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If you don't sign a contract, can a company continue to provide service and bill you even if you don't want them too?

We had our lawn sprayed by a company for weeds last spring. We thought it was a one time deal. We never signed a contract or asked for further service. Yesterday I recieved a bill on my door from the company who had treated the lawn again this spring without my asking them to. There is a line on the bill that says your service will continue from year to year unless we are notified. Can they do that? 1) Do I have to pay them 2) If I don't pay how can I avoid being sent to a collection agency?

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Attorney answers (1)

Reputation Level 20
This is a very frequent trick done by landscape companies. You sign an agreement, and somewhere on the initial agreement or on an invoice is a statement "we continue services unless you formally cancel." Most people just don't cancel and don't care. You can write to them you do not wish to continue. You can also refuse to pay for the unwanted services, but usually it is better to pay for it than to litigate whether or not to pay it, and yes they can send the unpaid bill to collection.
LEGAL DISCLAIMER
Mr. Sarno is licensed to practice law in NJ and NY. His response here is not legal advice and does not create an attorney/ client relationship. The response is in the form of legal education and is intended to provide general information about the matter in question. Many times the questioner may leave out details which would make the reply unsuitable. Mr. Sarno strongly advises the questioner to confer with an attorney in their own state to acquire more information.
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