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:06/28/2025

  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.

  Privacy Violation, Extortion (withholding my files for money)In 2011, I used Photobucket's free service. *********** has changed their policy and are trying to sell my photos and keep them hostage if I didn't pay money.Photobucket made it very difficult to delete my account. In order to sign in, I was forced to agree to their new policy allowing *********** to "sell users' photosincluding biometric identifiers like face and iris scans."I do NOT give my permission or consent to use my photos in any way, shape, or form. I didn't realize Photobucket violated my privacy by even looking at them. Had a known Photobucket. would be snooping around my files I would not have stored them with Photobucket.Photobucket's deceitful business practices need to stop. Pretending to be safe place to store your photos is a facade, the reality is Photobucket is rummaging through customers photos and take them as though they belong to Photobucket. At what point does our photos become theirs? Never!

  Business Response

  Date: 07/11/2025

  Hi there,
  
  Thanks for your concern. We emailed our customers 45 days before our new Privacy and Biometric policies were implemented. We are happy to help the customer download their images and delete their account if they don't agree with our current Terms of Use; however, we are unable to locate an account with the information that was provided.
  
  Please have the customer provide us with their correct contact information, so we can help them with this.
  
  Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/11/2025

  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.

  Business is withholding my content unless I pay to see it, which was not a policy when I uploaded said content.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/16/2025

  Hi there,

  Thank you for your concern. We have contacted the customer directly at their email address, ****************************. Please have them respond to ticket number 7826486 so we can help them with their images.
  
  Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/06/2025

  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.

  Photo bucket said I had to pay $5 if I wanted to get access to my old account. I havent used it since 2014 but I couldnt remember what photos I had saved on it. So I paid the $5. Then deactivated right away. Or so I thought. Going through my credit card I just happened to see a $3 charge and I contacted customer service. They said not only did I not deactivate my subscription but I upgraded my plan which was the $3. When I requested a refund it was denied saying it was past 48 hours since the charge that I did not authorize. Then I tried to delete my entire account because I do not want my photos with them any longer and it was an error. They wont even let me do that. I would like my entire $8 refunded from this scam of a company because Im dissatisfied with the service and I shouldnt have had to go through this.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/09/2025

  Hi there,
  
  Thank you for your concern. On May 18, 2025 the customer purchased a subscription and also upgraded to the monthly Group Bucket plan. We don't have any records of their account having a free trial started on it.

  Refunds can only be issued if requested within 48 hours of the initial payment. Their subscription was cancelled and it will expire on June 18, 2025.

  If there are any other concerns, please have them contact us.
  
  Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/01/2025

  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.

  Photobucket emails say my photos and account will be deleted if I don't reregisiter. They charge $5 to register and my photos have already been deleted! I want my money back.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/03/2025

  Hi there,
  
  Thank you for your concern. We have contacted the customer regarding their refund request and potentially locating another account for them. Please have the customer respond to our ticket number 7585253 so we can better assist them.
  
  Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/27/2025

  Type:Service or Repair 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've had an account with *********** since 2010. They offered a service to store all your photos for free in one place. I have a lot of personal and precious photos saved with them and when I signed up, this was a free service. Now, they will not let me access my photos unless I pay $5. I no longer need the service, but they are holding my photos hostage unless I pay.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/28/2025

  Hi there,
  
  Thanks for your concern. We have contacted the customer to help them download their images and delete their account. Please have the customer respond to their ticket ******* so we can further assist them.
  
  Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/20/2025

  Type:Service or Repair 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 mother passed and I logged into Photobucket to retrieve photos and videos of her. To my shock and dismay, my personal photos have been placed behind a paywall, where I am unable to access them without paying a fee. This was a once free site, and to find that I cant even download my own photos of my deceased mother is distressing, and I feel as if I have lost her a second time. I should not have to pay to see my own photos, and considering how long I was a member, at the very least I should have been grandfathered in. My grief has multiplied in ways I did not know was possible.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/28/2025

  Hi there,
  
  Thanks for your concern. The customer contacted us on March 20, 2025 regarding this issue. We provided them with a download link and we are currently waiting for their confirmation that they have received it so we can continue forward with deleting their account. Please direct the customer to respond to their ticket number 7536462 so we can continue to assist them with their images.
  
  Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/17/2025

  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 was charged without my consent on my card. Spoke with their reseller ********** to stop charging me and I was sent confirmation that they cancelled but to my surprise I have been charged monthly since December 2023 again. They are now claiming I purchased a monthly package in September 2023 when I have confirmation of them cancelling! They ended up just signing me up again. This company is A SCAM.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/27/2025

  Hello there,
  
  Thank for your concern. Please have the customer forward us a confirmation email from Paddle of when their subscription was cancelled. We're unable to locate a record of their subscription being cancelled and our payment processor Paddle would have sent a confirmation of the cancellation to the email address on file for their account.
  
