Charged for subscription even though I cancelled trial early

[Cassidy35116087nwrs]

Greetings,

I recently signed up for a free trial of Adobe Illustrator and made sure to cancel the day before the trial period ended. I was still billed $22.99 for a subscription that Adobe marks as "inactive". When I tried to sort this out with their "Customer Service AI", it told me that it cannot assist me without an active subscription. Apparently Adobe does not have a customer service phone line, so here I am. Does anyone know how to get a refund for wrongful billing around here?

Thanks

[John T Smith]

This space is provided by Adobe, but this is not Adobe support
Sorry, nobody here can help with an account or payment problem
This is a public forum, you need the link to Adobe support, not other users
Help Center https://helpx.adobe.com/support.html is a good place to start
Be sure to remain signed in with your Adobe ID before accessing the link below
Do be aware that wait times are sometimes long before an agent responds
.
You MUST make sure that your browser does NOT block ads, scripts, or pop-ups
You MUST also allow 'cookies' in your web browser for the link to work
This will NOT work if you are using a VPN
.
This link will go directly to the chat option
https://helpx.adobe.com/contact.html?rghtup=autoOpen
Type "Agent" in the chat box to bypass the chatbot and be connected to a person
-Meaning type in the word Agent in the lower right, without the quote " " marks
or
X (aka Twitter) tweet @AdobeCare
.
Adobe does NOT do support by email, so beware of answering anyone who sends you a private message
-click for more information about scammers https://tinyurl.com/10791730

[Cassidy35116087nwrs]

I appreciate your swift reply and caution against scammers. However, the Adobe chat bot is useless without an "active subscription".  When I type in "Agent" like you suggested, I receive the same reply I received before: "To continue with agent assistance, please sign in with an active plan. I found no record of an active plan linked to."

At least Adobe acknowledges I did not purchase a plan.

Incredibly disappointing that this company does not have a functional customer service line where you can talk to an actual human being instead of being given irrelevant options. I suspect if Adobe did, they'd be giving out a lot of refunds.

[kglad · Accepted solution]

@Cassidy35116087nwrs 

use twitter/x

[Jean36408566j61k]

I shouldn't have to sign up for Twitter/X to get assistance on a problem with Adobe.  

[kglad]

@Jean36408566j61k 

ok.

[sincere_child5708]

Salut, twitter/ X comment peut il m'aider a être rembourser? Je suis dans le même cas que d'autres, j'ai profité des 7 jours, j'annule l'abonnement et on me facture pour un mois...Alors que je ne voulais pas..

[kglad]

check your account, https://account.adobe.com

what date does it show you canceled, and what date did your trial start?

[kglad]

you should check that you actually canceled, https://account.adobe.com

make sure you're aware of the cancellation terms by selecting your plan type (at the top of the page here), https://helpx.adobe.com/manage-account/using/creative-cloud-subscription-terms.html

for info on how to cancel your subscription, this page describes the few steps involved, https://helpx.adobe.com/manage-account/using/cancel-subscription.html

if you want to cancel but are unable to follow the steps described in the "how to cancel page", contact adobe support.

there are 2 ways to contact adobe; chat and twitter (now x):

chat:
use a browser that allows popups and cookies, and click here, https://helpx.adobe.com/contact.html?rghtup=autoOpen
in the chat field (lower right), type AGENT
be patient, it can take quite a while to reach a human.

twitter/x:
tweet @AdobeCare

p.s. if you're contacted by anyone (via email or private message), it's much more likely to be a scammer than an adobe representative.

[Cassidy35116087nwrs]

Yes, I've confirmed that I cancelled the plan, and Adobe acknowledges that I have no "active subscription" on the website. I've reviewed the cancellation terms and there is no mention of charging a customer for a free trial, even if they cancelled after 14 days. As I mentioned above, Adobe's AI chat bot is useless without an active subscription. Attempting to field customer complaints through X.com is some bulls*it lol, there is no accountability. Adobe has been around a long time and should have better customer support infrastructure. Frankly, it's fraudulent business to advertise a free trial to customers and then charge them if they cancel before the trial period ends.

