Auto renew contract

A question about : Auto renew contract

Help. Small business paying an HR company Ј400 month because I was pressurized into signing a contract five years ago. Contract expires next month but they say it auto renews unless I give them 6 months notice. Usual not down to us sir, you should check the small print conversation. Truth is, I cannot afford to carry on the Ј400 a month for another year. Any body have some ideas please?

Best answers:

• You could simply not pay and see if they take you to court or not. Ј400/month for 5 years with a 6-month renewal period does sound like it may be thin ice reasonably-enforceability-wise so they may prefer to just let you go than risk the judge's opinion. Who knows? But if they're saying you're committed to another Ј25k over 5 years, that's effectively a Ј25k fighting fund if you do have to go to court.
  I suggest the next step is talking with a contract law specialist lawyer - if that costs you Ј250 it could still be money well spent.
• Paddy's suggestion is a good one. But before that, have a Google to see if anyone else has gone through the same experience and can offer tips. Try search terms like the company name and auto renew, or literally type in the offending contract clause. It's worth a shot.
• if it's the name i think it will be (very big company, P?), you should find a lot of info online about them & their tactics. there was a thread some months ago on UK business forum where this particular company were trying to tell everyone how they were cleaning up their act & they wouldn't dream of doing anything underhand, but they got ripped to shreds by the replies.
  hope you find something useful.
• I did mention in September that the contract runs out but that was too late to cancel. They did not mention then that I should have cancelled before though, just that it expires in March.
  Should they have written to me? Car insurance normally gives a 14 day cancellation period, should this not be the same?
• They don't have to write to you to remind you of the deadline every year.
• Business and consumer contracts should not be confused as similar, they are not. Consumers are protected from certain things that are deemed unfair, businesses are not because businesses can seek legal help before signing.
  Very similar to a lease for a commercial property, 6 months cancellation terms for break clauses are very much common and this is no different.