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:03/07/2023

  Type:Billing 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 signed up with Shutterstock in November of 2020 for just one annual membership. They autorenewed without notice and continued to do so into this year, 2023. I did not agree to continuous annual autoenrollments, and in fact, I've removed the "auto enrollment" option from my account now two times. They keep either changing it back or there is a glitch in their system. They will not let me cancel unless I pay a cancellation fee of over $80. I do not need this service and did not agree. The confirmation email for my initial membership doesn't mention the auto renewal either. I would like my plan cancelled immediately with no further charges or cancellation fees assessed. I only used it because I haven't been able to cancel. Their customer service has not been helpful.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/07/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************
  
  
  
   
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/27/2023

  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 purchased an 2 pack of images in January 2020 for $*****. I have been charged ***** every January since then on an auto renewal that I didn't ask for. I never authorized these charges or to be put on auto renewal. I think it is a predatory business practice. I want to be paid back the charges for the 3 years I didn't use any images which would equal $87. Thank you.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/28/2023

  Thank you for reaching out to us.

  After reviewing the correspondence in our system, we can confirm that your request has been handled by our support team.

  If you have any further questions, please let us know. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/21/2023

  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.

  If the free trial is not canceled before the end of that period, customer is automatically enrolled in an annual membership that also cannot be canceled without paying a fee ($100). I have no email or account-based records of these terms.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/28/2023

  Thank you for reaching out to us.

  We have reviewed the correspondence in our system and we can confirm that your request has been handled by our support team. 

  If you have any further questions, please let us know. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/15/2023

  Type:Billing 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.

  In September of 2021 I purchased a picture off of Shutterstock for what I was led to believe would cost me $29.00, which registered on my credit card statement. While doing my taxes in March of 2022, I realized I was still being charged for Shutterstock because apparently they had "renewed" me on a year-long subscription without every notifying me -- a complaint I've seen listed several times on this review website. I called the company and complained and they agreed to cancel my subscription. They did not. I take responsibility for not being more vigilant about making sure they had followed through on their actions, but between COVID and life, some things fall through the cracks. It didn't occur to me that this company would continue to rip me off. I now realize that they have continued to charge me and over all this time I have shelled out $510. When I tried calling them, their directory never transferred to the proper location; it simply repeated the directory options, regardless of the ones I chose. It's just on a loop. So I tried their website. There is no way to actually communication about the reason for seeking to contact them, unless it's about the purchase of a photo or submitting one. There is no avenue to issue a complaint or get any recourse.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/23/2023

  Thank you for sharing your experience with us! We are sorry to learn that you had difficulties contacting us and getting a desired resolution. Apart from phone support customers can get assistance in chat or by sending us a message here: *******************************************.
  We will reach out to the customer directly with the resolution. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any additional questions or concerns.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/26/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************************
  
  
  
   
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/13/2023

  Type:Billing 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.

  Dear Better Business Bureau,I am writing to file a complaint against Shutterstock for unauthorized subscription charges and lack of proper notification. In late 2021 a free trial offered by Shutterstock, which turned into an auto-renew annual plan. Despite never using the account after the trial period and no media being downloaded, I was charged $29 per month for the entire year of 2022 and 2023 through today. This charge was unauthorized as I was never informed or given notice of any impending charge or activation of the subscription.When I reached out to Shutterstock to request a refund, I was informed that their subscription fees are not dependent on usage and that the charges are non-refundable. As well, they said that I would have to pay $100 to cancel the subscription due to the $29/mo bring a reduced annual rate from their $49/mo normal rate. I find this to be unacceptable as I was never provided proper notification or given the opportunity to cancel the subscription before the charges were incurred.I believe that Shutterstock should be held responsible for their actions and that I am entitled to a full refund of the $29 per month charged for the year of 2022 and *************************************************** resolving this issue and ensuring that my rights are protected.Thank you for your time and consideration.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/23/2023

  Thank you for reaching out! We have reviewed this complaint, customer account and their correspondence with our ************* team and will be reaching out to the customer directly to resolve the issue. Please don't hesitate to reach out with any additional questions or concerns. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/03/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************
  
  
  
   
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/08/2023

  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.

