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Adobe tricks users into a 12 month contract

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Re: Adobe tricks users into a 12 month contract

#271

Post by judge2020 »

lukevp wrote: post #87
judge2020 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In general, they can and do send this sort of stuff to collections since you did sign up for the terms and it's a non-trivial amount of money owed. Gyms do it for far less, so I don't see why Adobe wouldn't.

We had Time Warner send us to collections which then reported my wife to the bureaus, alleging that we had never returned our cable modem (this was just for $60, and it was 5+ years ago!!). First of all, I’m incredibly sure that we did. We had fiber after that, what would I want with an old DOCSIS modem anyway? And second of all, they were unable to offer any proof that we had not returned it. The company that was co…

Not your fault but the easiest way to prevent this is to return equipment at a corporate store, you'll get a receipt for the return.

Re: Adobe tricks users into a 12 month contract

#272

Post by [deleted] »

oldstrangers wrote: post #229

Graphic designer here: I got hired at an agency recently, signed up using my company's account so I could save $50/m doing away with my subscription and ran into this issue. Very fun. Anyways, the future isn't going to be kind to Adobe. Figma has replaced a lot of my Adobe workflow, it's just infinitely a more pleasant experience. Canva has replaced things that require 3 different Adobe products to do. For serious vi…

[deleted]

Re: Adobe tricks users into a 12 month contract

#273

Post by djfdat »

mrtksn wrote: post #64

Just yesterday, on a local streaming platform that has a series that I want to watch I was offered "7 days free". Great, I can watch the accumulated episodes and if I still feel like watching the new ones that come weekly I can keep the subscription, right? Nope, the "7 days free" wasn't a a trail but 7 extra days when you purchase a full year subscription. I was considering to get a monthly subscription to try it ou…

I agree with you on all points, I would just like to point out that Apple does not follow the same trial rules as they do for everyone else, unless something changed. When I first was trying out Apple Music with the trial period, there was a notice that access to Apple Music would end immediately. I don’t think they do this same thing if you were outside the trial period.

So while I applaud Apple for standardizing the subscription rules for most apps, I would love if they applied it to themselves and their apps the same way.

Re: Adobe tricks users into a 12 month contract

#274

Post by unfocussed_mike »

pcurve wrote: post #108
DizzyDoo wrote: post #14

I've been working at detangling myself from the Adobe lineup of products. I really like (or liked) Adobe AfterEffects, it's been very helpful for me in compositing trailers for my computer game business, but it's totally been replaced by the free version of Davinci Resolve. Which I've also found is an excellent replacement for Adobe Audition, which I was using for editing the Voice Over and raw Sound Effects for, aga…

That's the problem. Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and After Effects have almost no competition and they know it. Even if there were, companies can't just jump to different tools because they would lose ability to open all their past work files. The migration will be slow.

Only After Effects doesn't have an all-in-one competitor, really.

Photoshop/Illustrator/InDesign, as a linked suite, has a very, very able competitor in Affinity Photo/Designer/Publisher. Given the complexity of these products, expecting more than one fully-integrated competing suite might be too much.

You might find this video useful, to see the extent to which it is a competitor:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVqJIaMlB6E

Not a 100% drop-in replacement, mind you, but almost nothing ever is. Very close, though, and capable of some remarkable things.

(I still don't have Publisher but I love Photo and Designer.)

Re: Adobe tricks users into a 12 month contract

#275

Post by widerporst »

civilized wrote: post #161
CharlesW wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I reject the idea that everyone should know from these words that they will be subject to an enormous early cancellation fee if they forget to cancel before the 7 day trial period is over. I hear you, and I want to dig in on that a bit if you'll be kind enough to indulge me. I'm currently helping a SaaS vendor define their pricing plan, so I'd like to know what you would like to see in order to feel comfortable wit…

Haven't I been clear enough? If you're going to charge a giant early cancellation fee, that information should not be hidden behind a link and fine print. It should be explained on the payment page, briefly and in plain language.

I don't really get why the cancellation fee should be the issue here. When I purchase a subscription for a year, I assume that I will have to pay for the entire year. That's why it is cheaper per month than a monthly subscription.

The cancellation fee might be quite high, but it is absolutely expected that there is one. And if I'm not sure if I'll keep the subscription running for an entire year, then I'll look into the cancellation term beforehand or simply pick the monthly plan.

