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Hughes Complaints 642

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6:38 am EDT

Hughes lousy service

Just another voice crying in the Wilderness... we have no current alternative to Hughes Net but they are the WORST... if you are fortunate enough to have any other option besides this outfit take it. Hughes Net is one big rip off and they treat their customers like cattle (funny when you think of the fact that customer service is handled out of India!). We are going to see if an internet aircard will serve our needs... at least we will be dealing with real, local people.

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Linda Griffith
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Nov 09, 2007 12:00 am EST

This internet company advertises to be High speed internet__WHAT A JOKE. They are no faster than dial-up but cost 4 times the amount of dial up. They are sooo nice to you at customer service UNTIL they install the junk (which will set your bank acct. back about $450.00) and you immediately start having problems and you call customer service and get someone in India that cannot understand you and keep you on the phone for an hour or so, then tell you they have to transfer you to advance technician which may be in the Philliphines or MAYBE Florida and you stay on the phone for another hour or two going over the same things you did the numerous times that you have called before. You can e-mail them with a problem and they tell you that you will have to call customer service that the problem requires REAL TIME ASSISTANCE which it actually does if you are willing to stay on the phone at least 4 or 5 hours every day. It is the biggest RIP_OFF ever--STAY AWAY from this provider!

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DON THOMPSON
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Aug 18, 2008 12:16 pm EDT

We're paying $120/ month for almost dial up speed. Hughes net will not do anything except ask me to continue to do "Speed tests". I have spent numerous hours on he phone with them trying to resolve our issues and am done. I have 6 months left on our contract (that no one has a copy of) then, will be done with them. I always make a point of telling everyone that I know just how bad Hughes Net really is. I hope that you all do the same.

Don Thompson
Richmond, VA

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4:39 am EDT
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I am ALL OVER filing a class action suit against Hughes Net so if anyone is seriously interested in doing so and knows how to go about it, please let me know ASAP. I'm serious. Really serious. I won't go into every detail of our experience with this company but I'll just hit some 'high' notes. Total pun because seriously, this situation couldn't have gotten...

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V
8:34 pm EDT

Hughes no service!

I have paid in advance for internet (wireless) services and for the last month and 1/2 I have been unable to access the internet. I am going through a horrible time in my life and have minimal resources. Up to this point of my life I have been able to meet all my bills but at this time, lets say, if I am not going to have the services I paid for I'd rather have this money for other bills.

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DianaThomas52
Parrish, US
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Jun 25, 2010 10:28 am EDT

We have been without service through out the day, starting at 6 am, and will get service back around 6 pm. We have called about this and they told us that they were having problems with their systems due to the storms they were having. Come on, this has been going on for 2 weeks now and i run a business from my home and with the bad service, i am loosing money. We have had HughesNet for 1 year, but if this is the kind of service we are gonna get, we will find another means, even if we have to go back to Dial-up.

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Mary
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Jul 27, 2008 8:00 pm EDT

After a recent "no service" situation, I understand and sympathize. I would be tempted to just not pay them; however, that would hurt your credit rating. I was told I'd been cut off because I exceeded the Fair Access after the service being down with a recording saying they were sorry for any inconvenience. Next day, they claim I had over 200 MB which again exceeded the allowed amount. Again the following day the same thing happened. So I disconnected their modem and used my phone line instead. Today, It's back on but for how long who knows. I am very dissatisfied with their service! If I had it to do over, I would stick with dialup modem or ANY OTHER SERVICE AVAILABLE!

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heathepw
Vinemont, US
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Jul 15, 2008 9:31 am EDT

I've had HughesNet for about a year now. About three months ago the modem lights would go off regularly. I had to disconnect everything and connect it back in a certain order to get the modem to start working. This went on for a couple of months. Finally the modem totally died. It took over a week to get my new modem. When I connected everything I could not access the Internet. After several long conversations I was told I would have to pay $125 to have a technician come out and realign the dish. I'm paying over $90 per month for this service so needless to say I wasn't happy. And as far as mounting the dish on a pole, mentioned in an earlier complaint, I think they do that to everyone. Apparently nobody has an acceptable roof to mount it on.

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12:30 pm EDT

Hughes slower than dial up!

Due to no alternative for high speed internet upon my relocation to rural New Mexico, I subscribed with Direcway.com, which has subsequently changed names to Hughes.net. For the first 18 months starting back in 2004, the service was good. Not as fast as the ADSL I had at my previous residence. Things started to slow down and Hughes offered to sel me a new modem, an upgraded model with much higher speed capability. Ever since I purchased the new DW7000 modem, the hughes service has gone straight down hill. In the past year the modem simply dies and I have re-booted it over 400 times. The service has been getting consistently slower. Must be the additional users they are subscribing that now has their satellite overloaded. Since October 2007 I have made over 8 calls to Tech Service to complain about simple web pages that will not even load. You get a fix and a speed test while on the phone, but 2 hours later the speed has again dropped. Since 2004 I had never exceeded the Hughes Fair Access Policy. Then when I returned home one evening, the FAP was implemented. The net result was, even though I turned off my PC and unplugged the Hughes modem, that I was over the FAP limit and had literally no internet for 5 days. Hughes could not explain how I continued to be over the Fair Access Policy limit when the modem had been unplugged for over 30 hours straight.

If you live in a remote rural area, you have little option other than dial up, however at a $64.00 per month difference between dial up and Hughes.net, I can accept the slower speed at a reasonable price.

The concept was good and possibly before they overloaded their satellite capacity or only allocate a minuscule part of the satellite capacity for their broadband ISP service, it was acceptable to pay $75.00 per month when there was no alternative, but $75.00 per month for dial up level service is criminal.

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report them
Houston, US
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Oct 14, 2008 4:59 pm EDT

The only good thing about Hughes.net is you don't have to hear that dumb dial tone. It's WAY slower than dial-up.

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Marcia Quinn
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Apr 29, 2008 11:49 am EDT

Don't waste your money or time with Hughes.net This is absolutely the worst company I've ever had to deal with. If you have any alternative for Internet, go with it. When I started with them 4 yrs ago it was fine. But they have been adding people to the Satmex 5 and Satmex 6 satellites to the point where there is no bandwidth and no one has any speed. If they tell you to "upgrade" your modem for faster download or upload times, don't believe it. I have the HN7000 and it is worse than the DW6000. Now with their FAP you can't even download music or watch videos or you get turned off for 24 hours.

