Charged $56 early cancellation fee

[Kayla5C49]

Super upset about being charged an early cancellation fee that I of course didn't know about. This feels like theft and is a terrible way to treat your customers. Shame on Adobe. 

[John T Smith]

When you 'click to agree' to the subscription terms while buying a subscription, that means that you really do need to read BEFORE you buy a subscription... https://www.adobe.com/legal/subscription-terms.html

[Nancy OShea]

I think you have this upside down. Adobe has nothing to be ashamed of.  Informed consumers usually read the Terms before they join to ensure they're getting the best option for their situation.

https://www.adobe.com/legal/subscription-terms.html

The Annual plan (as its name implies) is a 12 month commitment during which your rate is guaranteed not to increase. In return, you agree NOT to cancel before your 12th month of service or pay a 50% early termination fee. 

In contrast, the costlier Month-to-Month plan is totally pay as you go.  There is no price guarantee, no time commitment and you can cancel whenever you want without penalty.  It's a good option for folks who just need apps for a short term project.

[John Waller]

FWIW, I agree.

I've long thought that Adobe should put a prominent notice about their early cancellation fee right next to the Subscribe button so users are fully aware of the costs of cancelling early before they sign up. That instills trust right at the start of the subscription period.

Burying such a fee in the terms and conditions is one of the primary sources of frustration that I see in these forums.

[LinSims]

This is apparently under discussion. A few months ago they did change the sign-up page to provide information on when to cancel by to avoid charges, which is definitely an improvement.

[John Waller]

Yes, it's time Adobe improved the visibility of the early cancellation fee on the sign up page. It's basic customer service. They've relied on the Ts&Cs page for far too long.

Hope the changes reduce the number of complaints we see on the forums.

[Nancy OShea]

This is apparently under discussion. A few months ago they did change the sign-up page...

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They did?  It is?  It must have been short lived or maybe it varies by region, I don't know.  In any case, the marketer's mission is to accentuate positives to improve conversions (sales). The last thing marketers want is a potential derailment from even mentioning cancellation on a sales page.  Based on past history, marketing decisions usually win, too, because the life's blood of every business is sales, not their cancellation policies. 

As a small business owner myself, I have prominent links to TERMS pages on my sites but according to the analytics, almost nobody clicks on them.  It just goes to show how "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink."

[LinSims]

When I go to the sign-up page, this is displayed:

The language about autorenewal is new, as is the sentence providing the date by which you have to cancel to avoid a fee. Which is of course the cancellation fee, but people may not understand that. The current discussion is about adding information on the amount of the cancellation fee.