Xing.com auto-renewal

benjus

My wife is having some issues with this company.

They have just invoiced her for the renewal of her Premium subscription, starting this month. She replied, telling them that she doesn't need the Premium subscription and has no desire to renew; they have now cancelled it. However, they claim that the invoice still stands and must be paid, as the T&C state that auto-renewal must be explicitly declined at least 14 days (IIRC) before the renewal date. The premium subscription was paid for by her former employer, as she used it for work, and their details (but with her name) appear on the invoice.

I've seen various reports online of them referring customers who do not pay invoices to debt collection agencies, but nothing about them actually taking someone to court to enforce it.

Any experiences? Should she pay it or ignore it?

frugal_mike

I'm fairly certain that cancelling the account but still expecting it to be paid in full would be an unfair term if its a consumer contract. If the contract was with her employer then it wouldn't be a consumer contract though.

If they have invoiced her employer then send it to them maybe? Is her name on it at all?

Edit: I see it has her name on the invoice now.

Fosterdog

xing appear to be a german company so that may affect what is/isn't an unfair contract term depending on the contract laws they are governed by.

benjus

I'm not sure... the Xing account is hers personally, and (until recently) had all her professional history etc. on it (she has now removed as much information as possible). However, the premium part was paid for by her employer at the time in 2010.

They are asking for €80 IIRC, so while not a fortune it's a lot of money to pay for something that's absolutely no use. I'm wondering if they are prepared to back up their threats, or just rely on people rolling over and paying, much like the private parking companies.