Negative option billing is a fancy term for deceptive sales practices and sneaky deductions. Recurring charges continue until you demand that the negative option biller stop.

Just don't count on getting all your money back.

In a recent study, Alberta School of Business professor Paul Messinger reveals that he personally used his credit card to order flowers online. Clicking on a 15 per cent discount promotion that would apply to his next floral order, Messinger unknowingly subscribed to a U.S.-based "good living and great savings" service. That innocent click resulted in a monthly charge of $12, which continued for 39 months until Messinger finally succeeded in cancelling a service he never used.

After losing $468 out of pocket, professor Messinger settled for a tiny $24 refund.

Negative option abracadabra
Beware of online order forms with pre-checked "terms and conditions" and "payment authorization" boxes. Leaving those boxes checked allows an unscrupulous merchant to interpret your inaction as permission for endless billings.

Here are some other tricks that camouflage negative option billing:

• Recurring billing arrangements enticingly labelled as "free" or "free trials."
• Obscure transaction descriptions on credit card statements.
• Cancellation rights buried in fine print on the seller's website.

Used to being treated like royalty, many customers feel ambushed by presumptive automatic renewals. And cancelling unwanted charges can be complicated by merchant stonewalling techniques, including hostile customer service, slow response times and refund delays.

The University of Alberta study found that negative option billing poses more severe risks to web shoppers. Realistically, online buyers can't be expected to absorb complex information detailing what otherwise appears to be a simple offer. In addition, critics question why negative option billers don't allow consumers to cancel subscribed services as easily as it is to check or uncheck online form boxes at sign up.

Limited legal protections
In 1999, Canadian Parliament passed Bill C-276 to prevent cable TV companies from automatically charging customers for newly launched channels. That highly focused law excludes web orders, however.

Ontario extends some relief under its Consumer Protection Act, enforcing curbs on certain negative option billing practices. Unfortunately, that provincial legislation doesn't free Ontarians from having to pay for goods or services that they had agreed to -- either consciously or inadvertently.

Negative option billing has received a considerable amount of media attention since 1995, when problems with overly aggressive cable television subscriptions surfaced. Despite cautionary news reports, an October 2011 deceptive marketing survey from Visa Canada shows that 21 per cent of respondents were victimized by scams involving hidden clauses that resulted in recurring payments or additional fees.

The best defense is a good offence
Just one quarter of web shoppers polled by Visa Canada said that they read all terms and conditions before buying, while 48 per cent skimmed only a portion of the online text. An amazing 27 per cent read nothing at all before accepting tainted offers.

To defend against negative option billing, here's a best practices checklist:

• Research merchant complaints in advance using Google or on Better Business Bureau websites.
• Understand all terms and conditions, including the fine print, before buying.
• Check the merchant's website for return and refund policies.
• Carefully inspect the online form for any pre-checked boxes before submitting.
• Regularly review your monthly statements for unauthorized charges.

Immediately question the online seller when you find a suspicious charge.

How to resolve recurrent billing problems
If you uncover a genuine case of negative option billing, stay calm and stick to the facts. Being emotional only gives miscreant merchants another excuse for stonewalling your follow-up actions.

Instead, focus on asserting your rights. Credit card companies, including Visa, require participating merchants to communicate payment terms clearly and conspicuously and to be responsive to cancellation requests.

Your first step is to try and resolve the situation with the seller. If unsuccessful, contact your credit card-issuing financial institution immediately to dispute the charge. Don't delay. Some cardholder agreements enforce a 60-day limit after the closing date for the first statement on which the contested transaction appears.

Consumers are entitled to report their disputes to the Better Business Bureau and advise Canada's anti-fraud centre about misleading marketing. Ontario residents may also contact their provincial Ministry of Consumer Affairs for additional support.

Given the smoke and mirrors surrounding negative option billing, the best advice is still, "Online buyers beware."

See related: How to avoid costly online auction traps; 5 Ponzi scheme warning signs