[Dbooky]

I had joined Spirit Airlines "$9 Fare Club" in 2011 while purchasing an airline ticket. Since it was cheaper to join the club than pay the full price of the ticket, I signed up. I had no idea that it would automatically renew every year and that my credit card would automatically be charged $59.95. When I received my credit card statement I noticed the charge for $59.95 on 2/25/12 from Spirit Airlines. I immediately called the airline to dispute it and ask that they cancel my membership and refund my fee. They refused stating that it was in section 3 of the terms and conditions in joining the program. I asked why they never sent an email or letter indicating that the program would automatically renew on a particular annual date. Furthermore, that if I needed to cancel I should be allowed to do so before they charge me. Their continued response was it was in the terms and conditions. My issue is that it is extremely rare to fully read the lengthy terms and conditions on-line since they are often multiple pages of legal jargon with tricks such as this auto renewal built in to the wording. My main dispute is that there should be an opportunity to cancel a reoccurring membership and get a refund since without any notice, you have no idea when it will renew. Had Spirit Airlines informed me through email or regular mail that my membership was set to renew, I would have had ample time to assess whether or not I wished to stay in the program or voluntarily withdraw from it if I no longer used the service. I find this to be an unfair business practice from Spirit Airlines since they are hiding behind a section that they know consumers won't read. If they wanted consumers to fully understand that they are being charged annually, it should be made more apparent and obvious on the page and not buried in the terms and conditions section. They don't give you any flexibility in cancelling or receiving a refund. I truly believe that what they are doing is wrong, improper and self-serving since they are banking on the fact that consumers such as myself will unknowingly be trapped into a program that takes your money on an annual basis without the courtesy or advance notification that the consumer is about to be charged. Consumers deserve the right to say "no" before a charge is applied and not after the fact. Most importantly, they should never be charged for a service without any given notice.