I’ve been a customer of SignNow – an online service that lets you download, digitally sign, and upload docs – for more than a decade.

The cost? Twelve dollars a year.

But today, on what was apparently my annual renewal date, they charged my credit card a whopping $180. 

Excuse me? I used to work for the cable company, and even I spit out my coffee.

It seems the old rate is no longer available. So they bumped me up –  with no notice and no notification. I emailed immediately to cancel my service and get the charge removed.

But this isn’t about their tone-deaf approach to customer retention. It’s about how I knew, immediately, about the charge.

The answer? I have signed up with my credit card companies to receive a text anytime our cards are charged.

It’s free (I think most card companies offer this option); it happens within seconds (I get a text before I even leave the supermarket); it helps prevent fraud; it reminds you about those monthly subscriptions you no longer want; and it keeps certain companies from instituting 15x rate increases in the hope nobody notices.

You’re welcome, America.