Hi Yes you are correct and I have been squeezing the soft parts of the people who let this happen again
We can't automate the renewal (for some unknown reason best known to I don't know who) and I have had loads of calls with our hosting company saying please don't let it happen again. So on behalf of us and them we are very sorry and will try for next year for it not to happen again...
In the mean time I'm going to look for another wall to bash my head against..