Adobe

The hoops I have had to jump through! I purchased 2 licenses of CS5.5 on April 27, 2012. At the time of purchase, I was told that Adobe will give us free upgrades to version 6.0 when we purchase version 5.5. We purchased the two licenses and are now trying to get our upgrades. Adobe has had me resend the receipt twice and asked about the relationship between the owner of the company and myself. I explained that the owner's credit card was used to purchase the software and that I'm the tech support admin. They wanted me to go to the owner and request a letter be written on our company letterhead and signed by him, stating that I'm an authorized employee, and tech support admin for the company.

I used the email, and the chat, and called a real person expressing my frustration about the situation, with no one caring at all. I have never had to go through this with any company in all my years of IT! I feel like this is a witch hunt just because I didn't purchase the software directly from Adobe. We purchased the software from an Adobe Authorized Partner. You would think they would have a system in place to verify purchases through an authorized partner. I'm now waiting for their latest response, which could take up to more 5 days.

Our experience with Adobe has been extremely negative. With a rare exception, the reps are very unfriendly; they interrupt in a mid-sentence, and get rude ("I am not going to waste my time on this," etc.). It took months and dozens of phone conversations to transfer the license from our ex-employee back to the company. I mean those reps who actually speak the language of this country. When they escalate, you'll usually get someone picking up the phone in India. This afternoon, after two rude and annoyed people, I got escalated to a tech who just simply hung up on me, after I asked the same question twice, since he was saying sheer nonsense. And these are the characters Adobe hires to represent itself? Wow, shame, and shame again, Adobe. You are deliberately turning your loyal and long-running customers away. Well, this is exactly what you'll get.

Today I purchased Adobe Premier Creative Suite CS 5.5 from an Adobe Vendor. What I purchased was a download but I preferred to get the suite on discs (for back-up security). The Vendor told me I could call Adobe and for a nominal charge get the Suite on discs.

I called Adobe and after an acceptable wait was able to place my order for the discs. I requested that I wished to sign for the delivery so it wouldn't be left on my exposed porch and was told I'd have to talk to a different department to do that and the agent said he'd transfer me. 25 minutes later, still no connection, nothing but insipid muzak. I hung up, went back to the website looking for any way to contact Adobe. I called customer service again 45 minutes later, nothing. I sent in a request for a call back; 20 minutes later, I get a call back and a recorded voice informs me that I will be connected to someone who can help me with my problem. 20 minutes after receiving the call back, I'm still on hold still listening to this insipid muzak.

Meanwhile I get an email that my order for the discs has been placed and will be shipped. If this is shipped and then stolen, a distinct possibility, alas, these days I'm screwed. I had to go out on a limb to buy this once much less twice.

It is incredible to me a company the size of Adobe can make such a mockery of customer service. Adobe is one of those companies that have a contact us section just because you're supposed to have one. It is my experience that the only thing Adobe wants is to take your money and they couldn't care less about anything else. Thanks, Adobe, for being an obnoxious, arrogant pain in the ** to deal with.

Now apparently I'm going to have to wait 7-10 days to see if my order will arrive and or whether it gets stolen before I can get to it. Adobe, I've been using your products since 1986 so I can say with authority, you suck! p.s. The whole time I've been typing this I've been on hold with Adobe's own call back. What's the point of having a call back if you're not going to answer the phone you miserable clowns!

After 3 years of owning Adobe Acrobat software, it suddenly stopped working and began rejecting the serial number. I contacted them and they refused to repair my software. Adobe buyers should be aware that Adobe does not keep records of purchases and will invalidate your software years after purchase, then insist that you provide records to show ownership or they will stop it from working remotely and automatically. This is theft of personal property and buyers should be aware that buying Adobe software can be invalidated years later, depriving the owner of usage.

I purchased Adobe CS4 Web Premium and InDesign CS4 separately. The programs worked great for over almost two years. Now I'm experiencing "Licensing for this product has stopped working." Within the Web Premium Suite only Adobe Acrobat Pro 9 stopped working as well as InDesign. I spent hours on the phone with tech support in Philippines trying to get Adobe working and they instead ended up making things worse on the eve of a project deadline. It is amazing how a company this large already monopolizing the vector software industry with Illustrator (I used to work with Freehand which they acquired then later quit supporting it to forcing us to switch to Illustrator). In short, none of the published steps actually works. Once you get to the solution involving the PCD folder, you lose all other licensing and info for the other programs within the suite.

I feel a class action lawsuit is in order. There are hundreds of complaints on the internet pertaining to the same problems for over four years. They are screwing around with our livelihood. Many of us spend hundreds of dollars on software and make a living using these products. It is unforgivable for Adobe to remain nonchalant about correcting the problem that seems to be dragging on for several years now. Technical support is almost non existent. The so called tech support people don't really resolve anything. They talk you through steps but in the end the problem remains the same. I have already uninstalled the CS4 programs to no avail. I can't afford to upgrade to CS5 and from the looks of it, Adobe doesn't offer further solutions nor does it appear to have intentions on correcting this problem via a patch.

I bought a copy of Photoshop CS5. During the install process, it asked me to log into My Adobe. I had forgotten my password, so I asked for a reset. Somehow, it worked on my end but just didn't work on the website. They emailed me today to say it was fixed. Nope, it's not fixed. I even set up a new account. I still can't use Photoshop. Ridiculous. 5 days later, I was on hold for at least 8 hours total for a total of 5-6 calls. Nothing. I never experienced something as bad as this for a product I paid hundreds of dollars for. Horrendous! Ridiculous! I wish I had other choices.

I purchased Lightroom 3 on 2-15-12. According to Adobe support (reached after long waits), Lightroom 4 was released on March 6, 2012. Adobe purports to have a 30-day "free" upgrade window for those, who like myself, have purchased earlier versions shortly before the new release of the next version. However, Adobe support refused to honor this policy (after wasting much of my time by putting me on hold, asking for an upload of receipts, serial numbers, etc.) and then denied the "free" up grade as advertised. After three calls to support, Adobe denied a free upgrade stating the Lightroom 3 version purchased from Buy.com was sold too cheaply ($106)!

