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I ordered Adobe Premiere Elements 8 from Adobe. 5 minutes later I found it for $40.00 less, along with 67 scathing reviews out of 92 saying what a piece of [*@#%] it is. So I called and canceled the order. I spent 20 minutes with some customer service idiot jumping through hoops to get it canceled. When he finally said it was completed, I hung up relieved that that experience was over.
Then over a week later, here comes Adobe Prem in the mail. I told them the order was canceled. Naturally, I suspect those bastards knew that and shipped it anyway. It was in Spanish at that, not a word of English to be found.

So I told them the story. They said I had to fill out a LOD form. So a week of daily correspondence was spent asking them when I could find the form. After giving up on customer service who would NOT return my query, I finally wrote to someone higher up to ask them to look into it. They gave me instructions, howbeit incorrect at that. So I spent many more hours trying to find it on their lame instructions.

This morning I asked them to send a version of it in English and take back the Spanish version. I'm sure this will lead to more weeks of frustration from them.

I did happen across a comments section along the way. 100% of the responses were about not getting refunds even after 6 months of waiting, and all the jumping through hoops that Adobe requires without any results.

So if you EVER need an Adobe product, avoid Adobe direct sales at all costs. You will not get assistance, you will not get a refund, just keep a jumbo jar of Vaseline handy. You'll need it.

That's pretty poor feedback for such a giant in the software industry.
Now this will make you mad as a pig.

I had a perfectly legal copy that I through out the other day. I forget which version it was it was about 4 years old. I never used it and peeps don't reply or think there is a bomb or trojan horse in stuff when you offer it for free so to the bin it went.

You should spend a few more minutes to let the BBB know about this.

I am going to let everyone know as soon as this is resolved one way or another. Their support teams are antagonists. I will have to cool down before I do much of anything. Right now I get so mad every time I think about it I can't see straight.

I never would have even thought about ordering from them except I was led into a scam by Lexar. When I bought my 8 gig Lexar Sd card, it came with a $30.00 discount offer if I bought Adobe Premier 8 from Adobe. When I called Lexar, they sent me on a telephone chase from sales to adds to sales and back again. Supposedly no one at Lexar knew anything about the discount deal. Then I found a link at the bottom of a page leading me to Adobe Sales. I couldn't get a response so I called Adobe.

They told me it was $20..... not $30 off if I only bought the one product. Then they told me if I bought it from them, I would get far better support than if I bought it from someone else. Since I was on the phone I went ahead and ordered it. Feeling like I was scammed, I went to see the best price I could get. Then I found it for $40.00 off, and saw the scathing reviews. I called right back and canceled that order. That is where I thought it ended, until they filled the order one week to the day of the cancellation and shipped it express over a weekend. It came on April first. Guess that makes me the April fool of their scam. This is the "New American Business Model" it seems.

At least someone reading this will be fore warned and not end up in the mess I am in. I am about to just take the $104.00 loss and forget it rather than beat myself to death over it much longer. I have been ripped off for far more in my lifetime, and from musician friends, at that.

What goes round comes round.

If you paid with a credit card, you can certainly get your $ back, whether or not Adobe agrees to it. They may try to affect your credit rating, but you can easilly argue that away if you're smart about it.

There is a lot you can do. Return thier package, unopened, & simply re-cancel your order, & cancel card payment.

Plus adobes main reader and acrobat has (or had) a huge security hole in it.

There's a way around that security hole in Reader/Acrobat. That's to turn off the Java-scripting features and it effectively closes the hole while disabling a feature. I'm not sure if it's been plugged or not through a patch/point update.

Also, from what I can see, premier is NOT part of the Creative Suite 3 or 4.

My God I hate wooden Flaws. But we need them.

I am starting to find this quite humorous. I believe I have crossed over from frustrated to amused, even though it is a bit pricey. If you desire to return ANYTHING from Adobe, simply follow this simple process. Here is a summary as of this date. The best phrase, repeated throughout "Thank you for contacting Adobe customer Service. We are more than happy to assist you"


Friday, May 7, 2010 6:26:34 AM PDT
How many times do I have to say that all I get is gibberish when I try toopen the attachment at the bottom of this page?

Will you please send an RMA?

