The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit Monday against Adobe on the ground that the company hid the terms of its annual, paid monthly plan and failed to disclosed that canceling the plan early could lead to fees “that can amount to hundreds of dollars.”
The government also claims that Adobe requires a user wishing to cancel their plan to go through a complex, lengthy process that leads them through multiple webpages and pop-ups. It then “ambushes” the customer with notice of an early termination fee, which could discourage the customers from following through on cancellation. When trying to cancel their plan through live chats or over the phones, customers allegedly have their calls or chats dropped or disconnected, the DOJ lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit names Maninder Sawhney, senior vice president of digital go-to-market and sales, and David Wadhwani, president of digital media business, saying they “directed, controlled, head the authority to control or participated in the acts and practices of Adobe.”
