This company is a complete scam. They charged me $70 for an annual fee and refuse to refund my money. Every employee I interacted with was rude, unprofessional, and completely unhelpful. They don't listen or care about your concerns and constantly speak over you when you try to explain the issue. It's clear they have no interest in their customers or resolving problems. I strongly advise against doing business with this company, and they should be reported for their unethical practices.
They took the money for the subscription. I cancelled it, but they also disabled downloads. It turns out I paid for nothing.
IStockPhoto is nothing more than a subscription scammer masquerading as a stock photo agency. Whatever you do, avoid giving them a credit card number at all costs because they'll just keep charging it no matter what customer service says.
I even tried reporting my card stolen to the bank and changing the number, but the charges kept coming through anyway. Currently trying to file a dispute with the CC company but I'm not having much luck so far.
Pricing and subscription details are ambiguous. The website said $70 per year but it turns out that is a per-month charge. Customer service is bottom-of--the-barrel poor, and unwilling to compromise on anything. If you cancel they will charge a $70, non-refundable "administrative fee." The images are not unique - the same or very similar images can be found through free services. My business now pays for and Adobe Stock subscription that is fantastic and 1/2 the price.
Ridiculously overpriced, automatic payment triggered at 1 minute after trial period ends and boom, zero refunds no exceptions, even if you immediately reach out and haven't downloaded a single thing. Then when they keep that money, they also immediately block your pre-paid account from access in exchange for not charging you in the future. Zero value given, zero cares given.
I have not used iStock in months - nor have I ever and I asked to cancel and they won't let me, stating that I have 9 more months that I have to continue paying on a subscription that I have never used. They won't let me talk to anyone and I told them to stop charging my credit card, but they continue to do so. What a scam.
Like everyone else has experienced, I signed up for the free trial to be able to download 1 photo that I needed for an assignment and did not realize that it automatically bills you for an entire 12 months and that you are actually contracted and cannot cancel. Complete rip off and no one replies to your messages when you try to contact them to explain that you can't afford their services. Resorting to cancelling my card to stop further payments. STAY AWAY from this site!
Very scammy, I had canceled my plan and was still deducted for the following month after. $70 btw. I then called to speak to someone and that then told me that they can cancel my membership and could not give me a refund (even though the month before I cancelled it and didn't use there services anymore after that) they then reached out through email and told me that they would be able to refund me and that my account had been canceled. So I was unable to get my money back or download any images for the month I had payed for and had money deducted from my account for. Very scammy business and their polices are laid out to milk your money as much as they can.
I would give no starts if I could. I signed up for a free trial, I thought. It said the first month was free. Okay, cool. That was on February 28. On March 1, I was charged. Huh? When I contacted customer service, they said they would not refund the money since I downloaded something already. During my free trial. And that I didn't cancel during my free month. I only had the trial for 2 days. I expected some kind of email reminding me of the coming end of the trial period. So their "free trial" is extremely misleading. Beware.
Please do not start any kind of free trial with this company. They are unreasonable and a scam. I was charged $70 for a membership I did NOT agree to.
I would also like to point out they CHARGE YOU to CANCEL a subscription that is worded so poorly. This company/site is manipulative and so not worth the "free month" that they offer. This company is a joke quite frankly, charging someone $85 to CANCEL a subscription? That's just ridiculous. If I canceled it twice I could buy brand new AirPods. I could start a new phone plan with that amount. Get a better system this is a joke. 0/10 F- 0 stars FAIL
Signed up for a test account. Did not manage to cancel the subscription and now they have me signed up for 1 year, with invoiced EVERY month. Talked to customer support, total robots, probably outsourced, so no possible way to get out. Never touch this peace of sh*** software!
Free trials, right? Serves you well. Don't even go for it.
I asked for a cancellation and a possible refund only a couple of hours after I noticed they had charged me 35€. Kudos to support, which came back quite promptly, but shielded themselves behind T&C. I didn't use my credits, I don't plan to use them, and I'm out of my money and without a proper follow-up to my complaint.
Seriously? Amateurish at best. AVOID like the plague!
Very bad way to do business! They lure you in with a free trial period, but it's only mentioned in TINY letters that you will then be billed for a yearly plan, which you can't cancel because their customer service is very impersonal. At least, if you offer a free trial, have the decency to charge by the month, so that if an error was made, or the deadline overlooked, you don't have to pay over a thousand dollars for a plan you don't even want!
Shame on me for not quitting the free trial in time, but it was a $700 lesson and do not appreciate learning. They lock you in for a year, hitting your credit card every month. If I was Getty I would be embarrassed. They are a terrible company with terrible service. Avoid them like the plague. I wish I had never met them.
Complete scam. The offer a free trial and so not communicate clearly at all about the fact you are being lured into a one year subscription to their prime (!) subscription. 700 euros down the drain, thank you very much.
Oh my God, I can not believe they are professional liars and big scammers. However, they first show that it is based on law and the contract you agreed to. They are professional in lying. Just keep away
As a long time customer, I have seen the steady decline of this provider over the years. Now the only thing they care about is $$. There are much better photography providers available. Choose them instead.
Complete scam, check out the recent disaster with their partner program and posting fake sales only to claw them back from contributors claiming they were all errors. The reason you will see people defending this place is it actually used to be a legit business until it was bought us by fraudsters in 2012
This is the worst website ever. Do not make an account with them. They will rope you in to a one year subscription and keep charging you without giving you any way out. I hope their website closes down because they steal the money from innocent users.
Answer: If you wish to use a photo from now on you will need to pay for a monthly subscription. In that case you will be charged every month, and according to the Reviews, it may be very difficult to cancel your monthly subscription. As for the photo, my understanding is you get the right to use it for the purpose(s) it was subscribed for. For example, you can use it on Postcards or on your website. If you want to use it on say billboards and bus benches, you have to have an ongoing active subscription, or you have to buy more credits and then you can use it for 30 days for those added purposes. For more information see: https://www.istockphoto.com/ca/legal/license-agreement
Answer: You can buy an annual subscrition, but read carefully. An annual subscription as of June 2024 costs $70 per month (not for a full year as the wording seems to indicate). A straight-monthly subscription is $40. If you cancel your annual subscription, or your payment method on file is not active, you'll be charged a $70 "administrative fee."
Answer: I can not help you, Istock sucks
iStockPhoto has a rating of 1.2 stars from 195 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers dissatisfied with iStockPhoto most frequently mention free trial, customer service and credit card. iStockPhoto ranks 58th among Stock Photos sites.