The US government has filed a lawsuit against Adobe for allegedly hiding expensive fees and making it difficult to cancel subscriptions. The Department of Justice claims that Adobe "harmed consumers by enrolling them in its most profitable subscription plan by default without clearly disclosing important plan terms."
The lawsuit alleges that Adobe "conceals" the terms of its paid plan "in small print and through additional text fields and hyperlinks." By doing so, the company fails to properly disclose the early termination fee incurred after cancellation, "which can amount to hundreds of dollars." It is also noted that when customers try to cancel their subscription, Adobe requires them to go through a "cumbersome and complex" cancellation process, which involves navigating between multiple web pages and pop-up windows.
According to the Department of Justice, customers encounter obstacles when trying to cancel their subscriptions over the phone or through chats. The complaint states that "calls or chats from subscribers were interrupted or disconnected, and they had to explain the reason for the call again when reconnecting." The lawsuit claims that these actions violate federal laws aimed at protecting consumers.
The lawsuit also targets Adobe executives: Senior Vice President of Digital Technology Markets and Sales Maninder Souni, and President of Digital Media Business David Wadhwani. The complaint states that both executives "directed, controlled, had the authority to control, or participated in Adobe's actions and practices."
It is worth noting that in 2012, Adobe transitioned from selling its creative software for lifetime use to charging users monthly or yearly subscriptions. Adobe's subscription model has been criticized by creatives, who often find themselves obligated to remain subscribed to Adobe services to continue their work.
Source: The Verge
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