Thanks XM Radio…For Nothing

In November 2005 I prepaid for one year of XM Satellite service.  After the year expired I stopped using it because it didn’t fulfill my needs.  I thought that was the end of it.  I was wrong.  Today I received a letter from XM telling me my subscription is about to expire.  What?  So I called them  and found they billed me for 23 months of service I didn’t use.  They said no less than six times, “I’m sorry to hear you’re unhappy”, yet would not refund any part of the money.  I was told that I agreed to be billed monthly per their terms of service.  Oops, my bad.  I didn’t read their TERMS OF SERVICE.  I’m not an attorney, and that is a heck of a lot of information.  Do you regularly read Terms of Service? 

Well, I just did.  After 20 minutes of reading, I finally found the section that said I agreed to continue their service:

That was like finding a needle in a haystack.  You may call me a moron for not noticing the bill on my credit card, and I am.  But my wife pays the bills and she didn’t know the status of my XM.  So I take the blame.  I just lost 23 months of $13 payments, or about $300.  I feel like a total ass.  Thanks XM!

Do you agree with XM’s policy of automatically renewing service without specifically asking permission?

Do you read Terms of Service for every service you sign up for?