Problem with Billing after Seasonal Suspension - Hughesnet Community

EEV · ‎03-24-2015

Background: I got a new ISP and put my HN9000 (gen3) service on seasonal suspension on 03/23/2015 . My new billing period starts on 03/24/2015.

Situation: When I called to suspend my HN account, (Case# 46845990), I spoke with a very nice man named Alex M. He took care of me very nicely. I specifically asked him to confirm my billing would STOP AS OF 03/23/2015 (the date of my call). He put me on a short hold to get info about when my billing would stop and when he came back on the line, he ABSOLUTELY CONFIRMED ALL BILLING WOULD STOP as of the date of the call. I repeated my understanding of what he had told me and he again CONFIRMED all billing would stop. So, someone else at HN gave Alex untrue information. I can only assume that Alex asked a question of a more experience billing representative to get the answer to my question and the "more experienced" person gave invalid info.

Well, I lurk in this community frequently, and I know the problems others have had with HN billing issues. So, I checked my credit card this morning, and WAS NOT SURPRISED IN THE LEAST to find Alex gave me WRONG information. Yes, I was in fact billed for the next service period after I had suspended my account and after being assured twice that I would not be billed again while my account was in seasonal suspension.

What I did: Today, 03/24/2015, I called back to Billing (wasting another 30 minutes I'll never get back) and talked with a very nice and helpful woman named Dustina (Brownsville Billing). She placed me on hold a number of times, once for as long as 12 minutes as she determined what to do, and verified my credit card account, and then finally processed a refund back to my credit card [or so I was told :-)]. She told me she had processed the refund and I should expect to see the refund on my credit card in 7-12 business days. WHAT ??? What I don't understand is why Hughesnet can take my money in one day and it takes 7-12 BUSINESS days to refund it. When I return something to Home Depot, the refund shows up by the NEXT BUSINESS DAY. What's with that HN?

I hate wasting time, especially correcting someone else's (Hughesnet) errors

Let this be a warning to all HN customers, VERIFY EVERYTHING you are told by the Billing Dept.

LONG STORY SHORT: I don't think I need any help from the HN reps here in the community. I just wanted to vent a little and MAKE A RECORD of this problem on this forum. However, I am fully expecting that this is not the end of the problem, but hoping I'm wrong.

Regards,
EdV

C0RR0SIVE · ‎03-25-2015

From my understanding, even while in a suspended state you still have to pay the lease fees of the equipment if you leased, as well as taxes on the lease.

EEV · ‎03-25-2015

Charles, you are correct, but that doesn't apply to my account. I do not lease the equipment and I didn't fall for any of the special services/product fees.

The billed me for the 69.99 service fee on the suspended account.

Regards,
EdV

Amanda · ‎03-25-2015

Hi EEV,

You're absolutely right. I think we need to step back and see how long it takes for our billing system to recognize that you have suspended your service to prevent things like this from happening. Our agent was right to tell you that you would not be billed for service you are not going to have, but perhaps offered to place you on an invoice billing since it was so near your due date (since you suspended the day before we bill you)

A request will be made to have the call where you spoke to this agent reviewed and we will apply coaching where necessary. In the meantime, we'll be discussing your situation with our billing team. I am also glad you've already got this cleared up and the refund is on the way.

Refunds are processed by HughesNet at 12AM (midnight) EST and sent out to your bank. 7-12 days is a worst case scenario in case your bank does not want to release the funds right away. We process the refund in less than 24 hours, but after it leaves us, we have no control over the time management.

Thanks,
Amanda

EEV · ‎04-23-2015

OK, one month has passed since I put my account on "Seasonal Suspension" and now I get the following email from HN:
===========================Email Clip follows====================
Dear (my name was here),

Thank you for using HughesNet service.

Your payment is due in 1 days.

If you are a HughesNet residential customer, you can access your account by logging in to our online Support Center at http://supportcenter.myhughesnet.com. If you are a ‘first time’ user to the Support Center, you may register using a personal HughesNet, Google, Yahoo, Windows Live, or AOL email address. Once registered, when you log in you may enjoy the benefits of a ‘one-stop shop’ that will allow you to:

Manage your HughesNet account information, edit contact information, pay and view your bill online, and manage your payment method on file.

Manage your HughesNet email address(es), create a new Hughes.Net email address, or reset your email passwords.

Manage your Data Allowance, purchase Restore Tokens, and download free available Service Tools, like the new HughesNet Status Meter.

Access all HughesNet Premium Services available to you as a valued HughesNet member.

Thank you,

Hughes Billing Department
=========================End Email Clip=================================

My last comment in the original post on this subject said:
"...I am fully expecting that this is not the end of the problem, but hoping I'm wrong."

I did previously sign-up to get email notices when my payment is due, but I didn't expect the emails to continue when on "seasonal suspension".

It seems the HN systems aren't "linked" together to recognize when certain events occur (like seasonal suspension).

Now what? Why am I getting billing notices about "Your payment is due in 1 days"?

<Sarcasm ON> I know HN has been in the business for only a DECADE OR MORE, and probably hasn't had the benefit of enough business experience to "refine" their billing practices. Or maybe this is how HN designed the system. </Sarcasm OFF>

This is just plain BAD BUSINESS PRACTICE.

Why would someone on seasonal suspension still be in the active billing process? I shouldn't have to waste my time or your's dealing with this issue at this point.

Can one of the ECC folks who frequent here help me resolve this issue please?

Regards,
EdV

Amanda · ‎04-23-2015

Hi EdV,

I am not sure why you received this e-mail, since we are not billing you and your account balance is at $0.00. You may want to check here by selecting View my Invoice https://admportal.myhughesnet.com/SDS/bws/extbws/csr_search_new.jsp

I've since unsubscribed you from our notification system.

Thanks,
Amanda