Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Getty Images's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  Getty Images

  605 5th Ave S Ste 400 Seattle, WA 98104-3887

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  Getty Images

  601 N 34th St Seattle, WA 98103-8603

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  Getty Images

  313 1240 20 Ave SE Calgary, AB T2G 1M8

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  Getty Images

  55 E Monroe St Ste 1700 Chicago, IL 60603-5724

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  Getty Images

  6000 N Forest Park Dr Peoria, IL 61614-3556

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:06/10/2024

  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.

  I like many others I see on here fell victim to their misleading free trial. I ordered the free trial on May 5 around 7:54pm. On the morning of June 5 at around 9:30am I went in to cancel the trial to find that I had no option to cancel and that I had already been charged. When I reached out to their support options I received the information that apparently you have to cancel your trial before a specific time on the day of cancelation and if you don't do it before that time it will automatically switch to a subscription and charge you as well as being informed of their strict no refund policy. I later received an email to let me know that they had received my cancelation request and that the subscription (not the free trial) was canceled. The email contained the following line, "I canceled your subscription as requested, and your access to any remaining downloads has expired. Any fees that have already been billed are non-refundable as part of our refund policy"My 1st issue is that while knowing there was a specific date I had to cancel, I was not informed that there was a specific time or to the fact that I would need to go into the cancel area of the account to see this time. This is something they should alert customers to when they are signing up. My second issue is the fact that when they canceled the subscription it immediately revoked my ability to access the items that they charged me for. So even if a month has been paid for you do not have access to items until the end of month if you cancel. In my case they charged $74 in the morning and by noon they had canceled the subscription & took away access to everything that $74 was supposed to provide me access to.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/26/2024

  On May 5th, 2024, ************ actively opted for a Free Trial subscription and downloaded 4 images during the trial period.   After the free trial period concluded on June 5th, we billed his credit card for the first month of the annual subscription.     Its important to note that customers can cancel their free trial subscription using the self-service feature or by contacting **************** prior to the conversion to a paid subscription.     A reminder email was also sent to ************ two days prior to his free trial ending.  ************ contacted our **************** team on June 5th after being billed and his subscription was cancelled as requested.  Because ************ actively downloaded 3 images during the free trial period, he does not qualify for a refund according to our cancellation policy found at   **************************************************************************************;       

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/07/2024

  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.

  I signed up for a free trial of iStock and downloaded 2-3 images on the first day and did not use it again.I am seven months pregnant, work a full time job from home, keep my two young children at home, and am starting a business. Between these many distractions, I forgot to cancel the free trial but noticed the $72.80 charge in my bank account and contacted ********************** right away.I informed customer support that I had not used the service since the first day of my free trial and that I would not be using it again. I was informed that they would cancel my service on an ongoing basis but had no intention to refund the $72.80 they charged me for a month's service, regardless of the fact that the month this fee was paying for was the upcoming month and I would not even have access to the service. So is it that they are keeping a fee for which I will not and cannot receive a product or service in return, or is it that the "free trial" was not actually free and I paid $72.80 for it at the end of the trial period?As I told the customer service representative, $72.80 is not an insignificant amount to most people, especially considering that no services were rendered to me in exchange for these funds. I am not demanding anything for free that I am not entitled to, I am simply trying to recover funds that were collected without providing anything in return. I'm shocked that this company insists on not issuing curtsey refunds for such significant amounts. I've seen much smaller amounts refunded by companies using a subscription model for unused months of service as a courtesy to customers.The difference seems to be that **********************'s business model depends on collecting funds for unused and forgotten. Subscriptions without providing any services in return and then refusing to refund funds for services that were never rendered.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/13/2024

  On May 6th, 2024, Ms. ******* signed up for a Free Trial subscription and downloaded three images during the trial period. After the trial ended on June 5th, we billed her credit card for the first month of the annual subscription. 
  
  Customers can cancel their free trial using the self-service feature or by contacting **************** before it converts to a paid subscription. Ms. ******* did neither. Additionally, a reminder email is sent to customers two days before the free trial ends. Ms. ******* contacted our **************** team on June 5th after being billed, and her subscription was canceled as requested. However, because she downloaded three images during the free trial, she does not qualify for a refund according to our cancellation policy found at [iStock License Agreement](********************************************************************************).