  My account was charged two times with 2 unauthorized debits in the amount of $49. I want shutterstock to reverse these charges ASAP and completely remove me as a subscriber

  Business Response

  Date: 02/09/2023

  Thank you for contacting us.

  We have reviewed the correspondence in our system and we can confirm that your request has been handled.

  If you have any further questions, please let us know. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/01/2023

  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 cancelled my subscription during the free trial period, but found out today that I have been charged for the last two months- $40.41 on December 28th and $39.68 on January 28th. I logged in to the account, where it said that I have a 1 year subscription and will be auto-charged every month. The 'cancel early' link reroutes to a help page with no information on cancellations. I found an email to contact: *********************************** but received a canned response that it is not monitored, and a link back to the same help page that has no cancellation options. I tried the Chat option and that wasn't available. I tried calling but the phone line options didn't go anywhere. How is this legal?

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/03/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************
  
  
  
   
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/30/2023

  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 purchased 5 videos for a project in March 2021 and never visited the website again. Two years passed and I realize that Shutterstock has been charging me $189/month on autorenewal that I never agreed to. I have enough stock charges from different services with similar names that it was able to continuously slip through unnoticed. The predatory autorenewal plan was never mentioned in any correspondence - in two years I haven't received A SINGLE EMAIL with an invoice or any notice of this expensive monthly account plan.What is even crazier is that Shutterstock had been charging an expired card which someone was still able to process. I didn't receive a single email from Shutterstock about this account EVER. Not a single message once about the account or the expired card.The '5 video downloads per month' do not even roll over so they charged over $4k which can be redeemed for NOTHING - I cannot even download a single video from these charges... I haven't even logged onto the site let alone downloaded a single clip and they are unwilling to refund the duplicitous charges. My state, NV, has consumer protection laws which target predatory auto-renewing services just like this. I would have never agreed to such a plan. Any halfway decent corporation would be able to see I never downloaded a single video or logged into the site after the first purchase and refunded my account. The fact they were charging an expired card with ZERO email communication or invoices shows they are probably scamming millions from unsuspecting freelancers and small business owners. Upon contacting the company I received an email response that I was unable to reply to - I received a reply saying "This mailbox is not monitored". Calling in and speaking to support, I was assured the situation would be handled only to receive an unsatisfactory response through an email that cannot be replied to.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/31/2023

  Thank you for contacting us.

  We have reviewed the correspondence in our system and we can confirm that your request has been handled by our support team.

  If you have any further questions, please let us know. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/31/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************
  
  
  
   
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/13/2023

  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 asked them to delete my account they refused to because I have $3.54 in my account they are tell me I will have to fill out a W9 tax form for them to close and delete my account . you only had to do a W9 tax form if you made over $600 a year, my $3.54 dont even come close to that I was a contributor , Providing photos to this site to sell.I want my account close and I can care less what they do with that $3.54

  Business Response

  Date: 01/16/2023

  Thank you for contacting us.

  We have reviewed the correspondence in our system and we can confirm that your request has been handled by our support team.

  If you have any further questions, please let us know. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/09/2023

  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 made 3 purchases on Shutterstock in 2019. Somehow an auto-renew has been enabled, and I have been charged $49/year from 2020 all the way to 2023 without my knowledge. The 4 charges of $49, $196 total is the amount I'm demanding a refund. Since 2020 I have not downloaded any assets from the platform. Even if I enabled auto-renew by accident, which sometimes could happen to any of us, I don't even get an invoice or a receipt that my card has been charged all these years. This is why the complaint covers transactions beyond 1 year.I talked to Shutter via chat and phone. The representatives both told me that it's a self-service platform and this information is "clearly" stated in the Terms of Services, documentation that no one read. They both said they requested a refund for the last charge that took place a few days ago as a "courtesy," but they can only refund the latest charge. Shutter, it seems, is trying to make money off of on unaware users through (1) defaulting the auto-renew subscription and (2) does not notify its users of the charge by sending out email invoices/receipts. Other users should be aware of this shady practice and borderline unethical.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/16/2023

  Thank you for contacting us.

  We have reviewed the correspondence in our system and we can confirm that your request has been handled by our support team.

  If you have any further questions, please let us know. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/17/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******** ***********