New Customers Beware. Relaxed Bandwidth Marketing Tactics and Losing your High Speed Data

[Moodeeb]

My sales rep was beyond friendly.
My installer was one of the most professional people I'd ever met in his line of work.

Even the customer service reps are nice.

Sadly, so far, it appears to be lip-service.

So, one of the sales and marketing tactics you'll probably hear, is "for the first 20 days, your internet will reset every night." or (depending who you talk to) "Your internet will rest each time you run out for the first 20 days." - you even get an email stating exactly that.

I live in the country, with very limited internet options. I had a solution with my cell phone carrier for 40 gigs of high-speed data, and I changed that plan (irreversable, as it was a 1 time deal they made me when I switched cell carriers) so, I'm kinda stuck with this path I'm on. When I get great service from a company, I am one of those customers who tells everyone. Likewise, if a company does not follow through on promises they make, or uses shady marketing tactics, I ALSO tell everyone.

I've been out of high speed data for 2 days now. I've had hughesnet for 3 days. This is because a huge hype-point they make, is that you can use all the data you want for 20 days to "update your equipment." What do people actually do with this data? IDK. Download movies I imagine? Myself, I am in the tech businesss, and I have been waiting months to update and download production software. So I burnt through my data, after having 3 people at Hughesnet tell me my data will reset during my "relaxed bandwidth" period.

I am out of data, and the phone reps just keep spinning their wheels. I feel bad for them. I tell them not to take my call personally because my problem is not their fault, but they work for hughesnet, and so they are tasked with being on the receiving end of my calls. I don't think these people actually work for hughesnet. I'm not sure hughesnet even has a dedicated customer service team. Maybe they do, I don't know, but I do know that their customer service reps seem unable to do anything to help me. 

God help me if I ever have a problem with my service, because if this experience is any indicator of what getting a resolution will be like, I'm frankly scared. I probably should have done more research before committing. There are other satellite services. Maybe not as fast, maybe not as modern, but if they can offer consistent, reliable customer service, I would gladly take reliable service over the bright and shiney hughesnet Gen 5, that comes tethered to a customer service department that seems unable to help their customers, regardless of how nice they are on the phone.

I've only been with Hughesnet 3 -4 days. When I had internet, it was consistently at 15-16 mbps. This is with Gen 5. I live in a very open and clear sky, so I don't know what they are taking about when they say 25 mbps. More lip service most likely. If I were you, I wouldn't expect 25 mbps, I would expect 15. And I wouldn't expect any relaxed bandwidth, or you, like me, will be without intenet. 😞 

To be continued...

[Liz]

Good morning Moodeeb,

Welcome to the community and thank you for posting. I'm sorry to hear this, your data not resetting in your initial 20 days of service is the first I've ever heard, so I've escalated your case to an engineer here at the corporate office.

I'd like to understand more about what is happening. Are you saying that you used up all your data in the first day (Anytime and Bonus), and since the first day your data has not reset? During the relaxed bandwidth period, your data resets daily, so if you do happen to use everything up within a day, the data still won't reset until night. I want to say the daily resets happen at midnight, but I'm not 100% sure, so I'm having that confirmed by engineering.

Once I get any update from the engineer or have further questions, I will let you know. 

Your cooperation, patience, and understanding are much appreciated.

[wildcats198308]

Are you a new customer with HuhesNet or did you have Gen4 service and just upgraded to Gen5?  I know some say upgrading from Gen4 to Gen5 you do not get the relaxed bandwidth period.  With that said, I previously had an older system and upgraded to Gen5 and I got the relaxed bandwidth.  I found mine to reset every 2-4 hours for the first 20 days.  I didn't watch it all day every day but when I would check it was back up to 100% multiple times during a day.  Some times I would use a decent amount of data but never near my 20 GB plan limit.  Also have you checked you system control center to be sure everything is good.  