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/13/2024

   
  Complaint: 21815700
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  The business claims I am not eligible for a refund of the fee I paid for a 1 month  subscription for a future period. They state I am ineligible for the refund because I used a free trial to download three images a month prior to the start of the paid month subscription.

  So their "free trial" is a lie. If you use the free trial and forget to cancel the subscription, they will hold you liable for actually using the free trial and make you pay for a month of service that you do not intend to use and in fact don't even have access to anymore.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** Samples

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/05/2024

  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.

  Having requested a new home printer for Mother's Day, I decided 5/5 on a "frugal" & creative bday gift for my daughter - to find a pic to print to go w/song lyrics "take me down a road that's a little bit windy" by her fave, *******************. Searched terms like windy roads curvy roads country roads ************* country roads WV mountain roads etc (live in ** afterall). Got 2 images on 5/5 with free month trial (did NOT realize would be automatically charged for starters, but didnt want or need ************* use after that day.) But at the time, to be diligent, set calendar reminder to cancel by 6/5, TODAY. It's 9:57am as I write this. Rec'd calendar notification 9am TODAY, went to acct to cancel, couldnt find but saw ONE invoice doc w/order# for $0.00 as expected since canceling. Went to FAQ, still didnt find but saw "Deactivate Account." Clicked, just said only active accounts can be deactivated. So thought that meant I didnt have an active account to cancel, b/c free trial. But kept trying, finally found long text w/ "see our cancellation policy" highlighted, said send a msg to request cancellation. Did so. Then AFTER submit at 9:19am showed a phone #, called immediately. Rep was cold, short. I mentioned Id found $0 invoice but no tab to cancel. She said written request was rec'd minutes ago & "team" would respond. Questioned, but...Runaround. Avoidant. Heard typing. Finally told my ONE YEAR sub started THIS MORNING, that I was billed $70 &would be chgd $70/MONTH FOR 10 MORE @ $700! She said I was 1 day late coldly referring to policy like, too bad too sad. I told her again about the only invoice showing on my acct & that Id not been charged. I found an email AFTER the call that SHE CHARGED AND INVOICED ME FOR $70 at 9:21am WHILE WE WERE ON PHONE (phone ******** email ******** bank ******** *******stamped screenshots). AFTER the call there was a 2nd invoice w/$70 chg. Shady. Sneaky. NOT ok. Im in tears, & treated so condescendingly, uncaringly, and UNDERHANDEDLY.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/13/2024

   On May 5th, 2024, ******************** actively signed up for a Free Trial subscription and downloaded two images during the trial period. After the trial concluded on June 5th, we billed her credit card $70.00 for the first month of the annual subscription. Customers can cancel their free trial using the self-service feature or by contacting **************** before it converts to a paid subscription. ******************** did neither. Additionally, a reminder email is sent to customers two days before the free trial ends. ******************** contacted our **************** team on June 5th after being billed, and her subscription was canceled as requested. However, since she actively downloaded two images during the free trial, she does not qualify for a refund according to our cancellation policy found at ********************************************************************************.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/03/2024

  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 signed up for the iStock (Getty images) free month trial in October 2023. I realized the following month that I had been changed $70 USD from them. I chatted with them about the November charge and was told that after my free month trial I was unable to cancel. I opened my invoice from November (ATTACHED) that included an attached "content license agreement" which had a cancellation section stating, " A note on canceling Free Trial subscriptions. After the first month of your Free Trial ends, youll be billed monthly at the applied rate of an annual subscription until the end of your contracted term and you will not be eligible for a refund. If you dont wish to continue your subscription, you must cancel before the first month of your Free Trial ends. Turning off auto-renew doesnt cancel your Free Trial subscription." It also stated For subscriptions that are not part of the free trial, all request for cancellations must be made in writing. Therefore, I cannot cancel my plan because I got a free month and used 1 image during it! It appears iStock changed the cancellation section on the content license agreement on my February statement (ATTACHED). I did NOT receive ANY notification regarding this change which would allow me to cancel my membership with a $70 USD admin fee. I would have cancelled! This vital information was completely left out of all communication methods. I feel so scammed by this process and feel like iStock has taken advantage of myself and has been lying by omission!