Adobe needs to post a clear upgrade policy without fine print and then deliver on this policy. Shame on Adobe for treating customers poorly by refusing to honor their overly complicated upgrade policies. Adobe should stop looking for "con" methods like these designed to squeeze a few more dollars than reasonable for Adobe products.

The customer service department never followed through on updates concerning my purchase (online order of Creative Suite software package). They lied to me about the educational approval, mailing dates, shipping and even a credit card issue. It took over 10 phone calls and 4 weeks for this order and to this date I have still not received the software. I don't see how they stay in business with this horrendous customer care. There is just no one else to order from or I would have. Countless hours of my life were lost dealing with these pathetic jerks. I'm so upset with Adobes service. I hope I never have to deal with them again. They could not have cared any less.

I had to re-install owing to sudden instability in Acrobat Pro 8.0 which I had used for years. To re-install was their tech support's advice. The product is great, the support is worthless and the rudest experience imaginable. After hours of haggling with them on the phone over getting my disk to re-load with the proper SN because of an intervening upgrade and having to escalate the complaint, I finally got an email to contact them with an okay. So there I go through the whole tech support matrix by telephone again investing at least an hour and the product seems to be re-installing. Great! Thank you. Except when I hang up and the re-install completes, the whole computer crashes. The program is completely hung up and will not load. The desktop program is missing. I called them again, wait time 20 + minutes. I was referred to tech support. The wait time is another 20+ minutes, then I am told that it must be a problem with my hardware (Dell) and they cannot help me. I tried escalating to a supervisor, wait time another 20+ minutes.

Meantime, I have lost complete productivity for the day. When a supervisor is finally available, he tells me that they no longer support this version and I am on my own. He also says my Dell must have broken down at the moment of re-install which is a statistical improbability. He wants me to buy a later version of the software. I have investigated versions 9 and 10. They are the subject of significant criticism including a complete (and unnecessary) format change. The universal recommendation is to stick with Version 8. The supervisor then states that I will have to solve this problem on my own. Also, after looking there, there is no assistance in the knowledge base, even if I knew how to.

Basically, I have been thrown to the dogs. Questions: (1) Why did they put me through endless hours of re-installation only to tell me that they would not help me when the installation goes bad? (2) So if they are not supporting version 8, and I am not asking for assistance on a new install, or in a changed environment, or to move it or do anything different with it, or on using it but only to have it work the way it did last week on my Dell until they put me through a re-install, is that kosher? Can they just dump you like that?

They have the rudest people working for them. I have tried for days to sign in to Adobe Premiere and can't even sign up to use this. I call and waited an hour for someone to talk to me. Such a stupid person she didn't know what I was talking about. Now, I am going to send this software back and get a refund. Don't expect me to ever do business with them. Trust will go a long way and so will the word of mouth.

I purchased Adobe Export PDF and was directed to sign in. When I signed in, I was notified that a verification email was sent to my email and that I needed to sign in through the link to verify my email. No problem. So I signed in through the link. I was given another pop-up notice that a verification email had been sent and I needed to sign in through the link to verify my email. So, I repeated the process. I repeated the process over 25 times. I phoned Adobe. After explaining the issue at least as many times, I was told that my software had been shipped and I needed to wait 10 business days.

I explained to the Adobe representative that this was an online service and no software was required, so nothing should have been shipped. Then I was given a new password. The password was obviously not the problem; I was able to sign in. It was just throwing me into a verification loop that I couldn't escape. But I repeated the process several times with the new password. Then I was told to call back on a different number. When I called back, a recording told me to please hold--the expected wait time was over two hours. I feel as if I have been given the runaround by both the service and the very poorly informed technical support. They had canned answers that made no sense regarding the specific product. I knew more about it than they did. I won't sit on hold for $20 for 2 hours. How many people have they done this way?

I've spent thousands of dollars on Adobe products while thousands of people pirate it. As one of the individuals that support Adobe through purchasing, I expect even a little bit of support from your customer service team. I have been trying for the past two days to upgrade my InDesign cs5 to cs5.5. Adobe's website did not inform me that I needed to upgrade the entire master suite. This was discovered after I purchased the upgrade. Then I was told that no refund was available for that type of purchase and to call back. Unacceptable. Then today I try to get help in just upgrading the entire suite (even though I don't need it) and was told that I could not apply the $119 I spent yesterday for a product that I can't even use. Each person was obviously an outsourced customer service rep and was not helpful at all.

I have transcripts of each conversation. All I want to do is get my system upgraded so I can open one stupid file for a client, and it's going to cost me $550 plus the $119 I spent for a product that I cannot use or open. This is exactly why people just pirate Adobe software. Why pay for something when you get treated like ** by the company you try to support? I am going to be sending letters to every single CEO and email address that I can find an address for at Adobe to report this kind of lack of support from a dedicated customer that has purchased thousands of dollars of software from your company rather then pirate like half the known world does. I would expect even a little care or concern. I truly hope this email brings awareness to how these huge companies really don't care about its customers and only focusses on selling, selling, and selling.

I bought Photoshop CS5 because Adobe told me I had to, to be eligible for the next version upgrade price or I would have to pay full price. I never wanted the software because we buy on an every two year cycle. So I purchased the software. When the software arrived, it didn't work. They sent the wrong version (retail vs. volume) so hours spent trying to get it to work with no luck. They sent a new version. It had nothing but problems with Photoshop not zooming correctly. Hours online and chat trying were spent to fix, only with no solution.

Then I find out they "changed their minds and I didn't have to buy CS5 like they told me I did! I now have a defective product I never wanted. For the next few weeks, I'm trying to get a refund. Multiple times, I am asking someone to call me, filling out the "Call me" feature on their site. Numerous people starting from scratch when I contact support. Cases opened then closed, then opened and closed with no solution! They tried to pawn off giving me another product to make up for the defective product they shipped me if I will keep it!

I know they had this planned from the beginning to get as many people as possible to by a program, then come across at the hero when they say, ok, we changed our minds and you don't have to purchase the product to be eligible like we said you did (yay for us type thing, which I'm not buying). This company is horrible! Do not buy from them! They lie and then refuse to cooperate or call to fix a problem.

After I had a Flash Player Update, nothing worked. My web cam does not even function at all.

