Complaints

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

close

Find a Location

Getty Images has 9 locations, listed below.

*This company may be headquartered in or have additional locations in another country. Please click on the country abbreviation in the search box below to change to a different country location.

BBB accredited

Near

Country

USUnited States

Please enter a valid location.

Filter

• 

  Getty Images

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

• 

  Getty Images

  701 5th Ave Ste 4200 Seattle, WA 98104-7047

• 

  Getty Images

  5232 E Pima St Ste 200-C Tucson, AZ 85712-3659

• 

  Getty Images

  195 Broadway Fl 10 New York, NY 10007-3140

• 

  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:03/14/2025

  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.

  I signed up for a free trial. At the end of the trial, I tried to cancel before being charged, but there is no way to cancel on their site. I tried to contact them to cancel, but by the time they responded, I had already been charged $75 (my first attempt to email them was kicked back as undeliverable. I reached out to them to cancel and for a refund, but they told me I agreed to be charged and won't refund my money, even though they made it impossible for me to cancel. They are committing fraud by making it impossible for people to cancel the trial.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/26/2025

  Ms. ***** initiated a Free Trial subscription on February 13th, 2025. This annual subscription includes the first month free. During the trial, she downloaded a single image on the first day of the trial.
  Customers can cancel their Free Trial through self-service or by contacting **************** before the trial converts. Ms. ***** reached out on March 13th, 2025,the same day her trial converted to a paid subscription. Her subscription was cancelled as requested and according to our cancellation policy, which can be found at **************************************************************************************; As a courtesy to ******** we are refunding the most recent charge she incurred. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/07/2025

  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 signed up for the free 30 day trial to try out iStock. Unfortunately, most of the photos I came across were AI generated. I tried 3-4 images. I tried to cancel the subscription during the free trial. I thought everything was good to go since I cancelled. Again, unfortunately, they did not cancel the subscription. I was charged $70 for a monthly fee. I reached out immediately requesting a refund and explaining the situation. They were rude in response and did not give a refund. I explained it again, and again they denied a refund. It's pretty ridiculous at this point, as I have reached out with no less than 5 emails explaining the situation and trying to get a refund.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/20/2025

  Mr. ****** opted into a Free Trial subscription on January 17th, 2025, and downloaded 7 images during the trial period. After the trial ended on February 17th, he was charged 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. Mr. ****** was also sent an email on February 15th reminding him that his free trial was about to expire on February 17th.. On February 19th, Mr. ****** contacted **************** and his ********************** subscription was cancelled as requested. Because Mr. ****** actively downloaded images during the trial period,he does not qualify for a refund according to our cancellation policy, which can be found at ********************************************************************************.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/08/2025

  They responded finally and I was on vacation so I did not see it. What they said was incorrect. As I stated, I tried to cancel during the free trial period. I said that. But there was some sort of error on their website I guess. I never received confirmation or anything. THen when I was charged, I immediately responded to them and asked them to resolve the issue. They have not done so. This company deserves an F minus for their customer service. I said, once again, I tried to cancel during the free trial. They had an error. They need to resolve it by giving me a refund. ******.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/22/2025

  We've let Mr. ****** know that he's not eligible for a refund, as he actively used his free trialdownloading 7 imagesand didnt request to cancel until after the subscription had already renewed to a paid plan. Our cancellation and refund policy applies consistently to all free trial users, and its available here for reference: ********************************************************************************. While Mr. ****** mentioned that he canceled during the trial, we werent able to find any record of that; in fact, the first contact we have from him came two days after the subscription was billed.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/23/2025

   
  Complaint: 23035974
  
  I am rejecting this response because: What Getty Images said was incorrect. As I stated, I tried to cancel during the free trial period. I said that. But there was some sort of error on their website I guess. I never received confirmation or anything. Then when I was charged, I immediately responded to them and asked them to resolve the issue. They have not given a refund. This company deserves an F minus for their customer service. I said, once again, I tried to cancel during the free trial. I tried to cancel during the free trial. They had an error. They need to resolve it by giving me a refund. Getty Images HAS STOLEN MY MONEY and they aren't giving a refund. Also, most of the images on their site are AI generated. This is not good. They are crooks.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *** ******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/26/2025

  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.