The most recent "crisis" is their email upgrade which was suppose to take one day. Well now its Tuesday April 29 and we've had no email since Friday. Maybe they outsourced the upgrade to India like they do the customer support. Those people don't have a clue. Now, they are switching back to the old email system. What idiots. I live in Central America and have no choice. If you have a choice of providers...DON'T USE HUGHES.NET ... The only good thing about my service is I deal with c-com, a VAR in Canada and they respond to emails and actually do provide "value added".

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reva dark
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Apr 06, 2008 5:12 am EDT

I live in Belize. I pay 96.25USD (includes 10% sales tax) per month for service which is only slighlty better than dial-up. Dial-up is 52kps here. I have the DW 7000 2 watt satellite. I sell real estate so need to email photos. When purchasing the system, I had great hopes of enhancing my business and was looking forward to getting my work done quickly. NOT!

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11:01 am EDT

Hughes terrible service!

HughsNet is by far the worst Internet Service Provider in the freaking world! You have to spend hours on hold, hours talking to every GD Gandi in India and still get no help. Try taking it to a english speaking supervisor and you'll get the same thing. Idiots with no customer service skills at all. Only thing HughsNet knows how to provide and provide good is charging ungodly amount of money for absolutely zero service. One can only hope that all the economic problems going on will affect them as a company and rid us of such shady businesses.

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Brookolson
Gilbert, US
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Apr 09, 2015 1:06 pm EDT

They steal money off my cc anytime they feel like it over drafting me nonstop after being told to take card off file and never touch it again. They say I'm sorry I can't do anything by a supervisor and what do you know they do it again! Need a attorney!

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R. Arriaga
Edinburg, US
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Sep 07, 2010 8:43 pm EDT

I connected Hughsnet in November 2009. When I placed the order I was not informed about a contract. I specifically asked if there was one and they stated there was not. The installer arrived while I was not at home and charged over $100.00 for a router that he stated was needed and was not. My room mate unknowingly paid for this un-needed piece of equipment. (SCAM) That next day I checked my checking account and they had debited my account for $449.00 when I called them they said that was the cost of the equipment. I stated that i was not buying but leasing. The installation which was quoted as free with no contract now cost an additional $149.00 instillation and equipment fee for a total of $249.00. Today September 7 2010 I was notified that I had to vacate my rental house. Property was sold. I called Hughsnet was placed on hold for forty-five minuets. When an operator answered she stated that early termination of a contract would result in a $400.00 penalty. I explained that I did not have a contract and she explained that there was nothing that could be done I would be billed. I asked for a supervisor. His accent was horrible and barely understandable. His comment you will be charged period. I have contacted BBB and they stated Hughsnet has a very bad reputation with many complaints. To date I have had my service interrupted many times. I am only allowed 200Mb maximum in a 24 hour period after which the service locks-up. It is only available without interruptions sometimes between 2:00 am and 6:00 am if the 200Mb limit is exceeded you do not have service until twenty-four hours after you exceeded this limit. Tokens are available for $5.00 for each additional 200Mb. If you call customer support you are charged almost $4.00 a minute and they download their updates and charge it to your allotted 200Mb. This results in not having service sometimes for days at a time. I just learned about the corporate number and was informed that I may receive better service with them. I hope this information is helpful in deciding if you want to receive service from this provider. [protected] is the corporate number.

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amy
Send a message
Jun 13, 2008 1:53 pm EDT

I had big issues with my service. My hughsnet was installed on 6/11/08. I had it shot off on 6/12/08. I was told that I had thirty days to decide if Iwanted it or not. Yea right LIARS! I could disscounted and pat $400, but would be refunded $200 if I shipped and paid for shipping the equipment back.Bull crap.
I spoke to more then one person who kept telling me that they could not doing anything. I then spoke to a supervise, who informed me that the day my service was installed they tried to bill my credit card, which they did not have permission to use. So make a long story short after all this run around I contacted corporate and spoke to a very nice lady named Rebecca. She was the only one willing to fix the issuse for me. The corporate number is [protected]. Calll them with your issuses because you will not get any where with customer service. If we keep passing on this number maybe they will see that they can't keep doing bussiness the way that they are and fix the issuse.Hope this helps.

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5:22 pm EST

Hughes slower than dial up and no support!

About 16 or 17 month's ago I had Hugesnet satellite installed Because I can not get DSL and or Cable here in the country. After paying around $500.00+ for the equipment a Young man come to install the system He insisted he could not install the system with out a pole mount and that would be an additional $110.00, This was for the pole and a bag of cement to set the pole in the pole cost $9.00 and the bag of cement cost $6.50 at a local hardware store. I am sure this person was getting payed from Hughesnet now I am in $610.00 and I still don't have High speed internet after an hour or so the system was up and running and I felt I had been Had! At $59.00 a month I got terrible up and download speeds at peek times some of the time I could not even get on the net I had kept my Dial up Just in case as I had to use it often. After a wile this so called FPA Had kicked in so I upgraded to the pro plan and was told this would be fast 1.5 down and 200 up all this for only $79.00 a Month thats $80.00 a month for An average of 77 down and 20 up during peek times they have a disclaimer for this too. I recently call about slow speed and got 3 (three) different stories about my slow speed and no help was available and that I was to wait for a call from the next level of support with in 24 to 48 hours. No one called I called back only then did I talk with level 4 this is what they said and some one would call with in 5 work days They called and said they knew there was a problem and the were working on this problem. still have the same problem I would think they have over sold there available bandwidth this has been a total negative experience and I would not recommend this service to any one They have my money and I got terrible service. I will put out the word about this matter as much as I can Hughesnet get your stuff together.

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Jodie
Springtown, US
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Feb 03, 2009 7:05 pm EST

I had Hughesnet installed March 2008 because I have no other option living in the country.
It cost me $80 a month and is down more than it is up and working. I have called in trouble at least 8 times.
The last time I called, two weeks ago...they determined my problem was my modem. They sent me a new one...I replaced it and it did not work. I was on the phone with 4 different reps for 2 1/2 hours and then, they told me ...
"well...obviously... the problem is the dish. We will have a service man come out but, it will be a service charge. You can ship the modem back to us at your expense". There is absolutely nothing wrong with my dish...it is the modem.
If I had another option for internet, it would be worth the penalty to get rid of this nickle and dime service.

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Dan
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Jul 16, 2008 1:09 pm EDT

Hughesnet has been a total rip off! Slower than dial-up! And NO support and NO HELP!

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J
12:11 pm EST

Hughes false advertising / misrepresentation

Date: 2/28/08

Hughes Satellite has promised a level of service which they consistently can not meet. Continual efforts (c case #'s [protected] and [protected]) to get the services advertised that I pay for have been fruitless. Hughes Satellite advertises the following for the Pro service: With the HughesNet Pro plan, connect to the Internet with maximum download speeds of up to 1.0 Mbps, with typical speeds about 650 Kbps to 750 Kbps during peak times. Upload speeds, which are capable of reaching 200 Kbps, are typically 100 Kbps to 125 Kbps during peak hours.