What if you bought a watch over the internet for $901 and all you received in the mail when it was shipped was an empty box? And you could not get your money back, nor receive anything in writing verifying that there was a problem?

Welcome to the world of Adobe and Student Software discounts! On September 4, 2010, I purchased an Adobe Master Creative Suite Collection ESSD STAMM2-0109-4613-1825-0857 for $901 through Academic Superstores. Academic Superstores approved my student status at Full Sail University and I was shipped the physical software. When I opened the box and tried to register the software online, I was rerouted to https:/***.com, a deceptively nefarious website associated with a building full of servers in Madison, Wisconsin and few actual employees.

The initial day I tried to upload student status verification, the website was overwhelmed and I had to wait 3-4 days for the once weekly servicing of the site. I then spent 2 months re-uploading student status verification with rejection notices ensuing 1-2 days after each upload, when I could get the site to upload my documentation. I called Adobe directly and was connected to the rudest customer service department on the planet. I got very concerned after the fourth or fifth hour long call that Adobe did not want to issue the software registration to me not because I was not eligible for a student discount but because Adobe had a direct relationship with academic superstores, and, the company uses. Identit-e and the offshore customer service company WHM, by the way cannot contact one another, as a beard to cover that what Adobe is actually doing is restricting free trade.

I am asking that the United States Attorney General's Office as well as State level Offices in California and Texas restrict the sale of all software without a legitimate software key issued.

I have paid money-grubbing Adobe thousands of dollars for 4 Pagemakers, 2 Indesigns, 4 Photoshops, PageMill, Framemaker, Font Manager, and Dreamweaver. I was using Photoshop 7 for a long time since I was doing duel booting, but because these rotten software companies make our expensive software obsolete, I had to upgrade to a MAC system that doesn't support PS 7. Guess what? Rotten money-grubbing, rip-off Adobe won't let me upgrade because I waited too long. They actually expect me, one person struggling along, to pay those money-grubbing bums another $1,000.

I purchased Photoshop Elements 9 to upgrade from PSE 6. I was trying to edit photos for a memorial service that I was in charge of. After repeated attempts to install PSE, I finally got the organizer to work. However, the editor would not work. All menus in the editor are grayed out. After spending hours on this problem, I finally gave up. Now, five months later, I find myself with a couple of hours to toss on Adobe. I still can't get it to work right. I still can't find an answer to my problem. Adobe will only offer a refund if you contact them within thirty days.

This software is rubbish. I wonder how many disgruntled consumers would like to join a class action lawsuit for disgruntled customers. I hope Adobe used my $105 to pay an executive a big bonus for their deceptive consumer practices, because it is the last money Adobe will ever get from me. And I am going to tell everyone I know to steer clear of Adobe.

I have had legal licenses for Adobe Photoshop through four upgrades. Recently my PS 9 version warned me that I had exceeded license limits. Rather than hassle with tech support, I purchased another license. Within four days of installation, I am getting the same warning.

Adobe has a scam going that is, not doubt, making them millions off unsuspecting consumers.

I bought Photoshop online and there was a rebate offer for $20. I sent in the paperwork as instructed. I never got my rebate. When I called to ask where it was, customer service told me I waited too long to claim it. I explained I had been hospitalized twice in the time period. They didn't care. They acknowledged that there was a rebate offer at the time I bought Photoshop and then they said they never got the paperwork. I felt like I was being scammed.

We purchased Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 recently. We could only print one picture at a time, we wanted to print 2-3 photos on one page. Tried and tried and could not get it to work. Called Adobe, went online with Adobe "Help" but got nothing. I will never purchase another item that is connected with Adobe, as we had problems with other programs. Warning to others: Do not purchase anything from Adobe. Once they have your money they do not care nor can they assist you when you encounter a problem. They have the poorest customer service on this world and that is if you can understand the person speaking on their customer service line!

I purchased Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 to be able to transfer my 6500 photos from Adobe Photoshop LE to my new computer in the same organization as they were in my old computer. The "Getting Started" book has instructions on how to convert a catalog from a previous version but after trying to accomplish this and checking online for directions and attempting to sign up for an account, I finally called tech support after 50 days. I was then told that it only converts from Elements 7 & 8. I could not find this limitation anywhere. If I had called within 30 days I could have gotten my money back, however I kept thinking I could make it work. Also, I was never able to get an account set up and the contact options available on Adobe.com are limited, i.e. customer service is very poor.

I purchased a new copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements 9. For me, this is an update from Elements 3. After installing the software, the launch and registration window demands: 1) that the user sign in with Adobe; and, 2) provide a complete birth date (day, month, year). There is no way to opt-out of this requirement, according to the support person ("Vince") with whom I spoke.

Adobe is now requiring that purchasers of Photoshop give personal information (complete birthdate) for use of their product (Elements 9) without prior notification--i.e., after purchase. This is in addition to the required registration information (which IS noticed by Adobe in its online privacy policy). By combining information (some noticed before purchase, some after purchase), Adobe compiles a profile on their users which violates both federal and California State laws.

I had legal copies of CS4, Acrobat Pro 9, and Lightroom. I will never purchase another Adobe product as long as I live.

I needed the disks replaced because in a move they got lost. Adobe refused to replace them, instead insisted that I buy all new products. Hell, they didn't even offer a discount of any type! Adobe gets no more of my money, and if I can steer more people clear of this appalling company with no customer appreciation or loyalty to the customer, I will.

In the call, it turns out that my products, which I had legally registered, were pirated by someone else. They had me listed but had my software in someone else's name. I got these products new, in the package, from a tenant in lieu of rent. I registered them and had no problem until I wanted replacement disks. Now, they want me to buy CS5. No way, I am not gonna do it!

I am a self-representing artist and now I have to find a new suite of software, that I cannot afford, to replace this. I do my own prints, and without this software, I am in a real bind.

I sent an e-mail to an online representative. Since Adobe only provides support for products you have already purchased from them that do not work if you pay them an additional $39 (which is immoral, unethical and just plain wrong). I was given a link to connect to install an update to the software that creates .pdf documents. As the software started to load, I got a message saying that I had a more current version installed on my computer, and then it shut down. I contacted Adobe a second time and just got the run around.

