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Unethical Sales Practices

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S. Fisher
New Member

Unethical Sales Practices

When we got stationed here we were surprised by the lack of internet options and were directed to HughesNet. When we spoke with the sales representative on the phone she explained to my husband the plans. She told him about a 60 GB anytime a month plan so I looked on the website to be sure since this sounded too good to be true. While he was still on the call with the sales rep I asked about the 10GB anytime and 50GB 2am-8am which was stated on the website. She informed us that this information was wrong and she didn't know why they word it like that. She reassured us we would have 60GB to use anytime. We no longer use Netflix, Hulu or any other streaming service. We literally browse Facebook, surf the web and send emails yet we burn through the 10 GB within 14 days. My husband is active duty military we live several thousand miles away from friends and family. These sales tactics are not legal and will be reported to the FTC and BBB. I would also like to file a complaint and have the sales rep investigated.
49 REPLIES 49
billmiller43
New Member

When we used FB it sucked up all our usage and we had to buy tokens. Now I have the 5/50GB plan, and today with 30 days gone I have used 2.6 and 7.7gb. So about half my anytime. I no longer go to FB, and run a Mac with OSX 10. Buy a used Mac and save lots of money over the first year.
Amanda
Moderator

Hello Fisher,

Welcome to our community. We're very sorry to hear that you feel this way and we will happily investigate this for you. First, I'll need a recent case number or the serial number from your modem. This will let me locate your account, find out who sold you the system and see if the sales call is available so that we can review it. I look forward to your reply.

Thank you
Amanda
El Dorado Netwo
Advanced Tutor

While he was still on the call with the sales rep I asked about the 10GB anytime and 50GB 2am-8am which was stated on the website. She informed us that this information was wrong and she didn't know why they word it like that. She reassured us we would have 60GB to use anytime.
In addition to HughesNet's own direct sales group, there are several national, independent HughesNet resellers that "look and sound" like HughesNet. If you post your modem's serial number, one of the HN staff here will be able to locate your account information, and possibly be able to retrieve and review a recording of the sales call.

There really is no excuse for allowing such a poorly-trained sales agent to answer the phone. 
El Dorado Networks |Diamond Springs, CA | eldoradonetworks.com
BirdDog
Assistant Professor

Bill, you do realize every problem here can't be fixed simply by buying a Mac?

Fisher, they can review the sales call to determine if you were misled.
Gwalk900
Honorary Alumnus

Fisher,

While a sales call review is defiantly in order and I'm sure will soon follow.

As to your data running out within two weeks  .......

!0 GB is only 10,000 MB for the month or 333 MB per day on average and that is easily consumed if your system is not tightened down pretty good.

Can you tell us something about your network ?

Number of users ?

Multiple computers/devices ?

Operating System(s) ?

We can help you to conserve data and get the most from your Hughes system with a bit of info.

Sometime back there was another user in a similar situation and while the topic is rather lengthy it DOES progress and it does offer insight into tracking and controlling data consumption with a program called GlassWire.

I would encourage you to read the complete topic:


https://community.myhughesnet.com/hughesnet/topics/data-allowance-2ktkjl21wtkxq?utm_source=notificat...

 

BirdDog
Assistant Professor

Also, install an ad blocker on all browsers and turn off any kind of automatic syncing. If you came from cable internet service then satellite is going to be a huge adjustment. It is more like a cell phone data plan and no matter which plan you have it takes monitoring and managing usage to stay within the plan limits for the month.
GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

billmiller43,

Just out of curiosity, do you know a lot about computers? 

GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

Evidently that's the magical solution.  Every time someone has a problem with running out of data, the solution is to buy a used Mac.  Don't configure anything, but buy a Mac. 

I'm on day thirteen and have used a total of 750MB/290MB.  I've kept a desktop, a laptop and a netbook up to date with Windows 10, including the recent cumulative update, and browse, Facebook, shop, etc.  What does this tell ya?  LOL.  I think I'll hold off on that Mac.     

GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

I hope the call isn't too "defiant."  Sorry, I couldn't resist. 

Bridget Markham
New Member

How much is it if u don't mind me asking
S. Fisher
New Member

Amanda, the serial number is B3 0010983995 AP. I really hope someone can get to the bottom of this. We will be canceling the service soon and I'd like to cancel it on good terms.
Gwalk900
Honorary Alumnus

Bridget,

There is no singular "it" for the Apple Macintosh computer line.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macintosh

Like other computer related equipment Apple offers a range of products starting with a entry level and ending with their most expensive top end model.

As to Facebook using a lot of data ... well it CAN, depending on settings and user habit.

Auto-start of videos can use a lot of data. That function can be turned off as well as ad blocking extensions for browsers will reduce unnecessary data usage.

There are programs such as Facebook Purity that can be installed that allow easier access and finer control of Facebooks "offerings".




S. Fisher
New Member

It's just me and my husband. We have an iMac, a MacBook and two iPhones. But they aren't always connected or turned on. One day this past month we apparently used 4,000 mb and we weren't even home at all that day and any connected devices were out of the house or completely off.
S. Fisher
New Member

I'm assuming it was an independent sales rep since when we got DirectTV at the time satellite was our only option so they transferred us to HughesNet.
billmiller43
New Member

I turn the power off to my modem and router when not in use. I use the "Activity Monitor" utility to see what is going on. I suspect some "Auto Update" possibly?
I'm using an "Airport Extreme" router for my WIFI, works very well. There were a couple of updates lately, iTunes I think? Check for other networks as I have three neighbors that show up on Airport.
Gwalk900
Honorary Alumnus

Is your router password protected ?

Besides the above do you have encryption enabled on the wireless portion of your router so that only authorized devices can connect ?

Carefully go through all settings on all computers and devices to ensure that all cloud and sync functions are disabled.

When shutting down do a true "power off" not just sleep or hibernate.

An average of 333 MB per day is going to take very careful management.

Having phones with access to your Wi-Fi can be a big problem.

 

Gwalk900
Honorary Alumnus

What does this tell ya?  LOL.  I think I'll hold off on that Mac

Ditto:

GabeU
Distinguished Professor IV

Wow!  That's a lot of Token Bytes.  Did you buy all of those? 
S. Fisher
New Member

It's password protected. Only our devices can access our router. We did all these things in our first month. We even stopped having our phones run off of the wifi the second month to see if there was a change. It will say we used very little data on the monitor app. Then magically it's all gone. When my husband told me we reached our data cap I was mad since we barely used it and I upped our cell phone data and started using Facebook on cellphone data.
Gwalk900
Honorary Alumnus

No