The US government has sued Adobe for allegedly hiding expensive fees and making it difficult to cancel subscriptions. The Department of Justice claims that Adobe «harmed consumers by enrolling them in its most lucrative default subscription plan without clearly disclosing important terms of the» plan.
The lawsuit alleges that Adobe «hides the terms of its paid plan «in the fine print and behind additional text boxes and hyperlinks». By doing so, the company fails to adequately disclose early termination fees incurred after cancellation, «which can run into hundreds of dollars». It is also noted that when customers attempt to cancel their subscription, Adobe requires them to go through an «onerous and complex» cancellation process that involves navigating between multiple web pages and pop-ups.
According to the Department of Justice, customers face obstacles when they try to cancel their subscriptions by phone or in chat rooms. The complaint alleges that «subscribers’ calls or chats were interrupted or disconnected, and they had to re-explain the reason for the call when they reconnected». The lawsuit claims that these actions violate federal laws aimed at protecting consumers.
The lawsuit also targets Adobe executives: Maninder Sawhney, senior vice president of digital market entry and sales, and David Wadwani, president of the digital media business. The complaint states that both executives «directed, controlled, had the authority to control, or participated in the acts and practices of Adobe».
It should be noted that in 2012, Adobe switched from selling its creative software for lifetime use to charging users a monthly or annual subscription. Adobe’s subscription model has drawn criticism from creatives who are often forced to remain subscribed to Adobe services in order to continue doing their work.
Source: The Verge
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