smoke and mirrors. I requested the money be applied to my agreement but instead they did not reply. I lost ****** that could have been put towards greater publishing.
Regards,

Laara **********

Business Response
Date: 10/21/2022
Dear BBB,
Thank you for the opportunity to again explain Ms.*********** **************************** writes I have requested a signed copy of edits agreements. There is no agreement for the editorial service. As we stated in our previous response, the add-on service was refunded in accordance with the publishing packages signed Services and Distribution Agreement. As the agreement states and as we quoted in our previous response, For individual Services (not included as part of a Publishing Package): (emphasis added) Since the editing was not part of the publishing package it is governed by this agreement. This was also explained to her via email on October 7, 2022,which stated, Attached is the signed publishing agreement of Project ***************: The Slim Switch. All services purchased for the project is covered by the terms and conditions of the publishing agreement. You will find the refund terms in page 3 for individual services or those not included in the publishing package. Again, this was included in our previous response.
While we can find notes in her account that she says she asked for the holdback to be applied to something else, there are no notes from staff stating as such. That said, that is not something that we do, nor was there anything to apply that money to, as her publishing package was paid in full and the author website has already been refunded. In some instances, we do apply the amount paid (not the holdback amount) toward a new package or service but given that Ms. ********** was requesting a refund due to financial hardship (she wrote I had accident just after I started to earn the first **** and after credit card statements i noted it ended up as ******* ** DOLLARS. I realized my injury ** DOLLAR I WAS OUT OF MY LEAGUE AND A SENIOR CLEANING HOUSES TO EARN IT ON A BAD LEG. ITS NOT SUSTAINABLE), we did not pitch her another service.
In closing, as she has been told previously, there is no signed agreement for the editorial service. It is governed by the publishing packages Services and Distribution Agreement. We do not apply the amount held back to other services.
Sincerely,
***************************
Global Director Author Satisfaction
Customer Answer
Date: 10/23/2022
Hello, I requested a signed copy of the editing contract. As of Oct. 22 they have not forwarded a signed contract for editing. They sent numerous requests in August to sign but because I declined editing services I refused to sign any contract. They sent my original contract dated June 2020 and even in fine print nothing re edits or why the hounding for separate agreement for additional above contract services. I would like either the ****** refunded or at very least applied to upgrade my original contract. All the smoke and mirrors of contact with ******** were on initial contact . I asked for a different coordinator because ******** did not respond. ****** was next but he left a gap and finally Renzo sho is more responsive. *************************** left the company as well and shdn I sent an email request asking to direct my deposit for edits that I realized would not be ******* *** dollars but more like ******* plus my book was double the size quoted so in fact closer to 10 thousand plus. I stressed to ******************* ******* *** *** but with US exchange on First Mastercard deposit of ******* it was ******* US and I called asap and advised **** due to leg zccident znd US Dollar I could not accept proposal plus was afraid once started they would need another *******. At this point I still needed to supply actual word count to ensure fine print of anything would require to pay up or no book. There was no final contract and I did not submit any book manuscript. They owe me ****** US dollars or applied to my initial book printing contract not just a loss for no work done. That ****** could be applied toward a better book. If this company truly wants to be a leader in self publishing how can they just keep my money for no services rendered. I am being more than fir in at least requesting they apply it to upgrading my printing package. Due to time I did this on iPhone as my computer is in for repair. This is time sensitive so I hope it's clear enough to understand my requests. The service has not been given to me at any level except for ******************* advising me to use grammarly and that he would personally make sure I got my refund. At no time did he tell me they would withhold 10% of ******* on a non existent contract. We had not completed our discussions. I sent in a deposit but with the caveat that it was *** ******* CDN but it was gonna bec7500 US . Thankyou for your support BBB. thankyou ******************* for your info and inspiration. Laara **********
Ps sorry for errors but this format on iPhone does not allow me to edit.
Regards,
Laara **********
Customer Answer
Date: 11/14/2022
Better Business Bureau:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined the response would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

[Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.]
To Whom It May **********
Re claim ********

For over two weeks now I asked iUniverse to supply a signed opy of the EDITING CONTRACT. To date they have not nor will not because a signed EDITING CONTRACT does not exist.
I did not sign a contract that gave them permission to withhold ******************************************************************************************************************************************* else no book.
IT IS WRONG for them to withhold ****** on a contract never completed.