  Business Response

  Date: 06/13/2024

  ****************** contacted **************** on June 3rd, 2024, to request the cancellation of her subscription, which has been processed. Our records indicate that she actively downloaded images as recently as April 30th, 2024,showing continued use during the paid period. According to our current cancellation policy found here ********************************************************************************, ****************** is eligible for cancellation without a refund and an additional $70.00 admin fee. However, since ****************** contacted us before our current cancellation policy took effect, and there have been no downloads in May or June, we are, as a courtesy, processing a refund for the last two months of charges and waiving the additional admin fee. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/29/2024

  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.

  I signed up for a trial. I used the trial. Its a trial after all. Normally you get a notice the trial is ending. None such occurred. I was billed. Then told firm no refund policy. Contact is then severed. I couldnt find how to cancel or change the billing. They then cancelled the subscription cause I said I didnt want it, but that means, unlike everywhere else, you lose access to what you have paid for. I have loaded a complaint with the **** being an Australian registered business and a scam warning with ICPEN so that can be followed up in both those manners. I will also be looking into the correct Australian Ombudsman to compain to. Again, it might be stated as being in ****** but Getty Images are registered in ********* too. Their comments after every single complaint is just pathetic, surely having that many complaints about your "Trial" or what is better referred to as a trap or quick money grab should be a clear indication that what you are doing is a miss-service to those you want to be your customers, ruining your reputation and in short very wrong.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/12/2024

  On April 19th, 2024, ****************** actively opted for a Free Trial subscription and downloaded 4 images during the trial period.   After the free trial period concluded on May 24th, we billed his credit card for the first month of the annual subscription.  Customers can cancel their free trial subscription using the self-service feature or by contacting **************** prior to the conversion to a paid subscription. ****************** did neither.  A reminder email is also sent to customers two days prior to their free trial ending.  He contacted our **************** team on May 24th after being billed and his subscription was cancelled as requested.  Because ****************** actively downloaded 4 images during the free trial period, he does not qualify for a refund according to our cancellation policy found at  **************************************************************************************************************************;

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/12/2024

   
  Complaint: 21772740
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I contacted you on the same day. Seriously you took nearly $100 and provided no service at all. Its effectively theft and your hiding behind how hard it is for international people to complain about your business practices. 

  You obviously can't run a legit business so your resorting to this. I really hope the ******************* shuts you down

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

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/23/2024

  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 attempted to cancel my subscription and was charged any way. I saw a charge from iStock being processed on my bank account the same day it showed up. I contacted iStock and told them I had requested to cancel my subscription and had been charged again. While in the live chat they told me again they are cancelling my subscription but that they refuse to issue a refund even though it was the same day that the charge had occured and that the account was closed. So basically they are scamming me by charging my card and closing my account. I want my money back.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/03/2024

  On March 15th, 2024, ************** actively opted for a Free Trial subscription and downloaded 7 images during the trial period.   After the free trial period concluded on April 15th, we billed his credit card for the first month of the annual subscription.  Customers can cancel their free trial subscription using the self-service feature or by contacting **************** prior to the conversion to a paid subscription.  ************** did neither.  A reminder email is also sent to customers two days prior to their free trial ending.  He contacted our **************** team on May 23rd after being billed a second time and his subscription was cancelled as requested.  Because ************** actively downloaded 7 images during the free trial period he does not qualify for a refund according to our cancellation policy found at   **************************************************************************************; However, as a courtesy to ************** we are refunding the second months charge as he did reach out to our **************** team the same day.     

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/23/2024

  Type:Customer Service 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.

  This subscription to IstockPhoto auto renewed on April 16, 2024. There was no notification of auto-renewal as required by the **** Getty Images is not allowing me to cancel this auto-renewed subscription of $29/.month for the next year. I want to cancel this new subscription because I have not and will not use the service during this term. The auto renewal occurred at a time when my husband was in the hospital struggling to recover from multiple surgeries and we now face staggering hospital bills. I am asking this company to have a little compassion for our situation and let me out of this contract for a service I am not going to use this year. If they can't muster any compassion, I will remind them that they are required to send me notice of auto renewal before auto-renewing, and that notice did not occur.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/03/2024

  We have carefully reviewed the circumstances surrounding this matter and, as a courtesy to ************, we have cancelled her subscription as requested.  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/21/2024

  Type:Customer Service 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.

