Not part of the auto renewal rant, but what started it....My satelite tv company recently offered a deal. Rent four movies, get $10 back. (The refund made the cost seem palatable) DD3 really wanted to catch up on movies that she missed while in Alaska, so we did. Today, I double checked that the four movies were on the statement, but there was no indication of how to get the $10 back. It looks like I will have to send via US mail a form and they will send back via US mail a voucher. Umm...my bad for not looking at the small print and details first. But I will jump through the hoops to get the $10 back and consider it a lesson learned. Obviously, when you order movies online, receive your bill online, pay your bill online- you should be able to get your refund ONLINE. I guess they hope most people wont take the time.

Which leads me to my rant...While I was looking on the site, I saw that there is a line item (with a Zero balance, but still) on my statement for NFL Sunday Ticket...hmmm. I did order that last year, but was not planning to do so again. But when I looked a little further, I found that ANYTIME you order a season pass for sports, you are automatically set up for auto renew each year for the 'best price available' with the following statement on their site: "Also remember that sports subscriptions can’t be canceled, refunded, or credited (in part or in whole) after the season starts." WTH? I emailed them to let them know I DO NOT want to auto renew and will make sure that I receive confirmation of this long before the season starts. I am so glad I stumbled on this NOW. Obviously my fault again for not reading the fine print.

So frustrating. While I felt I got an okay deal last year at $199 for the season ticket, it is not something I would do again..but if I hadnt saw this I would have be SOL. A sneaky money sucker IMO. I definately did not see this when I signed up initially and do not apprectiate the "opt out before it starts or pay the full price' requirement for future years when you think you are signing up for one season.

I noticed that my anti-virus auto-renewed this year, even though I remember selecting DO NOT auto renewal when I downloaded it. I would much rather get a notice it is expiring and shop around/make sure I still have the computer before I renew. In the end, I renewed with the same company, but let them know that I didnt appreciate/want the auto-renewal.

I realize that others may love auto-renewals- and on things that I expect, like my insurance, I do too.

But in this case, I wasnt a fan.