The United States accuses Adobe of allegedly deceiving consumers and hiding the termination fees, so users have a difficult time terminating their subscriptions.
This lawsuit was filed this Monday, stating that “Adobe has harmed consumers by enrolling them in its default, most lucrative subscription plan without clearly disclosing important plan terms.” as the Department of Justice said.
The DOJ also believes that the company encouraged users to opt for the “annual paid monthly” subscription. However, if one of the customers wants to opt out of this type of subscription, they would need to pay hundreds of dollars, which was not made clear to users from the start of the subscription. So, when you want to cancel your subscription early, the early cancelation policy will pop out on your screen, and you might not be sure if you want to get rid of it. This procedure makes users feel trapped with their no-longer wanted subscriptions, named by the Department of Justice a “powerful retention tool”.
Even more so, the DOJ also mentions in the complaint that “During enrollment, Adobe hides material terms of its APM plan in fine print and behind option textboxes and hyperlinks, proving disclosures that are designed to go unnoticed and that most consumers never see,” and that “Adobe then deters cancellations by employing an onerous and complicated cancellation process.”.
Adobe responded to these allegations: "Subscription services are convenient, flexible, and cost-effective to allow users to choose the plan that best fits their needs, timeline, and budget”(...). “Our priority is always to ensure our customers have a positive experience. We are transparent with the terms and conditions of our subscription agreements and have a simple cancellation process,” said Dana Rao, Adobe’s General Counsel and Chief Trust Officer.
In 2012, Adobe transitioned from a one-time fee software model to a recurring subscription policy. This change, coupled with the recent allegations, has led the US government to seek 'injunctive relief, civil penalties, equitable monetary relief, as well as other relief' in an effort to address the issue.
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