First he told me to contact technical support because he was on customer service and then he sent me to the exact same link that I had used to contact him. Adobe charges a premium process for their software. I paid hundreds of dollars for CS# and then hundreds more for CS4 and I don't know what for the .pdf software--not hundreds, but I get nothing from them in the way of customer service when the products I bought from them do not work.

For the second time, Adobe have split my information under two usernames and wasted my time. The information I required to answer my query was not available under my account because of misfiling. As a result, I have made three phone calls wasting much of a day and been cut off three times. I missed an appointment and still have not had my query answered because I was told I have not registered my software. I cannot install my software without the serial numbers.

I could start with Adobe have lost the plot, but I guess that wouldn't be helpful. They are so disorganized that they can't find information that they provided me. Every time I contact them, my domain name becomes an issue as they insisted that it is my email address and it is my name in capitals. It can take ten to fifteen minutes to get that message across. Adobe creates the domain name. The latest problem, Adobe supplied me with a total of four serial numbers for CS5 Master collections and they can't locate one on their system, however, they do have the serial numbers for CS4 (two versions) and CS3 on the system. As a result, I was not able to have my query answered. Also, without a serial number, I cannot install my software (CS5).

I missed an important appointment. This situation is an ongoing one, wasting hours of my time and that of Adobe staff. This is only one of the many issues I have had with this company. They are responsible for the software, yet it is hard to find anyone in their organization who knows anything about how it operates. As a result, lecturers and students consider their service to be limited to retail and installation. Anything else is beyond them. If I was in business, which I hope to be soon (Multimedia), I would have lost real money and possibly clients because of their lack of support. I am very concerned about it. Had I needed to install CS5, I would not have been able to, rendering the software useless. Fortunately, I have an older version (CS4) which I can install.

I ordered a software product called "Lightroom" from Adobe on November 30, the last day of their advertised sale. Product was usually $299 but was on sale for $199. And the product page even indicated that price and had a slash through the regular price. Despite this, I inserted the coupon code of SAVE2010 into the appropriate space.

I completed all the other fields and when it came time to select "submit," everything looked ok. So I selected "submit" and up popped the "Thank you for your order" page. The price I was charged was over $300 now, as they charged me the regular price of $299 + tax and shipping of course. I immediately called them and was told they do not cancel orders as they are processed immediately! Subsequent emails and phone calls have only resulted in $50 being credited back to me and that took 1 full month. I am still out the other $50, and Adobe is taking the stance that the case is resolved.

Adobe products in general. I would like to join the seemingly millions of people that are complaining of this company's complete lack of caring/customer service. I have never dealt with such a ridiculous company. No economic or physical damage. Just complete frustration. How can we make this company do right by it millions of customers?

Adobe 8 erases my photographs because I don't subscribe to their online backup. How can they still show my photographs in the program and not let me access them? I use it for my business and am losing too much on it. Their help is useless! I've spent too many wasted hours with them. I'm considering changing from a PC to Mac and am worried about losing more and not getting my program and photos transferred over. Their help doesn't care. They just want to make a buck.

Adobe is a large scale scam. Adobe used to produce very good software up until the early 2000s. In fact, some of their products are household names, like Photoshop, which have become almost a verb. They are now milking that by selling cheap bad quality products, betting on the fact that people won't read the reviews since the name is famous.They also make sure that you are unable to get support. When something goes wrong with their products (which happens very often from reading this blog! ), that's it. You are on your own, tough luck.

What are the options? Well, they have to abide by the law, so you can call them and pay tons of money to get a technician who will take his time to try and fix your problem but most of the time will just try to get rid of you by telling you to reinstall windows or just buy a new computer (8 out of 10 people surveyed!).

You can also submit a technical complaint if you actually manage to get through the buggy registration and select your software from the list (only 3 out of 10 people surveyed in my little research managed to complete one) and you will definitely get a response such as "see this page" (which you already saw and contains nothing new) or several other excuses to get rid of you and tell you nicely to ** off. Forget about submitting a customer service complaint, the response will always be, "we can't help you, this is of technical nature" (10 out of 10 people surveyed). They will answer that even if you just write to ask for a way to upgrade! Imagine that.

Most people give up at this point. If you insist, you might get a human response (previous ones are just auto responses or copy pasted answers) that will tell you that they will be looking at your problem and let you know when they will fix it. You will never hear from them again (9 out of 10) and if you wait too long, they will tell you the new version is out and you need to upgrade (pay a few extra 100s of dollars). Otherwise, it is no longer their problem.

Bravo Adobe, the perfect scam, planned years ahead in order to literally milk the population. Someone needs to come up with a good alternative for Photoshop and Premiere. Whoever does that will have half a million customers instantly.

We purchased a Mac Book and Adobe CS5 for our daughter. It is required for her college courses. The student version of CS5 requires you to send proof of enrollment to a University. They will then send you the serial number to activate the software. After a month of sending information and receiving email responses, we still have no serial number. Adobe can't issue the number because it's done by a third party that only communicates with email.

Our case has been closed numerous times and considered resolved but still no serial number. They are sending it to the wrong email address. We have spent hours on the phone with people that we can't understand and have done online chats with support people that don't help at all. They tell us to re-submit the information. The 30 day trial will expire shortly and then what?

In July, I purchased Adobe Creative Suite 5 Design Standard from Apple in Denver, CO (student edition) for my daughter. Before purchasing, I informed Apple that we live in West Africa and asked whether that was a problem. No problem at all, I was told. But it was a big problem. I have tried for 6 weeks to get a serial number to activate the program, but Adobe has been unhelpful. I have 35 emails from Adobe, none of which has resolved the issue. Adobe has repeatedly closed the online case in which I requested help and the HQ has never returned my telephone calls. Adobe requested lots of information (the product code, scanned copies of my daughter's school registration, information regarding where the computer was purchased, even a scanned copy of my daughter's passport - all of which I provided immediately). But still, no serial number!

Since Adobe has delayed the issue for more than a month, it is now too late to return the product to the store or to Adobe. I am so angry that I paid more than $200 for a product that my daughter cannot use!