Notes from Customer

Wednesday, May 5, 2010 8:20:26 AM PDT
Am I dealing with a mindless robot or a live person who can not understand my situation?
Notes to Customer

Tuesday, May 4, 2010 3:42:40 PM PDT
Hello,

Thank you for contacting Adobe customer Service.
We are more than happy to assist you. Since you already signed to the
customer support portal. I'll be attaching the LOD TLP form. And submit
the form to the customer support portal for us to be able to receive
form and process your request.

If you need more assistance you may call us in 1 800 833 6687 for single
license customer office hour Monday to Sunday 24 hours a day and for
Volume license customer you may us in 1 800 443 8158 office hour Monday to Friday 24 hours a day.
Thank you,
Joshua
Adobe Volume Licensing Team

Notes from Customer

Tuesday, May 4, 2010 6:49:20 AM PDT
I also tried to copy and paste the links below to my Internet Explorer browser. All I get is a misdirect with either of the links.
I think I have tried every available option as far as I can see.

Notes from Customer

Tuesday, May 4, 2010 6:36:39 AM PDT
Thank you for posting the links. I was finally able to get there. However, when I went to (View)
lod_return (view)
All I got was a bunch of scrambled gibberish.
Then I opened (View)
Again all I got was a bunch of scrambled gibberish. I do not know why since all other adobe

I am using win98SE, and adobe 5. I believe that is the last adobe that is supported by Win98SE. I am also using the last updated F
irefox for win 98SE.
I can not afford to buy a computer just to return this ALL SPANISH version of Premiere Elements 8.
I tried to open the links with Explorer. Then all I got was a misdirected page not found. Isn't it not possible just to get a RMA?

Notes to Customer

Monday, May 3, 2010 5:36:17 PM PDT
Hello,
Thank you for contacting Adobe customer Service.
We are more than happy to assist you. Since you already signed to the
customer support portal. I'll be attaching the LOD TLP form, you need to
scroll down and look for the attachment. And submit the form to the
customer support portal for us to be able to receive form and process
your request.
If you need more assistance you may call us in 1 800 833 6687 for single
license customer office hour Monday to Sunday 24 hours a day and for
Volume license customer you may us in 1 800 443 8158 office hour Mondayto Friday 24 hours a day.

Thank you,
Joshua
Adobe Volume Licensing Team

Notes from Customer

Monday, May 3, 2010 6:50:47 AM PDT
How to sign into the customer support portal
1. Sign into Customer Support Portal at www.adobe.com/go/supportportal.
2. Under the Get Support heading, click the Orders <(>&<)> Downloads.
I signed in. I can not find ANYWHERE that there is a link names "GET SUPPORT".
If I open DOWNLOADS, there is no "ORDERS" link in there either.
It has been a month now. Is there no one at Adobe who understands this situation and is competent enough to manage to walk me throu
gh this with the existing links on the page? The ones you tell me to follow don't exist as you stated.
Notes to Customer

Thursday, April 29, 2010 3:17:57 PM PDT
Hello,
Thank you for contacting Adobe customer Service.
We are more than happy to assist you. I do apologize for the
inconvenience. I'll be attaching the link on this web email. You need to
submit the form to the customer support portal.

How to sign into the customer support portal
1. Sign into Customer Support Portal at www.adobe.com/go/supportportal.
2. Under the Get Support heading, click the Orders <(>&<)> Downloads.
3. Choose Return/Exchange/Refund from the Choose Issue Type menu.
4. Click the Proceed to online form button.
5. Fill in all the required fields on the Open A Customer Service Case
page.
6. Below you will see add attachement, add the LOD form
7. Click the Review Case <(>&<)> Submit button.
If you need more assistance you may call us in 1 800 833 6687 for single
license customer soffice hour Monday to Sunday 24 hours a day and for
Volume license customer you may us in 1 800 443 8158 office hour Monday
to Friday 24 hours a day.


Thank you,
Joshua
Adobe Volume Licensing Team

Notes from Customer

Thursday, April 29, 2010 11:40:23 AM PDT
Every time I get an adobe document from you it says to go to the porthole, nothing else. So what am I supposed to do with that. I co
me to see the update on my case, there never is any. Could you please send a RMA to me so I can send this back.?
I can not find the infamous phantom LOD anywhere. All I get is document is damaged and can not be repaired whenever I follow a link
to where it is supposed to be. We have arrived at catch 22. It seems to me that I am going in circles, for such a long time, on an
order that was canceled with a 20 minute phone conversation over a week before incompetent idiot shipped me that all in Spanish vers
ion of P8.
Is there anyone at Adobe who can read this file and conclude that we are doing the same thing over and over and oner and over aga
in time and time again? If so, will you please ask that person to come up with a viable solution to this problem? Like giving me a R
MA or something I can actually make function?
Thank you.
Notes from Customer

