I just got myself a $20 discount per month for the next year. Thanks OP!

Edit: Transcript for anyone wondering https://gist.github.com/wesoudshoorn/05202a305c48e504d4c9

Trying to cancel your yearly subscription on the day it gets automatically renewed seems like a not-so-good idea... Just one day earlier would make things clearer and ensure this kind of things don't happen to you.

Don't bait the sharks, just sayin.

That's absolutely disgraceful. This is not how you build better customer relations. What next? A horse's head ( just the screen from a macBook ) lying on your bed in a box?

Yeesh...That seems super shady...I was planning on cancelling my adobe subscription soon for similar reasons, and now i'm hoping I don't have to go through a similar process...

Me:

so cancellation fee?

Me:

what´s that

Adobe:

Yes, as per the previous conversation if you wish to continue the subscription till the commitment ends, I can help you with next 2 months free.

Me:

so, last time i spoke to an agent they said i had 2 months left of my subscription

Me:

and that was more than 2 months ago

Adobe:

Yes, that's correct.

Adobe:

I see that you have 6  transactions left for the subscription to complete the annual Commitment.

Adobe:

The best option I suggest you to take the advantage of free months and enjoy the service, if you take the advantage of free months you will only have to pay for last 4 months.  

Me:

I´ve payed, according to my accounts 13 payments to Adobe

Me:

since starting my subscription, which i believe was 1 year

Me:

so that´s 1 payment more than 1 year

Adobe:

The subscription is annual based with lower monthly fee, the subscription renew automatically, if you don't cancel the subscription in 12th month, the subscription will renew automatically.

Me:

so my annual subscription per month is 45.73

Me:

Pounds

Me:

which is a lot of money for something I don´t use

Adobe:

Okay,

Me:

I´ve tried contacting Adobe now 3 times to cancel

Me:

last time I got the answer I had 2 more months or else I´d get a cancellation fee

Me:

So I waited until now to cancel

Me:

now you are telling me I´ve got another year?

Adobe:

The subscription renew automatically, if you don't cancel the subscription in 12th month.

Me:

that doesn´t make any sense, I´m sorry

Adobe:

I can help you with 3 months free subscription, this will support you financially and you can avoid your cancellation fee as well, May I know if you are interested in?

Me:

So can you tell me what exactly the cancellation fee is, and what amount of months I need to pay to avoid it

Me:

I´d rather pay the fee than be stuck in this

Adobe:

If you cancel the subscription now, you will be charged 50% of the remaining 6 months within 24 hours.

Adobe:

If you continue the subscription, I can waive off the fee for next 3 months and you will have to pay for last 3 months.

Me:

Ok, so why is there a 6 month period?

Me:

I´ve payed for 13 months already Your chat transcript will be sent to oli@olafurbreidfjord.com at the end of your chat.

Adobe:

The commitment of the subscription is till 25-May-2016

Adobe:

You are in the new commitment from 25-May-2015 to 25-May-2016

Me:

ok, and what was my timeframe for cancelling the subscription? the exact month of 12

Me:

?

Me:

or 13 in my case

Adobe:

You will able to cancel the subscription from your Adobe account or contact us between 25-Apr-2016 to 25-May-2016

Me:

ok, let´s go with the 3 months free for now

Adobe:

Alright.

Adobe:

Please allow me a moment while I add the free months and provide you with the reference number.

Me:

ok, what will i do with the reference number?

Me:

And what´s the cancellation fee?

Adobe:

You will not have to do anything with the number, the number will be for the reference.

Adobe:

I have successfully added the free months subscription for this order number --------------------

Adobe:

Here is the reference number for the free months : ---------

Me:

ok, and what´s the cancellation fee?

Adobe:

The cancellation fee was 50% of the remaining 6 months, it is same if you continue the subscription with next 3 months free.

Me:

Ok, so my choice is to cancel now. or wait until the next run of 6 month cycle continues. Can you give me an exact date when I need to contact you for cancelling my subscription?