Even if you have used all your monthly data you should still not have any problems or issues using the internet. You should still get 2-3 Mbps download speeds which you are able to do pretty much anything.  It will just take longer for larger downloads to complete.  Some videos might buffer longer.   When I used my 20 GB I was still able to watch videos and download programs at 3 Mbps.  

[C0RR0SIVE]

@wildcats198308

I suspect that the OP is on an HT1100 as he is seeing ~15Mbps and Liz stated the reset happens around midnight...  

[Liz · Accepted solution]

Good morning Moodeeb,

Our engineers have resolved the issue so your data should now be resetting as it's supposed to be during your first 20 days. I do apologize for the inconvenience, it certainly is not normal for your data to not reset as a new customer. Thank you again for reaching out to us so we can take care of this for you.

If you have additional concerns, please don't hesitate to return to the community.

[Moodeeb]

Liz,

I would love to believe that this was horrible timing, and that I just happened to join Hughesnet while a serious issue existed, and the engineers have fixed the issue. 

Was I the only one affected? Why did no one know what was going on? And why did it seem like the only solution was to raise heck her on a community message board to get the problem fixed?

I really hope the engineers have fixed the issue. And for anyone that stumbles on this message board, I will say that my data HAS reset. Which is good, and I'm happy it seems to be fixed. For a new customer, who is getting nowhere with customer service, who looks deeper and finds that there is a pleathera of poor reviews and people complaining about the same problem (customer service's inability to fix anything) spanning years... It's really not exactly a comforting thing.

I'm going to come back every couple days, and update this thread. If things continue to go well, I want people to know it goes well, because trust me, there is not very many good things said about hughesnet out on the internet, and if they really have turned over a new leaf, and my situation was a very bad set of circumstances, I want people to know. 

I'm tired of people getting the bad end of companies over-promising and under delivering, and if my experiences have to be a warning to others, so be it. However I would much rather my experience be one that is positive so others can see that instead. That's in my best interest afterall.

To be honest, the only positive thing I've read about hughesnet, was "Liz was helpful." 

Let's see what happens. 

Thank you,

Heath

[C0RR0SIVE]

Heath,

To be honest...  No one here has ever seen the resets not happen like that for new customers...  Chances of support being able to fix that are slim to none as it would take multiple people with the issue to pinpoint, especially since it has never been seen before.  They forward the issue to the next tier, and so on.  But, that is how most support systems work.

[wildcats198308]

I am not sure if phone support has the ability to send things to the engineers.  The reps here on other hand are able to do so and address the concerns and problems better and quicker than phone support.  

I have seen a lot of posts where people have contacted phone support and then come across this community page and post their problem and the problem gets resolved.  I personally will always come here before any other means of customer support.  

[Liz]

Hi Heath,

Thanks for your reply. As C0RR0SIVE also mentioned, this is the first we've ever seen anyone NOT have their data reset and you are the only customer we know of who had this experience, so thank you again for bringing it up. The community team works closely with the corporate engineers so with one off cases like this, we are able to put it right in front of engineering for their assistance.

I'm glad our engineers did pinpoint the cause of your data not resetting and fixed it. Do keep us updated if your data does not reset, but I don't expect that to be an issue any longer.

[Moodeeb]

Maybe I was the first, and Maybe if it wasn't such a headache to get decent customer service, it wouldn't have had to escallate. Every phone rep, was zero help. Not until I came to this community to raise heck, did I get any assistance.

I have nothing good to say about hughesnet customer service. As everywhere on the internets can attest to, it's horrible, except you Liz. Apparnetly you are the only person who can get anything addressed.

All that aside, and to be fair - once my relaxed bandwidth was addressed, it worked for the rest of the time period and did not break again. I am so glad, because I was ~ this-close~ to just having the dish pulled off my roof.