I purchased Elements 7 and when I called for customer support, I was told that only Elements 8 is supported currently and I would need to upgrade in order to get help. I suggested they put an expiration date on their product. I find this especially annoying since this software is very complex and not terribly user-friendly.

I filed a complaint against Adobe yesterday--08/31/10 reference serial numbers not being issued for software use. Today, I went on to the original website provided and was able to enter the required coupon codes and obtain a serial number. Therefore, at this point, if Adobe is guilty of anything, it is poor customer service.

Please withdraw my initial complaint. Thank you for being here!

I purchased ADOBE Creative Suite 5 Master Collection for students. On 8/30/10 at approximately 8 pm, I attempted to load the product. Inside the cover is a "coupon code" along with a website saying to enter the coupon code to receive a serial number to load the software. The website had no place to enter a code. Upon contacting ADOBE customer service, the rep went to the site and said it appears to not be working. He gave me an email address and said to provide the code and proof of eligibility (student status, which already had to provide to buy the student package in the first place). I did so. When I was told there would be a 24-hour turnaround, I stated that it was not acceptable, that I had a product I had paid hundreds of dollars for, and I needed the use of that product to complete a project for a college class. I submitted the "coupon code" along with a copy of my student ID. I had demanded a phone number for the people I was emailing and they had closed hours earlier. The rep also suggested I ask for them to expedite my request for a serial number, which I also did.

This morning I received an email stating that they had received my proof of eligibility and that they would respond "shortly." It is now 12 hours later, and I have had no further response, even after emailing them this afternoon and asking the status of my serial number. I have spoken to several ADOBE customer service reps and a supervisor today in an effort to resolve this issue.

The last rep stated I should download the free trial software online until I get a serial number. I told her that is insane. Why would I need to download a free trial when I paid hundreds of dollars for the biggest software package the offer for consumers ($2600.00 retail)? I left one final message for a supervisor this evening indicating that I had purchased a product I am being deprived the use of and that it needed to be resolved tonight or I would be filing a complaint with Consumer Affairs. That was two hours ago. In short, there seems to be no great concern demonstrated by anyone of the several people I have now spent hours talking to at ADOBE. I have never purchased software or any other product that was not usable in a reasonable amount of time (usually immediately). There is possible grade reduction due to not meeting college class (digital publishing) deadline for project. Not to mention being out several hundred dollars for a product I cannot use.

My wife and I have been users of Adobe products for over 10 years. In 2007, we purchased Adobe Creative Suite 3 Design Premium. We have had trouble with the product ever since. Soon after installation, the program stopped working. I was advised to reinstall the program. It still would not work. I finally had to hire a computer technician to deal with Adobe to fix the problem. This cost us $250. Since that time the program has stopped working three times. Each time the following message appears "Licensing for this product has stopped working. You cannot use the product at this time. You must repair the problem by uninstalling and then reinstalling the product or contact your IT administrator or Adobe customer support for help."

The last time this happened was on July 14. This time all attempts to reinstall the program failed. I called Adobe technical support. The person I talked to was unable to help. I was given a Case I.D. and was told that the issue was being raised to the next level. I am writing this on August 24. The problem still has not been resolved.

I have talked to several Adobe technical support people. In no case was I able to reach people I had talked to previously. Each time, I had to talk to a different person who could (or would) not connect me to someone that could help me. On August 11, I was finally called by a person who said he would resolve the problem. He has been "working" on the problem ever since.

On August 20, he called to say that he was going to install Creative Suite 4 Design Premium on my computer. He took control of my computer and said he would call me back when he was finished. He never installed the program and never called me back. When I checked the computer in the late afternoon, I found that he had signed off. I also found that all my security programs (firewall, virus protection, spyware) had been disabled.

I have been unable to access my case via the internet. This is because I apparently have two internet accounts. The one assigned to my correct e-mail address identified me as someone from "Planeroad, Brownsville" (No, I'm not making this up) and there were no active cases listed. I was told that I had another account with my e-mail address listed but I was not able to access this account from my computer. I have never had a Hotmail e-mail address.

I sent certified letters to the Adobe President and CEO, Mr. Shantanu N. on July 21 and August 3 describing the problem and asking for help. I have receipts that verify each letter was received. However, I have received no response from anyone to either letter. This is a strong indication, at least to me, that Adobe corporate management condones, and may even encourage, this type of customer abuse.

On July 29, I submitted a formal complaint to MD Office of the Attorney General. They forwarded my complaint to Adobe on August 12. I have heard nothing since then.

This whole experience has been costly to me and my wife both financially and emotionally. Our activities have been severely hampered and the ordeal is still not over. Adobe management appears to have a callous disregard for its customers. I suspect that Adobe is systematically trying to bully its customers into unnecessarily upgrading their programs (at substantial cost) by selling programs that are designed to periodically fail and then setting up a byzantine technical support apparatus so that the customer cannot get timely help.

Not willing to resolve issue! I will never do business with Adobe again!

I have pictures in a program called Adobe Album Starter Edition 3.0 and when I try to access it with an unlock code, the registration window disappears along with my pictures that are in the background. I have called their technical support 4 times and they tell me that this program is no longer supported by Adobe. When I ask for a supervisor, they say one is not available and I have asked for one to call me back, but was told the supervisor is going to tell me the same thing. I requested that they access the pictures themselves and transfer them to the new system, Adobe Photoshop, but they say they are unable to do that as they do not support the edition 3.0. I am computer savvy enough to know that a computer tech can access those pictures and transfer them if they try. As long as I can see the pictures in that system, they should be able to access them.

About 6 weeks ago, I called Adobe. I had the Creative Suite CS4 for Windows and was considering buying a Mac as my PC kept crashing. I asked if they could do a swap from Windows to the Mac version. They said no problem, as long as I would relinquish the serial numbers to the Windows version. No problem, I said. Well it took me about 3 weeks to make my final decision to buy my Mac. I bought it and the next day, I called Adobe to get the swap and they said "no, we can't do that because they have released CS5". So what? I am a student and certainly don't have another $2K to spend on a new version. I just got CS4 less than 6 months ago! Well I went through the ropes and they finally came back with a ridiculous offer, 20% off the retail price of the CS5 version. This is wrong and awful, they should stand behind their word especially since it would cost them nothing. Zero. Nada.

