"Unlimited" meter no longer unlimited

[inkhana]

Our story with Hughesnet started with Earthlink.  We called them to find out about their internet services and were sold (without being told that we were being sold) a Hughesnet system.  (You can imagine my surprise when I got an email with information from Hughesnet.)  We were also told that we would be receiving 60gb/month, and were not told that most of this was not anytime data.  Just a glance around various websites tells me that this is apparently something the sales reps don't make as clear as they could.  I've had satellite internet for many years, so I don't have any unreasonable expectations about it, but when I found out I only had 10GB as opposed to 60 available, I was really, really upset and called Hughnesnet technical support (ticket #55189030).  The fellow I talked to was able to get me a credit and a month of unlimited access (with a recommendation to upgrade at the end of the month.  Suffice to say, this was very, very annoying, but since I'm locked into a contract now, I accepted the offer to at least get the month of unlimited use and the credit since I couldn't do much else.)

That was about three weeks ago.  I checked my download meter a couple of days ago on a hunch, and found that we no longer have the unlimited month we were promised...it was already depleted by several GB; it had been working correctly before that.  We thought perhaps it would fill back up after a few hours, but today, it's even lower.  What happened to the month we were promised?  Why was it shut off early?  I am so unhappy right now.  If I hadn't listened to my hunch and checked, our internet service would already be out and we'd be having to buy more data right now. 

Can someone please help me out with this?  This is getting really upsetting.

[Liz]

Good morning inkhana,

Welcome to the community and thanks for posting. We definitely want to get to the bottom of this so we'll have your sales call reviewed. I've already pulled up your account to start. 

To clarify, for the first 20 days of service, your data will reset every night. This is most likely what our agent was referring to on the phone. This is done as a courtesy to allow all your devices to update that may have not been connected to the Internet for a while. 

Now that you're outside of this period of relaxed bandwidth, you are beholden to your plan's data allowance. Here are some tips on managing your data so you don't run out as quickly:

Keep in mind there are countless factors that can use your data:
- more devices are capable of connecting to the internet: phones, tablets, gaming consoles, SmartTVs, and even refrigerators can connect wirelessly to the internet. Keep track of what devices you leave running on Wi-Fi.

- automatic-updates: your computer and any other programs you use will often keep working in the background, even if you're not actively using that program, in order to keep your system/program up-to-date. Anti-virus programs will periodically use your internet connection to check back with their malware database for any updates. You should have an option to turn off auto-updates and/or schedule them for a later time.

- multimedia content: Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, news sites, and other websites will contain videos, animated gifs, and sound clips that may start playing as soon as you land on the site. So much content, so easily available almost everywhere on the internet. For starters, try disabling auto-play video on Facebook:
https://community.myhughesnet.com/hughesnet/topics/how_to_disable_autoplay_videos_on_facebook
or adjusting your Netflix playback quality to SD: https://help.netflix.com/en/node/87

-DirecTV On Demand or the Dish Hopper can use A LOT of data, you may want to disconnect it when not in use.

- more data sources can be found here, as posted by a fellow community member: https://community.myhughesnet.com/hughesnet/topics/data-usage-sources-common-and-not-so-common

The most important tool to download is the Status Meter, available in the Customer Support Center, so download that if you haven’t already: supportcenter.myhughesnet.com

As a courtesy to you, I've extended your grace period to 9/23/2016, to allow more time to learn how the HughesNet system works. If you find that the service does not meet your needs, you may cancel before that date without incurring the Early Termination Fee.

Thanks,
Liz

[inkhana]

Hi Liz.  As I said in my post, I'm already familiar with how satellite internet works.  Also, my account does not reflect the extended grace period; still losing data.  When will this be updated?

[Liz]

Good morning inkhana,

The extended grace period only refers to the deadline before which you can cancel without ETF. The relaxed bandwidth period is fixed at the initial 20 days of service. Beyond the 20 days, your data usage will reset normally, as in once a month. 

Your System Control Center (http://192.168.0.1) indicates your monthly data allowance will reset in about 5 days.

I hope that clears things up.

Thanks,
Liz

[Moodeeb]

I feel like it's my responsibility to warn people that every time somebody from HughesNet tells them that the data resets during the first few days,. that's a lie.

I've had HughesNet for almost two days and this is not a good way to start out our relationship.

stop telling people that their data resets every day for the first 20 days. that's a lie.

not happy to learn the truth.

[Moodeeb]

it turns out I got an email that indeed tells me my data is supposed to be resetting when I run out for the first 20 days.

I spent several hours with customer service over the last couple days and if they don't get this fixed ASAP I'm just going to cancel.

life is full of enough hassles and I did not want to pay for another one.

I'll come back to post if they end up fixing the problem or not so that whoever is looking into Hughes that knows what they're getting into

[GabeU]

That, as a new customer, you are not getting the data resets is unfortunate, and I hope they fix this issue for you.

But, with that said, threatening to cancel because of an issue with something that is courtesy, not a requirement, nor included in the agreement, is pretty bold.  Again, I hope that they fix this issue for you, but I'm relatively sure that if you decide to cancel because you aren't getting the 20 days of resets, the ETF will most definitely apply.    

[Moodeeb]

I still don't have data. 

"20 days of relaxed bandwidth." Lol  So far I've had Zero days of relaxed bandwidth.

I'm not a difficult customer, I just expect companies to do what they say, and not use shady marketing practices.

This 2 year relationship is off to a very rocky start.

[Moodeeb]

You know what? Not expecting a company to do what they say is a problem. And you are encouraging them to close sales and hype people, then not have to follow through.

I think you need to rethink corporate ethics. If you are unreliable, and I cant trust you to do what you say, then why should I expect my service to be any different?

You don't make any sense sir. That's not how I was raised.

[Liz]

Hi Moodeeb,

I started to address your relaxed bandwidth concerns in your thread here, please check it out.