troubles with redeem code

[dominiqs]

I have a CC Photography Plan (20GB) since 2014, with annual billing and automatic renewal on August 22nd. The next renewal is thus scheduled for August 22nd, 2023.
On Monday (November 21st) I bought an additional 12 months of CC Photography Plan (20GB) via a black friday offer. However, after redeeming the code nothing changed. According to Adobe policy, my renewal date should have been postponed by 12 months (thus August 22nd, 2024) after the purchase.
Other photographers who bought the same this week got the expected behaviour (i.e., a shift of 12 months).

I opened a ticket with Adobe and Adobe char support four times so far, and we are running in circles. I describe my issue (every single time...what's the purpose of having a ticket system then?), I get told that the code was not redeemed, I redeem it again (even on a browser with clear cache, etc), it is treated as a new account (even though I am logged in with an existing one) and a few minutes later, when I check my account details and renewal date, it is as if I did nothing.

The last one on chat suggested to cancel my subscription, wait a few days, and then redeem the code.

I would have hoped that a company like Adobe was able to promptly solve issues like this, without canceling and redoing subscriptions...

Any ideas?

[kglad]

your black friday deal was restricted to first time subscribers.  ie, read the details.

[dominiqs]

No: as I wrote, other photographers (with existing subscriptions) bought the same package and had their subscription expiration date shifted by 12 months in a matter of minutes. It is even cumulative (one bought it twice and now has an expiration date in 2024...).

[dominiqs]

Also, note that this is not the black friday deal from Adobe, it is a black friday discount from Amazon on a regular 1-month subscription (thus not limited to first-time subscribers).

[kglad]

never heard of amazon's black friday deal.

but keep us informed of the end result. obviously amazon vendors can state whatever but if adobe disagrees there's no subscription.

ie, clearly the adobe website isn't setup to handle this, so your only recourse is via adobe support or the amazon end.

[dominiqs]

I was also skeptical at first, but I double-check with the people on photography forum I trust and they all had positive outcomes with the deal. Also, I don't get any error when trying to redeem the code: it accepts the code but then immediately forgets about it.

[kglad]

make sure those others, that said it worked, were not first time subscribers.

[dominiqs]

I already did. As I wrote, those were all with a running subscription, whose expiration date was just postponed by 12 months after redeeming the code.

Again, this is not the Adobe black friday deal. I bought a 12 months subscription on Amazon (at a discounted price, but the code is legit) and this is the corresponding Adobe policy as taken from the Adobe website:

If you already have an active Creative Cloud plan, like Creative Cloud Photography (20GB), and you redeem the exact same plan with the same Adobe ID, your billing will be paused for 12 months if you have a plan that’s billed monthly. If you paid for the full year in advance, the 12-month term of your  bonus plan will stack on top of your existing plan. 

[dominiqs]

See:

https://helpx.adobe.com/download-install/kb/redemption-code-help.html

[kglad]

that last paragraph would appear to apply to adobe's black friday deals too, so it means nothing here.

that aside, do you have a link to that amazon deal?  i don't see it searching amazon.

[dominiqs]

I am from Italy and the deal is on amazon.it...so all in Italian. I don't know how much it can help, but here it is anyway:

https://www.amazon.it/Adobe-Creative-Photography-Codice-dattivazione/dp/B07NLL3K6D?__mk_it_IT=%C3%85...

Why do you say that the paragraph means nothing here? I would say it is very relevant.

[kglad]

thanks for the link.  it's not offered in the usa (for an unknown, to me, reason).

and it's not important that we debate that paragraph about purchasing plans while you still have an existing plan.  if you don't understand that issue, you don't understand it.

[dominiqs]

Or you can try to explain it so that I understand it? The last statement was a bit offensive in my opinion.

[kglad]

i already explained it once:

"that last paragraph would appear to apply to adobe's black friday deals too, so it means nothing here"

rewording my past statement: that paragraph does not address invalid redemptions.  (i'm not saying your redemption is valid or invalid, but i know adobe's black friday deals are not valid for current subscribers.)

[kglad]

so, the only issue for you: is your redemption valid?

if adobe support says yes, it's valid but our system is screwing up and failing to add the 12 months onto the end of your current subsription, then escalate from an agent to a supervisor.

if adobe support isn't sure it's valid, that's another issue altogether.

and you don't need to convince me.  i'm irrelevant.  it's adobe support that needs to be convinced.

[dominiqs]

Given that I am running in circles with chat support, how can I escalate this to a supervisor? That would indeed be my next step.

[kglad]

i understand about the amazon deal (and yes, the link you supplied and especially the questions/answers there make it appear that it's valid for current subscribers).

to edit your support ticket(s): https://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/policy-pricing/customer-support-portal.html

[dominiqs]

Glad we are now on the same page and thanks for the link: the ticket was created by support and I didn't find how to edit it. Now I am trying to excalate it there. Thanks again!

[kglad]

you're welcome.

please follow up so i can learn the outcome (and hopefully better help others, in the future).

[dominiqs]

Thanks for the quick clarification! I now understand your comment.

Still, as I wrote, I did not get an Adobe black friday deal but an Amazon black friday deal on a regular Adobe plan, so, as far as Adobe is concerned, this should be a regular (and thus valid) redemption, and the statement should be relevant to my specific case.

[Abambo]

Did you talk to Amazon too?

[Abambo]

Is your Adobe ID domiciled in Italy? These codes are "country" sensitive.

[dominiqs]

I did not talk to Amazon yet as this seems an Adobe issue. I guess my Adobe ID is domiciled in Italy (although I couldn't find how to verify it): I am using an Italian credit card and an Italian mobile number as contact. And the code was bought on the Italian Amazon store...

[Abambo]

I am using an Italian credit card

By @dominiqs

That's telling that the account is home in bella italia. If you use the credit card of a different country, you can't buy in Italy and vice versa. The cell phone is not relevant.

[dominiqs]

Just a final update: I did not get any answer nor solution since Nov 25th, when I asked for the ticket to be escalated.

So yesterday I gave the code as a Christmas gift to a friend, who has the very same subscription I do.

The good news is that it worked as expected, so (a) I did not waste my money and (b) it confirms that the operation was legit, as I always claimed. The bad news is that it is unacceptable that Adobe support could not provide any fix/solution in two weeks. This is not how you treat a loyal customer (CC customer since 2014!) and at this point I will start looking around for alternatives. For sure I will not renew next year.

Thanks to all the people who replied to this thread, you were far more helpful than Adobe itself.