My subscription changed without my knowledge or consent.

[BeebaS10]

I am a 3D Animation student. Last year, I had a free student subscription to Adobe Substance Painter (and the other programs included within the Substance 3D subscription, but I only use it for Substance Painter). Last month, I updated my subscription - not realising that it's only free for the first year - and was charged £18.50 on an annual subscription (billed monthly). I was miffed, but it was my bad for not reading the T&Cs properly so I let it go.

Well, this month comes around, and instead of the £18.50 I expected, I was charged £250.13. I freaked out, wondering why on earth I had such a massive charge from Adobe - only to sign in to my Adobe account and see that it had been updated to an annual subscription (billed upfront) which ends on 6th March 2026, a year from now. I cannot afford to pay £250 in one go. I am a student, working 8 hours a week. Also, £18.50 x 12 = £222, so why am I paying even more?

I figured okay, since it ends exactly a year from now, I'd say that means this is a new, separate subscription. But when I went in to cancel it - having read that I can cancel within 14 days of a new subscription and get my money back - there was no mention of a refund and it said my subscription would continue until the end of the paid year. So I stopped the cancellation process and came out of it, because I did not consent to this "upgrade" and want my money back.

Am I being silly? What do I do?

[kglad]

you can set a reminder to cancel when it best suits you.

[BeebaS10]

How do I get my money back, though?

[BeebaS10]

Can I? Or do I just have to deal with the fact I have this big payment thst I didn't consent to?

[kglad]

we'll need an adobe employee to see if anything can be done to help you.

@Shivangi_Gupta 

[BeebaS10]

Update: I've been going through my emails to see if I missed anything . . . and I did get an email just after starting my (billed monthly) subscription, stating the next fee would be £250.13 - but it ended up in my Junk folder. Which means I'm probably not entitled to any money back since I was "informed", sigh. I still say that's not my fault though, and I don't remember it saying anywhere that it would change from monthly billing to annual billing - that's so random, why???? - so I'll have to go and have a re-read again.

[kglad]

thanks for that. hopefully, shivangi will have something to add.

[Jeffrey_A_Wright]

BeebaS10, thanks for posting your question about your active subscription to this public discussion forum. If you want to cancel your active plan, then see https://adobe.ly/4irv6fD for the steps you can take to complete the cancellation process. You can find information on the fees and charges that will be applied at https://adobe.ly/4iu7BT2. ^JW

[BeebaS10]

I'm still unclear whether I'm entitled to a refund or not, because I don't know if this counts as a new subscription or a continuation from the previous month.

[Jeffrey_A_Wright]

Beeba, a timetable of the applicable charges are listed in https://adobe.ly/4kHPuv5, and the amount is automatically calculated as part of the self-cancel process.  ^JW

[BeebaS10]

Thank you for the information, but I'm still unclear. I don't know if I'm just misunderstanding, so forgive me if I am. I just want to check I have it right:
- If the charge I got counts as a new subscription, then since I got charged today I should be entitled to a refund since I'm within the 14 days.
- If the charge is a continuation from the previous month, then from what I've read, I won't get any refund since it's a prepaid plan.
My lack of clarity is regarding the status of my subscription - whether it's a continuation, or classed as a new subscription since it's technically a different plan. I am assuming it's being classed as a continuation since, when I started the cancellation process, it didn't say anything about a refund. Regardless, since I wasn't aware that the plan would change from monthly payments to annual payments until after I had paid for the first month (I checked, I can't see anything on the purchase page about it changing), I find the charge to be very unfair.

[Jeffrey_A_Wright]

Thanks for the feedback, Beeba. You can find information about the terms you agreed to when starting your subscription at https://adobe.ly/4i8OBK8.

You do have a student plan, so if the price changed, it is likely due to not resubmitting your proof of eligibility as described in https://adobe.ly/4klBGGp. Otherwise, you have had the same plan for over a year.

If you have additional questions about your active subscription, then please click on https://adobe.ly/4bCbDqs to speak with a member of our support team, Beeba. You may need to use a different device if you are unable to reach anyone. ^JW

[BeebaS10]

Hi Jeffrey, thanks for the response.

I definitely did resubmit proof of eligibility and it accepted it, I remember filling my name and college again. Although now that I'm looking at the confirmation email again, it only accepted it for one day? I resubmitted on 7 Feb 2025, and it says the subscription will continue until 8 February 2025 (see attached). But of course, since the student plan is only free for a year, it charged me £18.50 for the monthly-paid annual subscription since my year was up by then. Is it an issue with my proof of eligibility then? Although I don't know why that would make it change from monthly-paid to annually-paid.

[Jeffrey_A_Wright]

Beeba, we have never offered multi-year redemption codes. If you want to avoid being charged for the next year, you would need to enter a new code.

Please keep in mind that you are posting in a public discussion forum, which is visible to anyone with Internet access. If you have a concern about a specific charge or fee or additional questions about the plan you subscribed to, then click on https://adobe.ly/3Fj4ZZP for additional help. ^JW

[BeebaS10]

I'm confused, I didn't mention anything about multi-year redemption codes. Perhaps I worded something poorly.

I attempted to speak to a couple of agents at the link you provided, and got completely cut off after the second agent's first response.

[Jeffrey_A_Wright]

I do show you have an active support case. Please use the steps in https://adobe.ly/3QN6jXG to update your active support case ADB-38927714-X0Z6 with your questions, Beeba. You may need to use a different device since the current device or browser appears to be blocked from maintaining a stable connection with us. ^JW

[kglad]

(..and subscriptions automatically renew unless explicitly cancelled. adobe sends an email before renewal to remind you.)

[BeebaS10]

Only reminder I got was the email I mentioned that ended up in my Junk folder, kglad. And I got that last month, just after starting the (billed monthly) subscription. I've checked my main mailbox, my Junk folder, and my Deleted folder in case I deleted it by accident; no recent reminder. And yeah, I know they automatically renew, but I believe it shouldn't have even renewed this month, since it was an annual subscription I started last month. Unless I'm missing something.

[kglad]

renewal should only occur on the subscription's anniversary date.

[BeebaS10]

Yep, exactly. 

[kglad]

then the only thing, afaik, that would change the renewal date would be a subscription cancel/restart with the restart date being the new anniversary date.