When  I purchased my new Toshiba Satellite laptop a few years ago I got an incentive deal to have Kaspersky Anti Virus software installed on my computer from Best Buy.  The deal sounded sweet but my son, an IT student, said I was nuts because Windows 7 had pretty good anti virus protection.  I had already agreed to the minimal introductory cost.  Then January 17, 2012 I get an automatic renewal notice warning me that I am to be charged a lot more money, $39.99.  By mistake I forgot to stop this auto renewal.  February 16, 2012 I get a notice that I have been charged $43.09 instead of $39.99.  I called Best Buy to cancel.  The lady I talked to said she would stop the auto renewal.  I asked if I was still going to pay the yearly fee and she said yes, for 2012.  I told her that I was being charged $43.09 for this product which they failed to show might be for tax.   I told her I would go on the Internet and cost their company well over two hundred dollars profit with my pending reviews.  She seemed most intelligent because she told me she would transfer me to Account Maintenance person and they would remove the charges.  The phone, after about five minutes of waiting, went to dial tone and off the hook beeping but I stayed on the line, thinking this was a plot to get rid of me.  The phone noise soon quit and I hear some distant voices and then the same women came on the line to apologize and said she would hand me over to the Account Maintenance person.  Another women came on the line and said very little.  She knew that I wanted the charges to be dropped and she said she completed that task after about two minutes.

Lessons learned:  I recommend that you do NOT activate automatic renewals on any product unless you are damned sure you need it.  If you do have automatic renewals activated on any product, make a list and put it with your will and any documents people will read when you die.  This is so your survivors will know that your estate will be charged those fees year after year.  Also make note of the exact renewal month and day so the executor of your estate can take action to cancel before the renewal takes effect.

Next Tip:  Make sure you document the date you canceled your renewal and how it was done.  You may need this information if the cancellation fails to go through.

Next Tip: Also confirm that you are not charged after the date of cancellation.  I have found out that a common business scam is to continue automatic withdrawals after you cancel memberships.  I know of athletic clubs, and Internet social network that have complaints of this practice.  I personally use SplashID to list all my subscriptions and notices of any payment and cancellations as well as membership information.  (I am not completely happy with SplashID but I have not found anything better so far.)

Next Tip:  Consider replacing your antivirus software for Windows 7 with these two software items:

• Microsoft Security Essentials, a free software package.
• Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free software.