  I signed up for a "free" trial. I canceled at the end of the trial based on the date given. At that time I was already charged. I reached out regarding a refund and was basically told it wasn't a free trial but an annual subscription with one month free. Even the screen capture they sent me says cancel by end of free trial and you won't be charged. Though the email I received says otherwise.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/10/2025

  Our records confirm that Ms. **** started her free trial on the same day it converted to a paid subscription. Her subscription was canceled as requested, though there may have been some misunderstanding regarding the timing of the request. We apologize for any confusion about our cancellation policy and have refunded the first month's charge.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/25/2025

  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 canceled a subscription prior to the end of the 30-day free trial. They have charged me for the annual subscription plus a monthly admin fee.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/10/2025

  Ms. ***** initiated a Free Trial subscription on August 21st, 2024. This annual subscription includes the first month free. During the trial, she downloaded eight images and an additional 3 after the subscription converted to a paid plan.
  Customers can cancel their Free Trial through self-service or by contacting **************** before the trial converts. Ms. ***** reached out on February 25th, 2025, six months into her annual subscription, requesting cancellation.  Her subscription was cancelled as requested and according to our cancellation policy, which can be found at ********************************************************************************.  As a courtesy to Ms. ***** we are refunding the most recent charge she incurred. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/20/2025

  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.

  Business stole my money - I dont even have any credit card info on file and they somehow charged my bank account through ***** Pay for a subscription I never ordered - $70 and when I looked on their website there was no way to cancel, and no option to cancel the subscription. They are scam artists and falsely advertised a free trial period that is not free.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/24/2025

  Realized I never specified in my complaint about Getty Images that it is their iStock brand and website specifically that caused me this harm.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/03/2025

  Mr. ******* opted into a Free Trial subscription on January 16th, 2025, and downloaded an image during the trial period. After the trial ended, he was charged 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. On February 20th, Mr. ******* contacted **************** and his ********************** subscription was cancelled as requested.  ******************* actively downloaded an image during the trial period, he does not qualify for a refund according to our cancellation policy, which can be found at ********************************************************************************.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/03/2025

   
  Complaint: 22965743
  
  I am rejecting this response because: you cannot fairly advertise a service as a free trial when using the service during the free trial incurs a fee. This is false advertisement.

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

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/11/2025

  Type:Order 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.

  In July 2024, I signed up for a free trial with iStockphoto to use two photos. I had a personal event distract me from canceling the trial and by the time I realized it I had been billed $280, 4 months. I had never once used iStockphoto after the first day. I tried to email the company and tell them I wasn't aware I was signed up for this, but I was locked in to a year of $70/month. This is a huge amount to pay for a simple mistake of forgetting to unsubscribe. My family is struggling with money as my husband just started a new job and we recently evacuated for a week due to the fires. When I wrote to iStock photo after I realized it, they simply stated they will continue billing me until the contract is complete. To illustrate that I had no idea I was a member, on my billing statement you can see I purchased a package of 3 individual photos for $14.99. When I hadn't even used one photo in my premium membership I had no idea I had. I have paid $70x7=$490 +$14.99. I am fine paying the $14.99. but 70x12 is $840 which is unreasonable for someone who forgot to cancel a free trial. I would like $490 back and to stop being billed for the remaining 5 months.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/11/2025

  Ms. ****** initiated a Free Trial subscription on July 11, 2024. This annual subscription includes the first month free. During the trial, she downloaded four images and an additional 12 after the subscription converted to a paid plan.
  Customers can cancel their Free Trial through self-service or by contacting **************** before the trial converts. Ms. ****** reached out on November 5, 2024, requesting cancellation. She was informed that cancellation was possible but would incur a $70 administrative fee due to usage beyond the trial period. We did not receive further communication from her.
  As a courtesy, we have canceled Ms. ******* subscription and refunded all fees charged since her November request.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/11/2025

   
  Complaint: 22927201
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Their business costs people so much by making simple mistakes. When I wrote them, I never saw the response where they offer the refund. I saw this exact response, copied and pasted out of my email:

  
  Hi **** ******,
  Thanks for subscribing with iStock. Weve processed 5 of 12 installments for your subscription. We will continue to charge you $ ***** USD each month for the remaining $ ****** USD for the duration of your subscription.
  
  Thanks for choosing iStock.
  iStock Customer Service

  I thought it not possible to get out of the year and gave up. I was So upset with myself.

  I would Like a $490 refund. Getty Images is a greedy corporation that preys on customers forgetting to cancelling the trial and they convinced me I was locked in for a year-long, $840 trick. 

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

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/20/2025

  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.

  Website & marketing materials trick customers into ****** up for subscription accounts. Then charging $70 "admin fee" to cancel those accounts. It's theft and needs to be reported to the BBB.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/30/2025

  Our offer is transparent and straightforward; there's nothing hidden or misleading about it. At iStock, we make it clear that new customers can enjoy 10 free downloadable ********************** as part of a trial connected to an annual subscription.These 10 free trial images can be chosen during the first month (the trial month) exclusively. Our terms clearly state it's the customer's responsibility to cancel the paid subscription before the free trial period ends.  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 without additional feeds being charged.  In this case we were unable to locate a specific subscription for Mr. *** with the information provided.  We would be glad to help Mr. *** with his specific case but would need to be provided the name or email address associated with his subscription.    

