Continental AirlinesIt’s all in the fine print: non-refundable tickets, auto-renewing subscriptions, opt-out charges. You really have to be on your toes these days as companies figure out ever more devious ways to take advantage of our high-speed, high convenience ways.

Sometimes you can negotiate. Last week our CEO imposed a travel ban on all staff the rest of the year so we can be sure to hit our numbers. Unfortunately, I had booked a cheap business trip to Denver for this week using nonrefundable plane tickets and block-rate hotel room. When I called up Continental to try and negotiate a refund of the non-refundable tickets, they refused to refund, of course. But they did agree to apply the cost, $562, to any future flight with Continental, which frankly suited me just fine, I know my travels will start up again in January.

Likewise, the hotel, Hyatt Regency in Denver, had a 7-day cancellation policy and by the time I got the CEO’s note, it was only 4 days until my first night. However, the hotel was extremely gracious and waved the charge after I explained the situation.

Sometimes you cannot negotiate. Last autumn I enrolled with Gay.com in order to meet prospective dates online. And in short order I did meet my boyfriend (through a different service actually) and we hit it off like crazy. The last time I went on Gay.com was probably early January of this year. However, I didn’t realize that the “automatic renewal” of my yearly subscription with Gay.com meant they would automatically renew and tell me later! Sure enough, a charge for another year of Gay.com appeared on my Visa bill last month, for $89.95.

When I called their toll-free customer service number, I was told they don’t refund subscriptions after they have been billed, no matter what. I pointed out that I hadn’t used the service for about 10 months, but apparently that was irrelevant. I was, however, offered the option to continue my (renewed) annual subscription for half price ($44.97). I declined”I have no interest in an online dating service!! So I got stuck with the full price for another year of a service I don’t want. I will attempt to dispute the charge with my credit card, and I’ll let you know how that goes.

I think it is very sneaky”in fact unethical”to automatically renew a subscription without the possibility of cancellation after the fact. This puts the burden on the customer to mark on their calendar when she/he signed up for something, and to make sure to cancel it before automatic renewal.

But let my misfortune be a lesson for you: be very VERY careful before allowing anyone to automatically take money out of your account, or charge your credit card. This goes for those “3 month trial” offers to monitor your credit or insure your balance, and the book/fruit/wine/whatever of the month clubs, etc. Read the fine print, note on your calendar or in your records if you need to do something BEFORE you get charged, and certainly don’t take abuse sitting down! I intend to protest Gay.com’s behavior through every channel they provide.