Cancellation Fees, against normal practice.

[heat_wayve]

This post it to Adobe, not so much to the Adobe community. I find it disappointing that I used a monthly subscription for two different products, and was charged more cancellation fees than the price of my temporary use. It is against normal business practice in the US to offer a monthly subscription to a service and also charge a cancellation fee to someone who cancels in a timely manner (i.e. before my month's subscription expired). Obviously a company as successful as Adobe has the right to charge monthly for use of their product, but shouldn't the cancellation fee be highlighted and reiterated in the closing of this deal? Adobe already has a monopoly of the PDF software in the US, and I don't think this business policy is doing them any favors in the public eye. I know for me- regardless if my refund for the cancellation fees is approved or not- this experience has left a bad taste in my mouth, and I will not be using any of my personal finances in the near future to pay for any software from Adobe. I will find a way to edit PDF's in open source software, or in google. The reason for this decision is directly based on this experience, which in my opinion, is a bad business practice. 

[LinSims]

If you are being charged a cancellation fee, then what you had was not a monthly subscription but a yearly one that was paid monthly. Adobe clearly spells out in the terms that a cancellation fee will be charged if you cancel the subscription before the last month of the subscription. Those terms are always linked to on the page where you enter you payment information. 

[heat_wayve]

Thank you for your timely response, however I think you are missing the point of my complaint. My point is that I don't think there should be a cancelation fee at all, with a follow up point being: if they insist on charging a cancellation fee, I think it should be highlighted (or at least mentioned) on the payment form. Again, in this complaint I am asking a basic question that also conveys my opinion: "...shouldn't the cancellation fee be highlighted and reiterated in the closing of this deal?" I believe I made it clear in my complaint that I am not questioning the validity of these cancellation fees, on  the contrary I am questioning the integrity of this term's existence. I understand you must deal with customers who doubt that their cancelation fee is legitimate or binding, please understand I am not one of this speculated majority. I am a customer who feels swindled by a business practice that is not popular or well received, not displayed in the foreground of our agreement page, and now has had an Adobe community professional sprinkle salt in their wound of oversite and lack of attention to detail. We all have our pros and cons, and pointedly I pose to the remainder of the Adobe community professionals: could someone with a customer service background please respond in an appropriate or constructive manner to my complaint (withstanding that it's basis resides in opinion)?

[LinSims]

Quite a few of the volunteers here (including me) have suggested/requested/BEGGED that information like that be right there on the payment page. A simple, "Cancellation fees apply for early cancellation of most subscription plans. Read the terms and conditions before purchasing." added to that page would go miles in reducing the amount of anger we see (and deal with) here. TPTB, however, don't seem to be interested in making that change, so it is on the subscriber to click that link and read the terms.

It's sort of like getting a "free" phone with a new wireless plan as long as you agree to a 2-year contract. If you cancel that contract early, you immediately have to pay for the phone.

Edited to add: and my apologies. I did not intend to insult you or sprinkle salt in your wounds. We have to deal with multiple people every day who complain about their subscriptions, from the politely unhappy (as you are) to the raging abuser. To deal with this, we often have set pieces of information that lay out the facts. It sounds unsympathetic, I know, but it is usually the best way to deal with the issue.

[heat_wayve]

Thank you for the reply, and edit. I figured it was a copy and paste response, but I did not consider the fact that you probably have a lot of complaints like this to deal with! Since I first became aware of this cancelation policy last week, I had a hiccup with getting billed for an extra two months after I had cancelled service, but have since received back those additional two month's fees and two cancellation fee refunds I wanted. This is the first time I have received a cancellation fee I have received from a subscription service, but in the future I will definitely be reading subscription terms as if it were a cell phone contract! Thank you again for the thoughts.