Why is Adobe trending on Twitter? Software company facing cancellation fee backlash

American software company Adobe is trending on Twitter after a user shared his frustration over an unusually high cancellation fee when trying to cancel his subscription to the platform.

The user shared a screenshot that showed he was being charged a cancellation fee of A$291.45 ($222) for ending his subscription early. The tweet drew a lot of attention with others users also claiming to feel trapped with such an expensive fee.

However, this isn't the first instance where someone has taken to Twitter to express their distain over the difficult process. Last year a woman named Tanya Janca also shared her experiences while trying to cancel her monthly subscription to Adobe Acrobat Pro.

She had been charged $119 through a $14.99 a month subscription after not realising she had been on an auto-renewal system. When she tried to cancel after only having used the service once, she was told she would have to pay $30. She says when she tried to cancel the automatic renewal, there was no online option to do so.

Instead, she chatted with customer service, where she was told that her only option was to pay to end her subscription early or wait until her subscription period officially ended and then cancel.

Instead, Janca took to Twitter where she complained to her 32,000-plus followers about what had transpired. Her tweet was noticed by someone at Adobe and she got her subscription cancelled without having to incur a fee.

"This solves this for me personally, but not other users," she tweeted after the issue was resolved.

Is Adobe’s subscription cancellation fee legal?

Despite the high fee for early cancellation, some users have pointed out that it is actually mentioned in Adobe’s terms of service agreement when a user agrees to purchase a subscription.

Under the “cancellation terms” on Adobe's website, they state that a user is free to cancel their subscription anytime via the Adobe Account page or by contacting Customer Support and a full refund will be process if it's within a two-week window.

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“If you cancel within 14 days of your initial order, you’ll be fully refunded. Should you cancel after 14 days, your payment is non-refundable, and your service will continue until the end of that month’s billing period,” states the Adobe website.

However, it's the annual contract that seems to be causing the most backlash as it they appear to have the highest fees. Under an annual subscription that's paid monthly, Adobe states that if a user cancels within 14 days of their initial order, they will be fully refunded.

However, if they try to cancel after that period, they’ll be charged a lump sum amount of 50 per cent of their remaining contract obligation and that the subscription will continue under the end of that month’s billing period.

For those who pre-pay for the entire year, the same terms apply within the 14-day window. But it is stated that if a user wants to cancel after that time frame, “payment is non-refundable and your service will continue until the end of your contracted term.”

Tips for used car buyers

Choose cars with GCC specifications
Get a service history for cars less than five years old
Don’t go cheap on the inspection
Check for oil leaks
Do a Google search on the standard problems for your car model
Do your due diligence. Get a transfer of ownership done at an official RTA centre
Check the vehicle’s condition. You don’t want to buy a car that’s a good deal but ends up costing you Dh10,000 in repairs every month
Validate warranty and service contracts with the relevant agency and and make sure they are valid when ownership is transferred
If you are planning to sell the car soon, buy one with a good resale value. The two most popular cars in the UAE are black or white in colour and other colours are harder to sell

Tarek Kabrit, chief executive of Seez, and Imad Hammad, chief executive and co-founder of CarSwitch.com

ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

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Getting%20there

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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme

Priority access to new homes from participating developers
Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
Flexible payment plans from developers
Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates

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Getting there

The flights

Emirates and Etihad fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town daily. Flights cost from about Dh3,325, with a flying time of 8hours and 15 minutes. From there, fly South African Airlines or Air Namibia to Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, for about Dh850. Flying time is 2 hours.

The stay

Wilderness Little Kulala offers stays from £460 (Dh2,135) per person, per night. It is one of seven Wilderness Safari lodges in Namibia; www.wilderness-safaris.com.

Skeleton Coast Safaris’ four-day adventure involves joining a very small group in a private plane, flying to some of the remotest areas in the world, with each night spent at a different camp. It costs from US$8,335.30 (Dh30,611); www.skeletoncoastsafaris.com