Sales Rep Misinformation

[A_Duff]

I have called Hughesnet, and I’m sorry but the language barrier is problematic. I tried to explain today to customer service that my Internet service is not working as advertised and I wished to cancel. She could not understand the device I was speaking of, on her end she saw “5 devices”. I repeatedly told her my Amazon Firestick is the device that will not play videos, no matter what, without constant buffering while connected to Hughesnet. Even if the Firestick is the only device running and the only device connected- constant buffering. The video quality on my television is also abysmal. I have had this service 10 days and regret not researching this option further.
Moreover, my installer stated that if the antenna gets snow on it, it will not work and in the winter we should go to the roof to clean it off. On my initial service call, I repeatedly asked if adverse weather conditions would affect my service and was assured it would not; that the satellite in the sky was immune to significant weather interruption. My area is clearly not adequate for proper use of this service. I stressed repeatedly in my service call that this service needed to work for up to five devices and was assured it would be effective for streaming purposes. I do not believe I should be charged $800+ in early termination fees when I was completely misled during an extended one hour service call. I would appreciate greatly someone helping me out and resolving this without nearly $1000 in fees being incurred on my part. I have called and they claim all is well on their end; claim my download speeds are “faster” than advertised, but not one movie has played through without buffering.

[GabeU]

@A_Duff

Regarding the Amazon Firestick, have you tried turning off, or pausing, the Video Data Saver while streaming with such?  Without doing so almost anything streamed in HD will buffer.   What is Video Data Saver?  Keep in mind, though, that streaming in HD uses up to 3GB or more per hour.  You may still be in the relaxed bandwidth state given to new residential account holders for the first twenty days of service, so you may not be seeing any data usage on your account, at this point.  

Though the service can be affected by inclement weather, including snow, like any home satellite service, it's not like anytime the dish gets snow on it the service doesn't work.  I live in one of the snowiest parts of the country and my service works just fine, though I do have to clean the dish of snow every now and again.  

It's a little hard to tell from your description of the Early Termination fees, as Residential Plans have a maximum ETF of $400 for the service and $240 for Voice (if one has such), but if you have a Business Plan please call 800-347-3272 for support, as this site is for Residential Account holders.  I only bring this up due to your stated ETF of "$800+".

I'm sure the Reps will reply.  They're on M-F from 8AM to 5PM EST, though it can take them a day or two to reply.  

@Liz

@Amanda

[A_Duff]

I cant post a screenshot unfortunately but the current fees I’m looking at are directly from the Hughesnet website which states the lease termination fee schedule. Termination of a leased residential account not including voice is listed at $800 if terminated within 0-6 months of activation, more if the equipment is not returned.

[maratsade]

For residential customers leasing the equipment, the ETF is a max of $400.

http://legal.hughes.com/SubAgree-03-16-17.cfm

For business customers leasing the equipment, the ETF is a max of $880. 

http://legal.hughesnet.com/ForBusiness_03-16-17.cfm

[GabeU]

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@A_Duff wrote:
I cant post a screenshot unfortunately but the current fees I’m looking at are directly from the Hughesnet website which states the lease termination fee schedule. Termination of a leased residential account not including voice is listed at $800 if terminated within 0-6 months of activation, more if the equipment is not returned.

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Could you please post the URL of the site you're looking at?  The reps will need to address this misinformation if it is on a HughesNet site. 

Edit:  I found similar info about an $800 ETF for an account terminated within 0-6 month, but it was information for old Business account leases.  I can find nothing in a Google search regarding this info for a Residential account.  

[A_Duff]

You’re right. I must have fat fingered the wrong sidebar. That’s semi reassuring even though $400 is still a lot of money. It’s honestly making me never want to watch tv again; the constant buffering is extremely irritating. I did turn off the data saver option with no improvement.

[Jorge]

Hello A_Duff, thank you for posting on our community. I was looking into your account, and when reading the notes, I saw that your Fire Stick had to switch from the 5Ghz network to the 2.4Ghz network because the modem is located in the laundry room. Where is your laundry room in relation to the modem? I would be happy to help you get it moved if necessary. As a clarification I would like to inform you that you have a residential account so at most the Early Termination Fee would be $400.

[GabeU]

@Jorge

This is unrelated to the topic of this thread, but is there a particular reason why your font is so small?  I can read it well enough on a 23" desktop computer monitor, but I imagine that I would have a difficult time on my notebook computer, and I don't even think I would be able to read it at all on a tablet without zooming in.  

Just curious.  

[maratsade]

@GabeU, seems the font has been fixed -- before, it looked smaller to me than the font on your reply, but very readable still on a laptop screen.  Now it looks larger than your font. Before, there was a lot of spacing between the lines, and now that's gone too.  

[GabeU]

@maratsade

I wonder if Jorge saw my post and changed it.  🙂   It looks better now, IMO.  

[maratsade]

He may have.  Only the Shadow knows.  🙂

[Jorge]

A-Duff, it's been a while since we last heard from you, so we will close this thread. If you still have concerns, please start a new thread and include a detailed explanation so we can better assist you.

[jillyb1173]

They do, indeed, lie through their teeth! I also regret signing up for this lousy service. The sales rep I spoke to initially told me that VPN would definitely work, as I specifically asked this question because my husband works from home quite frequently and I was told, "Yes, this will not be a problem. " Lies upon lies! It doesn't work for a VPN and their service is slower than sh**. When my husband called to complain and cancel our service, they stated it would be a early cancellation fee of $354. When my husband told them he was going to contact legal representation, they went on to say, we will split the costs with you and charged us $177+. I called to tell them my Internet service was super slow, they stated that I would have to upgrade and pay $109/month. It's crazy and I don't know how they get away with this. It's horrible and I had to speak up and tell you my story with Hughes Net. I absolutely feel your pain and frustration. I hope you find some resolution.

[GabeU]

@jillyb1173

Please refrain from foul language.  This is a public site.  Please respect that, as well as the Community Guidelines and the Community Terms of Service.  

Also, from what you described, your speed was throttled due to exhausting your data.  Upgrading your plan only gives you more data to use before you run out and are throttled.  Running out of data and having your speed throttled is not HughesNet's fault.  

[jillyb1173]

Funny how you don't say anything about misrepresentation regarding VPN

[GabeU]

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@jillyb1173 wrote:
Funny how you don't say anything about misrepresentation regarding VPN

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I didn't address the VPN comment due to not being able to verify its validity.  It took six months before your request to cancel.