Adobe:

You will able to cancel the subscription from your Adobe account or contact us anytime between 25-Apr-2016 to 25-May-2016

Me:

Ok, thank you for the information and the free subscription.

Me:

Have a good day

fyi, Rani Mani, who is in charge of customer care at Adobe just posted this:

Hi, my name is Rani Mani, and I lead the Social Care team at Adobe for our creative products. First, I want to apologize for this experience. We have been working very hard to improve the experience when cancelling, and contacting customer service, and seeing this is just as frustrating for us, as it is for everyone else.

We did have a issue over a year ago that’s since been fixed that prohibited customers from canceling their subscription on their billing date without reactivating their account. In this particular case, the agent was misinformed and has been coached with the correct process. We have also taken this opportunity to provide refresher training for the rest of our agents on the cancellation process.

In addition, we are working on changes to the website, to make it easier for customers to cancel in general, so they don't need to contact customer support

If you have additional thoughts, feedback and suggestions, please feel free to email me directly ramani@adobe.com, or post here.

Thanks, Rani

The team is also watching this thread.

lol I can confirm that this happened to me too!

Chaitra: In this case, If O cancel the subscription also the subscription will reactivate. v Me: You're telling me that if I cancel today, the subscription will automatically renew for another year even though it has been canceled?

Chaitra: Yes.

Holy shit. Outsourced tech support at its fucking finest.

I want that offer also.

They must have outsourced the customer service to the cheapest option possible

Found this headline rather funny since reading that chatlog: http://offers.adobe.com/en/na/marketing/landings/_246450_on_love_and_data.html?s_rtid=701140000026sn5AAA&s_iid=70114000002JVskAAG&sfid=

This is how most subscription stuff works, so not a big deal IMHO... but what I wish they would do is start offering reduced rates based on being a loyal customer. It's crazy how you can pay full price and then the people who threaten to cancel get a fantastic deal. Makes me wonder how retention would be affected if they started doing something like 3+ years of service, pay only $39.99. 6+ years service, pay only $29.99 or similar. Entice people to stay with the knowledge it gets cheaper over time. At the same time, lengthen the tail of your users by making more cost effective over time... harder to quit.

Easiest way to cancel any product is to just get a new credit card. Sure it might be a pain for your other services but they definitely won't be able to charge you anymore.

Went through this a year ago, not surprised that it is still just as bad. You don't have aggressive customer service reps like this by accident.

I can already forsee a Medium article titled "How to get an Adobe Monthly Subscription for $30/mo".

You never physically signed anything. It's a monthly payment. I'd cancel my credit card and tell them to screw off.

Nothing "ruthless" to me. This seems regular PR tactics. A LOT of companies also do it.

PS: I worked in call centers as well about 10 years ago.

Adobe Mafia

Just incredible, nevermind how bad Photoshop has gotten.

$30/m is a good deal. If it's my situation, I would grab it.

With this kind of attitude i don't see them well...

The only way to cancel with Adobe without all this BS is to claim your credit card was lost. It's not worth even talking to their terrible reps, who are going to screw you over.

This whole situation, sadly, IS the standard at which a lot of larger businesses operate. I think the reason we're all so shocked and frustrated (aside from it just being shitty in general) is because a company so linked to the design industry, community and culture is shitting on the very people they constantly say they're here to help.

There's a disconnect there that needs to be addressed.

Wait where is everyone going? I've been using both Photoshop and Sketch but I feel like I still need Photoshop to edit photos and do a ton of things Sketch can't. Anyone have any recommendations?

You just gave me an idea for how to get a discount...

This is exactly why SaaS software tends to benefit the maker and not the consumer. I wish adobe would go back to flat fees.

Chaitra: In this case, If O cancel the subscription also the subscription will reactivate.

Me: You're telling me that if I cancel today, the subscription will automatically renew for another year even though it has been canceled?

Chaitra: Yes.

Holy shit. Outsourced tech support at its finest.

We tend to forget

Woooow. Makes me more convinced that I'm happy sticking with CS6.