Friday, April 23, 2010 6:09:40 AM PDT
I did exactly as you said. Instead of using Firefox, I used internet explorer. I typed in the URL. I got the same message. Document
is damaged and can not be repaired.
Will you please just sent an RMA to me so I can get out of this Adobe nightmare? This is a lot of trouble for an order that I spen
t 20 minutes on the phone canceling 5 minutes after it was made. The jerk that canceled the order told me the cancellation was compl
eted, and a full week later this Spanish only version was sent two day express to me.

I just want it out of my house. Thank you.

Notes to Customer

Tuesday, April 20, 2010 11:03:28 AM PDT
Hello,
Thank you for contacting Adobe customer Service.
We are more than happy to assist you. I do apologize for the
inconvenience, my we ask what browser are you using? Do you have an Internet Explorer browser? If you please try to paste the url link in the address bar. Also I'll be attaching the refund form in this
note.
If you need more assistance you may call us in 1 800 833 6687 for single
license customer office hour Monday to Sunday 24 hours a day and for
Volume license customer you may us in 1 800 443 8158 office hour Monday
to Friday 24 hours a day.


Thank you,
Joshua
Adobe Volume Licensing Tea

Notes from Customer

Friday, April 16, 2010 8:24:56 AM PDT
I appreciate the help. I typed :

http:/kb2.adobe.com/cps/153/tn_15327/attachment s/lod_return.pdf
into my browser. I received the following response.
"The document is damaged and can not be repaired"
So I re typed it carefully as not to make any errors. I received the same response:
"The document is damaged and can not be repaired.
So what am I doing wrong?

Notes to Customer

Thursday, April 15, 2010 1:59:08 PM PDT
Hello,

Thank you for contacting Adobe customer Service.
We are more than happy to assist you. I do apologize for the
inconvenience. I'll be proving you the link to download the refund form.
Refund form serve as an legal agreement that you are returning the order
and want to process a refund. You may submit the form to the customer
support portal page.

Here's the link:
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/153/tn_15327/a ... return.pdf

How to sign into the customer support portal:

1. Sign into Customer Support Portal at www.adobe.com/go/supportportal.
2. Under the Get Support heading, click the Orders <(>&<)> Downloads.
3. Choose Return/Exchange/Refund from the Choose Issue Type menu.
4. Click the Proceed to online form button.
5. Fill in all the required fields on the Open A Customer Service Case
page.
6. Below you will see add attachement, add the LOD form
7. Click the Review Case <(>&<)> Submit button.

If you need more assistance you may call us in 1 800 833 6687 for single
license customer office hour Monday to Sunday 24 hours a day and for
Volume license customer you may us in 1 800 443 8158 office hour Monday to Friday 24 hours a day.

Thank you,
Joshua
Adobe Volume License Team

Notes from Customer

Wednesday, April 14, 2010 7:37:44 AM PDT
Gentlemen,
I am not computer literate. I have tried for weeks not\w to return an order that was canceled 5 minutes after it was made. I spen
t 20 minutes with a customer service rep canceling the order. He assured me it was canceled. One week later, the order was approved
and shipped. Ever since I have been trying to get it back. I have actually been trying to get this resolved for about two weeks.
Customer support was not help at all for another week, then I finally reached someone who sent directions to me. I tried to follo
w them, unsuccessfully, I may add.

Here are the directions sent to me. I can not get past step # 1.
I believe there is an error in the directions as I can NOT even find "Orders" on the page.
or Orders<(>&<)>downloads anywhere under support.

I couldn't find Orders anywhere. I tried link after link that might have had anything to do with finding the LOD form. I spent over
an hour trying to follow these instructions from customer support.
1 sign into Customer support portal @ www.adobe (You know the rest)
2 Under the Get Support heading, click Orders (not to be found) or (Downloads (Also not to be found)
3 choose return / exchange / refund from the choose issue type menu. (Also not found)
4
Needless to say, I couldn't even get past step 2 with the directions someone sent to me.
EVERY TIME I OPEN YOUR ADOBE FILE, MY COMPUTER STOPS RESPONDING.I have to go off line, shut down my computer, re boot and try all o
ver again. I can open it while off line, but while on line everything grinds to a halt.

