Can my credit be damaged by sneaky autorenew clause in contract?

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zikomegok

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Sixteen months ago, I signed a one year contract with a massage franchise which entailed a flat monthly fee for 1 massage/month. I did not read the contract very well; after the one year was up they have the option to continue charging my credit card every month until I give them a 30 day notice. I only realized the autorenew option after they called to say my card was expired, so they had been autorenewing on my credit card for several months with no additional notice. My credit card expired (after I fulfilled the one year agreement) and now they are threatening to send me to collections because I am "past due." They would not accept notice over the phone...only if I go in and sign their special form. I know it was stupid of me to not catch this caveat in the contract, but when I looked it over again it's kind of sneaky and that's not how they verbally sold it. Anyway, I only had 3 or 4 massages my whole time with them due to time constraints on my part and not very good masseuses on their part. I also cannot use my remaining massages because they suspended my account, not that I want to at this point. So, I wasted a bunch of money...lesson learned. I am not about to give them another credit card number or more money for services I am not receiving and I figure they've come out ahead. My question is...should I go down and sign their cancellation form or should I just ignore their phone calls? If they send me to collections, will it damage my credit (they don't have my SS#)? I am afraid if I go sign the form now I would make myself liable for months since they started autorenewing. But I also don't want a surprise one year from now if they try to claim I owe them even more since I never cancelled the contract. Sorry for the long post. Thanks in advance!
Christine :blush

By the way I currently have excellent credit and don't plan on making any major purchases soon, so I can tolerate a little ding if necessary.
 
Why not sign the form and give them a money order (not a credit card) for the additional month?

Cut your losses.
 
Something of this sort would not typically show on a credit report without first obtaining a judgment in court- and I would bet that the business will not go that far over a month's dues.
Either pay them off as suggested above or just ignore them. If they drag you into court you can try and argue the tricky/hidden phrasing of the renewal clause. Something of that sort should be conspicuously on the contract.
 
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