It is actually very common for hosts to automatically renew and charge if you don't explicitly cancel the domain. Customers get upset if their domain expires,

It is actually very common for hosts to automatically renew and charge if you don't explicitly cancel the domain. Customers get upset if their domain expires, someone snaps it up, and their widely publicized email addresses stop working. Getting a late payment notice is preferable. Of course, if 1&1 never notified you there is no excuse for them sending you to a collection agency. Still, every web hosting company that I've seen sells their packages as a recurring service. If you want the service to not auto-renew then you need to explicitly cancel the service.