When I attempted these actions, the computer would immediately slow down and frequently freeze. I was able to correct the Office problem via an HP online maintenance/repair tool. I then uninstalled the Adobe product. But the AOL problem continues. Moreover, since then I have found that I cannot perform system restores except for today's date, and was even unable to install Adobe's PDF upgrade from 9.0 to 9.3.2. The upgrade failed because of "error" and Adobe did not show a "fix." Also, when I bought the software, I was told I would receive 3 months free tech support.

I called them immediately after the install for help registering the system. The person I spoke with said he had completed the install and had set a URL for me for my photo archives. I called soon thereafter and was told that since I had called for registration assistance, some of the free benefits I was to receive with my service were cancelled, and (2) that I did not show as registered, and (3) that there was something wrong with what the software displayed on my screen. Another tech told me I need to increase memory, but HP advised me that the 4 gig RAM memory I have is more than enough. Adobe disclaims responsibility for the problems and moves me from customer group to customer group. It was suggested that I reinstall and monitor the install for any error report later that I should expand memory (after I told them I'd uninstalled). I'm not a literate computer user. I have spent many, many hours trying to work with HP, Adobe, AOL with no success to correct these problems. I am now so stressed (I have heart disease and hypertension and have been advised to reduce stress in my life) and have wasted so much time that I feel my only recourse is to hire someone to do the work for me and anticipate the cost will be upwards of $300.00.

I input "edit PDF form" in the help section of Adobe's site, and I was directed to purchase a subscription, which I did. Multiple conversations later, I was told by a representative that the only program that accomplishes that, is Adobe Professional, and that only if the program recognizes the font. I did a free download of that, and I was not able to edit. Now, Adobe is telling me I am on the hook for an ongoing subscription, which is worthless. Any of the 5 people, whom I spoke with, could simply have said editing a PDF through them, is essentially impossible, but I wasted several hours and money with them. Then, adding insult to injury, they list my complaint as "withdrawn. I have directed them that they are not to charge me beyond the $14.99 they charged for their misrepresentation, and we will see if they comply with that.

On February 15th 2010, I purchased from Adobe Systems London a CS4 upgrade for my Photoshop CS3. At the time of ordering, I inquired what would be the case if CS5 was launched soon after my purchase and I was informed that if CS5 was launched within three months of my C4 upgrade, then they will send me a free copy of Photoshop CS5. I was happy with that and completed my order. Adobe launched CS5 on the 12th of April 2010, two months after my purchase.

Today, I phoned Customer Service in London and explained the above, to my (understatement) surprise was informed that even though I was well within the three months, they actually measure the launch as a launch period from the 12th of April to June 2010 and therefore, I did not qualify for the free upgrade. This Launch period was not mentioned when I inquired and I would have to pay $199 again for another upgrade.

I have purchased the license to use Adobe CS4 software suites on two computer platforms: Production Premium (Windows) and Design Standard (Mac). Because I recently migrated all video work to the Mac, I decided to swap platforms for the two suites. Adobe allows such a cross platform exchange if the end-user submits a "Letter of Software Destruction" and agrees to destroy all copies of the old software. In such an exchange, the end-user only pays a small shipping charge for new copies of the software for the new platform.

My new CS4 suites arrived on Friday and I set aside Sunday for the re-install. By Sunday morning, Adobe had already terminated my CS4 license on the Mac (thereby remotely disabling the software). I proceeded to remove all CS4 software from all computers per my agreement in the LOD. I discovered that the new software was shipped without any serial numbers. This was an error on Adobe's part. I called customer service and spent literally all day Sunday attempting to get the new serial numbers.

This morning, I called again and was told that the case had been escalated and would be handled by a senior support representative. I was assured that the matter would be resolved today. In the meantime, I am unable to use any of the Adobe CS4 software on either platform. A cannot do my work as a photographer: the cameras that I use depend on the most recent versions of Photoshop (CS4) to process files. Providing me with new serial numbers in a timely manner for products that I have purchased is certainly Adobe's obligation to me as an end-user.

I have fulfilled all my obligations to Adobe: I've destroyed the old software and submitted LOD's as well as other documentation to Customer Service. Copies of all related documents are in PDF form. I do not have an audio recording of my interactions with Adobe Customer Service, but I've saved all sessions from the support portal. It seems from my research on the web that my interaction with Adobe is not uncommon. End-users should have some rights and Adobe should be held somewhat accountable. I would be eager to join a class-action suit against Adobe.

Better Business Bureau Complaint against Adobe

On 3/9/2010, my company purchased software ('Photoshop CS4') from Adobe for $699.00. After contacting Adobe Customer Support to assist with the installation, I was instructed to delete the old version of Photoshop from my computer and re-install the new software. Although 'Photoshop CS4' operated correctly, it turns out that deleting the old version affected another Adobe product that my company uses, called 'Illustrator CS2', a software program that is absolutely critical to the operation of our business.

When Customer Support learned that 'Illustrator CS2' was affected by this deletion and installation, they recommended that I return the 'Photoshop' purchase and upgrade to 'Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design Standard' software. Adobe promised that upgrading to the current version of all software would eliminate any "compatibility issues". I purchased 'Adobe Creative Suite 4 Design Standard' on 3/11/2010 in the amount of $799.00.

After two attempts to unsuccessfully download and install this new software, the Customer Support Technicians at Adobe were unable to fix two error messages that have prevented us from using their software (Error #1 A valid installer could not be found (when using the Deployment Toolkit; and Error #2 Setup has encountered an error and cannot continue. Contact Adobe Customer Support for assistance). I have saved screenshots of these errors messages and call-logs of phone calls made to the Adobe and the duration of each call (see below).

Be that as it may, I deleted the software that Adobe recommended, but before doing so I took screen shots of the software (which I have saved) that I was asked to delete, which included two of the most important software critical to the operation of my company:

2. Adobe Illustrator CS2

Here are the issues that remained unsolved:

3. Most importantly, previous editions of Adobe software were deleted per the request of Customer Support. This decision has adversely affected my company and since March 11th my company has been unable to serve customers as a result of having no software whatsoever.

