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I’ve been an Adobe Creative Cloud customer since it became available – I love it, it saves me the upfront cost of software, and that’s all I’m going to say about it.

In case you don’t know, Adobe Creative Cloud is a subscription service providing creative types with access to the entire suite of Adobe products. I got an upgrade deal and was paying £27 for my subscription, but not using the entire suite. After a year the price went back up to the standard £46, which I also paid for. Then I discovered the Creative Cloud package for photographers, containing access to Photoshop CC and Lightroom (the two applications I use most) for around £8 per month – perfect! I also learned that I could downgrade – absolutely brilliant!

However, I had just paid for a full month’s subscription, and became a bit annoyed when I was told they couldn’t refund my subscription fee. After telling the support person just how annoyed I was he performed a complete U-turn:

Chat Information: You are now chatting with ‘Manasa’

Manasa: Hello! Welcome to Adobe Customer Service.

Manasa: Hi Gordon.

Gordon Mackay: Hi there

Gordon Mackay: I was wondering if you could help me. I have learned that I can downgrade my current Creative Cloud subscription to the Photographer offer available until 2nd December.

Manasa: I understand you want to purchase Creative Cloud to the Photoshop CC and Lightroom 5.

Manasa: I will be glad to check and help you with this.

Gordon Mackay: Thank you

Manasa: May I have the order number please?

Gordon Mackay: AD**********UK

Gordon Mackay: That’s the order number

Manasa: Thank you for the information.

Manasa: Gordon,Shall I go ahead and cancel the subscription.

Gordon Mackay: Will my subscription automatically change to the Photographer deal?

Manasa: No,You need to cancel the subscription and purchase the new subscription.

Gordon Mackay: Will I be charged an early cancellation fee?

Gordon Mackay: Also, I have just paid £46 a few days ago

Gordon Mackay: So, I need to pay another fee on top of this?

Manasa: No,Gordon cancellation fee is not charged.

Manasa: Shall I go ahead and cancel the subscription.

Gordon Mackay: I want to know whether I need to pay another £8 on top of the £46 I just paid Adobe, if so I don’t think that’s very fair!

Manasa: Gordan,since it an annual subscription it is not possible to refund but we can cancel the subscription without the cancellation fee.

Gordon Mackay: So, what you’re telling me is that there is no real downgrade path, rather just a cancel and re-subscribe and pay again? After having been a subscriber for 2 years (since CC began) this seems completely unfair! I’m really annoyed by this! First off, there was no photography package when I started my subscription, so I opted for the full package, then one becomes available and I have to pay the equivalent of 6 months of the Photography deal in one go.

Manasa: Gordan,Please stay online while I cancel the subscription and initiate the refund.

Gordon Mackay: Thanks.

Manasa: I have successfully cancelled your subscription for the order number AD**********UK.

Gordon Mackay: And I will receive a refund on my debit card?

Manasa: I have successfully initiated your refund and your reference number is 65892640.Your refund will be processed with in 5-7 business days once our relevant team process the refund.

Manasa: Is there anything else I can help you with?

Gordon Mackay: Thanks very much for your help Manasa, much appreciated!

Manasa: You are welcome.

Manasa: You may receive an email that will contain a link to complete an optional survey to provide your feedback on the support experience. Your feedback is very much appreciated.

Manasa: Thank you for contacting Adobe. We are available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. Goodbye!

Chat InformationThis chat session has ended.

Thank you for contacting Adobe.

I have to say, in spite of the initial annoyance, I’m pleased with the way the Adobe support person dealt with things, and although many people hate Adobe Creative Cloud, I can say that I’ve never been disappointed by any of it, even if it took a bit of a rant to get what I wanted :)