I don't know if it was the tenor of my email and your intervention, but I received a call from Warranty Direct today saying they had no trace of anyone ever having called me. I repeated the conversation I previously had and asked if perhaps their system had been hacked into, because the caller knew my name, address, make of car and that my warranty was due for renewal. This prompted an immediate "We'll refund the sum immediately", which has happened. I know I should have read the small print, but this is the first time a company has taken funds from me in an automatic renewal, and kept my card details on their file into the bargain. Double confusion, in a way.