As of today (March 17, 2010):

After purchasing Adobe software on March 9, our company has been unable to serve customers which has had an adverse impact upon our small business. Adobe has been unable to reconcile problems, has ignored repeated requests for assistance and left our company with no other alternative but to take action and file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.

I have never experienced customer service as appalling as I'm experiencing with Adobe. The original problem began when I installed Snow Leopard on my Mac. All my Adobe products, with the exception of Reader and a very old copy of PhotoShop, instantly stopped working. I have spent a total of more than seven hours just on hold, waiting to speak to a technical support person. Eventually, I spoke to several. One actually managed to get a single product, InDesign, to load, which was a good first step.

When I asked him to solve the next problem, the program is an upgrade from Creative Suite 2, but does not recognize the CS2 serial number. He referred me to an unhelpful KnowledgeBase document and refused to provide further help and he was the best of the tech support people I've spoken to. I asked to be escalated to his supervisor. Having spent half an hour on hold there, I gave up. However, none of my programs are working yet and I am on the verge of missing several deadlines.

I am a Ph.D student doing research away from my home continent. I had to upgrade my laptop to Windows 7 and had no problem getting replacement software for everything except Adobe Audition, which is what all my sound files (the basis of my dissertation) is in.

Problem # 1 Non-access to files through encoding.

Even in Adobe's own software, Soundbooth which I also have (but is not professional enough for my needs), it cannot open these Audition files. Neither are they transferable or recodeable. So, I'm dead in the water for opening up my archive for several hundred sound files, which I need for my research.

Problem # 2. Online software download

This began in December 2009 when I asked for the link and serial number to download the software (that I legally own) from their site after the trial version that I'd been using in the interim expired. After explaining my situation in detail and pleading with the customer service representative, I was told that she understood the urgency of my situation and would ask the case file people (some unnamed gatekeepers) to provide me with the link to an online download. She said she would explain it in detail in her case report and that it was urgent. She seem to think it could be done. I had confidence.

Several days later, I received a Case department reply that it wasn't possible and I have to order a replacement disk, despite that it wasn't easy and would mean delays as someone would also have to be home for the delivery, as well as mailing the disk to me. It seems that once the trial version has expired, you cannot use your serial number to activate it. For some obscene and unreasonable reason, they will not not provide me with alternate access to the software download online where I can use the serial number that I own. This is an issue of denied access to my property in a timely and efficient manner, according to my needs.

Problem # 3 -- Still naive, I contacted them again and this time, I was told to call the Adobe representative in this former eastern European country where I'm based and see if I could get a replacement disc from them. So, this was a man on a cellphone. Of course, he doesn't answer his cell phone but you leave a message, which he then does or does not return, depending on whatever. Well in my case, he never returned my many calls. This is great international support! So, I'm back to calling Adobe customer service. I'm back to the same useless loop of empty solutions.

Problem # 4 -- The replacement disk.

I was desperate. It was another month later and I was further delayed in my work. I now knew that I'd have to get the disc and try to arrange for it to be mailed to me. So on February 5th, I ordered the replacement disc and payed $44 USD. Now, the week before, I'd had a fiasco with another software from Adobe (CS4) that I'd ordered. It was sent and then sat in the FedEx office without me being notified that they didn't have the access code to get into my mother's building. So when sorting out that problem, I asked them to please note the code and my mother's name on my account delivery details (for which there is no room or space to add it on Adobe's delivery address online page).

I told Adobe that it was vital for it to be there because I had other software I urgently needed (the Audition Replacement disc) on the way too. Of course, it didn't happen. So, the disc came and went without my knowledge or the right delivery information I'd provided them with. Also, on my account it says I've been refunded the $20 but charged the shipping. In actuality, I've been refunded nothing.

My mother did receive some software in the mail and mailed it to me. I thought it was the Audition, but it wasn't. Today, I thought I was opening the Audition disc only to find out that wasn't it. Now it is March and I still had no Audition and still stuck with my research.

Problem $5 - Back to Customer Looping

So I looked at my account online, which didn't show that the Adobe replacement disc was returned, etc. Again, I explained it all. Again, I pleaded and begged. And again, I've been offered the same non-solution. The customer representative is sending it up to that kangaroo court they call the Case Department for review. I asked her what would be different this time? Why if I've already gone this route to no avail? Would she assure me that this might work? Why could she not help me get access to property I rightfully own?

Of course when you say these things, they go silent for a while. I really don't know where to go next. Sure they could send another replacement disc, but they've screwed up the delivery twice (Audition and CS4). So I'm not very optimistic about that route and it entails two more weeks of mailing from my home country to where I am researching or attempting to.

If I could go elsewhere for my sound and multimedia software, I would. The products are great but the support is non-existent especially if you're a tad outside of the normal problem type curve.

I lost 3 months and ongoing research time, which is lost government and educational grant money. I have the inability to access critical files in Adobe Audition. I lost momentum in work, had extra stress in an already stressful (doing a doctorate) situation. I lost opportunities to use files for conference material and radio programs and possible revenue.

I can't use any of my programs on my new PC like Adobe 9 which I need to do homework for college. It says I need the password for the administrator account which I did not put a password on there. I unplugged my PC and moved it to a different location and turned it back on and I could not even get back into my PC. I finally go around the password, got into my desktop using a different account but now like i said before, I cannot use a certain program without being on administrator account. Can you please help me?

I have been trying to get a $199 refund from Adobe for a Dreamweaver upgrade purchased July 13, 2009. After contacting Adobe customer service initially, they "deactivated" the serial number for the product, initiated a refund request and told me to send them a Letter of Software Destruction which I did on July 28th. I was told I would get a refund to my credit card "in five days".

After more phone calls (waiting in one instance more than two hours for someone to answer the phone in customer service in India), opening a case online (which was closed by Adobe without resolving the issue and reopened by me), I STILL have no refund and it's now October 28th, and three credit card statements have come and gone.

Today I was told that the case was "in the refund department" and was given a case escalation number, whatever that means. I asked to speak to someone in the United States (told that was not possible); asked to speak with a supervisor (told that was not possible). I find it UNACCEPTABLE that it takes months to get a refund.

We bought a new computer inspiron 530S at best buy in December 2008. Our video does not work due to a 32 bit/64 bit problem that shows up on adobe upgrade but does not work.

