Consumer Alert
Adobe used hidden fee to trap people into paying for subscription plans, FTC says
Maybe you want to try out a product for a little while before you make a long-term decision. So, you sign up for a monthly subscription plan. Everything is fine until you want to cancel and it turns out to be a yearly subscription with monthly payments. Surprise! That’s what the FTC says happened to people who signed up for monthly subscriptions with Adobe.
When people signed up on Adobe’s website for access to its software, the FTC says Adobe pre-selected the option for its “annual paid monthly” plan that put subscribers on the hook for a whole year of payments, paid in monthly increments — a fact that Adobe failed to explain or properly disclose. The lawsuit says Adobe used similar tactics when people signed up for a free trial and didn’t cancel before the trial ended. Adobe automatically placed them on the “annual paid monthly” plan without making it clear they were entering a one-year contract.
When people tried to cancel before the year was up, they had to pay a hefty early termination fee (which was hidden during the signup process). The fee, along with other hurdles Adobe uses in its cancellation processes, made it difficult to cancel the subscription. Some subscribers who had contacted customer service even thought they had successfully canceled, only to find out later that Adobe was still charging them.
When you’re thinking about a subscription:
- See what others are saying online. Search for the company’s name and the word “subscription” plus words like “complaint,” “problem,” “cancel,” and “fee” to see if people are having trouble with their subscription.
- Check the terms and conditions for free trial offers. If the subscription includes auto-renewals, you’ll be charged unless you cancel before the end of the free trial period.
The law says businesses have to give you a simple way to cancel a paid subscription with automatic billing. If you have trouble canceling a subscription service:
- Dispute unauthorized credit card charges. If you’re in a subscription, you’ve tried to cancel, and the company won’t stop charging your account, dispute it with your credit or debit card company.
- Tell the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Image
Topics
Scams
Thank you!
This is really excellent info.
This is happened to me excatly. I ended up having to pay $215.90 in February.
In reply to This is happened to me… by Rezella McDonald
This will certainly result in a class action lawsuit so watch out for an email notification! Unfortunately, you'll likely only get a fraction of your money back and it'll take a couple of years for it to make it's way through the system.
Thank you for the excellent work you are doing; and, yes, the automatic charging of bank accounts and credit cards for hard to cancel "subscription" services are a growing problem. We must think too of the problem for heirs trying to cancel subscriptions for deceased relatives.
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE FELL FOR ADOBE TRICKERY AND FAILURE TO BE REPUTABLE.
This is something I have been looking for regarding a monthly subscription that is hard to cancel.
Home delivery for prescriptions.
I opted into this, and when an order came up missing, I then tried to opt out, this situation is totally still going on.
The home delivery system for pharmacy is: in my opinion, messed up!
Finally exhausted trying to cancel because, they keep texting me and emails never stop, even if you call them, it never stops.
The FTC should enforce consumer protection laws on the books. Can it in this case?
Thank you so much. I subscribed in 2021. You are absolutely necessary. Thanks for all you do. IRS agent told me my account was sold on black web. Canon sold me via Walmart, an pixma MG 3620 printer that cannot be used with any newer Apple IOS. Mine is 17.5.1, iPhone 13.