I gave them money to hold as I refinanced my car for the money to edit my book and didn't want to spend it on anything but my book. At the time I still hadn't settled totally on the ******* editing package until I finished the word count. When I realized I would need double plus difference between US AND ******** DOLLAR I knew I could not manage it on a housekeepers wages while on medical leave from a car incident that kept me out of work for over 3 weeks. I called ************************ and he assured me I would *************. I also notified accounting when they called at 8am demanding payment like a debt collector. When i informed them they had zero rights to do so because no contract was signed they actually agreed and stopped projected payments. They knew they had no right to demand payments on zero contract.
I want this WRONG corrected.
I also believe there is a financial scheme going on. They sell pkgs for books and use the money to invest somewhat like a retirement fund. If all investors asked for their money back they would not be able to provide it. Or they use this withholding 10% to skim off clients money right away and invest IT.
PLEASE help me recover my money wrongfully withheld as there is no proof of contract for over 2 weeks I have asked them to provide a signed contract.
They claimed my original contract covers all future purchases if that were true why did they hound me to sign another contract which by the way I have a copy of still unsigned. I needed more information before really committing I was hesitant due to word count. My first Master card bill revealed also for every 2 thousand dollars US it was ******* ********. I called right away to say I did not wish to proceed. At no time with any conversations with ******************* did he INFORM me of any 10% fee. If I knew that I would have applied money on hold to general upgrade on my original package rather than lose ******. I asked to speak to someone regarding this as iUniverse too 6 months or more to refund a website I bought. So I thought at least my money can work for me on upgrade. Not one call back after 3 calls and emails about doing this. There is something wrong here. Please help. There is something very wrong here. Maybe many other authors are being scammed too.
What I want is the ****** withheld refunded to my MasterCard and a TOTAL REFUND PLUS INTEREST THEY ACCRUED ON MY MONEY FOR my original ****** contract to correct all other poor overall service.

Since I started this claim they assigned yet another coordinator to my project ********. After all this I do not wish to work with this company. They need to be exposed for what they are. Thankyou again.

Sincerely,
Laara ********** (*****)
**********
****** ????

