Account blocked experience

[Victoria24953789jqar]

I have been a happy contributor to Adobe Stock for close to a year now. (I produce vector illustrations with Adobe Illustrator, all of my work is created manually by me.)

5 days ago, I received an email informing me that my Adobe Stock account has been blocked.

No reason given.

I responded to the email asking for help in understanding the reason behind the account being blocked.

So far, no response.

This is confusing and it makes me feel frustrated and powerless 😞

(moderator cured the topics. Please do select only relevant ones)

[Test Screen Name]

Adobe do indeed have all the power. Was there really no reason given? Didn't they say something like "violation of terms of service"?

[Victoria24953789jqar]

There really was no reason given whatsoever.

Just a terse email that the account has been blocked and I'm to email Adobe Contributor Relations for further details - which, of course, I did right away, and have been waiting for a response ever since...

[Abambo]

Check your spam folder. Adobe answers the requests. You need to use the link on the blocking screen ("Contact us"). Normally, you cannot reply to such mails, but as I have not yet had the experience, you're living, I cannot say for sure.

[George_F · Accepted solution]

I get the feeling Adobe is a bit backlogged with email response currently.  If you've already contacted Contributor Support via the link provided, then you've done everything you can, just be patient and check your spam folders and other folders.  My Adobe emails tend to get filtered into my Promotions folder for my email service.

If you haven't had a reply in 10 business days, feel free to check back in.

Good luck!

[byJohn D.]

Just a little bit, what they shouldn't do is shoot without looking, this way of proceeding without responding to Contributors is totally wrong. There are many professionals here who create good content and we are treated like criminals, even though we have been contributing with good content to this platform from which they profit first. This is nonsense, we live in a world of loud good intentions, where everything is epic when there is not even the slightest honesty or humanity.

[Abambo]

Just a little bit, what they shouldn't do is shoot without looking, this way of proceeding without responding to Contributors is totally wrong.

By @byJohn D.

If they get a copyright claim, they need to react fast, and then investigate. With a copyright claim, you should receive the assets that were incriminated.

[Nancy OShea]

Work on other things while the investigation process completes.  It could take several weeks.

Adobe may temporarily suspend or permanently terminate a Stock Contributor account for any of the following:
1) Suspicious sales or refund activity.
2) Receipt of an official infringement complaint or "take down" notice from a 3rd party.
3) Suspected violation of Stock Contributor User Terms.
4) A technical problem that only Stock Support can fix.

Wait 10 business days for a reply. Check your spam & promotions folder.  If after 10 business days you haven't heard back,  send a follow-up inquiry.
https://contributor.stock.adobe.com/contact

Best of luck.

[byJohn D.]

Hi Nacy, finally I received a reply, saying that my account is terminated, and my sales are gone.

I have been called a thief, told that I am out, and my account will be deleted. Years of hard work submitting each footage and image, out without showing a single piece of evidence, nothing at all. It's not fair because what I am being accused of is not true, and I don't even know which of my footage caused my expulsion.

I tried reaching out again to find a solution more than 10 days ago, still waiting. I can't believe we have so few rights; in my case, not only have being called a thief, but also withheld my sales, and I can't say anything. I have no rights.

You and others can see my website, [link removed by a moderator] I am a Motion Graphic designer that had moved to the stock market, also this year, I even started volunteering in Asia, teaching underprivileged children, I have no sponsors; I cover all my expenses.

I never thought I would receive this treatment from Adobe, perhaps from others, but not from Adobe.

Kind regards
Juan Diego / John D.

[Nancy OShea]

finally I received a reply, saying that my account is terminated, and my sales are gone.
I have been called a thief...

============

Color me skeptical. 🙄

Please show us a screenshot of the communication where Adobe called you a "thief."

It's far more likely that you did something, knowingly or unknowingly, that violated Adobe Stock's Terms of Service. And THAT'S why your account was closed.  

Stock is a BUSINESS that connects contributors with potential buyers from all over the world.  Stock's only responsibility is to their paying CUSTOMERS. Personal feelings have nothing to do with any of this.

[Abambo]

@Nancy OShea ,

see here: https://community.adobe.com/t5/stock-contributors-discussions/account-blocked-experience/m-p/1392540...

@byJohn D. interpreted…

[byJohn D.]

Hi victoria,

Sorry to hear that, I'm more than 5 days, weeks.

All I hear from them is this:

your account has been blocked due to a violation of the terms of use (TOU). We have reason to believe that you have uploaded content to which you do not own 100% of the copyrights to all image elements.

I had years of contributing, and they have a process to cure any image or footage that does not follow the rules. This is not my case; my work is original. I'm also in other agencies, and I have never had such treatment. This is wrong for many of us. We put a lot of time into submitting our work, and Adobe treats us in such a dictatorial way. They can delete or correct the situation if something is wrong, but they should not treat so many of us like criminals with no rights. I don't care what the agreement said; this is wrong. We lose, and we pay for their mistakes without compensation. They also hold our sales that we own by working hard. This is dictatorship and stealing.

Please feel free to contact me, I'm not letting this go. 

I hope that we soon obtain a resolution to this disastrous way of proceeding by Adobe, something that I did not expect when I started working with them. To my surprise, they are the only ones, in all these years, who are acting in such a vile and inappropriate manner for a brand like Adobe, which supposedly supports creatives.

Best!

[Abambo]

I don't care what the agreement said; this is wrong. We lose, and we pay for their mistakes without compensation. They also hold our sales that we own by working hard. This is dictatorship and stealing.

By @byJohn D.

The agreement says that they can terminate the contributor account anytime, without giving a reason. This is probably a protective clause for them to stay in control, but it gives them full control of your account. However, if they terminate your account, they pay out the dues. Except, if they terminate for cause, then they will withhold the payout. They will need, however, to justify the cause. And it's not enough to say that one of your thousand assets is copyrighted by someone other. They specifically need to point out that asset. But one asset is enough.

---

@byJohn D. wrote:

To my surprise, they are the only ones, in all these years, who are acting in such a vile and inappropriate manner for a brand like Adobe, which supposedly supports creatives.

---

You should read your other agreements, they have similar clauses.

[byJohn D.]

Hi Victoria, any news of your situation? I hope you get some resolution soon, cos your material is all legit. There's no reason to block your account. My account is still blocked and also they kept the 170$... I had at that moment, no words. Please, feel free to contact me to discuss this matter.[Moderator deleted private information. Please do not post private information like e-mails and phone numbers]

[Abambo]

Don't post e-mails here.

[byJohn D.]

Please Abambo, could you kindly tell me why I can not share my email? Thanks.

[Abambo]

Because it's against the Forum rules:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/using-the-community-discussions/adobe-support-community-guidelines/td...

See also this:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/using-the-community-discussions/staying-safe-in-the-adobe-support-com...

[byJohn D.]

Thanks for such a quick reaction and info, safety first.