new customer, unhappy want to cancel, but they say i am stuck in contract.. help?!?

[gpreine]

OK, so I have no other option for internet at my home other than satelite or cell service. I was told when I signed up for this service that NetFlix would run normally even once my "preferred Data Allowance" was used up. The first month of service, we used it for the ps3, ps4, laptop and both cell phones, all the time and it worked beautifully until about 6 days before it was renewal time. So, upset and angry that we were lied to , we figured we would continue service (since we really only want it for netflix) i took both cellphones off the wifi, and the ps4. not even a full week into our 2nd month, we are out of data and it would not stream netflix. now, I want you to understand that during this week period, we did not use netflix, it was only my wife on the laptop checking email and some facebook. We got to watch 2.75 episodes of walking dead on net flix befoire it quit working. I called in and she said we had been using the data more than we realized.. so, we put a password on the router. (tech should have done this when he set it up) and we got 4 more gigs of data. watched 3 episodes of walking dead. and we are almost out again?!?!?! i am streaming in SD, and nothing else was on the wifi except netflix during the period after we got the 4 gigs. this service will not last us a week, more or less a month. and I do not see paying $80 a month, plus $10 to netflix, to watch 5 episodes of anything a month. What are my options for getting out of this contract??? 

[Chris11]

Hi gpreine,

My request for review of your sales call came back and this is what our call center sent in response:

After reviewing the call, these were my findings:

-          The customer states that they do streaming, to which the agent responds with our required disclaimer regarding streaming. The customer follows up this statement by asking about the data allowance since they primarily do Netflix.  The agent responds, “At that point, it’s just a difference in your speed.  There would never be a difference in your price, but your speeds will throttle back.”

-          When discussing plans, the agent only speaks about the anytime allowance, and informs the customer that they can always upgrade if they need more.

-          Agent does not comment on what would happen to streaming if the customer hits their data allowance, or alludes that the service would work after it was reached.  

-          Agent reads all disclosures regarding streaming in final Terms and Conditions.  The customer does not ask any questions regarding T&C’s. 

From what is reported our agent was clear and read off our disclaimer for Netflix. Which consists of informing our clients that they should set their playback settings to low or SD and explain that about 20 hours per month of streaming is possible. In this case I would suggest learning to conserve your data more effectively. Satellite internet does take some getting used to and we are here to help and assist you with getting the most out of your service. If you have any other questions or concerns feel free to let me know. 

Thank you,
Chris

[deepdiver1]

Good the agent read the scrip. Bad the customer ignored it. Bad the agent didn't expand on the issue. Bad customer didn't ask any further questions, apparently satisfied. Good Hughes posted this.
I hope we can help customer learn more about his usage and ways to handle it,

[ashleynbyrd26]

I have the same issue. Bought the service for what I was told was 20 hours of streaming time and I have not been able to watch a single episode of anything on Netflix or Hulu. I am now on month two. This service is garbage. To watch 8 minutes you have to let it buffer over an hour.

[sherri.bartow]

Thats the thing they do not listen to your problem before they come back with their standard scripted answers.  I want out too.  I have called customer service at least 2-3 times a month since I got it.  This is the worst company that i have ever dealt with in my entire life.  I'm contacting the attorney general.

[Gwalk900]

Sherri,

Agreed that the lower support tiers tend to appear scripted.

That does act as a filter of sorts to categorize problems, see if a simple solution works (IE modem reboot) and better define the issue so it can be escalated to the next support level.

As a fellow user for about 12 years I do understand the frustration involved with that.

This user forum operates at the corporate level, staffed by really knowledgeable Hughes employees M-F, 9am to 5pm eastern.

There are also a number of experienced forum regulars, such as myself among others, that may be able to help you with issues during the weekends and after hour periods.

I would encourage you to start a new topic of your own describing your problem and giving details such as your modem type (HN9000, HT1000/1100) and plan level, operating system and if you are connected directly or through a router.

[ljaj2008]

I watch two or three hours of Netflix every night miracasting my phone to the television. "Unlimited?" Depends on how much television entertains you, I guess. If I am not watching the program, I don't run it in the background for noise factor.

[ljaj2008]

I watch two or three hours of Netflix every night miracasting my phone to the television. "Unlimited?" Depends on how much television entertains you, I guess. If I am not watching the program, I don't run it in the background for noise factor.

[ljaj2008]

I have noticed most questions here are actually people trying to avoid their ETF. It took time to work out my speed issues, and the data issues were on my side. I never had unreasonable expectations about what could be done with 10GB of data.

SOMETIMES, they are also customers who are tired of data caps who had new service enter the area.

For some reason, I am always happy when a customer chooses to learn to work with the system. It can be done. We always end up doing everything possible to burn through the last 40% of our data before we reset, since we don't use it all.

[Gwalk900]

One thing I have a difficult time understanding are those that "buy" a product (Internet service in this context) without doing any research.

I view the content of TV ads and the words of salespeople as being "BAIT" not fact regardless of product or service.

Without some degree of skepticism we would all be owners of Arizona beach front property !  Common sense has to apply somewhere.

It is in the end the responsibility of the potential customer to ascertain if the product or service meets the needs of that customer.

It is not difficult at all to discover that a satellite connection, regardless of brand, is a connection type of last resort.

The take away here is ... if you have any other options beside dial-up, TAKE IT !

The inherent limitations of a sat connection dictate that it NEVER will be able to compare/compete to any ground based system be it DSL, Cable, FIOS or even a WISP or Cell based service.