Regards,

Laara **********

Business Response
Date: 11/16/2022
Dear BBB,
Thank you for the opportunity to again explain Ms.*********** **************************** writes For over two weeks now I asked iUniverse to supply a signed opy of the EDITING CONTRACT. To date they have not nor will not because a signed EDITING CONTRACT does not exist. This is correct and we have stated as much. In our last response, we wrote:
There is no agreement for the editorial service. As we stated in our previous response, the add-on service was refunded in accordance with the publishing packages signed Services and Distribution Agreement. As the agreement states and as we quoted in our previous response, For individual Services (not included as part of a Publishing Package): (emphasis added) Since the editing was not part of the publishing package it is governed by this agreement.
Also included in our previous two responses, this has also been explained to her via email. We are not sure how to be any clearer that there is no agreement for the editorial service; it is governed by the Services and Distribution Agreement.
She goes on to write I did not sign a contract that gave them permission to withhold *********************************************************************************************** our original response. In case she did not receive it the first time, it is attached again to this response.
IT IS WRONG for them to withhold ****** on a contract never completed. Again, Ms. ********** signed and returned the Services and Distribution Agreement and it was included in our first response and is attached again this time.
I called ******************* ASAP and he assured me I would get my refund. Ms. ********** has confirmed receiving her refund.
I also notified accounting when they called at 8am demanding payment like a debt collector. When i informed them they had zero rights to do so because no contract was signed they actually agreed and stopped projected payments. They knew they had no right to demand payments on zero contract. This is not entirely correct. It is correct that the accounting department did call Ms. ********** because she had defaulted on her payment plan for the editing service. This is standard procedure-calling authors that have defaulted on the payment plan. They did not say they had no rights to call and collect payment. What was actually stated was that the payment plan agreement for the editorial service had not yet been returned by Ms. *********** they were not referencing the Services and Distribution Agreement. They stopped the recurring payments as a goodwill service since she was requesting a refund.
I also believe there is a financial scheme going on. They sell pkgs for books and use the money to invest somewhat like a retirement fund. If all investors asked for their money back they would not be able to provide it. Or they use this withholding 10% to skim off clients money right away and invest IT. This is not how our business model works nor are we sure where Mr.********** came up with this idea.
PLEASE help me recover my money wrongfully withheld as there is no proof of contract for over 2 weeks I have asked them to provide a signed contract. As stated many times, there is no editorial contract. The add-on editorial service is governed by the signed Services and Distribution Agreement, which clearly outlines the holdback amount.
They claimed my original contract covers all future purchases if that were true why did they hound me to sign another contract which by the way I have a copy of still unsigned. She was being contacted to return the payment plan agreement for the editorial service, not the Services and Distribution Agreement,as that had already been signed and returned.
At no time with any conversations with ******************* did he INFORM me of any 10%fee. This is correct. ************** does not calculate refunds so he cannot and does not provide authors with any holdback amounts. First,that is left to the refunds department to do. Our refund process was outlined in our first response. Second, authors are provided the agreements before signing and returning them so they would be familiar with the holdback amounts and timelines.
What I want is the ****** withheld refunded to my MasterCard and a TOTAL REFUND PLUS INTEREST THEY ACCRUED ON MY MONEY FOR my original ****** contract to correct all other poor overall service. As we have stated in our two previous responses, we will not be refunding the $500 that was withheld. Ms. ********** chose to cancel the service for financial reasons and the refund was calculated in accordance with the Services and Distribution Agreement that she signed and returned. We decline a refund of interest as well. We do not accrue interest on payments made by authors.
Since I started this claim they assigned yet another coordinator to my project ********. ***** all this I do not wish to work with this company. Before we cancel the project and refund Ms. *********** we want her to review the attached Services and Distribution Agreement so that she is aware of the holdback that will occur on the publishing package, since she was unaware of the holdback for the editorial service and claimed she would have made a different decision. As stated in Section 4. Termination & Refunds,it states:
For Publishing Packages:
o ***** submission of Your Manuscript but prior to final approval, if the refund is not due to failure to comply with Our Content Guidelines:
***** submission of Your Manuscript but before design work begins: 50% of purchase price
***** design work begins but prior to final approval: 25% of purchase price
Ms. ********** submitted her manuscript and it had gone through the content evaluation process. Therefore, as stated above, she will be refunded 50% of the package price or $1499.50 less 50% is $749.75. We will need her consent that that is how she wishes to proceed before we cancel and refund.Because the package was purchased more than one year ago, the refund would be paid via mailed check.

In closing, as we have told her many times previously, there is no agreement for the editorial service. The refund for the editorial service is governed by the Services and Distribution Agreement. We are unsure how to make that any clearer. As we have stated twice previously, we decline her request for a full refund on the editorial service.She chose to cancel the service for financial reasons and was refunded in accordance with the signed Services and Distribution Agreement. We also decline her request for a refund on interest accrued. We have not accrued any interest on her payments. If she does in fact want to cancel and receive a refund on the publishing package, she will need to review her Services and Distribution Agreement and our response above and then let us know if she wishes to proceed.

Sincerely,

***************************
Global Director-Author Satisfaction
Customer Answer
Date: 11/21/2022
Better Business Bureau:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined the response would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

[Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.]
No they have not resolved the issue of a ****** refund. This is the agreement that I never signed. They claimed I didnt need another agreement but there is a recorded call from their finance **** asking for payments on the attached service order. Fwd: ...
This is a separate agreement number.
My original contract is 816216.

If it was part of the original agreement it should be an appendix or amended but it is a separate document that I did not sign. A representative from the finance department actually could not collect because this agreement was not signed. In fact, the iUniverse representative agreed with me (recorded call) and did not take any action (payment). He also notified ******************* in this regard.

Thanks again for investigating this. I DO NOT WANT TO PROCEED with a refund for the original contract 816216
otherwise they just continue to take my money . They will finish my book. Thankyou.