Now for what I hope anyone reading this thread will get to, the Hughesnet Gen 5 hardware is remarkable. For satallite internet, Gen 5 has by far exceeded my expectations. Now, I live in the country. I have never had fiber optics, and it's been nearly 10 years since I've had cable internet. Still, Gen 5 is really quick. On average I pull 17 mbps, but I have indeed seen it reach the advertised 25mbps, and unless my eyes were fooling me, I even spiked close to 40 once or twice. (obviously don't expect that.)  

Most of the terrible reviews you read are about Gen 3 or Gen4 hardware. Gen 5 is a different animal. I burnt past my allocated data to see how it handles when you go into "unlimited mode" and speeds are throttled, and me personally, living with a pretty clear shot of the sky, I can still stream videos after my high speed gets throttled. So as long as nothing breaks, I feel pretty good settling into a 2 year contract.

Yes, I still worry about what will happen next time I need customer service, but honestly the hardware might just be worth the headache. If you are stuck in the middle of nowhere, and want to pay a little more for very respectable internet, Gen 5 Hughesnet is very quick.

PS, they warn you about this up front, but because it's pulling data from space and not the ground, this can't be used for FPS gaming. If you care about that, you know what it means. For turn based? Sure, it's fine.  Also, remoting into work is pretty choppy as well, but that was expected. Where this tech really shines is streaming, or updating your software and such.

Ok, well, I hope I don't have to post to this community again for a long time, but I wanted to be fair as I promised.

Good day everyone.

[Liz]

Good morning Heath,

Thank you for taking the time to come back and let us know what happened and sharing your honest experience with the Gen 5 service. This is a very helpful post that may help others. Hopefully you won't need to post back in the community for help, but if you do have any concerns, we're here for you.

Have a good weekend!

[Moodeeb]

Maybe this should be a new thread. IDK.

Well, my worst fears have come true. My billing is wrong and customer service is about to drive me off a cliff again.

LIz, or anyone, the levels of stress this company is causing me are not healthy. Here's the problem, as well as the solution:

1. I was told I could buy my hardware for $350.

2. I have been on the phone, more than once, and customer service even took my credit card number. They told me it would be $450, but then I'd get a $100 credit. ($350 for the hardware total)

3. I am being charged for leasing the equipment on my invoice, so someone messed up again.

I want the hardware charged for $350 like I was told, and I want the leasing charges gone.

What do I have to do to make this happen?

PLEASE HELP. Thank you.

Heath

[Moodeeb]

Called customer service again. This time they told me the process was in motion. (hardware conversion?)

This makes no sense to me, because I have now been charged for leasing twice, when origionally, I was told it would be no problem to buy the hardware (a tremendous savings by the way, anyone considering hughesnet Gen 5 really needs to buy the hardware, or they will be sorry down the road. Crazy $$$ savings to just buy it up front, Pro Tip)

So IDK what's going on. I guess things are being worked on behind the curtain? And my bills will be credited, or the leasing charges I've paid will be taken off one of my invoices? I'm good at math, so I will be making sure this is all square at the end of this fiasco. Maybe people don't buy their hardware, which is why this process seems like rocket science?

$350. Minus the leasing charges I've already been charged. That's what I should owe. Then $99 plus tax every month for the first year.

I need to know this is what's happening, because god knows people on the other end of the phones don't have a clue, and it's sure not explained on my bills.

I get that gen 5 hardware is new, and offering people great internet is a new thing, but Hughesnet has been in business for a while, and I feel like I should not have to get stressed out and play Sherlock Holmes, and have to call a phone number that I have to ask the reps to repeat things more than once because we don't speak the same language, and then be put on hold, only to find out they dont' know jack.

We're in this for two years together. If you guys can hold up your end of things, I'll be a good paying customer. I hope to god we don't have to solve problems every other month, just as I'm sure you don't want a very disgruntled customer showing up every couple months causing you headaches.

I'll be in touch until I know my account and billing are what they were supposed to be from the beginning.

Heath

[maratsade]

Heath, help is coming. They may be a bit overwhelmed here, but @Liz or @Amanda will get to you and help. I think it's a good idea that you posted a new thread. 