The majority of time, even when not utilizing the service during peak times, my results have been far below that. Hughes has admitted to a problem that has been unresolved for almost two months. This problem is with their satellite operations. They have not notified customers that this service is impaired and have not offered any type of remuneration unless you are lucky enough to find the telephone number for customer relations in Germantown, Maryland.

The service department is made up predominantly of employees who reside in the country of India and are difficult to understand when attempting to troubleshoot a problem. After repeatedly going through the same troubleshooting procedure and finding nothing wrong on the consumer's end, the customer is switched to the next level of service. This results in a better chance of getting an English speaking representative.

After reviewing the case history(ies), the customer is told that Hughes is aware of the problem and are working on it but that they currently can do nothing about it. No effort is made to offer the customer downtime credit or even apologies for the sorry state of affairs. The customer is left with nowhere to go and a malfunctioning system which cost them $74.00 per month.

Contacting HughesNet customer relations in Germantown, MD and speaking with someone named Camile only confirmed that the problem existed and an offer to pick up the equipment and rebate the hardware costs. Camile indicated that I should be the one to request credit. My feeling is that Hughes should be making the offer without me having to ask. Unfortunately, that's not the only costs that one occurs with setting up HughesNet satellite system.

It may involve cutting down trees, digging ditches to bury the coaxial cable, having an unsightly satellite dish installed (and if it's further than 40 feet from the hook-up site, more unreasonable charges are piled on.

I just committed to extending the service for 24 months based on a "free" upgrade to a more functional modem. At that time, nothing was mentioned about the satellite problem.

This company has a long way to go to correct their many misrepresentations and withholding of information that a consumer should have access to.

I will also be filing a report with the FTC and the FCC along with a letter to my State agencies.

John Isensee

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Loren W Fowler
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Feb 02, 2008 12:00 am EST

I ordered a satellite system thru Hughesnet Corp and ordered their current prom0 package of $0.00 up front, $100.00 rebate, $59.00 per mo. with equipment costs spread out over the two year period of the contract. Guess what? ByTelco evidently submits all paperwork back to HughesNet as "up front install" and they don't put anyone in for promos' The rebate you might ask? They turn them in to all these "PROCESS REBATES AT HOME AND EARN BIG PROFITS; that we all get in our spam mail.

OH, and yes, you guessed it: my bank also called to tell me that I had just been :wacked: for $500.00 plus another $100.00 overdraft charges! I made three emails to HughesNet, six phone calls and talked to every department in the company to no avail. Never mind that here we have another new customer that both we and BuyTelco just FRAUDULENTLY charged and screwed over and, hey lets make this right because the heat is starting to get turned up.
Recourse? I've filed a suit with the Federal Trade Commission, NYState Attorney Generals Office, The Better Business Bureau and a team of attorneys, Remember what we were all taught years ago, but sometimes don't really :get-it" There's strength in numbers because we are the little guys and THEY are the big guys. THEY have the money and lawyers and we don"t. Strength in numbers.

IF any of you out there has still got a set of "Balls" in their pants and wants to join me, let me know! And the next time you see that pretty lady on your TV asking you if you think you can't get high speed internet service--well--think again--get HUGHESNET and your problems will JUST BE STARTING.

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R R
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Aug 29, 2008 6:35 am EDT

I have the same problem ... poor Internet speeds, even after all "up-grades" ... modem (terminal adapter) antennae, service calls, ridiculous "speed tests over various sessions", ... etc. No offers of reduced monthly charge... Pro plan is nearly $70 per month. Horrible for just a little more than a dial up connection speed. I have zero other options as I reside out in the country. No cable, DSL, or ? Satallite connection is it.

I TOTALLY disagree with their claim the PRO plan, which advertises 1000/200, actually averages 600-700/100-150. For them to advertise 1000/200, the average speed needs to be 1000/200. Meaning sometimes speeds OVER 1000/200 MUST be obtained...!

Possibly a "Class Action" law suit is neccessary...

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8:01 am EST

Hughes download limit!

I found out the hard way (running a very small business at home), that even with the professional plan, there is 425MB download limit per day on this service. THAT was never pointed out to me as part of "fair service usage". Once you hit that limit, your internet service "dies" for 24 hrs. There is no notice, no email, no warning, just degradation of service regardless. I phoned the support (scripted foreign nationals), and finally was transferred to Portland, OR, and then to a supervisor with the same script. They don't care, and there is nothing you can do about it. I have 5 months left on my contract... then goodbye HUGHESNET! I won't deal with a company that has no other options than to double your spending per month. I already bought everything, paid for installation and pay $60/month. This is ridiculous in a day/age when everything is "log on, on-line"... anyone with a solution, feel free to contact me. I don't have access to cable, or DSL where I live. Only way to reach HughesNet is really thru their corporate headquarters: Hughes Network Systems, LLC.

11717 Exploration Lane
Germantown, MD 20876 USA.

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Burran
Childersburg, US
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Jun 29, 2012 12:10 pm EDT

Data limits were never discussed when I signed up. I reached mine in 8 days. They wanted me to 'upgrade' at double the money. I cancelled immediately and now they are billing me for equipment they refuse to pick up. The same installer came and uninstalled the equipment, but said he couldn't take it with him. I am filing in small claims for $1.00 in actaull and $4999.00 in punitive damages for fraud.

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Tony Steward
Tualatin, US
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Apr 02, 2011 10:46 am EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Clinton, there is no upload threshold...why are you limiting yourself on the uploading?

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Tony Steward
Tualatin, US
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Apr 02, 2011 10:36 am EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

"belonged to "Arthur" but got sent to my address and was in my name"

So was the account in your name? or was it in Arthurs name? How could it be both?

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Clinton Bradley
forrest city, US
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Mar 29, 2010 5:27 pm EDT

You know my mother had hughesnet, and it was just a real big mess. I moved out to a rural area and had no choice but too get it for my business. I'm afraid now of always reaching the red. I can't send back video files i help in creating. Hell, pics are about 5MB and that takes so much of my daily percentage away. I don't even get to send my music files which i remaster for myself and my label CBG Entertainment, from which i have two albums out now. I am working on my third at the moment. but i can only send at night, and then i'm worried i'll go over my limit, so i only send for about four hours and then i have my pc cut off. Thanks, Clinton B. G.