Sincerely,
Laara ********** (*****)
**********

Regards,

Laara **********
Initial Complaint
Date:10/11/2022
Type:Customer Service 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 first purchased a publishing package with Authorhouse. I am new to the business and I would really like to share my story. I also purchased numerous marketing services with them. Later on, I purchased 2 other publishing packages for my 2nd and 3rd books. I am displeased with the royalties that they providing me and felt awful that my published book is so expensive that nobody wants to buy them. I requested for a cancellation of all unfulfilled services for a year now. ******** from Authorhouse told me that I can no longer get a refund since all the services had been fulfilled. However, I did not receive any fulfilment report. That made me feel suspicious. I spoke with someone from Authorhouse and pretended to check on my services. I was informed that there are still a lot of unfulfilled services. In fact, I have two unfulfilled publishing packages since I have not submitted the finished manuscript yet. On top of that, I also have numerous marketing services on those projects that were not also fulfilled since the 2nd and 3rd books were not published yet. Furthermore, there were also numerous marketing services that are also unfulfilled on the book that has already been published. I requested for a list of all the services that I purchased from the finance department along with their corresponding prices. I then contacted the marketing department and asked them which of those services are unfulfilled. Based on the list provided, I still have over ****** worth of unfulfilled services. I have been contacting them regularly and they are no longer responding to my requests. It's been a year now and I am still nowhere in getting back my money. They can keep the money for all the work that they have done but they should give me back the money for all the services that they have not fulfilled. I feel that I am being scammed and it's important to get that money back since I have health issues and will no longer be able to work on my 2nd and 3rd books.
Business Response
Date: 11/16/2022
Dear BBB

On or about November 13, 2022 we reached a confidential settlement with ******************. Terms of the settlement are bound by the agreement prepared by our legal counsel. If you have any further questions, please let me know.

***************************
Global Director Author Satisfaction
Initial Complaint
Date:10/10/2022
Type:Sales and Advertising 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.
Xlibris Publishing/Author Solutions spoke to me about publishing my second book I am not new to the way this works. I have published another book through another publishing company. ******* agreed to publish my book for $999. The Publisher I spoke to ******************* told me explicitly several times the last time being Friday that I could purchase my book from them at the author price of 65% off. She also told me my book would be priced at ***** and the hardcover priced at approx *****-21.99. This was a major selling point as my first book was priced at ***** a hard price point to sell a childrens book at. The hardcover I just found out is to be priced at $26.99 an impossible price to sell a childrens book at. She also promised that I could have it in my hands by October 15 for an event I have on that day. The book was published on October 05. I was not informed of this. I was informed today I could not get my book by October 15. I was also informed in a formal quote that my author discount would be 30% off paperbacks and 20% off hardcover. This leaves me with a $3 profit at most per book. I believe this tactic to be bait and switch. When I spoke to ******************* Friday about my book price being$18.99 on Amazon I asked her again how much I would be paying for my books when I bought them from Xlibris and she told me again 65% off author discount and she has stressed at all times there was no quantity required for this discount. This is pretty much the standard in the industry and since she had told me that several times I had no reason to not believe her. I can not afford to sell my book at a $3 profit. The cost of entrance fees to the shows and fairs I sell my book at well outweigh that so all sales of my book will be at a loss. I want to either be relieved of my contract and refunded at least half of my money or I want them to honor the terms discussed. This is very unethical. Devastating actually.
Business Response
Date: 10/18/2022
Dear BBB,
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to respond to Ms. ********* request for a refund of her publishing package.

On September 9, 2022, ******************** purchased the Full Color Professional publishing package for $849.50. As an addition to the package, she purchased the Hardback Availability ****************** for $149.50. The total for the order was $999 and was paid in full at the time of the order. She signed the Services and Distribution Agreement the same day (copy attached).

On October 4, 2022, after seeing the electronic files for her book, ******************** provided her final approval by signing the cover, interior and pricing approval forms (copies attached). These forms state that once signed, the book will be released into the distribution channel for sale. The pricing approval lists the pricing for the book in all formats.

The price of a book is determined by several factors including page count and format. Full color books are more expensive to produce than black and white books. Because Ms. ********* book is full color, landscape format (11 inches by 8.5 inches)and 56 pages it is priced at $18.99 for softcover, $26.99 for hardcover and $3.99 for the e-book.

