Forum Discussion

LIB's avatar
LIB
New Poster
3 years ago

Best plan?

My father has hughesnet service. 20gb plan. He lives in a very rural area and aside from dial up this is the only available internet provider. He has The Dish for TV service and previously had their internet service. Was told he needed an upgrade (hooper device) when in fact it was just a sales tactic. They came out to upgrade him, took away his DishNET internet and he some how got signed up with Hughesnet for a 2 year contract. He can't use his TV for any streaming services, can't connect his cell phone to his wi-fi provided from hughesnet. Can't get out of contract unless he coughs up the early termination fee of $400. He is 81 and isn't a gamer, doesn't spend hours a day on social media and buys minutes and data for his cell phone. Where is his hughesnet data going??  He isn't interested in buying tokens. Considered increasing his data to the 30gb plan but is that really going to be enough? They won't let him buy the equipment since they state he was started on a lease plan and it is not changable. He never had any idea what was going on and the powers that be say it is his fault for not listening when he had the contract explained to him. Seriously?? Did you ask if he had his hearing aids in? Did you understand him with his paralyzed vocal chord? He is a very trusting soul and believes people are good and don't typically take advantage of others. Sorry but he was taken advantage of and the behavior displayed by the company over the past week has been shameful. Elderly abuse? I don't live near him but have tried to help him by phone and chats with hughesnet. They really don't care about their customers. Sorry for the lengthy vent post. Just trying to figure out a way to help him since the company won't. Should he add more data to his plan to be able to actually use his internet for something other than checking his email?

Plans
  • maratsade's avatar
    maratsade
    Distinguished Professor IV
    3 years ago

    The reps here do care about customers and are very helpful. I've seen that over years of being on this forum. 

     

    How long has your father had the service? If it's within 6 months, he can request a sales call review.  The reps here listen to the call and see what the agent said and what the customer replied. 

     

    The data is going somewhere in your father's network, and it's something he is doing or something on his network is doing.  To see where the data goes, he'd have to install the free Glasswire program, which is available for Windows and for Android.   Before he considers purchasing a larger data plan, the data usage needs to be investigated, which he has to do himself. HughesNet can't track where data goes. 

     

    Keep in mind that a 20GB package spread over a 30-day month means he can only use an average of 0.66 GB a day. That's a little over half a GB per day.  That's not a lot at all and can easily be used up quickly. 

     

    Not sure how purchasing the equipment would benefit him. 

    • LIB's avatar
      LIB
      New Poster
      3 years ago

      I'm glad your experience has been different. Tomorrow will be his 6 month mark. I don't need a review of the call. I was on the phone with him and the representative. I asked to speak to a supervisor and was hung up on. I also have transcripts of the chats we have had. Multiple converations on the phone and via chat. Not once was anyone trying to be helpful. He doesn't need special treatment just fair treatment. What happened to him was "his fault and if he doesn't like it he can opt out of the contract and pay $400". Or $370. Or $355. Just depended on who was giving us the info. He is limited in who provides services so he is stuck. He can have no power in his home and his data is being used. Go figure. That one can't really be explained away. Was told they would "boost" his account back up to 20gb last week. That never happened. Was told he could get a $15 credit on his bill for 3 months but he would lose his current new plan offer of $20 off for 6 months. How does that even make sense? Buying equipment (who knows price they would not disclose it) is most often more advantageous to the user, not the company who gets "rent" for at least 2 years (contract term). That would put the modem at close to $400. That isn't even funny. When information is withheld it creates a lack of trust. We are certainly there. Thanks for your point of view.

      • maratsade's avatar
        maratsade
        Distinguished Professor IV
        3 years ago

        It is an impossibility for data to be used when there is no power to the modem.  What does happen is that when the modem comes back online, it catches up to data used before the modem lost power, so it looks like data has been used, when in fact, it hasn't. 

         

        Did you want the reps here to get involved and investigate?