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mortgun
Petersburg, US
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Jan 22, 2010 6:33 am EST

I have HughesNet in the country where DSL or another high speed internet option is unavailable. When I bought the service I was told that I would get 800K downloads and 128k uploads. This is true if I use the internet between 1AM and 7Am. In the afternoon and evening my download speed is about 30k. Dial-up internet gives you this speed and it is much cheaper. Also web response is faster. You don't have to wait forever for the website to respond and begin loading. You also don't get all of the DNS error messages and the others that ocurr so frequently when you try to use Hughesnet at peak times.
It is obvious that HughesNet has over subscribed their satellites and they cannot handle the demand. They are only interested in making money and not serving their customers.

If you have an option, get any other internet service, and you will have less cost and/or problems.

It pisses me off to see Hughesnet commercials on TV telling how great and how fast their service is. THIS IS AN OUTRIGHT LIE!

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No More Mr Nice Guy
US
Send a message
Feb 26, 2009 7:18 pm EST

There is a major flaw with the Fair Access Policy and HughesNet's documentation of this policy.

The policy states:

"What do you recommend I do during the Download Period?
We recommend that you automatically schedule your system updates during the Download Period. We also suggest the use of a download manager software application to assist in the scheduling of large file downloads."

What the major flaw is that Windows System updates do not work this way. They download at any time and only install the updates at the configured time. This can easily be validated by examining the System Event viewer on any Microsoft system.

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Hfrank
Red River, US
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Jan 16, 2009 10:17 am EST

HughesNet may be the worst company I've ever dealt with (more accurately, the worst company whose executive officers are not yet indicted). Every contact from installation (a local franchise that surcharged us for mileage, claimed the installation was atypical--which it most certainly was not-- and added an unauthorized and unneeded booster) to technical support (some chap in India who calls himself Kevin and whose apparent role is to persuade customers that the problem is in the original hardware, which requires a service call) to customer care (a voicemail menu that either puts you into an automated billing queue or transfers you to Kevin) has been a nightmare. Unfortunately, out here in the mountains of New Mexico we can't get cable access, and the only satellite competitors do not permit customers to shut off service for part of the year, which is what keeps HughesNet in business in an area where most customers are vacation homeowners.

It may also be relevant that the credit card we used exclusively for HughesNet business had fraudulant charges posted with businesses in the Baltimore area.

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indie343
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Apr 01, 2008 6:44 pm EDT

Yea Hughes.net tried to get me to sign up in Georgia with a $100 sign up fee & a $100 a mo. service fee. I already have direct tv so i didn't want another dish, I recommend anyone in GA not to sign up with HughesNet. It's a trap! Get AT&T for $35 a mo. or Verison(I think they all are liars! The speed is no different on any of them, it's your computer!)

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Jaye
Send a message
Feb 28, 2008 7:35 pm EST

Hughes.net came out to install our internet service, which was supposed to be 69.99/month, and the equipment was free.That was the deal.
Then I got a bill for $488.00 + for the equipment ! I called God only knows how many times to them, to billing,which
is in a foreign country. They told me numerous times it would be resolved.
Then came the next bill, same thing. Keep in mind this is at a residence still under construction, and we aren't even
connected to their service yet.
THIS COMPANY IS THE BIGGEST FRAUD EVER !
DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THEM!

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Phillip Brand
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Feb 22, 2008 10:45 am EST

I agree Hughesnet is a ripoff. Being a home user they said download speeds were around 500-700kb/sec, but in reality the actual transfer rate is around 100kb/sec, and can be as slow as 25kb/sec. When you go over your download limit they say your bandwidth is reduced, but you can still browse. My average browseing rate when over the limit is 0.8kb/sec. This "service" is also three time more expensive than dsl.

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12:56 am EST
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

Hughes frustrated with the service

I was a Hughes customer starting in 2002. I had the usual frustrations, similar to those in other complaints on this site. I had let my contract expire so luckily I was a free agent when this fiasco happened. Even so, the hassle was unbelievable and remains ongoing. Seems to me that between us there may be grounds for a class action suit for pattern and practice of consumer fraud on the part of Hughes.

On October 14, 2007, I accepted an online offer from Hughes Network Systems for an upgrade to my satellite system. They were to ship me a new modem, model #HN7000S, and begin a new level of service upon installation of the modem. I asked them twice when I would be charged for the modem and for the new level of service. Each time I was told that I would be charged when the new modem was installed and working. I signed no contract, nor was I given any verbal conditions or written company policy with regard to my purchase, beyond the information about when I would be charged for the purchase. Hughes told me they would be shipping my modem via the US Postal Service to my home address. They gave me no further shipping details or tracking information.

After three weeks I had still not received the modem, so I called Hughes. They told me the modem had been shipped and that it had been delivered two weeks earlier. They told me that it had been shipped via FedEx and that they knew nothing more and could not help me find the modem. Multiple phone calls later I discovered that the modem had been shipped via FedEx Ground, not FedEx. FedEx Ground confirmed that the modem had been delivered, but to an address that was not mine, and that it had been signed for by someone I had never heard of. I searched for the address and eventually found the modem, which had been delivered to a local business. I finally got the modem on Nov. 1, 2007. Because I was scheduled for surgery on Nov. 7, I did not contact Hughes or attempt to connect the new modem until November 14, 2007. I subsequently discovered that Hughes had charged my credit card for the modem and the first month of the upgraded service on November 11, 2007, three days before I contacted them for help in installing the modem.

On November 14, 2007 I began connecting the modem. When I needed help I called Hughes Tech support at [protected]. I spoke with Mary in India who was courteous but totally unable to help me complete the installation. In fact when I had gone through the steps she asked me to and clicked on the Swap button on the Hughes website, the new modem failed to install. Mary was unable to help me further, other than to inform me that I could not go back to using my old modem and thus would have no internet service at all until a way was found to install the new modem. Mary told me I had to call the Hughes Advanced Tech Support Center (Tech Support) at [protected], and issued me a PIN number which would allow me to talk with someone there, since otherwise calls to that number are refused. I made the call. I spoke with Steven and with John who were also unable to help me with the installation. After at least an hour on the phone, John told me that it would be impossible to install the new modem and that they would have to send me a new one. He confirmed that in the meantime I would have no internet access. He said they would ship the new modem within 5-7 days. Words cannot describe my frustration by this point.

Later that day I called Tech Support again, hoping to get a more satisfactory level of assistance. I spoke with Astrid. Astrid told me that the previous Tech Support personnel had not been as helpful as they could have been. She gave me a dialup account number so that I could get online. She also assured me that the modem would be shipped the next day, and that I could call the shipping department in the morning to obtain shipping and tracking information. Unfortunately, the dialup number given me was useless. Numerous attempts failed to connect to the server. Yet another call to Tech Support got me more dialup numbers to try. They too were useless. When I called the shipping department the next morning, November 15, the woman I spoke to laughed. She said 'Honey, I don't know who you were talking to. It will be days before we have any information on that shipment.'