On October 11, 2022, ******************** sent an email expressing that she was unhappy with the price of her book and the percentage of discount she would receive as an author. She stated that her Publishing Consultant quoted different information during sales calls. Her assigned production representative requested an audit of the call recordings to investigate this claim. On October 12, 2022, we received word from Ms. ********* bank that she had filed a chargeback in the amount of $999. When a chargeback is filed, the bank takes possession of the money in question while they investigate the situation.After reviewing the call recordings between ******************** and her Publishing Consultant, we can confirm that the consultant provided incorrect information regarding book price and author discount. We sincerely apologize for the confusion this has caused and as a result, we are making an exception to our refund policy. We have accepted the chargeback, meaning we will not dispute it, and the funds should be returned to ******************** via her bank/credit card company.

As requested in her filing, the cancellation of her book was processed on October 18, 2022.A cancellation request has been forwarded to our online distributors for the change of status. Please note that it can take up to 2-3 weeks for vendors to update their websites.

In closing, we apologize again for the confusion caused by the sales representative. ******************* will be provided a full refund for her publishing package via her bank as we have accepted the chargeback that was filed.

Sincerely,

***************************
Global Director of Author Satisfaction
Customer Answer
Date: 10/19/2022
Better Business Bureau:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined the response would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

[I do not dispute that they cancelled my contract or that my money was returned. What I do dispute is their representation of what happened. Their Marketing Specialist ******************* grossly misrepresented the conditions ofmy book sale. She told me it would be sold for $14.99 and even tried to pressure me into another $500 to republish my first book after Xlibris had priced my book at $18.99. She also stated numerous times I could purchase my author copies for 65% off regardless of how many I purchased I reconfirmed this with her three times. As for my signed the sample ************** yes and I expected my book to look like that. There was much discussion of putting a white border around my picture pages and they decided to do so so none of the images would be cut off and that is what I signed and approved however upon purchasing a copy of my book on Amazon it is not the book I approved at all there is no white border and many images such a my dogs and buildings are cut off!! Its embarrassing! I was horrified when I saw this. The quality is very poor. Then yesterday I received copies of my books from Xlibris my supposed free copies and they are the same only very slightly better than Amazons. There is no border as I signed off on dogs are cut off! This is not acceptable in the Publishing industry. This is not what I signed off on and my name and artwork have been besmirched by ******* and I have offered any friends purchasing from Amazon refunds or new books once I get them republished. This company Author Solution's/Xlibris uses dishonest marketing tactics to lure in and deceive customers. They also provided an inferior product which I will have to bare the cost of to remedy. In addition, I am left with no books at the time of year in which I make my most sales the holidays because I relied on their false claims. Their answer to this BBB complaint is insincere and disingenuous and contains false information. Why do you think they replied to *************************** by not contesting a full refund. People need to be protected from this company. Many have been hurt. I had to fight to get my money back through my bank. All Xlibris offered me was five free books. So I do not accept their response an they have done irreparable harm to my good name and my brand by putting copies on Amazon that did not in any way meet the standards of the proofs Xlibris has presented that I agreed to. They are a fraud!