No one, be it Hughes, Exede, Congress, FCC, (FTC) or any other three letter agency is able to repeal the laws governing the speed of light OR the data through-put capacity of a machine, once built and launched into orbit.

That being said ... If Hughes is your only Internet option you have only two choices, do with out or learn how to get the most from what you have.

Know what you are buying !

If its broke, we can help you fix it.

Because it is a service that is in outlying areas a user is going to be required to "participate" in the troubleshooting process. You need not be a "geek" or "techie" to be involved with the process. It IS a process of Elimination, it IS a process of Divide & Conquer.

The more you know about your system, the less reliant you will be on phone support.

There are many aspects to computers that are not readily apparent, this also applies to networking issues. There are people here in the Hughes Community can help you if you let them.

[C0RR0SIVE]

I wish more people would do research...  Like people dropping $2000 on a Samsung Smart Fridge...  Samsung is ignoring a drainage issue (the condensate pipe clogs up very easily on their fridges) and is telling people to **** off.  Takes a few years for it to happen, and by the time it does' the stupid things are out of warranty.

So yeah, any time you are dropping large sums of cash on a product, or will be going into ANY form of a service, or contract, a consumer should seriously research things.

Everyone just expects freebies and handouts these days... Eventually Hughes will end up like Samsung if people keep abusing things, and that's ignoring the consumer entirely.

[Gwalk900]

Funny you mention that ....

Wife wanted a new Fridge. Really just "bored" with the other (28 cf GE Profile) that runs well and is so old it has a "conventional" compressor.

Looked at top of the line LG and Samsung units in the $2500-$3000 range. They looked real nice, had great features and had scroll or linear type compressors.

Research says those have a typical max useful life of about 10 yrs.

The compressor on a fridge is EVERYTHING ... you lose that, you lost the entire investment.

Point: Research done, does not fill my needs, I moved on .... Thanks but no thanks.

Remember the red flag being waved at the bull in the bull fight ?

He just HAS to charge when he sees the red flag.

Advertising is just that that .. someone waving a Red Flag. Now I have to ask .. Aren't we all better informed than the Bull ?

Look what happened to him !

[C0RR0SIVE]

They look real nice, but the cost per year is... just too freaking high.  Nothing special about them, you can get a generic fridge with LED lighting and the such these days, no need for smart functions at all on a fridge.

[Gwalk900]

Consumer Tip:

The heat from an LED will not keep your Beer cold or your Beef warm !

Everything else other than Grandkids and Doggies does not matter.

Tara says HI !

[arnoldacres]

I am also a very unhappy customer and feel as though I was completely misled.  First, I don't use Netflix, I don't stream anything, etc.  I previously paid a local internet company $45.00 a month for unlimited internet.  It was very slow, and sadly, that is why I made the switch to hughesnet. (Comcast is not available to me because I live on a farm.)  All the advertising on TV about how fast hughesnet is, etc. lured me in.  I did not understand the fact that everything I tried to do through the internet was using up my data, ie, facebook, sending pictures to a store to be developed, etc.  When I was asked if I do any "streaming" and said no, I was assured my plan would be sufficient for my needs.  Wow! Was that a crock!!! Currently, I don't even turn my computer on more than once a day, just to check my email. Then I shut it down.  I do a lot of shopping on line, especially at the holidays, and now I can't imagine how much data that will use.  So, as with sending my pictures for printing, I will set my alarm and get up at 3:00 AM so I can do my shopping during my "2:00-8:00 AM bonus allowance" time.  Needless to say, in two years, when my contract is up, I'm "outta here!!"  On top of all of that, the support calls -- wow!!! About as frustrating as it gets.  I can't understand anyone I've ever spoken with; and most of the time, they have no clue on how to help. 

[Gwalk900]

Arnoldacres ,
I would suggest that you connect a single computer directly to the modem and download and install Glasswire and see just what program or process is using your data.
https://www.glasswire.com

[gpreine]

no i do not, other than our cell phones. 

[gpreine]

"The customer follows up this statement by asking about the data allowance since they primarily do Netflix.  The agent responds, “At that point, it’s just a difference in your speed.  There would never be a difference in your price, but your speeds will throttle back."  and he said it would continue to work when I point blank asked him if it would. go back and listen to it again. I never listened to the t+c, because you dont have a choice but to accept them either way. you ever read googles t+c, or the t+c for the usage of your cell phone? Or windows for that matter... You guys are extremely good at avoiding answering any question directly, as I have commented many times to the CSR's on the phone. So, here I am, calcualting that my netflix usage alone would be 150 gigs a month. And you guys just want me to change my plan. what plan is going to work for me? In my call I told the guy I had a budget, remember? 

[gpreine]

i didnt ignore it, he lied to me. And I wish I had recorded the call, because he point blank told me that it would continue to work after my data was up. 

[BirdDog]

My point is that you either learn to manage the data and get the most from it, remain very frustrated or cancel service.
There are folks here that will be happy to help you if you'd like.

[gpreine]

 Gwalk900, Champion - I have no other choice. But thanks for making me sound like an a$$hole when I was the one lied to. 

 Charles R. Scott, Champion - i did as much research as I could. This is why I made 6 phone calls over a 2 month period to this company and excede, and I went with hughes net because they told me "it simply slows down, everything still works"


But thanks for the support... 

[gpreine]

why not post the recording so we can make up our own minds? the lady on the phone said the data was corrupt and they couldnt pull it, so I'm curious as to how you can listen to it....