Again I called Tech Support, attempting to get a straight story about the replacement modem; when it would be shipped, who the carrier would be, and what the tracking information was. I spoke with several individuals. I was finally told that no one knew when the modem would be shipped; that no one knew how it would be shipped, and that it was impossible to connect me with anyone who could tell me any of this information, despite what Astrid had told me.

During the following 6 days I called Hughes repeatedly, both Tech Support and Shipping, trying to find out when and if the new modem had been shipped. I was shuffled around in circles between Tech Support and Shipping and given no useful information. I asked to speak with their Customer Relation Department and was told that they could not connect me, nor could they give me a phone number or email address so that I could contact them myself. My efforts to get this information were met with indifference and I was rudely dismissed. On November 23, 2007 I checked my credit card account and discovered that Hughes had charged my account on November 11, 2007 for the price of the new modem and for one month of a new service plan even though at the time of that charge I had neither installed the new modem nor gotten the service upgrade. I immediately called Hughes and told them to cancel my account due to my having no internet access, no new modem, their inability to help me, their incompetence, their total lack of cooperation in resolving the problems, and especially because they had violated their agreement, and charged me for the equipment and service upgrade before any attempt had been made to install them. Tech Support told me I had to speak to the Billing Dept about this.

I called the Hughes Billing Dept, asked them to cancel my account and to refund the charges to my account. They said they would cancel my account, but that I had to speak to a supervisor about a refund, and transferred me to Mike. Mike refused to credit my account for the November 11 charges. He told me that it was company policy that I had to try to install the second new modem, which I still had not received, and that they would only refund my money if that second modem could not be installed. Whether I cancelled my account or not, my money would not be refunded unless I followed their policy. He insisted that neither he nor I had any choice but to follow the Hughes policy and that there was nothing further he could do. I asked him to connect me with the Hughes Customer Relations Department. As had Tech Support, he said he could not and that neither could he give phone or email contact information for Customer Relations. He said he did not have the information and that my only recourse was to write them. I expressed extreme disbelief that he had no way to contact Customer Relations. After some time he admitted to me that he had the information but would lose his job if he gave it to me!

On November 24, 2007, the new replacement modem arrived. I shipped it back to Hughes, unopened. On November 26, 2007 I called Hughes to be sure that my account had been cancelled. It had not, despite earlier assurances. I again requested that they cancel my account and they did so.

On November 26, 2007, I called Bank of America with whom I have a Visa account. I explained the situation to them and asked them to put the charges ($204.05) into dispute. They did so. On December 13, 2007 I received a letter from Bank of America acknowledging the legitimacy of my complaint and notifying me that the disputed charge was removed from my account. They further told me that they considered the matter resolved and that only if t he merchant supplied information proving that the charge was valid would the account be rebilled. Hughes offered no such proof and no rebuttal to my complaint. On December 21, 2007, Hughes wrote to me requesting payment of the disputed amount. I called Bank of America. They told me that I should ignore the letter from Hughes. On February 7, 2008, a collection agency called my residence attempting to collect the disputed charges, so this is far from resolved.

I feel that Hughes has shown itself to be unethical and willing to make fraudulent charges at the expense of its customers. Any help would be much appreciated.

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Jim O'Crolic
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Feb 28, 2008 10:45 am EST

This is typical and my heart goes out to you. The only thing worse would be if you had signed up for AT&T Sierra WiFi. You would want to check yourself in to the nearest mental hospital. It is a George Bush's fault because of lack of regulation. These companies do any thing they want because they know they can get away with it. This is reason 1001 why the rest of the world hates us. Capitalism rules and morals and ethics are a thing of the past, much less fear of the law.

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7:23 pm EST

Hughes misrepresentation of service

HughesNet continues with its come-on, "Up to 2.5 Mbps" and "High Speed Internet" while in reality, the speeds for download and upload range around 0.5 Mbps for download, and not much more than 0.01 Mbps upload. I understand the upload difficulties, but they shouldn't be able to practice false advertising and get away with it.

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Dave Wheeler
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Sep 25, 2008 10:19 am EDT

I am furious with hughesnet. For the last 4 days I have been working with Hughesnet technical service to diagnose my problem with slow speed. I have found that during normal hours my speeds are as slow as 60 kbps. I have now been told that the speeds advertised are not promised and that my service is slow because of high service volumes. I called back to Hughes pretending to be a prospective new customer and was told that speeds would be about 2 mbps. I was told that was the speed for the basic plan. I asked the salesman about speed during peak hours and was told that It would always be that fast. I then told him I was already a customer and that my speeds were about 50 to 60 for download. He quickly changed his tone and said that speeds were not guaranteed. I told him that he just had guaranteed them and that I thought Hughes net was guilty of false advertising. One service technician told me I should expect speeds of 500 to 750 kbps during off peak times and no less than 250 kbps during peak usage. This speed of 250 kbps would be fantastic if I could just get it. They also told me I might be able to get more speed if I upgraded to the next plan but when I questioned them they said again that speeds could not be guaranteed. Their fair access policy says they will reduce down to dial up if they exceed the limit in this policy but I have checked and have not exceeded the limit yet I am still being reduced to dialup speeds. I think they should be the target of a class action suit for false advertising. I also believe that they give new customers full bandwidth for the first few months so they will tell their friends and then start to reduce bandwith until they have you down to dialup. If I had just signed up for the service and only got 60 kbps

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12:00 am EST

Hughes horrible internet provider & service!

I've posted two diatribes regarding the horrors of Hughes Net. I've also read many of the complaints and it seems that almost everybody is in total agreement. If anybody out there is or has been a Hughes Net/DirecWay customer and would be interested in participating in a CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT against Hughes Net please email me. I'm just taking a POLL of people that have complained on this board to see if there would be any interest. I will not reply to your emails nor will I save them or forward them to anybody.

