So, this is something new: I have a domain at #iwantmyname, auto-renewal enabled, a week ago I got an email saying that "domain will automatically be renewed a few days before the domain name's expiry date".
Today I received another message with the invoice and a thank-you for payment. Auto-renewal triggered on October 28th, the domain was to expire on *December 3rd*. More than a month away, I was planning to transfer before.
Well, I guess I'll test the quality of their support now.
Credit where credit is due: the refund took one message to support.