Adobe canceled my serial number, without cause, or proof. Has this happened to anyone else? [2014]

[pixelbruin]

Hey,

I bought CS6 the Master Collection about 2.5 years ago. Today, it randomly stopped working. I contacted support, and they said my license had expired, and unless I could provide the original receipt they wouldn't show me my licensing agreement. So I have no software, and they won't prove that it was legal to cancel it.

I bought the full version, they claim it was a student version - which is just inaccurate. I should know. Has this happened to anyone else? I am potentially out of a job as a result, and to me, this is just plain theft.

I plan on escalating this to the ends of the earth. If there are enough of us, perhaps a class-action lawsuit is in order.

Thanks,

Sarah Ryan

[paperfox]

You guys are not alone. This just happened to me as well.

[paperfox]

Adobe said "That the Academy got licenses that expire. It was the schools job to inform the students of this."

[paperfox]

Academy said "The licenses purchased were for the length of the lifetime of the product (CS6). Since CS6 is being [phased] out the licenses are expiring".

[pixelbruin]

Paperfox, the interesting thing is AAU says Adobe revoked the licenses without their knowledge, warning, or permission - or so they say. AAU claims to be working with Adobe to fix the issue, at least for alumni who are no longer part of the school's current rules - again, so they say. Alternatively, Adobe has told me that AAU revoked our licenses. I have it all in writing. Someone is lying - question is, who? I blame Adobe squarely because the fundamental truth is there is NO LANGUAGE in our licensing agreements that makes mention of any potential "expiration date." Adobe wrote to me - again, provable - and said they agree that there is no language in the licensing agreement which states it will expire. Once that was admitted, they quickly stopped responding to me. Instead I was told repeatedly, "Sorry for your frustration. We understand how you feel." Patronizing. Illegal. Con-artistry. Petty theft.

I am organizing a class-action lawsuit. facebook.com/adobesteals

Stay tuned! I'm not rolling over. There are thousands of us across the U.S. We will win - eventually.

[bushwacker]

This was briefly posted on my AAU user page on the morning of Sept. 10. By the afternoon it was removed but not before I cut and pasted it:

Hello Academy of Art University Alumni,

  We understand that some of you have been experiencing problems with your Adobe CS6 license key. Please note, we have confirmed with Adobe that your serial numbers were not supposed to expire. We are working diligently alongside our partners at Adobe to rectify the issue as quickly as possible.

   Thank you for your patience,
  Academy of Art University Alumni Association

The fact that it was removed by the afternoon suggests "foul play", yes?

I sent an email to the online help link and have not had a response. I called the Alumni Association and the person that answered would not let me speak to anyone who would know anything about it. She just said she would get an answer and get back to me. She also said she did not know anything about the posting. This whole thing is getting more suspect each day it goes on.

[Louann108]

This makes sense but their customer service has no idea. One tells me it's a fake. One told me simpy "it expired" and gave a litany of excuses as to why.

[jamarshall]

Hi guys,

I'm also an AAU graduate, and my CS6 license was revoked.  There was no notice of pending expiration during installation, nor for the entire 1yr and 6 months that it has been installed on my computer.  This is outrageous.  I recently needed to do some freelance work at home, only to find out my programs will not function.  Please rectify this immediately.

- Jonathan M.

[pixelbruin]

Facebook.com/adobesteals

[Louann108]

Wow. 9 years later and they are still doing this. When I tried to install my PS CS6 on my new laptop, I was told that my SN was a fake. Funny, it wasn't a fake for the last 11 years I've used it and had to reinstall it because of crashes, etc.

When I spoke to "customer support", she wanted me to prove it was a legitimate purchase by showing the receipt. After 11 years?? 
Adobe wants us to purchase their subscriptions, so they are invalidating the software we'd bought previously. Photoshop is my basic-I use Topaz for my finishing work and they have no problem with me re-installing my older software, even giving me help to do so.  Adobe, on the other hand is not consumer friendly and very greedy. They know they have us by the gonads.
I paid for this software, I should be able to use it.

[kglad]

@Louann108 

from whom did you purchase?

[Louann108]

I'm pretty sure it was B&H in 2012

[kglad]

contact b&h and see if they can offer anything.

[Louann108]

They have nothing to do with Adobe flagging my SN. And I'm not the only one this is happening to. 

[kglad]

serial numbers are typically revoked if

1. they were used/sold illegally 

2. they are found in the public domain.

[Louann108]

When one purchases an educational CD, the serial number is not on it. You have to show proof of your status and then get the SN from Adobe.  Why would they send me a pilfered number?

[kglad]

they wouldn't.  

from what you've stated, the serial number worked initially. so, something changed (from adobe's perspective) after the initial issuance.  eg, adobe may have determined the vendor should not have sold educational cds.  or maybe the vendor was entitled to sell x number of educational cds and was found to have sold a number greater than that.

or maybe adobe determined you weren't entited to an educational license  or maybe your serial number was found in the public domain. or something else.

[Louann108]

The "something else" is that Adobe is revoking old purchased licenses so that the users have to purchase new product. 

[kglad]

if that were true, we'd all see revocations.  most of us do not.

[Louann108]

Many are. This is literally a thread about it. It appears it may be education versions for whatever reason.

[kglad]

education and enterprise versios are particularly prone to fraud on the part of the vendor because vendors receive one license number for x users.  if that license number is sold x+ users, that's a license violation.  as soon as adobe detects that/those additional licenses, all the licenses become invalid.

[Louann108]

Except the verification and the SN itself goes thru Adobe. ID and receipt have to be sent to a particular Adobe web address and the SN is issued after verification of those. The software is 11 years old. While going to the verification page at first recognizes the product code, it does not recognize the email address,  meaning it probably killed the account. Adobe would not, I should think, commit its own fraud.
This is an attempt to get old users to purchase new merchandise because they will no longer update CS6 product.

[Louann108]

Your assumptions also don't explain why the same CD with the same SN could be repeatedly used on various laptops multiple times thru crashes, replacements, etc. You would have to say Adobe is so inept that it couldn't recognize fraud for over 11 years. I'm not that good a fraudster.
This is no different, really, than MS no longer supporting XP. Difference is I can still run XP on my old computer.

[kglad]

look, i don't have any inside information to your particular situation.  and you're asking about somethings that i've explained more than once about how something could happen.

[Louann108]

Then stop trying to "figure it out". I'm not asking you to.

[Louann108]

Someone elsewhere mentioned it might have been flagged because of all the installations thru the years. 3 laptops, a desktop and several crashes might have raised a red flag. Problem is, Adobe customer service is horrible. If you do get someone they aren't very nice and VERY accusatory and do the same as people here-work on conjecture instead of information.