USA sues Adobe over hidden fees
Anyone who takes out an annual subscription with Adobe with monthly payment will receive a hefty bill if they cancel early. The US judiciary finds that this fee is not communicated transparently. This is detrimental to customers.
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is suing Adobe. The trade authority is accusing the software giant of deceiving its customers with opaque fee structures. In addition, Adobe is building an unnecessary number of hurdles into the cancellation process. According to the lawsuit, the company is violating several consumer protection laws in the USA with these practices.
Adobe denies the allegations in a short statement: "We are transparent about the terms of our subscription agreements and have a simple cancellation process. We will refute the FTC's allegations in court."
Fee also applies in Switzerland
The biggest bone of contention is Adobe's fee for early cancellation of a monthly billed annual Creative Cloud subscription. It also applies in Switzerland: After a 14-day trial period, 50 per cent of the remaining annual costs will be due in the event of early cancellation.
An example calculation:
In this example, you would pay a total of 593.55 francs for six months of Creative Cloud. That's more than if you subscribe for the same period in the non-binding monthly model without a cancellation period (590.10 francs). The following chart shows the total costs after certain periods if you cancel early with different subscription models:
The lawsuit against Adobe could have an impact on other suppliers. Many companies offer their services as a plan. The way in which fees and contract terms are communicated is increasingly the focus of regulatory authorities. If the lawsuit is successful, this could lead to higher transparency requirements - possibly not only in the USA.
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