ComplaintsforPhotobucket.com, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  02/06/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have tried to cancel my account with Photobucket as I never use it. Photobucket does not provide me with an option to close my account, but continues to charge me. When I try to log in to Photobucket, ** denied access to my account. Yet they continue charging me every month. When I try to reset the password, Im given an excuse that there was an error in submitting the password reset, please try again. I have retried over a hundred times. Photobucket is a scam. I want them to stop stealing from me monthly and cancel this account that they will not allow me access to. This is ridiculous. Theyve taken at least $50 since blocking me from my account, once I clicked on close my account, I was denied access to photo bucket. But they are still billing me. I want my account closed!!!!!!

  Business response

  02/06/2024

  Hi there,

  Thanks for your concern. We have contacted the customer regarding their concerns regarding their account. Please have them refer to their ticket number 6158423 so we can better address their concerns.
  
  Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  01/21/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Hello,Photobucket has been contacting me for years about my old free account that they acquired and have been demanding subscription fees for me to access, without prior notification.I finally signed up for a free trial this past month to view what data I still had there, and promptly cancelled that trial in the same day.Then Photobucket charged my account.I used my Paypal account for the trial transaction, and Paypal has already ruled in my favor in this dispute.I just want Photobucket to be held to account for its aggressive pursuit of ****** on previously public data, and its breach of its own contract regarding its free trial timeline.This is a predatory company not acting in good faith for the services it purports to provide. It is only there to fleece previous users into charging a recurring fee to recover their data.

  Business response

  01/23/2024

  Hello there,
  
  Thanks for your concern.
  
  We did identify an issue regarding PayPal trials not properly syncing to accounts. We would have offered the customer a refund if they did contact us rather than disputing this with PayPal.
  
  We do understand the customer's concern regarding this bug, and we have quickly fixed this, so moving forward, customers will be able to cancel their trial evaluation period without running into this error.
  
  If the customer has any further concerns, please have them contact us.
  
  Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  01/16/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I opened a free Photobucket account back before ******** took off and ******* was ************************ of choice. This account was long ago abandoned and never thought of again. At least until Photobucket somehow go ahold of my credit card info, I assume from ****** Pay payment methods. Starting in December of 2023 Photobucket started charging cards. I didn't catch this until January when I received my credit card statements and discovered "paddle.com" charged my card in December. I then found 2 more Paddle.com charges in January on other cards. I contacted customer service regarding these unauthorized charges 1) to put an end to it by closing/canceling the account, and 2) to get a refund. So far, Photobucket and or ****** refuses to acknowledge any wrongdoing and refuses to issue any refund. I've since regained access to this account in an effort to delete the account and or remove any payment methods, but it seems impossible to actually delete the account. I have no clue if I am going to continue being charged multiple times each month. I am likely going to have to close my credit cards, if I cant get them to stop making unauthorized charges to pay for an account that no one wants and was long forgotten about. So far, $15 dollars in unauthorized charges (1 card in December and 2 cards in January).

  Business response

  01/23/2024

  Hello there,
  
  Thank you for your concern.
  
  On January 20, ****, the customer contacted us regarding these charges and wanted to delete their account from our services.
  
  The customer has signed up for a subscription, and like other subscription services, the subscription plans we offer are set to automatically renew. We advised that since it's past the 48 hours of the initial payment, we cannot issue a refund for any of the charges.
  
  We can confirm that as of January 20, ****, they will no longer be charged for their account ********, as this is the only account that was provided that had an active subscription associated with it.
  
  We do not take ****** Pay as a payment method, so the credit card had to be manually entered into our payment form.
  
  If the customer believes their payment information has been compromised, we suggest they contact their credit card company to investigate this further.
  
  Regarding their request to delete their account, we have provided the steps for them to delete their account on-site or to have them confirm their information so we can delete it for them. At this time, the customer hasn't done either. If they need further assistance, please have them respond to their open ticket number *******, if further clarification is needed for these issues.
  
  Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  01/02/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  For the past few months, I have gone through the process of cancelling my account. I receive confirmation that the account will be cancelled at the end of the billing period, then I get billed again. I have been charged for at least 3 months after my first attempt at cancellation. I sent an email and was told employees are out of office in observance or ***********************************, which is not until January 15. I do believe this company is acting as a scam and submitting unauthorized charges to my PayPal account. I would like this issue to be resolved.

  Business response

  01/23/2024

  Hello there,
  
  Thank you for your concern. We found that the customer contacted us on January 2, **** regarding an issue with cancelling their subscription. We issued a refund for their January payment and cancelled their subscription so they are no longer charged moving forward for a subscription.
  
  Please have the customer contact us if they have any further concerns.
  
  Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  12/12/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Since November 2023 I have been receiving threatening emails from Photobucket that say unless I pay a monthly fee they will delete my photos from my free account. I cant get my photos off photobucket unless I pay $5/month, and finding a cancellation protocol on the website is nearly impossible. Its theft.

  Business response

  12/20/2023

  Hi there,
  
  Thank you for your concern. We would be happy to offer this customer a brief evaluation period to let them view and download their images. Please have them contact us at *********************** so we can help them get this evaluation period started.
  
  Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  12/08/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Like many others, I have had a free Photobucket account for many years. They do not have any payment information for me, nor should they, because I would never provide such info for an account that was free. Suddenly about 6 months ago they began emailing me stating that I needed to pay for access to MY personal photos, photos which I was now required to PAY to view. Photobucket also does not give you an opportunity to remove your photos without giving them money. It is truly despicable and shocking that they are allowed to do this.

  Business response

  12/08/2023

  Hi there,
  
  Thank you for your concern. We would be happy to offer this customer a brief evaluation period so they can access their images. Please have the customer contact us at *********************** so we can help them get our evaluation period started.
  
  Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  11/23/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I opened many "free" accounts on Photobucket over 20 years ago and now I am getting email from them to pay money to keep them activated. Those images belong to me. They are my personal photos.

  Business response

  12/01/2023

  Hi there,
  
  Thanks for your concern.
  
  The customer has contacted us several times regarding wanting to download their images, and we have offered them a brief evaluation period several times.
  
  We are happy to offer them the evaluation period and will walk them through how to start it. Please have the customer contact us and we will help get it started with them.
  
  Also, please have the customer check their Spam folder in their Inbox as the customer may not be receiving our responses when we have responded to their email tickets regarding this matter.
  
  Thank you.

  Customer response

  12/01/2023

  You left out the money part!  You said I can download but it involves money. You are being dishonest and I am not the only one that complained about your crooked business. Look at all the complaints.  Obviously you are wrong.  AND greedy!

  Customer response

  12/08/2023

  I will say this again, Photobucket is out for the money. They gave me free accounts over 20 years ago and not they are holding MY photos hostage unless I pay them. Look at ALL the complaints against them.  I guess we are ALL wrong???  

• Initial Complaint

  11/13/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Good Afternoon, I am reporting on the BBB to get some assistance as I did not get the proper customer service via email with Photobucket. I paid the $5.99 in June in hopes it would be similar to the last time I used photobucket. I had glitches with my account after paying and wasn't even able to do what I needed to get done and cancelled the same day on the website and terminated my membership. Come to find out, I am getting billed monthly for an account I terminated on the website and have a total of three fraudulent charges that I am awaiting my refund for. I explained everything in detail to the customer support team, but they were unable to assist. I look forward to my refund that was stolen from my account.Very Respectfully, ********

  Business response

  11/15/2023

  Hello,
  
  Thanks for your concern. On September 3, 2023 the customer contacted us regarding their subscription not being cancelled. We looked in our system and did not see that their subscription was successfully cancelled.
  
  They asked for a refund for their previous payments; however, the refund request was out of our refund policy. Per our Terms of Use, a refund request needs to be made within 48 hours of the initial purchase.
  
  The customer has disputed their payments with PayPal. We cannot issue any refunds while these payments have been disputed so the customer will need to wait for PayPal to resolve this now.
  
  Please have the customer contact us if there are any further questions or concerns.
  
  Thank you.

  Customer response

  11/17/2023

   
  Complaint: 20865895
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Good Morning.

  I did indeed cancel my subscription on the Photobucket website and never received a receipt to my email or a conformation per say. I recall the website was already acting glitchy and I kept having to refresh the webpages. I have been charged for a total of three months thereafter cancelling on the webpage and contacted the company with no resolution. My next step was to reach out to PayPal as that is how I made my original payment. I have three disputes filed with no outcome as Photobucket already refused to refund on that platform as well. I did an appeal and I am awaiting a reply, but this simple $17.97 refund that is owed to me has been going in circles with no resolution. Just after tis experience alone, I will no recommend anyone to use Photobucket and share my awful experience and zero customer service. They are saying I did not cancel according to their glitchy system, in which I did. My initial cancellation was within 24 ***** as explained in my previous messages so again, this is not out of their refund policy. I contacted PayPal originally for assistance as I was not receiving any through photobucket, and if I did not get the assistance I needed with that dispute, I was taking it to the BBB, which here we are. Photobucket responded to my disputes and keeps denying my refund on PayPal. The only reason the case is still considered open is due to the fact that I keep amending the dispute as Photobucket keeps refusing the case and refund.

  Please have the customer contact us if there are any further questions or concerns.
  
  Thank you.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  Business response

  12/01/2023

  Hi ********,
  
  Thanks for your response.
  
  Our Refund Policy is that the requests must be made within 48 hours of the initial payment, which we advised the customer on. As there were no refund requests for the other payments within our refund policy, we will not be issuing any further refunds. 
  
  Since the customer has open disputes with PayPal, they will be the company that handles any refunds at this point.
  
  If the customer would like to provide us with feedback or more information on the issues they were experiencing regarding our systems, please have them contact us.
  
  Thank you.

  Customer response

  12/01/2023

   
  Complaint: 20865895
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Good Morning.

  I did indeed cancel my subscription on the Photobucket website and never received a receipt to my email or a conformation. The website was glitching and I kept having to refresh the webpages. I have been charged for a total of three months thereafter cancelling on the webpage same day and contacted the company with no resolution. PayPal is no longer a part of this case as they have closed out the claim as I am resorting to BBB now. The simple $17.97 refund that is owed to me has been going in circles with no resolution. After this experience, I will not recommend anyone to use Photobucket and share my awful experience and zero customer service. They are saying I did not cancel within 48 hours, in which I did in fact cancel within 24 hours. My initial cancellation was within 24 hours as explained in my previous messages so repeating, this is not out of their refund policy.

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

• Initial Complaint

  10/13/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This ridiculous company is holding all my photos and videos hostage unless I pay for an account. No prior notification this would happen. This is illegal!!!

  Business response

  10/17/2023

  Hello there,
  
  Thank you for your concern. We are offering a seven day evaluation period and we would be happy to assist this customer in starting it. Please have the customer contact our Member Engagement Team so we can do that.
  
  Thank you.
  

• Initial Complaint

  10/10/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Bait and switch, they stole my photos and now ask for $5 per month

  Business response

  10/17/2023

  Hello there,
  
  Thank you for your concern. We are offering a seven day evaluation period and we would be happy to assist this customer in starting it. Please have the customer contact our Member Engagement Team so we can help them with this.
  
  Thank you.

*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. ↩