Regards,

***************************
Initial Complaint
Date:10/04/2022
Type:Billing 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 feel I need to warn new book author's about my dealing with a supposedly Christian ********************** Company. WestBow Press I would have given them a 0-star rating because they did nothing, and they deceived me when the first woman ***** that I spoke with said I would not have to get my family involved in my book getting resized, as I had added a few pages to my original book, she assured me they could do the resizing and publishing my book without having to get in touch with my son in law that had made the first cover that I now needed resizing, I trusted ***** because I thought it was a ***************** and so I signed for $1,299.00 on my credit card, but then she connected me with another woman named ********* and she says that ***** didn't know as much as she did about it, and she would have to get in touch with my son-in-law, even though I had told both of these women that he has a new business and did not have the time to do any more with my book, so I told the woman that said she had to get in touch with my son- in law that I was now backing out. I wanted to cancel.I believed they had deceived me just to get my money, and I found out they were not acting like a *****************, I only spoke with two women ***** and ********* and they charged me $150.00 when I disputed their charge of $1,299.00, with my credit card company. I signed on July 28 and sent them a cancellation e-mail on Aug 2nd and told them I was canceling. They were deceiving. They did NOTHING TO PUBLISH MY ALREADY PUBLISHED BOOK, It was on Amazon paperback and e-book, and now on ****** and Noble paperback and e-book. I believe I must warn people and I will also put this on my other social networks to warn people, they credited my credit card $1,149.00.They shouldn't have charged me a dime.******** Press in my eyes is just in the publishing business for the money, not to help new authors get their books published to help people, they still owe me $150.00,I have disputed this with Citi.
Business Response
Date: 10/06/2022
Dear BBB,
Thank you for giving WestBow Press the opportunity to respond to Ms. ********* complaint.
******************** purchased the Essential Access publishing package on July 28, 2022 through her publishing consultant. After the purchase was made, the account was turned over to a check-in coordinator. This is the representative that collects all of the materials and makes sure that everything is usable in creating the interior and cover of the book.
The check-in coordinator received a low resolution cover from ********************* In order to create the cover with the exact same file as the previously published version, we require a high resolution file. A low resolution file would show up grainy after printing. In addition, the text was flattened on the cover and we are not able to manipulate that in accordance with printer guidelines.
There were two options in order to proceed: 1. a high resolution layered file from ******************** OR 2. we could re-create the cover file by using her file as a mockup.
She requested a refund because neither of those were an option for her. The refund ticket was created and then released for payment on August 10, 2022. Per the attached Services and Distribution Agreement Section 4. Termination & Refunds,******************** is entitled to a refund of 100% of the purchase price less $150 or 10% of the purchase price, whichever is greater. A refund in the amount of $1,149 ($1,299-$150) was processed and refunded to her credit card on August 10, 2022.
On August 21, 2022 the finance department received a notice that ******************** had filed a chargeback through her credit card company in the amount of $1,299. The chargeback was ruled in our favor because a refund had already been processed and paid to *********************The chargeback had no effect on the amount of the refund as it had already been processed.
In closing, ******************** was refunded the price of her publishing package less $150 per the signed agreement.
Sincerely,

***************************
Global Director of Author Satisfaction
Customer Answer
Date: 10/06/2022
Better Business Bureau:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********* and have determined the response would not resolve my complaint. For your reference* details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

[Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.]
Dear Better Business Bureau:

On July 28 th of this year I phoned and spoke with Amber * the women at WestBow Press. after I had told her my circumstance
about my Son in law ***** that had helped with my book and book cover and putting my manscript on kdp Kindle Direst Publishing /Amazon *
for me for my Christmas present .But I now wanted to add some more infomation to my book* about ny beautiful oldest daughter
**************; death from breast cancer* I felt that a lot of women could be helped * because she was healed at one time* and we are *********s so I throught
and this added information needed to be in the book so then the book would need to have a larger cover so it would have to be resized .and some editing
and formating would need to be done* that 's why I was willing to put that much money $1*299.00 to make it perfect.
My son in love ***********************; had started a new bussiness and was swamped with building ****** steel guitars with a partner
and he couldn't be involued AT ALL right now *also my daughter ****** had done the editing and formating and she was also too busy
. they had just moved to TN from Tx. I told **********; the name of my book" ABANDONED TO BRIDE OF THE KING. and while I was on the phone
she went on to Amazon where my paperback and e-book were and said I saw the size of your cover * don't worry ****** * we can do it for you *i promise
without your daughter and son in law being involoved AT ALL* JUST TRUST ME. I belived her and I said OK I will sign for the $1*299.00 on my Citi card right now*
because I trust you as a ********* and I say will you be friends with me on Face Book if your company will allow it . I speed read the aggreement beacuse I trusted Amber
and I thought it was a ********* Publishing Company. I was very excited that I could do this on my own * I''m 80 years old *
I mostly have been a house wife and mother to six children. ***** had won me over and I really trusted her* she said another woman would call me named *******************
and we could get started on the book* The women ********* phoned me and I explained every thing that I had spoken to ***** about and she
said I know more than ***** * you will have to get your son in law involved * I said no then I must cancel now to keep mine and my daughter ******'s: peace of mind .
So I sent the e-mail that I attached to this on August 2nd 2022 and I contacted **** and the man said we will file a dispute
and you donlt have to get in touch with ******** We will handle this for you* and they credited me back the $1*299*00* then a short time later
they showed on my account and I spoke to them on the phone that ******** had credited to my account with Citi $1*149.00 *
So ******** Press was charging me for two phone calls and the two women telling me differant things * $ !50.00
I would gladly pay the $150 .00 and not disbute it all if they had not deceived me. I'm a senior on Social Secuity *
and they didn't do one thing to promote or help with my book .They just caused me a lot of stress. I don't owe them the $150.00 * They are not running their bussiness
right * and I never even thought about paying in instalment* I told ************ would use my Credit Card because Citi is not charging me interest at this time.
I may have to order another credit card because I don't trust ******** Press now at all.

