iStockPhotoReviews 196

I recently had a concerning experience with istockphoto.com website, which has led me to believe it may be fraudulent. The platform lacks basic functionalities like the ability to delete or update credit card information. Upon reaching out via email, I received a response from an unidentified individual, offering to charge exorbitant amounts to remove my card details.

This experience raises serious red flags, and I strongly caution against providing any credit card information to this company. The lack of transparency, unresponsive customer service, and apparent reluctance to assist with basic account management suggest questionable business practices.

My advice: Exercise extreme caution and avoid sharing any private or financial information with this website. It appears to be a potential scam, and I recommend exploring more secure and reputable alternatives.

Stay vigilant and protect your personal information!

Tricks you into a yearly subscription for $70 per month. You can't cancel Until after a year. Do not use!

I signed up for what I thought was a monthly subscription, only to learn minutes after paying, it was a really subscription you may monthly for. I immediately contacted customer service, having not downloaded ANY images or using the subscription AT ALL. I said I'd pay the first month but wanted the subscription cancelled as I don't need it for a year. They REFUSED to cancel my subscription, saying I was locked in for the full year and that there policy is clear. What kind of company doesn't honor a genuine request from a customer who HASNT EVEN USED YOUR SERVICE and tried to cancel within 5 minutes of signing up. AND if you don't want to have the annual subscription automatically renew, you have to go in and shut off automatic renew because it defaults to on. This is so shady on so many fronts.

#ScamAlert DO NOT USE. They are a subscription trap! After the "free trial" you are supposedly locked into a 12 month contract at $80 a month. This is not clear and concise in their T&Cs and after reaching out they refuse to cancel.

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.

Anyone who's been scammed by these companies, join our Facebook group named Getty images victims. We will fight this through together!

Once they have your payment option in their system, they will not allow you to cancel. What's more, they will not talk with you. Their "cancelation team" is unavailable by phone and only sends automated emails. You cannot reach them. After having been a customer for some time, I am quite disgusted that they treat their customers like this.

I signed up for a one month free trial and then missed the deadline to cancel the subscription. This was 100% my fault but what istock does is uses this as an excuse to then bill you $85/month for a year. What a joke. I needed 4 pics for a one time use, now it's going to cost me over $1000 for 4 stupid pictures. When I told them I wanted to cancel they said sure, we'll bill you for another $400 then we'll cancel it.
I'm sorry but a one month penalty fine but 6 months! This is a scam and this is how they make money.

Just a scam! Try to cancel on the day of my free trial expiration and the best option that they could give is to still charge me 425$ ‍‍‍
Disgusting! I would have been ok with the 85$ that they charged me, but trying to have 425$ ‍‍‍
It's a disgusting service!

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.

If I had the foresight to read some of these reviews before using this service I wouldn't be in this situation. I opted for the free trial, and was planning to use the service for a couple of months while developing some materials for my company. When I asked to discontinue the service I was told I am required to pay the exorbitant ($70!) fee each month for the next 12 months.

This is called an annual subscription, but you're limited to only a very small number of images on a MONTHLY BASIS!

They claim it is "not fair" for them to let me cancel a service that I've paid for up to this point, and no longer require.

Someone needs to address this site, as it appears I'm only one of the many people they've scammed.

I thought I cancelled the trial subscription, I never used their services. Then I saw they were subtracting money from my account. When I emailed them about it, they said I needed to pay 135(!) euros to cancel the contract, even though they saw I NEVER used their services. Will keep calling them until they cancel. But stay away from them. They are not interested in doing business, they are interested in scamming people. Will take legal action. *******.

Read the fine print, WORST online service EVER. If you do not cancel before the Free Trial ends, they will charge you for the FULL year (more than 700$) without any possibility to cancel. SCAM.

IStock has got to be the worst company on the planet. They lure you in with a free 30 day trial. It's definitely NOT clear that you will be locked in for a year if you fail to cancel.

I am now locked in for $75/month for the next year. This sucks SO bad. I am a very small business owner, not a designer. I will never use this.

When you reach out to 'customer service', you are only repeatedly told, this is our policy and we won't cancel.

Basically they give you the middle finger and laugh all the way to the bank.

I will forever think of iStock in the worst negative way for as long as I live.

If you forget to cancel free trial, they will charge you $70 monthly for a year. They will not allow you to cancel subscription.

Like everyone else, I also fell into the trap of a year-long subscription that, based on their claims, can't be interrupted.
The paid subscription activated automatically at the end of the trial period (of which I totally forgot because I tried their service once and then never again).
Once the paid subscription starts automatically, you will be charged for the first month.
If you tell them to cancel the subscription, they will inform you that it is not possible because you are now obligated to pay for the following 11 months.
They will point out, in the fine print of the agreement (which you probably didn't even see), that you signed a contract with the devil itself, and it's too late now for reconsideration; you are done, you sold your soul, and therefore, you are bound to a contract that is now in iStock's hands.

In fact, there is no option to manage your account from your iStock account; you can only read your account information, with no cancellation option at all.
The only option you can find is the upgrade option. If you want to cancel, you have to send them an email. The people who organized this are criminals.

This is not legal, regardless of what the fine print on the website says about the agreement. A contract that doesn't allow you to get out of it is not legal and goes against consumer rights.
Bring this to a lawyer. Do not pay any more money to these scammers.

They have an "introductory" offer that if you do not cancel in the time period you are automatically contacted to a year at 10 month payments of $70/month. They NEVER tell you that in the trial offer unless you read the fine fine print. We feel so taken by them and they refuse to issue you a refund or let you out of the terms. SCAM.

Title says it all. Signed up for a free trial (which actually counts as the first month of your annual subscription (you have to cancel during the first 14-days of the trial or you will automatically sign up for a full year subscription) and I was subsequently signed up for a $700 annual subscription.

I needed to use this website once for photos for my child's project. I did not realize that it was for an annual subscription. Now I am being charge over $100 each month and I emailed Sarah to kindly let her know that I had not used the website since September and wished to discontinue my subscription asap however she was not flexible at all and in fact suggested that I upgrade my membership. I feel quite frustrated with this lack of understanding on their part.