Untrustworthy Provider

[Elisabeth1]

We signed up for internet service in November 2019 and were told that we would absolutely love the service compared to our previous provider. Soon after our first month payment was drafted, a charge appeared on our bank statement from Identity Protect. We never signed up for any such service. The next month we were charged again from the same Identity Protect. I called our financial institution and let them know we did not order any such service and asked them to dispute the charges which they did. I also cancelled the card that was used. The ironic thing was that I only used this certain card for HughesNet.

I called HughesNet to let them know that I would not be updating my payment information because I felt that my financial information was compromised in their hands. I told them I would like to speak with a superior. They tried to get me to update my financial information. I explained I would not be doing that since I didn't feel that was the safe thing to do. I told her I wanted to cancel. I was transferred to another CS agent in charge of cancelling service. She also tried to get my information. When I refused and explained again, she told me I could pay by invoice for an extra $5/month. I explained how that would be of no help whatsoever since that would still be putting my information in their hands. She told me that I would have to pay $300+ to get out of my contract. I told her I refused to do that since my contract signed with the expectation that my financial information would be secure. I asked to speak to a superior. She put me on hold, allegedly to talk with a superior, came back and said the superior was explained my situation and would call me back in one to two hours. She said I would need to fax a copy of the bank statement with the fraud charges on it which I told her I would do. She tried to give me the fax number. I told her I was driving and that I would get it from the superior when she called me back. She never called back. 

Before the compromised financial information scare, we were willing to fulfill our contract even though this HughesNet service is HORRIBLE!!! We explained to the installer the type of internet use we practiced...a little TV in the evenings, a few movies on the weekend, and Google surfing in the evenings. The installer said that we would be perfectly fine with the plan we purchased. We are not gamers, only have one TV going at a time, no kids are in the house using data. Two days in while trying to watch a TV program, the internet scrolled and scrolled every few seconds. We could not watch a simple program. We called HughesNet. They explained that our computer that we were using to tether to our non-smart TV was probably a 2G. (Our installer said that was a genius idea!) So we went out and purchased a new expensive smart TV...same issue. The new TV did not help. We called again. The CS agent said we would have to upgrade our plan. We did that. Still no help. We ran out of data in a matter of hours. Disappointed doesn't even begin to explain how we feel about this company. 

[maratsade]

What exactly are you looking to do here?  This site is for account and tech support.  What kind of account or tech support are you looking for? 

These are the extra services that can be purchased from HN (see picture). As you can see, none of them  is called Identity Protect.   The company wouldn't be charging you for a service that (a) they don't sell and (b) you didn't subscribe to.

Likely the charge is for something else, and you either forgot you ordered it or you forgot that you used and/or exposed your card somewhere. 

[GabeU]

@Elisabeth1 

The ability to perform any particular action or activity with HughesNet cannot be guaranteed, and this includes streaming.  Because the system capacity is smaller than ground based services, there is often congestion, especially in the evenings, and this can greatly affect one's ability to stream. This was very likely the reason for your issues with such.  The installation tech is a sub contractor, so they don't necessarily have the proper information, nor answers, for and to subscribers' questions about the abilities of the service.  The fact that the ability to perform specific activities cannot be guaranteed is clearly stated in the Residential Subscriber agreement.  It's important to fully research a product or service before buying or signing up for it.  

As for your billing issue, I'm sure the reps can look into this for you, but please be aware that you very well may be responsible for any fees as a result of service termination, whether that service termination is due to your request or due to non payment for service.  As for the "Identity Protect" charge, it's likely that, unless the charge is for an additional service that HughesNet offers, they'll not be able to do anything for you regarding such.  HughesNet receives payments from approximately 1.4 million customers, and if you scan through posts and reviews you'll notice that lax protection concerning those payments isn't something they're known for.

The reps are on M-F from approximately 9AM to 6PM EST.  It can take them a day or two to reply.  

[Liz]

Good morning Elisabeth1,

  I see it's your first post here, so welcome to the community! I'm sorry to hear that, can you please private message me your SAN (account number) so I can investigate? "Identity Protect" doesn't sound like us, so I want to make sure there are no optional service purchases on your HughesNet account.

  Your cooperation, patience, and understanding are much appreciated.

Thanks,

Liz

[Liz]

Good morning Elisabeth1,

We're closing this thread since we never got a reply from you. If you still have concerns, please start a new thread and include a detailed explanation so we can more effectively help you.

Thanks,

Liz