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/17/2025

  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.

  Dear BBB,In 2011, I was in a car accident and suffered a brain injury. From this I have been fired eight times in the last 11 years and cannot hold a job in my field of expertise. I decided to start a home quilting company and hired ******* to develop a website for me. To facilitate this, I need to send them instructions on how to develop my website. The quilting work I do is very specific and requires great detail. To help me give instructions, I need photos, so I went on the web and found a company, iStock, who had photos I could use. Please note that I am working on creating all of my own products that I will take photos of and upload those personal photos in the future, but for now, to get my website up and running, I needed other photos. iStock offered me 20 free photos, so I created a profile and downloaded the six (6) photos I needed for my ********** website is: ***************** 30 day later on January 13, iStock billed my credit card through ****** $89.25 for one month of subscription and then sent me a email advising that they would continue to charge me $850 ($85 plus tax) for the next 10 months of my subscription.I never signed up for a subscription. They went behind my back and used my ****** information to make charges to my credit card.I called ****** and gave them this information and they refunded me the $89.25 they charged to my card and they cancelled any future charges.I am reaching out to you to act on behalf of citizens like me to help make these unscruplus practices ILLEGAL. If iStock is offering free products, they should be free. I should not have to give any financial information to get the free products. Further, if they want to offer me a subscription, that should come after the free offerings. They should have to contact me separately and ask for the subscription.This is trickery and I am hoping that you have a method of acting on my behalf to stop companies like iStock from using these tricks in the future

  Business Response

  Date: 01/29/2025

  Ms. ***** actively opted for a Free Trial subscription on December 13th, 2024. The Free Trial subscription is an annual subscription that offers the first month free.  She downloaded 6 images during the trial period.   After the free trial period concluded on January 13th, we billed her 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 Ms. ***** two days prior to their free trial ending.  Ms. ***** contacted our **************** team on January 17th after being billed and her subscription was cancelled as requested.   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/29/2025

   
  Complaint: 22826142
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Sincerely,
  
  **** ****

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/14/2025

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore 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 with ************************** (Getty Images). During the trial I was unable to find the type of images I was looking for through their services and canceled the trial. I was still charged $70.00. When I reached out about the charge they said they had no record of cancelation and there would be no refunds. Then they cut off access to my account and said I would have no access to any unused downloads that I paid for. I'm willing to give a company the benefit of the doubt when it comes to subscription cancellations (although if they aren't easily clear and achievable I think that's bad business practices also), but if you are not going to refund it should be criminal to not allow me to access the subscription I paid for already.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/27/2025

  *** ******* actively opted for a Free Trial subscription on December 12th, 2024. After the free trial period concluded, we billed her 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. As a courtesy to *** *******,and because of her limited use, we have refunded the one month she was charged.  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/27/2025

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** D'*** *******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/08/2025

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore 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 purchased what I thought was one month of stock photography and didn't see that it was automatically set to a yearly fee.When I noticed that I was charged again the following month (Jan 2025) I contacted iStock (now owned by Getty Images) and let them know that I made a mistake but needed to end the contract. They did not offer to charge me extra for the monthly fee and told me that I would have to continue to be charged each month $30.74 each moth. They gave me no alternative way to resolve this.I believe the *** states clearly that this is an illegal practice to charge for services that are not rendered. I just simply want out of this contract.I have paid for two months and have not used the second month.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/21/2025

  Ms. ***** enrolled in an annual subscription on December 3rd, 2024.  However, there seems to be confusion regarding the terms of her subscription and what she initially signed up for. To address this misunderstanding and as a courtesy, we have canceled her subscription to ensure no further charges will occur.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/21/2025

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  The only reason this company "as a courtesy, we have canceled her subscription" was because i threatened to report them the The ************************ and BBB. Before threatening this, they said the only thing they could do is continue to charge my credit card every month for the next year.
  
  I accept the way they resolved this situation but do not endorse in any way their illegal and unethical policies. 

  According to the ************************ (***), a company is legally required to allow customers to cancel recurring payments or subscriptions for products they no longer want, meaning they cannot continue to charge a customer for a product they have actively opted to stop receiving; this is often referred to as the "Click-to-Cancel" rule, which is part of the FTC's broader Negative Option Rule to combat unfair practices related to automatic renewals and subscriptions. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *** *****