  The business, iStock, will not issue me a full refund on my free-trial service that I've subscribed to on March 18, 2024. I was charged for a total of $193.5 for a plan of $850.00 and have NOT used their services during the entire duration of my subscription. I have not used their services for the last 64-days (May 21) since the day of the free trial. I have approached iStock to cancel my subscription, but they refuse to offer me a full refund because I have downloaded ONE image during the day I've signed to the free trial on March 18.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/03/2024

  On March 18th, 2024, Mr. ****** actively opted for a Free Trial subscription and downloaded an image during the trial period.   After the free trial period concluded on April 18th, we billed his credit card for the first month of the annual subscription.  Customers can cancel their free trial subscription using the self-service feature or by contacting **************** prior to the conversion to a paid subscription.  Mr. Lustre did neither.  A reminder email is also sent to customers two days prior to their free trial ending.  He contacted our **************** team on May 18th after being billed a second time and his subscription was cancelled as requested.  ************************ actively downloaded an image during the free trial period so he does not qualify for a refund according to our cancellation policy found at   ***************************************************************************************** a courtesy to Mr. ******* however, we are refunding the second months charge.   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/07/2024

  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.

  I enrolled in a free one-month trial to IStock photos on March 5, 2024 that includes a free 30-day trial period with the option to cancel for free within 30 days to avoid getting charged $70 per month for a subscription after 30 days. I canceled the subscription online on 3/12/24, which was well within the 30-day free cancellation policy. In addition, I did not download any photos or use the service after 3/12/24. I received an email that I was charged $70 on April 5 ****** number **********), and another $70 in May ****** number **********) for a subscription that I canceled well within the timeframe prior to the free trial ending. I contacted a Representative at Istock via phone call on Monday, 5/7/24 to address these charges, as I have not used any downloads since 3/12/24, and had canceled the free trial on 3/12/24, which was within the 30-day free trial period. I was informed by the Representative that there is no record of my cancellation of the free-trial that can be seen on their end. I explained that there must have been an issue or glitch with the online cancellation method, as I did my due diligence to cancel the free child period on 3/12/24 ( 8 days after beginning the free-trial). I requested a full refund for the $140, as I was billed in April and May for a service I have not used. I have not purchased any photo downloads in April or May, as I have canceled the free-trial prior the the trial period ending. I was refused a refund and was informed that my account would be canceled. I was denied the refund due to the Representative noting that I did not cancel prior to the free-trial period. I am getting penalized for a glitch in their system of not processing my free-trial cancellation and am being charged for a service for two months in which I have not used since March 12, 2024. I am requesting a full refund in good faith from the company.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/20/2024

  During the Free Trial period, ****************** utilized our service by downloading 10 images.Customers are provided with the option to cancel during the Free Trial period either through self-service or by contacting ***************** However, ****************** did not opt for either method.  She formally requested cancellation after the trial's conclusion on May 7th, 2024. We understand ***************** has not downloaded images since the trial period, and as courtesy, we are in the processing of refunding her for the most recent month she was charged.   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/06/2024

  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.

  Joined with "free trial", never warns you free trial is set to expire, then charges your card. Since there was no warning, per FTC regulations before any change to the status in my account I was to be informed which they never did. Please refund in full.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/16/2024

  On March 18th, 2024, ****************** actively opted for a Free Trial subscription an image during the trial period.   After the free trial period concluded on April 18th, we billed his credit card for the first month of the annual subscription.   He contacted our **************** team on May 6th and his subscription was cancelled as requested.  ************************* actively downloaded images during the free trial period he does not qualify for a refund according to our cancellation policy found at   **************************************************************************************; As a reminder, customers can cancel their free trial subscription using the self-service feature or by contacting **************** prior to the conversion to a paid subscription.  A reminder email is also sent to customers two days prior to their free trial ending.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/16/2024

   
  Complaint: 21675972
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  The response clearly indicates that only DURING THE FREE TRIAL period was the service used. There is also an attempt to obfuscate the matter, but the automatic renewal of service did not proceed following proper notification as required under ************************************ and FTC regulations inclusive of ROSCA, Negative Option Rule, nor the state regulation NJ Rev **** 56:12-95.5 (2023). In light of the company's violations of the aforementioned, a refund in the full amount is due.

  
  
  Sincerely,
  

  *************************