ShutterstockReviews 533

Despite cancelling in 8 days, Shutterstock continued to email me to rejoin and then unbeknownst to me, continued running my subscription and charging my card. I have proof of the emails of them trying to reactivate my account which I never did. They continue to try to get me to rejoin while charging my card on file. I will pursue this matter legally and take every avenue possible to not only get my money back, but cause the company to pay penalties for these unauthorized charges.

Here is an email proof of them trying to get me to reactivate my membership after cancelling.

This shameful organization needs to be put in its place.

Do not sign up with Shutterstock. They are unethical and corrupt, and will use your credit card information to put you in a plan even if you cancel within 30 days.

I'm not sure if the company owes me a huge apology but I can only imagine they are probably more sorry for getting caught.

I am going to notify the Attorney General & BBB with proof of emails regarding their abusive and unethical practices. The repeated emails asking me to rejoin for the last 5 months goes far beyond the proof of cancellation - it's like catching a thief dozens of times robbing the same bank.

Absolute scumbag type business tactics. I cancelled a trial and they kept billing me for 7 months. I had to cancel my debit card for it to stop.

I remember cancel my account after one month cause I will pay for one month instead of free trial. When I sign up said easy cancel and use as you need and stop you don't want to use. Their cancelation are confusing. The button available is "stop renew", I though it's for cancel. I tried cancel again and still charging. Therefore, I call customer service for help. She said I need to pay for cancelation fee. I asked her why, I never sign up for year. I known I was payment by monthly that cost more. She said will tell account send me email in an hour for cancelation. Till now I have not got any email….

So I noticed a withdrawal from my account call inform them I didn't know what this was for. They said we will get back to you within 48 hours. Had to call them back 72 hours still no reply. Now they tell me another 48hr. But business want their money now.

So I just received a charge for 40$ as I was automatically signed up for their annual subscription plan when I did the free trial. WHEN YOU GET THE PLAN there are still numerous of pictures and videos you can't access. You get charged 40$ for what? And then you can't even cancel it you have to call a representative to cancel which they charge you 26 CAD to cancel. ARE YOU JOKING? Anyways I just got scammed for using a bad service. Don't use I feel outraged

I was led to believe that I can cancel a plan anytime. They charged me monthly so I thought I was paying monthly but I guess I was under contract. I was charged $80 for cancelling. They make the rules complicated to read and I was just fooled because I did not pay attention.

The saying about a free lunch is true…. No such thing! Now I've paid hundreds of dollars for a free trial because I didn't look at the reviews here first. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY!

They made a tricky system of charges, and the refunds are not applicable. Be Careful, guys, with providing your bank information.
I am surprised they are still exist, in USA, where customers are appreciated! Such a shameful company; I hope they will be condemned.

I signed up for the free trial with Shutterstock to get a few images for my website. I got busy and let the stop date so I expected to be charged for one month. I was and then called to cancel. I was told there would be a cancellation fee. I agreed to that. Then I was charged the next two months. This company SUCKS.
I wouldn't do business with them if they were the very LAST company that offered this service.

Don't use Shutterstock they will steal your credit card info and keep on charging you monthly fees even after you've canceled their services. THE NEVER GIVE YOUR MONEY BACK. Never pay for their services there are many other services like them but much better.
I canceled 4 moths ago they said they would give me back my money, yet they didn't and actually charged me 3 months more! NO ONE ANSWERS AT THE HELP DESK, and they keep on charging!
Shutterstock are thieves! Don't trust them with your credit card information! They are a SHAME TO ALL ONLINE BUSINESSES!

Bought an enhanced license for five images. Nowhere did I read anything about automatic renewal. I even contacted the company and asked about purchasing five enhanced-license images. I was told how to do this, but never was anything about automatic renewal mentioned. Bought the license. Downloaded the images. Was immediately charged for another five images at $449.00. Don't need another five images! Contacted them and was told they could not refund me for the automatic renewal fee. Contacted PayPal and am currently in negotiations. Meanwhile, my Shutterstock account was suspended, even though I have a separate standard license with more downloads available. Wish I had checked the rating before dealing with this company. Bad, bad, bad decision. Do not make the same mistake I did.

If you buy from Shutterstock beware that they will charge you the annual subscription even if you don't sign up for it. This currently stands at about £35 British pounds. Do check your bank account for this annual charge.
When I rang them to dispute the transaction, they simply agree to cancel the subscription, which is good but only if you challenged them otherwise, they would quietly take your money annually. It's a scam as far as Iam concerned.

Very dissatisfied with this company and service. I signed up for a free trial and then was charged $30 per month after the free trial ended. They claimed that they made me aware of all of their hidden fees in the terms of service. However, the pricing had hidden fees, and the website made it so you had to physically call or email someone to cancel or change billing. This was a website I used one time and was charged nearly $150 in total, and had to raise a stink when I requested to change and cancel it, they even tried to charge me an early cancellation fee! Now, I get it, we've all forgotten to cancel a free trial or forgotten to put a hold on a subscription or service before, but this company was by far the most difficult and sneaky when it comes to your plan and billing. Would caution everyone I know from using this service!

I searched on a competitor site for 45 minutes for a person of color and/or female electrician. I did not find any. I switched to Shutterstock and found one in the first 4 images. I love how I can filter by race, gender, and age. It's so important to make sure everyone is represented!

I did the trial, and couldn't cancel, so it defaulted to the plan, which is annual. I saw that it said it would expire the next year; as a result I thought I had already paid for this, might as well use it. I was wrong. In the small text you can see that it was not paid upfront for the "Annual" plan; it is just a monthly plan and you will be charged monthly. Way too much by the way. So after I was charged a second time, I went on the website and "Canceled" it. Only to find out it wasn't and I was charged again. I went back to the website and realized the cancel button did not do anything. I had to contact customer support which informed me that I would be prorated the difference of the "Annual" but actually monthly plan and the standard $60+tax fee would be reduced to $20+tax for a misleading service I barely got 2 pictures out of. How generous. Stay way from their scam.

When purchasing a plan be extra carefully. They are not clear on the cancellation policy and lock you for the high payments for a year. In addition, even thought you have an annual plan, you can't use the remaining downloads in the following month.
So they have you as a monthly customer for downloads options, but for payment cancellation they treat you as an annual customer. They only do as they please.
Run from them. If I could, i would give 0 star!

This company cons people for a free trial that's really an annual commitment. Don't fall for their "free trial". Just stay away