Adobe stock is disgraceful! An absolute scam!

[Ben29329170mu4l]

I like many others saw the free trial of adobe stock and figured that I would give it a go to get a few assests to use for some of my university assignments.. I probably used it about twice in my 3-4 months of accidentally paying 40$ AUD a month for the "product". I finally saw the 40$ coming out of my account and realised something wasn't right, so I hopped onto my adobe account to try to cancel my "subscription" only to find that not only do they purposely make it hard to cancel, they also expect a 200$ cancellation fee.... So unbenounced to me when I accepted the "free trial" it was an ANNUAL CONTRACT! I had absolutely no clue it was an annual contract that I was signing up for at the time and it seems that countless other people have had the same issue. I think that's plenty of evidence to show that Adobe needs to step up, take some responsibility for this absolute mess and stop scamming people. Who would even think that a "subscription service free trial" would be a lock-in contract. If I'm unable to cancel this subscription without a cancellation fee I'll be contacting Consumer Affairs because as a student there is no way that I can afford to keep paying this monthly service.. The cancellation fee is half of my monthly income.. I've loved working with Adobe's products up until this point, I honestly feel like I've been scammed and taken advantage of.  

[Abambo · Accepted solution]

Honestly, you didn't read what you were signing up for because the trial correctly states that if you do not cancel before the trial ends, you have an annual subscription paid on the month. You had 14 days into the first paid month to cancel and get refunded. Subsequently, you have an annual subscription, that can be cancelled anytime, by paying an early cancellation fee of half of the remaining due. 

This can also be found in the e-mail you got, after taking the trial. Nobody can claim to be sneaked into a contract by Adobe.

One lesson from this for you should be:

• Read before signing up, especially the Terms and conditions and the cancellation terms.
• When you get asked for your credit card, expect to get charged at some point.
• Do not blame anyone for mistakes for which you are responsible.

As you seem to have seen messages from countless other people, who had not read the terms, you know that a solution could be to contact Adobe customer care. There is no guarantee, but very often, by asking friendly and explaining your situation and not having consumed the subscription service beyond the trial, they are very helpful and may be waiving the early termination fee.

Adobe customer care can be contacted by beginning a secure chat session at https://helpx.adobe.com/contact.html?rghtup=autoOpen. Pop-up blockers need to be disabled, you need to accept cookies! If the chat window fails to open, or is non-responsive, use a different device and/or browser to start the interaction.
Support phone numbers may be found here: https://helpx.adobe.com/contact/phone.html. Kindly note that phone charges may apply.

For support via Twitter:
https://twitter.com/AdobeCare

(see also here: https://community.adobe.com/t5/creative-cloud-services/how-to-contact-adobe-support/td-p/11875703 or here
https://community.adobe.com/t5/account-payment-plan/how-to-contact-adobe-support/td-p/11843852)



Important: Adobe does NOT contact you unsolicited by e-mail or direct message. If you get contacted by direct message from a person, claiming to be an Adobe employee, look at that profile and look, if they bear the “Adobe Employee” marking under their name. Adobe support does not use Skype to give you support.

If in doubt, ask the forum.

[Jill_C]

Go to the sign up page for an Adobe Stock Free Trial. Here's what it says:

Try Adobe Stock Free for 30 Days

• Get 10 Adobe Stock standard assets during your 30-day free trial
• You won't be charged until after your trial ends, when pricing will be US$29.99/month plus applicable taxes for the duration of your annual plan (10 assets a month)
• Cancel risk-free before your trial ends

START FREE TRIAL

The 3 main facts of the trial are succinctly communicated.

1. 10 assets for free in 30 days

2. monthly charge

3. annual plan

4. you must cancel before the trial ends

And on this page https://stock.adobe.com/plans

How does the Adobe Stock free trial work?

The Adobe stock free trial allows you to download assets included in your plan for free during your trial.
You can cancel risk-free during your trial without being charged. Any assets downloaded during the free trial period are yours to keep, even if you cancel.
After your trial ends, your annual subscription begins and you will automatically be charged the rate listed in your plan.

You signed up for this, and then didn't notice the charge for 4 months. Whenever I sign up for a trial of anything, I read about it in detail first, then I put a task on my calendar to decide whether to cancel it before the trial period ends. Then if I decide to keep the plan for the year, I put another note on my calendar a week or two prior to the renewal date to decide again if I want to continue.