Do credit card companies protect their customers from online services that automatically renew annual subscriptions without clear notice, or do they collude with vendors to keep the transaction fees flowing? As autorenewals by security software vendors and others become increasingly common, we need to know whose side our financial institutions are on.

Credit card companies are coming under increased scrutiny for unfair and deceptive practices these days, so it's a good time to look at the role they play in autorenewal situations. And some very pertinent questions in that regard were raised by readers in response to my recent story about automatic renewal of Spyware Doctor subscriptions. In that case, the reader was told by an American Express representative that automatic renewals of all kinds of subscriptions are now the "norm" and thus not open to dispute even if the customer didn't get proper notice during the original transaction.

Some readers thought it was to be expected that the credit card companies would want a piece of the autorenewal action. "The vendors, in collusion with the credit card companies, are making this the 'norm' because it's profitable for both of them," wrote one reader. "Obviously, the vendor gets a sale and the CC company gets their profit from the transaction. Neither of them has any motivation to curb this sleazy activity. Personally, I believe that every single charge should require explicit approval by the cardholder or at least require that the cardholder actually place an order. The exception to this would be if the cardholder signed a document indicating clearly that they are aware of recurring charges and approve said activity. Under no circumstance should it be a EULA or fine-print issue."

And a number of readers thought the attitude the Spyware Doctor customer encountered at American Express was typical. "I would be pretty outraged, too, if someone took it upon themselves to renew software without me knowing it," wrote another reader. "Contacting Amex would be my first recourse, as well. But Amex is the king of autorenewals! Every year they send out all sorts of 'free' offers -- their yearly planner, in particular, and all sorts of luggage insurance -- that automatically renew come year two... which is stated in a 4-pt disclaimer at the bottom of the offer, if you take the time to read it with an electron microscope."

But others readers were surprised that American Express specifically would behave that way. "Forget the software vendor," wrote one. "The fact that American Express would consider the charge valid just because the product is 'renewable' is a far bigger problem. I've always viewed Amex as the gold standard for customer service regarding bogus charges. I thus find this story very disturbing."

Also disturbing were several stories that indicated that changing one's card number doesn't necessarily eliminate autorenewals. "I thought I could take a shortcut with Amex and report my card lost and have them issue a new one," wrote another reader. "I thought doing this would automatically cancel all renewals. I also had an issue with a family member who had once used my card for an iTunes purchase and was continuing to use it -- my fault. I was told by Amex customer service that reporting the card lost would guarantee that it could not be used again for autorenewals or iTunes; once the new card arrived I could set things up afresh. Well, guess what -- that's not true. The renewals and other purchases kept happening. I called Amex and spoke with someone higher up. How is that vendors had access to the new number? Well, it turns out that the account still existed -- the only thing that had changed were the last four digits. Any vendor who has had access to the account in the past may continue to bill it. Reporting the card lost does zilch."

And it's not just American Express customers who've discovered that. "My experience was like yours," wrote another reader in response. "A charge was posted to a closed account (strike 1) and when called on the carpet Citi removed the charge (ball 1). They could not explain why such a charge was allowed (strike 2). Not willing to have a strike 3, I placed Citibank on my lifetime ban list."

"Of course, it is always on a case-by-case basis, but in an instance where you've subscribed to a service that does have autorenewal and that information is made clear to the consumer, then there's really nothing for us to go to the merchant with," an American Express spokesperson told me. "If, for example, you just forgot to cancel before the renewal took place, there's no point. But if the card member says they were not notified that there would be autorenewal, or if they believe they did cancel in time, we could certainly start that the dispute resolution process. Of course, starting that process doesn't mean that it will work out to the customer's satisfaction, but if we find it was fraudulent or the customer was not notified of the autorenewal, we will take the appropriate steps."

The American Express spokesperson is also looking into the questions of what happens when the account number or the expiration date has changed, but had no answers about that as of press time. So at least for the time being, I don't think it would be fair to single out American Express as a particular sinner in this regard. But the bigger issue of whose side any of the credit card companies are on when vendors hide their autorenewal policies and practices remains.

And I think the question really comes down to what is proper notice - is hiding an automatic renewal clause somewhere deep in the fine print that nobody reads sufficient? Perhaps it is too much to expect American Express or any other credit card company to investigate whether the autorenewal really was made clear during the original purchase. But if the financial institutions that are supposed to serve us won't be our last line of defense against unfair autorenewals, who will be?