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Pam Jackson
US
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May 24, 2016 3:19 pm EDT

No help at all working with customers when not getting Hughs net internet will not help ..just keeps me stringing along 1 month and 7 to 10 call for help.. and wont let me out of my contract .. for service that i get 1/2 the time and are charging $500... yes i said $500. to get out of a service that doesnt work Rotten .. Rotten just another way of getting over so they can make $$$$

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Trina Keith
US
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May 11, 2016 7:12 pm EDT

I order internet service from your company and it never worked I received some of my money back but you're charging me for installation when I was told it would be no charge for the installation this was a very bad experience for me with a internet company I want my money back for the installation as well you told me the installation was free yet you charged me for it unbelievable my name is Antonio Mobley my phone number is [protected] I would like to speak to someone about this asap thank you

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BatCountry6
Exeter, US
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Dec 19, 2014 4:07 am EST

Hughesnet is unfortunately not the best internet to go with :( i too was suckered into getting this isp. I went from an isp that allowed me to stream videos without worry of losing data, to constantly checking a gauge. and what's with the extra data after 2:00 am to 6:00 am? that is so inconvenient due to the fact that not everyone can be up at 2:00 am (although i'm sure there are folks who are) it seems unreasonable. Hughesnet is unreasonable. I can't play multiplayer online with Hughesnet. I have to watch how much data I use. Hughesnet is a lame cellphone contract wired to your roof. Please get with the times Hughesnet, you are a detriment in the guise of a convenience. A wolf in sheep's clothing. I'd at least like to cancel without having to pay $300-$500 range...sheesh. Highway robbery! -_-

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bennetta
US
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Jul 03, 2011 6:59 pm EDT

we pay alot for this service and cannot get on line as quick as dialup

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REX KIRKES
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Mar 07, 2008 6:09 pm EST

I mailed my payment in 11 days ago and they have shut my internet off except to their site.

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stephan sikstrom
Send a message
Dec 03, 2007 12:00 am EST

The system sucks, outrageous pricing, fap sucks, rebate is a scam. Need a class action lawsuit!

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Karen L.
Send a message
Jan 12, 2008 12:00 am EST

Hughes net is horrible! We mostly surf the web and occasionally when we need to download, the FAP is put on us for not 8-12 hours like they say, but at least 24. I checked our usage and we purposely shut our computer off and unplug the connection every night. It's funny that there will be usage when we are asleep. It can be 24 minutes or 30 minutes, but noone is at the computer because it's off and unplugged from the internet. Sounds like something fishy is going on.

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Bill Lowery
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Mar 08, 2008 6:22 pm EST

The latest rip with hughes is they email you offering you the the latest modem and when you don't response they shut you down and say you need to get the new dw7000 and will give it to you for free if you sign up for two more years. I don't want it and further more Lately I only get 4 or 5 days a week of good internet speed
the rest of the week I might as well have dial up. And lets not forget the poor english speaking folks from billing or tech support who blame the weather for everything. Good bye hughes, hello clear wire!

hughesnetsucks
hughesnetsucks
lineville, US
Send a message
Aug 26, 2009 12:34 pm EDT

Yes, I would love to have a class action lawsuit, start with the UCC Uniform Commercial Code, Truth in advertising, and continue with how hughes net has abdicated their responsibility to their customers by only providing support where english is not a primary language.

hughes net is perhaps the worst service provider I have ever seen

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SuperVepr
Redneckville, US
Send a message
Jul 28, 2009 11:19 am EDT

I love on the commercial when that red-headed [censored] says, "it's freed up alot of my time".

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C
12:00 am EST

Hughes the most overblown advertisement in the history of ad-copy!

Hugesnet internet service has to be the most overblown advertisement in the history of ad-copy. Total mis-representation. High speed internet? Not on a clear day in hell. This service takes real time off of your lifecycle just waiting for a page to load.
You get a two year contract, a never explained "Fair Access Policy" at a high price for what on almost every occasion amounts to a 28k modem, and less.

Service is fair, even when you can get off hold. At the 81.00 per month, install plus equipment. One would expect to have "Highspeed Internet". False advertisement is what Hughesnet offers. I watched an ad on TV for Hugesnet the other night. All smoke and mirrors.

Anyone wishing to form a class action suit against these bandits of the internet, count me in.

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PamelaDC
US
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Jan 06, 2009 9:29 pm EST

Count me in for the class action if any one goes that route!

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Dan
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Jul 24, 2008 3:57 pm EDT

Just got my HughesNet hooked up 7/23/08, I wished I did more checking It is slower than the dail up I had. Lucky I have 30 day trail I only lose about $200 for the installation. If you thinking about HughesNet you better do some checking first Wish I had.
Dan

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12:00 am EST

Hughes installer created damage!

We called for a new installation scheduled on 6/11/2007. The assigned installer's scheduler (his wife) called to see if we wanted it done early and scheduled it to be on 5/31/2007 because he had to be in Sonoita, AZ that morning for another install. My husband and the woman spoke only long enough for him to agree and to tell her to have the installer call me to make sure I could be there because he (my husband) couldn't. My husband told her we wanted it on the back of the house on the roof. She (the installer company) said that would be fine. The day of 5/31/07, the installer phoned me on my way to work and I explained I couldn't be there until 10am, which he said would be fine. When I got there, he had installed the dish on the side of my home where we plan on putting a porch and within head-walking distance. I was shocked because the dish was on the house and shocked because he was inside my home, which we hadn't even moved into yet. The builder had sent contractors over to work on the water faucets and the Hughesnet guy just invited his dirty shoes into my den to setup his computer! When I told him that wasn't where we wanted, he got huffy, said he didn't have time to fix it and would have to come back (had another install the other side of Tucson he was in a hurry for) and took it down, leaving black tar stuff on my home, big ugly holes, and tore the wood siding (it's a modular home). He was rude, unprofessional, and I tried to explain that I understood his position but that he didn't have the customer's requirements before he began the install, like he should have done. Since then, HughesNet gave me a priority number to call, which is only good with a PIN that they give out every two weeks. I'm subject to emailing a representative, who is nice, but you can tell has a caseload because she never remembers my story. They have offered to refund $320 to our credit card on file, but what we really want is for them to issue payment to the builder to have a contractor fix the siding properly. We dont' want to have to deal with doing it ourself! Oh, forgot to mention that when that guy left, I called HughesNet and told them we didn't want him to finish the install and they sent a better installer who put it it on a polemount in my backyard and we've been mostly happy, just not with knowing we have damage to our home that HughesNet ignores. Has never even sent an adjuster to look at it. They are too big, corporation wise, to take care of the customer, who is driven to being taken care of by contractors who will repeately make mistakes because HughesNet doesn't solve them and get rid of the bad contractor. As a computer technical professional manager, I would never hire someone like the guy that did our first install. He was in a hurry to get a job done so he could get home that day. Probably gets paid by the install and not reimbursed for mileage. Never should have started without the customer onsite and without discussing where it would be installed.

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12:00 am EST

Hughes scam and cheating!