[Moodeeb]

Guess what. Another month, another exciting chapter of Hughesnet pergatory.

My invoice this month is $485. 

Description	Total Accounts Charged	Amount
Taxes
Property Tax Surcharge	1	-$0.68
HughesNet Plan Detail
Equipment Purchase	1	$199.99
Next Plan Up Promo	1	-$30.00
Standard Installation	1	$199.99
50GB Service Plan	1	$129.99
Equipment Lease-Prorated	1	-$13.54
Total Accounts Charged	1	$485.75

Now, when I signed up, I signed up for $99 a month, plus a one time charge of $350 for hardware.

That's $450 plus tax one time, and $99 plus tax every month for the first year. 

So first, why am I suddenly being charged for installation? The chat person said that's part of buying the equipment. Funny, because that was NEVER mentioned to me once. And you can check the phone calls during my sale, because I asked over and over if there was a catch. 

Second, I was told $350 for a hardware conversion. Obviously whoever told me that was "packing" in the price of installation, even so, again, why am I being charged $400 and not $350?

I swear to god, I have so many grievances with this company, if someone doesn't explain what is going on, and helps me sort this out, I'm going to tell everyone who will listen, social media, news, and if I have to get a lawyer for the fact I have to go through unnecessary stress every single month just to have internet? How messed up is this company's customer service?

I would like to say it's also dishonest and unethical, but deep down, I think it's being run by 4 people, with an outsourced call center, and no one knows whats going on. That's just my theory, and that would be a best case scenario.

I'm going to take a deep breath and hope the one person that seems to have any power to sort things out reads this and walks me off the ledge. Because I'm sick and tired of posting to this message board.

[Moodeeb]

Update to my 8/10 comment regarding hardware billing.

Short version: I called on the off chance I'd get lucky, because my chat went so poorly, and got a rep named Jorge on the phone.

Its almost too good to be true, but he looked over my account, and understood what had been happening. He fixed my billing by giving me a credit I had been promised months ago. This resolved the hardware charge issue for me.

He also confirmed that starting next month, I would no longer be charged the leasing fee, because I opted to purchase the hardware up front.

Someone write Jorge's name down in the HughesNet Hall of Fame next to Liz, because he's one of the "good" ones. it's not that he gave me what I wanted , it's that he looked at my account and understood what was happening. you can't possibly know how great that feels until you've talked with a half dozen of HughesNet other Representatives who spin you in circles and leave you feeling helpless.

Now listen... because this is IMPORTANT: if you choose to buy the HughesNet hardware instead of leasing it, YOU VOID YOUR FREE INSTALLATION. That's right, you have to pay the $200 install fee if you purchase.
I asked more than once if there was a catch to purchasing the equipment, and my salesman said "no."

Now that we can all see the equipment was only $200 to begin with, it can be easily established, that one listen to my sales call will reveal I was definitely suckered.

If you choose to buy your HughesNet equipment,... I don't know what to say. You could ask your salesman how much to buy, but if he likes to you like mine did, ($350? ha!) You're out of luck. But maybe now that you know, it will help.

If my bill is square, like Jorge says, I hope to be done with this drama. And I might make a YouTube video to help HughesNet customers navigate how HughesNet works, but if this company tries to EF me one more time, I'm getting a lawyer, having them retrieve the original sales call, I'm sick of this crap. Seriously. I mean it.

@Hughesnet. Pull your crap together. Your Gen5 hardware is GREAT. I love my HughesNet internet. But your sales and service are still dishonest and horrible. You have hardware to be proud of now, so fix your customer service and sales tactics to match. I could have been one of your biggest fans because I LOVE the Gen5 hardware, but I had to go through 3 months of stress and h311 to get things straight.

Jezuzz, I hope I don't have to post here again. Please just Bill me what you said you would, give me my gen 5 internet so we can stop talking with each other.