[kglad]

what do you mean by, "there is no mention of charging a customer for a free trial, even if they cancelled after 14 days"?

cancellation of an annual subscription after 14 days incurs a financial penalty.

[Cassidy35116087nwrs]

Adobe's really out here advertising free trials and then charging their customers for them lol

[Cassidy35116087nwrs]

Even according to their cancellation fee schedule they over charged me.

[kglad]

@Cassidy35116087nwrs 

anyone who cancels during the cancellation period (which is one week longer than the trial period), is not charged or is refunded the charge was applied after the trial period.

[Cassidy35116087nwrs]

I ended up contacting their support team on X/Twitter and they refunded me the $22.99

[kglad]

@Cassidy35116087nwrs 

good to hear!  

[AmoryPaz]

I had the same issue today. My account showed as closed, I had ended my subscription with one day left, but unlike you (I am assuming) I was unsuccessful on multiple occasions getting a confirmation email that my account was cancelled. I was uneasy but somewhat confident that I would not be billed as my account showed inactive.

Today I noticed that I had been billed $21 and change. I was surprised that the week I had used the trial I was unable to find a Customer Service line. Today I opened Adobe.com and there it was: 1-eight hundred-833-sixty six 87. I spoke to someone, who did offer three free months (don't do that unless you want to pay for a full year of service, because that's what you're agreeing to) but I cut her off and said, no, I want a confirmation that I cancelled and the refund of my payment. She put me on hold for two minues or less and in that time I had the email and her assurance that a refund was being processed.

I'm happy to hear that you were able to get help with a Tweet on Twitter (sorry, forgot about the name change, with an Xcretion on X). 

[kglad]

 and you can check your account to confirm a refund is being processed, https://account.adobe.com

[Tricia355065492hc6]

Me, toooooo!  I had an ongoing monthly subscription to Adobe Creative CLoud for years. I canceled in the fall of 2023, and I noticed I was still being charged when I started my taxes in 2024. Chat was not helpful. When I log in, there is no active plan and no billing history. I do not believe I got confirmation of the canceled account.  Despite two chat session in mid Feb 2024, I was again billed in March 2024. Placed a second call to my credit card company. This time they are blocking Adobe charges. I hope this work. Ugh...so much wasted time on this!            P.S. clearly, some of this nightmare is on me for not tracking the cancelations more closely. But honestly, canceling subscriptions these days goes pretty easily with most companies.

[kglad]

were the charges for the account that was canceled?

[L.gps]

Just had this same thing happen. Found that I've been charged the last 8 months (my bad), and no way to cancel/remove card from Adobe as there's "no active subscription". Chat bot is useless - have gone down the same path of seeking CC company to dispute and prevent further charges. 

Adobe has really fallen if they're doing this kind of malicious charges.

[kglad]

@L.gps 

what's your account show, https://account.adobe.com

[L.gps]

There's no details there. Reading through others here I'm guessing there's a technical issue with Adobe.

Something where if a subscription is canceled in a certain period it removes it from purchases and cleans it up from custom account but fails to remove the billing. The result is that my account shows now plans/subscriptions and yet I'm getting billed for illustrator. 

[kglad]

copy and paste into a reply here screenshots of your adobe confirmation emails that sgow the date of your trial and another for the cancellation.

redact personal information.

[L.gps]

Would if I could. Like most people, I deleted the email after receiving it and it was cleaned up 30days after that. As such there's no record.

This should also be visible from somewhere in my account, but Adobe doesn't provide this. As such there's no trail beyond the invoice numbers that are referenced in the charge. This should be enough for Adobe to cross reference the account, and confirm it was in fact cancelled or if it wasn't, they should be able to cancel and stop future payments.

If you're part of Adobe support - feel free to direct thread to appropriate party and they can reach out directly.