The little lady on the commercial that arrogantly tells hughesnet users "your welcome" was the final straw. Given the abundance of useless channels on directv, the writer's strike's causation of painful re-runs, those damned HEAD-ON commercials, TV news that absolutely forgot the cardinal rule of journalism--OBJECTIVITY. Then sent me a 50 dollar monthly bill for their gracious allowance af letting me accept their signal in my home, and tells me, as afore mentioned , your welcome! You, my greedy corporate friends, have balls the size of Ecuador. Monday, I canceled directv. Today, apparently, I attempted to download too much info. and was rationed internet speed. Today, I canceled the little lady who tells me "your welcome". direct tv directway hughesnet the rest of the world, i am gonna tell you once, loud and clear, and you wont heed, for it is your nature! greed IS a deadly sin. When the dust clears, you explain to GOD why humanity was secondary to profit.

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lporter121
US
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Dec 14, 2017 11:01 pm EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I have contacted Hughes Net at least 12 or more times since September 2, 2017 about how slow my internet is. I keep getting the same run around. They want me to turn off all things that are connected to internet. I have done this twice and then run a speed test. It did not improve anything. It is very time consuming these things they have you do. I record time, date, server for speed test, download speed and upload speed. Almost every day between the hours 5pm to midnight the download speeds are 0.1 or lower. At midnight the speeds do increase. But some days they never get over 2.0mbps. I also have a hard time hearing and most of the time I can not understand what they are saying when I call. Also the computer that I do download speeds I on is hard wired into the modem.

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Jim Fletcher
US
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Dec 31, 2015 2:12 pm EST

I constantly "exceed" my limit, even when I have been online for a very short time. I have to keep restoring tokens for $5 per shot. Why can I have two satellite signal high def TVs running all day and never have an extra charge? I believe that Hughes Net is scamming me because there is presently no cable in our area. I would welcome the opportunity to participate in a lawsuit.

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adam
london, GB
Send a message
Jan 12, 2008 12:00 am EST

First of all i think I should start of with say NEVER PURCHASE HUGHESNET! I have had Hughesnet for about two years now. The only reason I have not canceled it is because in my area it is the only service besides dial-up that is available. Sometimes I think dial-up would be better. First of all the biggest problem is the unreliability ,the internet will stop working or it will become very slow for weeks at a time. Second of all the customer service is extremely poor. They do nothing to help except say, "keep a record of the speeds over the next three days" and then when you call back they say to do something else for the next three days. Another customer service problem is that it is EXTREMELY hard to understand the reps, between strong accents and poor phone lines it is almost impossible to understand them. Next but certainly not last is the Fair Access Policy (FAP). The FAP limits the amount of download and uploading that can be done. For my plan which it the Pro Plan I can only download 375MB and on the Basic Plan you can only download 200MB. After The FAP is exceeded the download speeds will be reduced to around 56K(dial-up) and sometimes slower for 24 hours. The next problem is that i cannot play online games or use xbox live without there being a massive amount of delay(lag) which makes it impossible to play. But this could possibly be excused since satillite internet is know to have lots of lag. Now for my current issue that i am dealing with right now. About three weeks ago my download speed dropped of to about 2KB/s which made internet browsing almost impossible. So I called customer service and they goofed around and have yet to resolve any thing. So for the past three weeks i have had virtually no internet. But i have called at least five times over the last three weeks. one week ago i was escalated to the third level of tech support and they where supposed to contact me within two days. One week later still no call. So i call back( 0n hold as I type this) and they have told me that they will try to call in the next day. So the reason i am so mad now is because i am pay $89 dollars a month for 5KB/s.

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Mephilic
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Nov 19, 2008 7:38 pm EST

Hughesnet has been scamming me for over 5 months now During the day time i recieve speeds anywhere from below 1kbps to 20kbps usually being below 1kbps, it goes so slow i can't even use the internet, at this rate whats the point of having a fap if it isnt even possible to download 420megs in a day. But once the moment it hits 12 am it starts going up to like 180kbps speeds for download and it is like this everyday personally i think some illegal activity is going on here, and that the FCC should be looking into this.

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Kevin
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Aug 01, 2008 2:24 pm EDT

I am currently using Hughes net. It sucks big time. Almost as slow as dial up. Rationing internet is illegal, right? So, can't we sue them? Somebody should really look into this. I don't have extensive legal knowledge so if there's anybody out there who knows this stuff, could you help all of us Hughes net scamees?

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Danny
Send a message
Jul 22, 2008 7:31 pm EDT

THIS ###ING BLOWS! BIGGEST SCAM I HAVE EVER SEEN/HEARD OF. SEVERAL TIMES I HAVE CAME HOME AFTER SCHOOL, WHEN NO1 WAS HOME, AND I FOUND OUT "fair acess policy threshold exceeded" ###. I WANT 2 FIND OUT WHERE THE PRESIDENT OF THIS SCAM LIVES, GRAB A BASEBALL BAT, AND BEAT THE ###ING ### OUT OF HIM. 1st of all.. wtf is fair acess policy? its not like theres some kind of limit on how much internet there is floating around out there... its not like it runs out... SO GIVE ME MY ###ING INTERNET AND STOP STEALING MY ###ING MONEY! and 1st of all... GET SOME TECH SUPPORT OTHER THAN TOWEL HEADS IN INDIA! not 2 mention.. they come up with "american" names EVERY CALL. BUT the only positive thing about this web provider, and probabally the reason y this is "the best alternative" is because THEY ARE THE BEST 2 PRANK PHONE CALL. THEY HAVE GIVEN ME LAUGHTER AND INSAINITY AT THE SAME TIME! getting back 2 the whole hughes net=scam... THIS IS ### AND GO DIE!

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wonder19
johnson valley, US
Send a message
Jul 17, 2008 2:19 pm EDT

I'm not sure if these numbers are valid anymore because Hughes rotates them on a weekly basis (why are they trying to hide?) These might still be the phone numbers for Hughesnet technical support in Florida (tier 3) where English is spoken. One is only referred here after dealing with India.
They will probably ask for a case number or for you to dial another access code. If you get a live person tell them you have no case number but demand help you can understand.
If the automated system asks for an access number they're here at the end of the numbers. These may no longer work but they're free calls and they used to work at least at one time. They could rotate back in next week too. Try both access numbers with both phone numbers.
[protected]
[protected]
access codes: 298715 and 298729
Hope they still work. Good Luck. This is no way to run a business.

ComplaintsBoard
N
12:00 am EST

Hughes too many to name!