If you can not walk me through this with plain English instructions, can you do this?

Just send "Adobe Premiere Elements 8" IN ENGLISH me, and when it is delivered, pickup this all Spanish version?

Then I can throw my English version in the trash if it doesn't work, and be through with this nightmare. I have not opened this Sp
anish version yet.
Notes to Customer

Tuesday, April 13, 2010 3:57:50 PM PDT
Hello,

Thank you for contacting Adobe Customer Service.

We really do apologize if this is taking too much of your time, but to
complete a return request, we require a completed letter of destruction
(LOD) that confirms destruction of the software.

Below are the instructions on how you can submit LOD via the Customer
Support Portal.

1. Sign into the Customer Support Portal at
www.adobe.com/go/supportportal.
2. Under the Get Support heading, click the Orders <(>&<)> Downloads.
3. Choose Return/Exchange/Refund from the Choose Issue Type menu.
4. Click the Continue button.
5. Fill in all the required fields on the Open A Customer Service Case
page.
6. Click the checkbox to agree to the statement at the bottom of the
form that begins "By submitting this web case. . ."
7. Click the Review Case <(>&<)> Submit button.

We will wait for your response on this matter.

We do hope we were able to address your concern. Feel free to contact us
again should you require any further assistance.

You can also call Customer Service if you need other assistance at:

Customer Service 800-833-6687 7 days a week 6am-8pm(Pacific time)


Thank you,
Michelle H.
Adobe Support
Notes from Customer

Monday, April 12, 2010 7:25:22 AM PDT
OK,


Attach localized LOD, which you can obtain from service note 1008920

So just where do I find this LOD? Where is it?

What is it?

Is there someone competent enough at Adobe to please show me? If I forward all this unsuccessful correspondence to someone higher u
p in Adobe can they help me?
Notes from Customer

Saturday, April 10, 2010 6:43:41 AM PDT
How or where do I find service note 10008920? I have no idea what or where it is. I want to fill it out but so far the instructions
have not given me a clue to where it is.
Notes from Customer

Saturday, April 10, 2010 6:42:51 AM PDT
How or where do I find service note 10008920? I have no idea what or where it is. I want to fill it out but so far the instructions
have not given me a clue to where it is.
Notes from Customer

Thursday, April 8, 2010 6:37:21 AM PDT
Again,

would you please tell me where I am supposed to get this LOD 1008920 ? Can you give me a link?

I can not open your adobe folders when I am on line as they lock up my computer.

In the last folder that you sen you said attached was a LOD. The only mention of an LOD was in the line saying you attached it. Ther
e was no attachment.

So if you would please send a link as to where I can find this document, I will gladly get this conclude this fiasco.
Notes from Customer

Wednesday, April 7, 2010 5:05:12 PM PDT
There was nothing in the adobe file that you sent to me except the same old "Go to the Porthole" stuff. No letter of destruction, no
instructions where to find one. No instructions as to how to do this. Only the number that doesn't mean anything to me.

Below is the only thing in that document about the note. How about just writing to me and telling me what you are needing rather tha
n having me jumping through hoops on a daily basis?

Attach localized LOD, which you can obtain from service note 1008920.

That above line means nothing to anyone who doesn't work in your department.

So where is this service note 1008920 located??? Where do I find it? Can't you send it to me without the Adobe secret decoder box
?

How about just telling me that much. I swear to you, it won't spoil my guessing game, honest.

You do this all the time. It is Greek to me. You are assuming too much of me with so little direct real world instruction.

Thank you.
Notes from Customer

Wednesday, April 7, 2010 4:43:57 PM PDT
I am trying to resolve this. Those adobe files won't open while I am on line so it is a real pain
. I have not opened this software yet. And the box is all in Spanish. I don't speak or read Spanish. I will close this, try ti open
the adobe attachment and respond.
Notes to Customer

Monday, April 5, 2010 1:56:53 PM PDT
Hello,

Thank you for contacting Customer Service.

We value you as an Adobe customer and for that we would like to inform
you that we are more than willing to help you with your concern. To
complete a return request, we require a completed letter of destruction
(LOD) that confirms destruction of the software. I've attached a copy of
this letter for you. Please attach the completed letter to your case in
the Adobe Email Web Support Portal (www.adobe.com/go/supportportal).

