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Jovial_Mountain1423
Participant
September 25, 2026
Question

Deceptive and Unfair Practices by Adobe

  • September 25, 2026
  • 3 replies
  • 17 views

I have an Adobe Acrobat Pro subscription that expires mid-October.  Today, upon attempting to use the “Protect PDF” feature of Adobe Acrobat Pro, the software said I had to upgrade to use that function!!!  I clicked to see what it meant.  The option to continue my existing plan was greyed out.  Furthermore, the annual price of the upgrade was listed as within 1 euro of the former plan.  However, upon reading the small print, the former plan price included VAT whereas the new proposed upgrade DID NOT INCLUDE VAT!!!  Therefore:

 

  1.  Adobe illegitimately withheld services that should have been covered by my present subscription.
  2. Adobe engaged in a deliberately deceptive presentation of the price of the upgrade.
  3. Adobe did not allow me to simply choose to continue my existing plan.

SHAME ON YOU!!!

    3 replies

    kglad
    Community Expert
    kgladCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    September 25, 2026

    ​@Jovial_Mountain1423 

     

    unless there are payment problems or suspected fraud, no features are withdrawn/withheld prior to plan cancellation, and plan renewals are automatic.  users are notified via email of the renewal (and any price changes) ~30 days prior to the renewal date.

     

    if you’re having a problem using an app, you can ask for help in the appropriate (eg, acrobat) forum.

    Jovial_Mountain1423Author
    Participant
    September 25, 2026

    I logged out and logged back in and the app then worked correctly.  But it was very strange as I have used this app for years and this never happened before.  And the deceptive manner of presenting the price of the upgrade was unacceptable, showing one price with VAT included and the other without.

    Jeff_A_Wright
    Community Manager
    Jeff_A_WrightCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    September 25, 2026

    Thank you for the update, ​@Jovial_Mountain1423,  and thanks to ​@kglad for the information provided.

     

    I understand how concerning it would be to suddenly lose access to a feature included with your Acrobat Pro subscription, especially when you were also presented with upgrade options and pricing information that did not appear consistent.

     

    I'm glad to hear that signing out and signing back in restored access to the Protect PDF feature. Since your Acrobat Pro subscription is active, that feature should have been available under your plan. It is possible the application temporarily lost track of your subscription entitlement and refreshed correctly after you signed back in.

     

    For reference, please see https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/troubleshoot-activation.html , which includes signing out and signing back in as a step when Acrobat does not recognize an active subscription.

     

    We also appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback regarding the pricing display and upgrade experience.

     

    If you encounter the issue again, please let us know and include a screenshot of the message you receive so we can investigate further, ​@Jovial_Mountain1423.

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