There was no way to know except to buy it
I just spent an afternoon on the phone with Adobe after they were double billing me for a high end monthly/yearly subscription that I never signed up for and was noted in their accounts as "never used." The Adobe policy is "they will only go back six months" on billing issues; I received some of my money back but since they were pulling from my PayPal account, funds were taken from almost all my credit cards for close to two years. $34 a month with double billing for close to two years is no small chunk of change that they won't refund to my credit cards. On top of the financial loss, this is Adobe...everyone uses them. They are supposed to be a trusted company. In the past, there were certain companies that a consumer knew they could trust, and it was shocking when there was a diversion from the trusted practices, ex. Wells Fargo. These days I'm shocked when I hear you can trust anyone...any vendor or retailer. At what point do we create a true checks and balances holding companies accountable for this "integrity theft." That's what this is...integrity is defined as telling the truth when no one is looking. When a consumer sits at their computer alone and signs up for a product and isn't told the entire truth or the "extra" truths are on a separate page connected to a tiny link at the bottom of the site, this is integrity theft. It's your word against theirs and no one is really looking at specifics. When will this be confronted and then addressed? I work with clients every day that pay huge fines, receive felony charges and go to jail for much, much less. Maybe Adobe's executives need to lose a weekend to a cement cell and baloney sandwiches; maybe if we begin to hold the people accountable for the decisions made in companies, we might see a return to decency, integrity and respect for the consumer and truth in advertising. This is just one person's opinion, but it is worth consideration...Thank you, FTC, for validating my concerns over a company that I wish I never had to use again but have to use almost every day. Best, Mickie Lewis
In reply to I just spent an afternoon on… by Mickie Lewis
Mickie, I definitely feel your pain! As an aside, PayPal is another one to be extremely careful with. I see more and more things available with a PayPal account. IMO, it is much easier to deal with one reputable credit card. Then you can have all of your transactions in one place. It has been my experience in the past that PayPal has too many hoops to jump through in order to resolve a charge done through them.
In reply to Mickie, I definitely feel… by Doreen Burkey
Yes, and the problem is people use PayPal like a bank. It's not. Don't leave money in there. It is not protected afaik. Not like a real bank, anyway. It's for transactions only in my mind. If I have to, one and done. No recurring.
Thank you for helping us fight those big corporations,
Great information!!
Thank you FTC
Sonny
I think I fell prey to this. Is there a class action suit regarding this unfair practice of Adobe? If so, where do I get information about joining it?
Thanks!
In reply to I think I fell prey to this… by Kelly Musick
Ditto. Would like to know what action is being taken since Adobe pulled a fast one. Adobe also included an early cancellation fee too.
Thank you for this valuable research and good news!
It's horrible that a well-known company would resort to this sort of trickery.
We're encouraged to read all the terms and conditions, but companies tend to bury things in fine print, and it becomes overwhelming. You'd think one could trust an established company like Adobe, but then this news underlines that no company can truly be trusted. I'm glad that the FTC is being more aggressive on behalf of all consumers.
In reply to Thank you for this valuable… by Olive D
Well said. I trusted them before. Now I don't. No company, and especially a publicly traded company like ADBE, should EVER get sucked into these games.
In reply to Well said. I trusted them… by Scott
Me too, never trust Adobe anymore.
I signed up for a free trial and canceled within the indicated time frame, then was charged a cancellation fee. Waiting to see if another charge appears on my bank account.
Thank you.. very informative!
Exactly what happened, plus this year I thought I was paying for Adobe Pro, getting basic adobe.
Thank you. I was told 3 free months and was charged the same month. It is scandalous.
It happened to me. Now I'm on the hook until Feb 2025 @$19.99/mo. Canceling now (Jun 24) would cost me an early cancellation fee of $69.99 in July. I called to cancel my annual subscription at the end of the term in Feb 2025, and was told that I would get a notice by email in Jan 2025 that I should cancel or renew. Do you believe them? I don't. It's now on my own calendar to contact Adobe to cancel. I feel ashamed at 63 years old to have been talen like this. Shame on you too, Adobe!
In reply to It happened to me. Now I'm… by TruthInAdvertising
If you HAVE to pay that " cancelation fee" , just do so and get out of it completely now. Otherwise you are paying a ton more if you wait till the end. That 69.99 fee is for nothing for 4 months, yes but if you wait through till Feb. of 25, you will be paying double that. Yes, it's unfair but it will save you half again If you just end it with them now.
This behavior has become more and more aggravating and you are constantly auditing. It is illegal and now credit cards do not always wish to back it up. Grear
Yes! Thank you! This is unethical and I’m so thankful that it’s being investigated and Adobe has to answer for their deceitful business practices.
I have fallen into that trap! I signed up for a seven-day free trial. A day or two before the end of the trial, I went online to cancel and was told that, if I wanted more time to decide, I could sign up for a month-to-month plan and cancel at the end of the month if I no longer wished to subscribe. NO MENTION of a penalty if I did so. Now, I've come to the end of the one-month and signed in to Adobe.com to cancel and was informed that I would be charged $109.95 as a fee for doing so. I have one day remaining on my month. Adobe's salesmen make used car dealers look like saints!!! Please add me to any lawsuit being pursued against Adobe.