Re: Adobe tricks users into a 12 month contract

#276

Post by danpalmer »

I got hit by this at work while managing our subscriptions. Adobe customer service attempted to bribe me to not chase it further by offering me a free subscription on a personal account. I declined and pushed and they eventually agreed to let us out without payment.

Re: Adobe tricks users into a 12 month contract

#277

Post by unfocussed_mike »

inversetelecine wrote: post #138
pcurve wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's the problem. Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and After Effects have almost no competition and they know it. Even if there were, companies can't just jump to different tools because they would lose ability to open all their past work files. The migration will be slow.

AutoDesk (CAD/BIM/etc) is also getting like this. Maybe not totally Adobe yet, but they too also basically have a lock on their industry. Just like with Adobe, some alternatives exist and a few might be good enough, but AutoDesk bought so many competitors and/or companies that most of the time they are the only game in town. Bentley (not cars) is another company I loathe, but I've already gotten off topic. The profes…

Yes, AutoDesk is a very good comparison.

The problem is these companies aren't evil but they are under considerably less pressure to be good. Perhaps the saddest thing about Adobe is that the subscription model has almost completely eliminated their support staff's ability to allow things like discretionary late free upgrades (which I've benefited from in the past, before I made the jump to Affinity Photo in 2015, after a year of Photoshop CC).

Re: Adobe tricks users into a 12 month contract

#278

Post by Marsymars »

hedora wrote: post #60
gavinclarke0 wrote: post #12

I fell for this. When I called adobe to complain the service rep said, in a manner not much polite than this, that "I don't believe you that you didn't know you were signing up for a year". Looking back, I now see where I agreed, but the manner in which they attempt to deceive you is criminal.

For future reference, just tell the vendor "I did not authorize this charge. Please refund me". Don't engage them further. When that call fails (or, if they don't pick up the phone in a reasonable amount of time), call your credit card company and say "I want to issue a charge back". They'll ask if you tried to work with the vendor. Answer "yes", full stop. There should be a phone number associated with the charge on…

> You can also say "this service wasn't rendered", or "I never received the product I ordered", as applicable. Those are specifically listed as valid reasons to issue a chargeback. The person at the credit card company has to enter a numeric reason code for the charge back, and by using those phrases (or similar), you're making their lives easier.

This is, unfortunately, not a panacea. I paid for tickets pre-covid for a concert that was indefinitely postponed - Ticketmaster refused to refund, and PayPal and my bank also both refused to issue chargebacks. My view was that I paid for tickets for a concert on a specific date, and a postponement to an indefinite future date was a failure to render the service I paid for, but none of the payment processors I went through agreed.

I did eventually get the refund from Ticketmaster, and the concert still hasn’t happened. I didn’t like Ticketmaster before, and I like them even less now.

Re: Adobe tricks users into a 12 month contract

#279

Post by vel0city »

jeroenhd wrote: post #218
laumars wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can’t see Adobe going to those lengths because they’d know there is a good change they would lose any class action lawsuit that would come about. Which would not just cost them in damages but also in bad publicity plus likely get them ordered to remove the dark patterns too (thus removing any future revenue this dark otters generates). I’m not as clued up on consumer laws as I once was but I’m pretty sure in Europe…

I don't know, I opened their page and the drop down was clearly labeled as an annual subscription to me. It also told me the exact date by which I should cancel not to infer any costs. The drop down offered me to pay the full year upfront, or a monthly plan which is cancellable at any time. I don't think this stuff is illegal at all. What they effectively did here is put the email address and personal information for…

The author of this tweet thread even acknowledges it states the terms in the workflow.

> But what does "Annual plan, paid monthly" actually mean?

I don't understand how "Annual plan, paid monthly" could be taken as something confusing or requires some additional context to make any sense out of it. How are other people reading "Annual plan, paid monthly" any other way than that it is an annual plan broken out into monthly installments?

Re: Adobe tricks users into a 12 month contract

#280

Post by prox »

cpach wrote: post #68

If you’re on macOS and just want a good and convenient image editor, I warmly recommend Acorn. The Muellers (owners of Flying Meat Software) have put a lot of effort to make it feel like a really solid Mac application. The price is good and from time to time they offer discounts. The whole experience reminds me of using good old Paintshop Pro back in the late 90s (^_^) Other options are Affinity Photo from Serif Ltd…

I use Affinity Suite professionally, absolutely possible to switch. Have done for three years, it’s really good.
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