Be very careful of Adobe free trials

Bryan
a day ago
chat_bubble_outline7
    Bryanpanorama_fish_eye
    1341 posts
    a day ago

    September last year I set up a free trial of Adobe Lightroom.

    I didn't want it and remember discontinuing the free trial.

    I have only just realised they have been charging me the monthly subscription ever since.

    At NO point did I receive any emails from Adobe welcoming me to my subscription plan. No other communications, NADA.

    After I jumped through the hoops to find the right place to cancel the plan they told me I will be charged an early cancellation fee!!! After some heated words from me I think he said he would cancel the subscription without the cancellation fee.

    Not that it is much money, just the principle...

    Be careful.

    xpatUSAlens
    730 posts
    a day ago

    Not just Adobe ... a growing problem buying stuff on-line ...

    ArvoJlens
    Team
    a day ago

    You can expect the same alwyas, when setting up trial subscription asks for credit card data or some other payment method.

    Bryanpanorama_fish_eye
    1341 posts
    a day ago

    I am always wary. Not wary enough this time.

    Bryanpanorama_fish_eye
    1341 posts
    a day ago

    I always hated the way these companies ask for all your details first. And for a long time would never take any free trials or whatever if I needed to provide details first.

    But I needed to know what they were like and the only way was to trial them. I had a free trial of DXO and no problem other than continual spam about their products so I just unsubscribed.

    I am going to contact them again tomorrow and ask for the total 6 months back. If they had sent me an email with my subscription and logon details then I would have known...

    stevet1panorama_fish_eye
    774 posts
    a day ago

    Bryan,

    You can also contact your credit card company and ask them not to honor any more payment requests from Adobe.

    Steve Thomas

    ArvoJlens
    Team
    a day ago

    Same here.
    Some programs are available on legal (free) software download sites without any registration; some programs can be found on other sites or systems (and then already without any trial limits... although this does not exclude paying for usable software). Companies should guess that some potential customers do not like those stupid "registration" blocks and choose not to become real customers - but likely gathering more data overweights negative consequences for them. Or they just don't care.

    Heck, I even had to download some data terminal firmware in "wrong" way - they didn't allow starting download without becoming their customer, but fortunately download links were easy to guess and were not blocked by technical means.

    xpatUSAlens
    730 posts
    a day ago

    I never liked the Elephant in the Room. My computer has been Adobe-free for years since when I laboriously made a DCP for a supported Sigma SD9 Foveon camera using Adobe's stuff but which was studiously ignored by PS Elements.