Thank you
I have experienced this as an admin for my customer's Adobe accounts. Adobe makes it impossible to cancel a business account online or remove licenses for users that have left the company. You have to call Adobe to cancel which takes additional time and they will stall you and try to sell you a new subscription even though you have told them that you need to cancel the account for very clear and obvious reasons, i.e. the company is closing. I am grateful for this news and hope that it prompts Adobe to make changes.
They have been doing this for decades. This happened to me about 12 years ago. I had been a loyal customer since the early 1990s but no longer use Adobe products because the issue made me so mad.
Thanks. I was about to sign up, now I will be sure to check the correct box!
Excellent work! Thank you for taking the time to defend innocent people!
Too clever for their own good Adobe crooks playing gotcha with customers just because they think ethics only apply when they are legal statutes. This speaks volumes about their lack of character. Some people will do anything for a buck.
Thank you.
Remeber folks, there is no free lunch. Nothing is free. Look at coupons, FB posts, etc. If there is anything that is offered for free it is a catch to get your information or scam you. THERE IS NOTHING FREE! Businesses exist to make money. You are the mark. if you can't figure out how they make money, YOU are the product! Time to wake up! Honest people are easily deceived. Approach anything from a business as a method for them to make money. NOTHING IS FREE!
Same thing happened to me! I tried to cancel, and they told me I was not able to. So, I am paying a monthly fee for something I don't even use anymore.
This happened to me and my bank only refunded one of their fraudulent charges. Trial membership cancelled and then charges months later.
I want in on the class action lawsuit. I am seriously displeased with Adobe, I have been struggling with them for over a year. The company makes it impossible to cancel!!!
In reply to I want in on the class… by Susan A Beckett
They made it nearly impossible for me to cancel as well. The ONLY way I could cancel was to go through an online chat. Even after I described the situation, they STILL tried to offer more "FREE" stuff. I will give them credit. They actually settled with me, and I'm satisfied with the outcome. Take the time to explain your situation and be persistent. We can only hope that they will do the right thing for their customers and their shareholders.
My Adobe subscription renewed in June and the price spiked. It's annual, paid monthly. I was very busy that month and by the time I logged in to cancel, it was beyond 14 days later. I nearly canceled, but then noticed the 50% ETF for unused months. They also stated that I would immediately lose access to the Creative Cloud apps, even for the current month. It appears that I am stuck until May 2025. I am going to cancel on-time then and will also find alternative software. What an unethical company.
This exact situation happened to me. I took the bait (free trial), attempted to cancel, and the cancellation fee was cost prohibitive. They got me for a year, and it made me literally hate the company more and more as the months went by. After a year of agony, I went online to cancel my subscription, and their system would not even allow me to cancel. Their automatic chat system sent me two links to cancel and neither one worked. I was able to connect to a live agent and negotiated a resolution with them after they continued to offer me more "free" months to make up for the inconvenience. No thanks!
Adobe was once a great company with some great technology. Now they are unethical in my eyes. Someone on their leadership team needs to go for letting this happen. It's wrong, wrong! Do the right thing, Adobe. Geez!
Thank you to the FTC and other "valued customers" who described this complete nonsense!
After more than 3 years of monthly payments, I thought I wouldn't need my photography subscription for a while. It turned out that what I thought was a monthly subscription was an annual subscription at list price, with no discounts. At least if it was an annual contract it would include some discount. I don't remember because it was over 3 years ago, but I think I just chose a simple monthly subscription, how it became an annual in the meantime I don't know. It is very misleading, not what I expected from Adobe. Anyway, I was thinking of switching to Figma or Sketch before, but I had a loyalty towards Adobe as I used it for many years, but no more.
My old internet service Spectrum did something similar. It took over a year to cancel cable and only get internet. Then they never did refund me even tho their own notes on my calls state I want to cancel. Same for Verizon. Unfortunately where I live, they are the only internet and phone companies that work well. I eventually ended with Spectrum completely and go with another now. It's not 100 but atleast it's not Spectrum anymore.
This scam is happened to me too!