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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

#291

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Evil is thrown around way to much. If you are going to use it for dishonest business practices what’s left for ISIS?

Yes. It’s all rooted in narcissism. Calling something “evil”, makes you a hero when you fight it, whether that means going on patrols in the streets of Raqqa or calling out a shitty SaaS pricing scheme on an internet bulletin board.

Bad take. Calling something evil is a moral judgement and that’s it. I do t need to fight it, be a part of it, or hell, I could be evil myself. It’s a judgement call and nothing more.

You may disagree with my moral standards, and that’s cool.

Re: Adobe tricks users into a 12 month contract

#292
post #58

For anyone stuck in this dark pattern here is a trick I've used in the past: Adobe won't let you cancel without paying the remainder of your subscription fee however you can switch to a different plan. As soon as you switch you'll have the ability to cancel your "new" plan within 14 days. If you cancel after 14 days they'll charge you the early termination fee.

Or you can threaten to report them to the relevant consumer body in your country. I did this after arguing with one of their sales people about cancelling a subscription for half an hour and they immediately relented.

Just speculating, but i suspect they know what they're doing is dodgy and want to avoid as much scrutiny as possible from any regulatory bodies so their support script says to cancel if the customer mentions reporting them.

Re: Adobe tricks users into a 12 month contract

#293
post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

CC chargeback time

Chargebacks aren't the magic spell people think they are. The credit card company may elect to side with the merchant, or the merchant may decline to do business with you again in the future (not ideal if your income relies on access to these tools in the future), or the merchant may take legal action against you, or the credit card company may decide to close your card account. You can't just do whatever you want an…

I use privacy.com for throw-away cards and you can set spending limits and close them at any time.

Re: Adobe tricks users into a 12 month contract

#294
post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> privacy.com Not for those of us who don't live in the US unfortunately.

Where are you located? Privacy.com were first to bring this feature to the mainstream as a product but it exists as an add-on in various places. For example, in the UK it’s offered by Monzo and offered by Revolut in the many countries they operate in. If you want to use virtual cards, it should be possible where you live.

While virtual cards are technically a thing in Canada (e.g. you get a virtual cards if you add a card to Apple Pay), I’m not aware of any services that let you generate more than one at a time in a useful way.

Re: Adobe tricks users into a 12 month contract

#296
post #65

This happened to my wife and I. We both have advanced degrees and write software for a living. The fact that it had these cancellation terms was not at all obvious to either of us, and only realized it when she went to cancel. It’s one of the few trials that I absolutely remember and I’m so glad it was just the photography bundle and not the whole creative suite. It’s absolutely designed to trick you and it works. Fu…

Did you try a chargeback? Or make a report with the bureau of consumer protection?

Re: Adobe tricks users into a 12 month contract

#297

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. Adobe has a moral obligation to explain that up-front, so that consumers who cannot easily pay the fee are adequately warned of the danger they are getting themselves into.

In the interests of reaching a point of agreement, I concur that they could put, in or next to that initial wording, something like "early cancellation fees may apply". But an annual plan really is that. They are telling you pretty clearly* what you're buying; the fact that there's a way to bail out half way for less is an advance on that position. * though as I said in the other reply, "yearly" would be better

> I concur that they could put, in or next to that initial wording, something like "early cancellation fees may apply".

Again, this wording seems unnecessarily soft to me - the inclusion of 'may' adds ambiguity to make the user think that there might not be exit fees - it should really be "early cancellation fees will apply".

Better yet, you could give the cost:

"Early cancellation fees of 50% of the remainder of the year will apply".

Re: Adobe tricks users into a 12 month contract

#298
post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

CC chargeback time

Chargebacks aren't the magic spell people think they are. The credit card company may elect to side with the merchant, or the merchant may decline to do business with you again in the future (not ideal if your income relies on access to these tools in the future), or the merchant may take legal action against you, or the credit card company may decide to close your card account. You can't just do whatever you want an…

As a [small] SaaS owner, I immediately refund, cancel, and block the user from reactivating their account until they reach out to me. In more than 10 years, I’ve seen less than a dozen “accidental” chargebacks. Most are from users who are too lazy to login and hit the cancel button.

I don’t believe in using dark patterns as a retainment strategy, so I make it very easy to cancel from the same screen they signed up on. The domain is listed on their CC statement. I also send out reminders well before annual subscriptions renew with a link to update or cancel their plan.

I used to dispute chargebacks when the user was very clearly using the service actively and provide screenshots, logs, and written evidence, but what usually happens is the bank takes 30+ days to complete each interaction and almost always sides with the cardholder anyways. In the meantime, users get frustrated because their money is locked up in limbo and I can’t even refund them until their bank responds.

The only chargeback I recall “winning” was one where the user accidentally canceled but still wanted the service. They called their bank directly and the bank canceled the chargeback.

It’s just not worth the hassle, so immediately offloading the responsibility of chargebacks to the user is well worth the $15 chargeback fee. They’ll let you know if they want to come back.

Big companies, I’ve heard, may put you on a block list and if you’ve submitted any identifiable info (address, phone number, etc.) they’ll know when you create a new account.

Re: Adobe tricks users into a 12 month contract

#299

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Chargebacks aren't the magic spell people think they are. The credit card company may elect to side with the merchant, or the merchant may decline to do business with you again in the future (not ideal if your income relies on access to these tools in the future), or the merchant may take legal action against you, or the credit card company may decide to close your card account. You can't just do whatever you want an…

I use privacy.com for throw-away cards and you can set spending limits and close them at any time.

> close them at any time

Closing your card doesn't have any impact on legal obligations you had, or a merchant thinks you had, or any impact on whether a merchant will choose to do business with you in the future.

Re: Adobe tricks users into a 12 month contract

#300
post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agree. It is a constant wonderment why Adobe is not called out ‘evil’ more often like its other SV brethren. They are not even good at software engineering and UX.

Evil is thrown around way to much. If you are going to use it for dishonest business practices what’s left for ISIS?

“Evil is thrown around way to much. If you are going to use it for dishonest business practices what’s left for ISIS?”

I love captain crunch cereal. It is so good— “NOW I HAVE NO WORDS TO DESCRIBE CHARITIES!”

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