  The customer can also contact Paddle for further discussion on this subscription if they state that they contacted Paddle in September 2023 to cancel the subscription. We have no records of a request for a subscription cancellation prior to March 17, 2025. We did cancel their subscription as requested on March 17, as requested.
  
  Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/09/2025

  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 been receiving emails warning me that all my pictures would be deleted if I didn't hurry up and pay to resubscribe to photobucket. I did have pictures on photobucket from a 2015 trip that I took. Today, I went ahead and attempted to save my pictures. Before I could even see what photos I had on photobucket I was promted to pay 5$. I paid 5$ for a "membership" only to find out I have ZERO pictures saved on photobucket. This is fraud and feels like a scam. I want my money back and my credit card information scrubbed from their site. I want this resolved ASAP.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/10/2025

  Hi there,

  Thanks for your concern. The customer contacted us twice on February 9, 2025 to request a refund. We issued their requested refund and it can take up to five business days to complete. If the customer needs further assistance, please have them contact our Support team.
  
  Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/06/2025

  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.

  Bait and switch scam.I signed up with them some years ago for a free photo hosting account and now they have arbitrarily changed their terms and no longer offer free accounts and are now holding my photos hostage and threatening to delete them if I do not sign up for their (wildly over proved compared to the competition) service, which I previously had for free.This is an attempt at extortion.I want to download my photos without charge and then delete my account. I will not give money to scammers or extortionists.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/10/2025

  Hi there,

  Thanks for your concern. We have created an email support ticket for this customer to assist them with downloading their images during the account deletion process. Please have them respond to ticket number 7410872 so we can further assist them.

  Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/31/2025

  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.

  Photobucket was a service I used in the early 2000's when ******* was really popular. I'd save silly images that I'd upload later. I've never used the account for anything else.On 1/29/25, I checked my email and was surprised to see a receipt for a monthly subscription service for Photobucket. My stomach dropped because I instantly think it's a scam. Upon further inspection the email was legit and the invoice was real. I immediately cancelled the subscription and reached out to *********** directly to report the fraudlent charge.Apparently they've been charging me for 9 months without my consent or knowledge. Well I'm not actually sure who they charged. I can only see 2 invoices from my Photobucket account and nothing from my ******. They refuse to provide me with any further invoices that are linked, despite establishing that I'm the account owner. Apparently it's being charged to a ****** account with an email no one recognizes.They can't provide me with a record of where I signed up for the subscription service either. The entire thing is screaming fraud. I've been talking to someone on their support team named **** (was never given a ticket #).**** says there's no possible way to speak to anyone on the phone, it's all via email and the virtual chat on their website, and tells me not to worry because it's been cancelled now. I'm worried about the money that's already been charged, how my account was even set up for that subscription, how somehow a completely separate ****** account with an email no one recognizes is tied into it

  Business Response

  Date: 02/10/2025

  Hi there,
  
  Thanks for your concern. We are currently working with the customer and our engineers to look into this issue. While we do understand that this is taking longer than expected, we are actively working on getting this resolved as soon as possible. Please have the customer respond to their ticket ******* if they need any further assistance.
  
  Thank you.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/10/2025

   
  Complaint: 22884301
  
  I am rejecting this response because: They still haven't refunded me. They can't even provide me with all of the invoice numbers they've told me they've charged me. The invoice summary that they finally sent me on 2/3/25 has a total of 10 invoices listed. They are only willing to provide me with 2 out of the 10 invoice numbers. Conviently the only 2 invoices they provided me with are from after they switched payment processors and were also for different amounts. The prior 8 charges were for $5 even, the final 2 invoices are for $1.68 & $5.32, both charges occuring in January 2025. At no point prior to January 2025, did I ever receive an invoice, receipt or even statement from Photobucket. When I did I immediately cancelled the service and reached out to *********** regarding the fraudlent charges.

  Not only did I not sign up for this service, I certainly never received any notification that invoice amounts would be changed or suddenly have tax added. There is no way that's legal.

  It's been 12 days that I've been corresponsing with Photbucket via email, which to remind you is their only source of contact aside from their website. **** just keep telling me "I understand your frustration. I'm still working it out with our engineers. I'll provide you with more info once we take a deeper look into the issue."

  Photobucket's response to my BBB complaint stating to "Please have the customer respond to their ticket ******* if they need any further assistance" is laughble. Nothing has been resolved! I've been responding to that ticket consistently, for almost 2 weeks. I've had zero help from Photobucket, they just keep spinning in circles.

  My guess is that either their old or new payment processor had some serious issues and they are doing everything they can to try to cover their tracks

  Frustrated isn't even close to the right word. If they don't make immediate strides in reconciling this issue, I will be seeking legal council.

  Sincerely,
  
  *** ********

  Business Response

  Date: 02/18/2025

  Hi there,

  Thank you for your reply. We do understand the frustration behind this and we're actively working with our engineering team to provide a solution for this issue. We do apologize that it's taking a little bit of time to resolve this matter; however, our engineers are looking into this issue. 
  
  Thank you.