Regards*
Bonnie ********************
Business Response
Date: 10/10/2022
Dear BBB,
Thank you for again giving WestBow Press the opportunity to respond to Ms. ********* complaint.
For clarity reasons, the response will be broken into three main pullet points.
Reason for $150 holdback
******************** chose to terminate her contract with Westbow Press. The previously attached agreement that was electronically signed by ******************* on 7/28/2022 states the following: If you terminate the agreement prior to submission of the manuscript, you will receive 100% of the purchase price LESS $150 or 10% of the purchase price, whichever is greater. In this case, $150 was greater than the 10%($129.90). Westbow Press withheld $150 from the refunded package because ******************** terminated her contract.

Chargeback of credit card purchase
******************** filed a chargeback with her credit card company for the purchase price of the publishing package. When a chargeback is filed, the disputed funds are held until the bank makes a ruling. If the bank rules in the card holders favor, the funds would be returned to the cardholder. If the bank rules in favor of Westbow, the funds would not be taken from Westbow. The chargeback was ruled in favor of the merchant Westbow Press because we had already processed the refund in the amount of $1,149. This is the amount of the package minus the $150 as discussed above.

Credit card
Because the contract is cancelled, there will be no further monetary transactions with ********************* It is up to her if she would prefer to order another credit card but Westbow Press will not be making any transactions.

In closing, ******************** was refunded the proper amount based on the signed agreement. The holdback in the amount of $150 was because she terminated the contract and has nothing to do with the amount of calls made or the chargeback.
Sincerely,

***************************
Global Director of Author Satisfaction
Customer Answer
Date: 10/10/2022
Better Business Bureau:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined the response would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
n nothing to help publish my book , they should have refunded all of the $1, ****** ,it was wrong for ******** Press to charge me the $ 150.00

Regards,

*****************************
Initial Complaint
Date:09/25/2022
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.
In January of 2022 I started the inquiry of publishing my book with Balboa Press as I was told by the publishing consultant here (on a recorded phone line) that my dream of getting picked up by there "mother company" Hay House would necessitate me have 3 book projects with Balboa Press first. I was upsold 3 book projects by ************************* one of the senior publishing consultants with Balboa Press for 16k.I started to no longer want to publish with Balboa Press as I found that their quality of publication lacked the attention to detail that I wanted for my first book project. After this insight was gained, I asked to cancel my other 2 book projects. ************************* first attempted to manipulate me into keeping the other 2 book projects by saying that their was no time line for them needing to be released. I was adamant that I did not care about a suggested time line and simply did not want to pursue the other 2 book projects. ***** then added that I wasn't eligible for a refund because I was outside of the 90 day purchase window. I submitted my receipts to ***** that showed I was in the 90 day window. He ignored my emails and phone calls on this matter.It has taken 2 months for me to get only a PARTIAL refund of the other 2 book projects and the company has said they have flagged my case for review but no one in the company is responding to my emails or calls to give me details on how the review process will work.My first book project costs me 7k and I am not even publishing with them but now ************************* of Balboa Press is ignoring my questions about the review process. This publishing consulant lied to me about what was required to be picked up by their mother publishing company Hay House in order to benefit his pocket through upselling of packages. Hay House does not require 3 book projects with Balboa Press in order to be picked up by them. I was scammed by this company and am now 16k in debt related to the lies of their senior publishing consultant, *****
Business Response
Date: 09/28/2022
Dear BBB,
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to respond to Ms. ******** inquiry.

I spoke to ****************** on September 27, 2022 to discuss her situation in more detail. In order to amicably resolve this matter, we have elected to make an exception to our Services & Distribution agreements and to fully refund all of her purchases. The refund will be issued in two separate checks, which will be sent to her via *** within **** business days.

Sincerely,

***************************
Global Director of Author Satisfaction

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