Adobe has the most abysmal customer service I think I have ever encountered in my thirty years of dealing with the public. If you want to make a purchase, they are there to answer the phones within minutes. A return, on the other hand, takes months (in this case, four plus months). I have called numerous times (I hung up after being on hold over 90 minutes), faxed, called corporate (no one ever returned my calls) and used the "customer service" portal for assistance, all to no avail. I recently purchased Adobe Creative Suites 4 and am now going to return that too based on poor customer service (I may need tech support at some point). Adobe CLEARLY does not care for its customers.

My husband bought the software Lightroom from Adobe for my birthday in May 2009. We decided it was not what we wanted and followed every step Adobe had set forth for returning the product. In short, we have not been refunded to date (10/18/2009), even after multiple phone calls and many cell phone minutes and much time wasted.

Every time I called, the representative would promise that we had done everything on our part and that within a couple of weeks we would be refunded. The last time I called, they said they would put our case in top priority. It's been several weeks since. We have not seen any refunds from them yet. If as they said we've done our part shouldn't they do theirs? Any other company where we've had to return products the refunds are almost immediate. I'm afraid we have lost our money. Does this amount to stealing?

How does one get through to Adobe? I have two licenses for Acrobat, but can find no way to get though to this company to make my programs work. They have devised their websites so that they are unreachable and their phone numbers put on hold for hours. Horrible.

I am among the many many dissatisfied customers of Adobe products - and decided to take it to a more publicly accessible forum....lost business, denied contracts, lost revenue. We're hoping genuinely that the company will press forward, stay communicative and proactive with the issues (fires) that get brought to their attention.

I could see that enough people feel like I do and are for want of a better sentiment, feel they are being ripped off by ASdobe, then it will not be long before they are facing some kind of class action - you just cannot take customers money and not give them what they paid for and then ignore them.

I don't even know why I am writing this. I have recently found that no matter what, it means nothing with Adobe. I have owned Adobe products for years and many of them. They have had great tech support and a great product line. Then came CS4. I have tried to load it in a new machine running Vista 64 and couldn't install it. After 6 tech support people and 12 hours on the phone, it never did install. I tried to return the product and followed the advice of the customer service rep and waited 7 days with no response or fulfillment of the return request. I called them again and it took 59 minutes to get an RMA number. What I am beginning to believe is that Adobe needs a computer and software that tracks what they are doing. Whatever happened to #1 Adobe? I am very disappointed. I guess I will try another video editing software system. I sure feel discouraged. I don't like leaving an excellent product line, but they give me no choice.

I am unable to upgrade valid, licensed software from Adobe Inc. and months of support emails have gotten me nowhere. In 2004, I purchased licensed software from Macromedia (who was purchased by Adobe in 2005) through their software deliver program, then known as DevNet. This software, Studio MX 2004, is an eligible upgrade path to Adobe CS4. I purchased the CS4 upgrade from the Adobe store after speaking to their customer service and given a new serial number that was supposed to work to upgrade the software.

Because my software was delivered through the Macromedia DevNet program and given a serial number that now Adobe refuses to recognize. I am being told too bad, they can't help me. My software is the exact same as anyone else who bought the product off the shelf. I paid the same price and I still have the Macromedia paperwork touting that this was the preferred way to get the MX Studio Suite.

After numerous emails and hours spent on hold with their "customer service", transferred across departments having to repeat the same information over and over, I was finally told that they couldn't do anything but refer me up to a supervisor. I was supposed to hear back in 2 days, now it has been 2 weeks without a response. Their customer service support portal says there is a 24-hours response window - that is a joke. Never did I hear back from them in that time frame.

serving San Francisco, Oakland, and Northern Coastal California, 1000 Broadway Suite 625, Oakland, CA 94607,(510) 844-2000 ** Adobe Systems Inc.

Unfortunately, their software is the industry standard - so if you want to work in the web/print design industry, you have to know their product. And they treat their customers like they know they have no option.

Interest in what Adobe has to offer. The price is rather high however they offer a trial for each product. When I tried the trial it offered alot of areas I can use including tracing objects with a click to change color or rasterize to make a solid image. It offered Bridge which helps managed documents into any Adobe product. It had some initial and small functions for FLASH, Animation & HTML.

All these promised gave the absolute value to invest $600. However, when I actually bought the product I got a stripped product with no features that were in the trial. I called up and even reviewed the trial & it was confirmed none of the extra features existed. I was offered a money back guarrantee however the product is good & wish to expand to buy other products.

But the question is...If I trial another product from Adobe will I get the same product I buy? I would be cautious due to I feel I was a victim of bait & switch. Other concerns was lack of literature, notification of limits to download, and they added a CD that teaches you all the programs they carry rather than just Illustrator. You will see their website is very confusing, maybe done purposely in order to decieve.

It is a bait & switch issue. Paid $600 for less than what was given as trial. Including not specifying how many downloads per computer was clearly marked that effected OS issue on a computer I had to take out. (2 seats are allowed)

On 12/1/02 and 12/6/02 I puchased a total of two Adobe Systems Inc. Photoshop Elements 2.0 (SKU 4724105). These were Christmas presents. On the outside of the box it stated there was a $30 mail-in rebate. I mailed in my rebate forms with copies of my reciepts.

I recieved two letters stating I cannot use my reciepts as proof. Instead I must send in the flap from the box in order to recieve my rebates. HOW CAN I TEAR OFF THE FLAPS OF CHRISTMAS PRESENTS? Upon calling the customer call center I spoke to a nice young man named Tobias. After speaking with his supervisor he said the policy of sending in the box tops was to be enforced without exception. I FIND THAT ADVERTISING A REBATE IN DECEMBER WHEN YOU KNOW THAT PEOPLE ARE BUYING CHRISTMAS PRESENTS IS VERY MISLEADING BECAUSE ADOBE KNOWS DARN WELL THAT PEOPLE ARE NOT GOING TO RIP OFF A PORTION OF THE BOX THAT WILL BE GIVEN AS A GIFT! I'm guessing they sold quite a bit of this software becuse of the advertised rebate, yet they instituded a policy that made it impossible to collect. To me this is a form of theft. Can you please help?