Attach localized LOD, which you can obtain from service note 1008920

Thank you,
Ana
Adobe Support
Reply

/** Text between these fancy symbols arecomment made by ME **/

I went to the trouble of creating a account (which I will never use), to try to see what kind of goofyness they had going on.
Sorry Slacker, but I'm not going to buy something then try to return it, to try to help ya out, so this probably isnt of any help to you.
I can only go so far without actually having a record in their system.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Step-by-step: Return a product purchased from Adobe

1.Sign in to Your Account on the Adobe website. You can find a link to Your Account at the top of every page on www.adobe.com.

2. Under Support, click Customer Support Portal.

/**
By this they mean, 'find the spot on the page that reads 'Support'. It should go, 'Purchases', the 'Support', then 'Community'.
So just sign into your account and look on the page for the word Support.
Click on the lettering 'Customer Support Portal'.
**/

3.From Get Support, click on the Orders And Return tab.

/**
Meaning, just look at the bottom of the page for the tabs and the 'Choose issue type' selector box thingy
**/

4.Under Choose Issue Type, select Return A Product Purchased From Adobe.

/**
There is also a 'Proceed to online form' button directly below this little paragraph:
"Would you like to submit your customer service request through our online form?"
So I'm not sure how that plays into the 'Click return items' thing.
**/

5.Click on the order number for the product you are returning.

6. Click Return Items.
Note: If the Return Items link doesn't appear, check the following criteria. Make sure that your order has processed, and was placed within the last 30 days. It usually takes 2-3 business days after your order was placed for it to be eligible for return. If your order meets these criteria, give us a call at 800-833-6687.

7. Click Submit Return. You will receive a return request confirmation email right away. Within 2-3 business days, you will receive detailed instructions to complete the return, including your RMA number.

8. If the product was installed and activated, you must uninstall it before proceeding with the return.

9. You can use your RMA number to track your refund order online. Go to www.adobe.com/go/orderstatus.

10. If you are returning a boxed product, and the product cost is more than $800 after tax, you must return the software product to Adobe. Go to Return the product to Adobe.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Have fun with that.
I feel dirty...

I don't know how many people or robots that I have spoken to at Adobe. At least they all sound like mindless robots. Rather like dealing with the male version of the Stepford Wives. I followed their instructions but got no where. When the links to the LOD and the other one at the bottom of the page were activated, they led me to coded pages of an Adobe document. In other words, gibberish. When I tried the links to Adobe pdf files, as per their instructions, all I got was "document is broken and can not be repaired.

Mind you that the order was canceled with a 20 minute phone call in the first place. Then even though it was canceled, some total moron at Adobe sent an all Spanish version of it to me a week later. They shipped it two day delivery on a Friday.

When I called customer support they said the order was indeed canceled so I shouldn't have received it. Then I got disconnected. So I called back. I ended up with someone else in customer support who verified that the order was indeed canceled and should not have been sent. When I asked to speak to a supervisor He mumbled around a bit an then told me the order was never canceled. Now I know that asshole was lying since the other two customer service reps said it was on record as being canceled and never should have been shipped.

Since I am using Win98, a lot of the links won't let me in anywhere anymore, including at Adobe. After a month of being led in circles by Adobe, I am ready to write off the loss to experience, including the $20.00 rebate.
I truly believe that Adobe has a policy of making it hard to return so the customer will give up and the problem along with their money will simply go away. I even told them I would pay the return postage if they simply give me an RMA. It came in the mail unopened, so there is no reason it should no be able to be returned through the mail.

I am going to give it to the proper person as a gift, or it is going into the trash. However, it is NOT going into the trash without my letting someone know it is going in the trash. If Adobe will not take it back perhaps someone will steal it from my trash bin. No one can stop me from throwing it away in tact in the box. And no one can guard my trash.

I am hoping that some evil person wanting to crack it and turn it into an iso file doesn't dig it out of my trash. Lots of evil people out there that like to crack newer programs and distribute the iso files over the internet. You can find them all over the place at the tech forums.

I won't lose any sleep over it. I told them exactly what I was going to do if they would not simply give me a RMA. The receipt says to call 1 800 blah blah for a RMA, but when you do as directed, they refuse to give you one.

I am a nobody in Adobe's view, they are the giant that can do as they wish. There are ways to get my monies worth out of Adobe.


Thank you for the trouble you have gone through to check this out and try to help. I do appreciate it. The problem with trying to return anything to Adobe is thet they run you in circles. Catch 22 folks for sure.