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CB Photo Services Shutterstock auto-renewal/cancellation
Shutterstock

Shutterstock review: auto-renewal/cancellation 5

Z
Author of the review
2:59 pm EDT
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This review was chosen algorithmically as the most valued customer feedback.

Called to speak to a representative about canceling my plans: the image on demand and the $29 monthly subscription where I can download 10 images per month. The lady I spoke to on the phone was extremely rude and told me the cancellation fee was at least $120. $120 is WAY TOO MUCH MONEY to charge a cancellation fee, and exceeds the price of a $29 monthly subscription. I told her very honestly that I couldn't afford it, but thankfully I do have a job where I can earn money and I'm working minimum wage and get paid every 14 days based on the hours I worked. That lady I talked to over the phone needs to go find another job if she's going to treat her customers like this. Plus that company shouldn't be in business if they're going to charge people hundreds of dollars for a cancellation fee. It only shows they can get away with ripping off their customers. Her attitude and totally despicable that she clearly has no customer service talking to people like that and charging way more than what the average cancellation fee should be worth. I could never spend any more than $5 for a cancellation fee. This business needs to clean up their act and admit how bad they're ripping off their customers.

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S
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Sam Mousa
US
1 comments
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May 24, 2018 10:35 am EDT

Yes I agree.
Cancellation fee at shutterstock is ridiculous

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Jason Sikes
US
1 comments
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Jul 23, 2018 12:50 pm EDT

Just got "auto billed" for an annual "subscription" that I don't recall signing up for. The chat support says that I'll be getting a refund. I trust that I will. When questioned about it she told me that Shutterstock is "subscription" business like Netflix and therefore auto billing is automatic and must be de-selected during checkout. I don't recall this option. If was there, it was not obvious. This used to be called "negative option" and was illegal, might still be, illegal in the U.S. They have likely figured out a way around this with small print or something.

Regardless, beware. There are other affordable and trustworthy options. I license a lot thru http://www.123rf.com/

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lrussell55
US
2 comments
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Jan 30, 2019 12:34 pm EST
Replying to comment of Jason Sikes

Did you ever get a refund? I just realised I was getting auto billed with no intention of doing so..

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S
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Shutterscam
US
1 comments
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Mar 18, 2019 8:04 am EDT

I just wanted to buy 5 pictures from shutterstock and paid $51.70. I took about 2 weeks looking through images on their website until I found the 5 pictures I wanted. I downloaded the 5 pictures on [protected].

Later that day I checked my bank records and saw shutterstock had automatically taken AN ADDITIONAL $51.70 from my bank account. I didn't know that they have a stupid "auto-renewal" policy that charged me a second time for 5 additional images that I don't want! I find these kinds of business practices to be slimy and dishonest. I requested a refund via customer support e-mail. Too early to see if I'll get my money back.

Imagine if grocery stores worked this way; you pay $2.00 for a gallon of milk and they charge you and additional $2.00 for a gallon you don't want and didn't ask for! And if you foolishly pay for and take the second gallon, they "auto-renew" and charge you a third gallon and charge you an additional $2.00. It would never end, and is clearly a dishonest scam.

SHAME ON GREEDY SHUTTERSTOCK MANAGEMENT FOR WRECKING AN OTHERWISE EXCELLENT IMAGE SERVICE!

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Sukaina Rashid
US
1 comments
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Sep 05, 2019 3:15 pm EDT

I just called the support line due to the 3 charges of $29 that were charged in the month of June. I only have a $29 per month fee authorized. The customer service agent, Joe indicated that one of those charges was a manual download and one was an ‘auto renewal’ of the manual download. I indicated that this was completely unwarranted and I did not need an auto renewal. The agent refused to refund the amount. I asked to speak to a manager and was told one was not available. I asked to cancel my monthly subscription due to the unfair billing and was informed that this was not possible and I would have to call back otherwise would have to pay a cancellation fee. I was unaware that the billing was a commitment and was informed that this was on the purchase page that I completed years ago. The company has never sent another email indicating that there would be a renewal since then. I decided then that I did not want anything to do with shutterstock and would be willing to absorb the cancellation fee so I would not have to deal with them again.

I am amazed that a company would engage in such underhanded billing techniques and also such poor customer service. For a dispute over $29, the customer service agent forced me to cancel my subscription for the entire year and basically resulted in lost revenue per month for many years to come.

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