We've been customers with Hughesnet (formerly Direcway) since January 2002 and have been paying $59.99 a month up until January 2008, which is when we upgraded to their $79.99 "Pro Plus" Program. The benefit we looked forward to was having a MUCH faster internet connection (that is if it isn't raining, snowing, foggy or the wind is blowing the wrong way). NO ONE mentioned their "Fair Use Policy" where we can ONLY download 425MG (which is NOTHING--Hughesnet is living in the dark ages!)or they will turn that on and it slows your internet access to DIAL UP speed. You then have to set your alarm clock to wake up at 3am to download any size file you want (and they give you until 6am to finish) even if you are in violation of the Fair Use Policy. Now I can understand if they want to limit downloading of large files, but there is NO reason why our basic internet access that we use to surf slows down to dial up speed for 24 HOURS before they turn it back to normal. That is NOT fair! What are we paying for!?!

Because we live in an isolated area that doesn't get cable or DSL, they have use held captive. We are moving and when we do, you can be sure that there is NOOO way we will use Hughesnet again!

The other problem with Hughesnet is that they outsource their Customer Service in the late afternoon's and throughout the night overseas! They are taking away American's jobs and paying the people in India (and other countries) a fraction of the cost it would be to pay an American. I've worked in the corporate World for many years and understand that outsourcing is a wonderful way to save money and add profit to the bottom line. What I don't understand is why they have to use people who can barely speak English, couldn't solve a problem for you if they had 10 people helping them and are flat out useless when you have a problem. If you happen to call during the day, then you'll get an American and I've never had problems with their knowledge or service, they are great.

People need to know what this company is doing (or should I say not doing) for their customers and it needs to change IMMEDIATELY!

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TJames
Waynesville, US
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Aug 16, 2009 12:51 pm EDT

Every since that new modem HN7000S, I have had nothing but problems. My old model worked fine, the old direcway one. They told me I would receive no tech support, If I didn't have the new one. So in the mail came my modem. I was excited about all this new speed they kept talking about. I had nothing but problems. No internet service no e-mail, nothing. I had to buy 2 new cables I received 2 more modems. I had to pay to get a tech to look at it- 125.00...The tech person couldn't fix it. So now I have to jiggle a wire, everytime I want to get on the computer, that is slow as you know what. I can't download anything, I can't send any pictures to my smugmug account. I can't watch any videos. A 2 minute video takes 15 min. to see. By that time, I am so pissed off I can't stand it. Now I have to wait 2 yrs. or I will be charged 300$ to close my account. I can't wait to get rid of hughesnet, I hate it. Oh, and I love those people I talk to at tech support. Can't understand a word they say! I had to bump up a plan on my phone bill, because I went over on my minutes. Hughes. net sucks.

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Tdog4775
Gaines, US
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May 22, 2009 5:11 pm EDT

Couldn't agree any more. So today I call and ask them for help setting up my new modem that we had to lock into another year thing for! First off i get someone who bearly knows a damn lick of english and he talks to me for 2 hours and get nothing done! by this point i'm getting pissed because there is no way it should take this long and he transfers me to some other person he tells me to do a bunch of other stuff and gets me no wear as well and he speaks even worse english than the person before. At the end he tells me we have to pay 125 dollars for them to come out and fix the dish but there is no problem with the dish it works fine on my old modem and if it needs to be fixed why and the hell would they charge us 125. It's there fault it doesn't work and I can't speak to someone who knows english. If they don't come out here and fix it i will have them shove this new modem up there ### and the 1 year agreement and cancel our subscription and if we have to take this to court so be it..

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karen rumminger
Bridger, US
Send a message
May 18, 2009 11:05 pm EDT

I am in total agreement with this person who wrote this. We live in the country in Montana and were told Hughesnet was the only game in town. I called tonight to complain of the many hours that I cannot access my computer and was told (by someone in the PHILIPPINES) that I was being punished due to using more mega bites or whatever they call it... I just found out about the "FAIR USE POLICY' and asked them if they were serious? She said it was in my contract and I told her please send me a contract so I can read it, she said I can get it on the internet! I told her, "no I cannot get it on internet because I cannot access it at the moment that is why I was calling!"
Also, we pay $90.00 a month for this lousy internet service, cannot talk to anyone in the USA and can't understand what they are saying half the time. We tried to cancel them after we had the service a couple of months and they sent us a bill for over $800.00 for early termination! I reinstated the service just because I did not want that $800.00 looming over my head. They said it was in my contract, but I never signed a contract because if I had one to read, I would have never gone with Hughesnet... I have asked then several times for a contract to be sent to me, but they tell me to go to Hughesnet customer care online... Online, when I am being punished and cannot use any more time on the internet. They are a ripe off company, horrible service, lousy customer service and they overcharge for their so called internet service. My neighbor has dial up and pays $9.99 a month and has better internet service and access than we do. I will be filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau as soon as I can get the forms, but gee, can't right now, I am being punished for using over the amount allocated to us for downloads, which includes emails! They told me to use it between 5-6 pm... I told the person on the other end of the line, I am at work and do not get home until after 7pm and I cannot always use the internet because I cannot get ONLINE! THIS IS HIGHWAY ROBBERY AND NEEDS TO BE STOPPED!

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Mary
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Jul 27, 2008 8:11 pm EDT

I think it's absurd when a company doesn't provide a service and yet, won't refund your money for it. If your phone is out for 4 days, the phone company will give you credit for the 4 days. Someone needs to do something about this and the poor service. There are no fast downloads. I would have been better off sticking with my dial up servcie! I do plan on writing the FTC who regulates these companies...I hope others will follow suit.

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Sherry Houlette
Send a message
May 20, 2008 10:22 am EDT

I agree with you I have the big busssiness pkg and I cant get even close to the speed that they advertise I pay 188.00 per month for virtualy nothing

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12:00 am EST

Hughes complete and utter incompetence

I just recently found out about the 200MB download limit. This is an outrage because it happened when I tried to download a paid for and licensed copy of Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007, which is a 500MB file. I figured it out when the file download didn't work and I was only running at about 6 Kbps. Yes, I said 6, and it has been this way for 24 hours. I can conveniently, however, download whatever I want between the hours of 3-6AM Eastern time. I talked to 5 people, all of which could hardly explain anything to me due to lack of ability to speak fluent English, and I am now sitting here hoping that my download will actually work at the allowed times. Oh, by the way, good luck getting any type of manager or supervisor on the phone. Apparently nobody runs this company. I am looking for a way to get out of this contract for this pitiful and unreliable service. Any suggestions, feel free to email me at [protected]@bigfoot.spokane.edu

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Andrew
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Jan 21, 2008 2:40 pm EST

I posted the Jan 4, 2008 post and agree with you. Luckly my contract is up as I used the service starting from 2004. I am switching to Verizon wireless broadband [with an aftermarket external antenna] which has a 5GB monthly limit by no daily limit which will be much better for me. (Be careful with verizon because if you go over you may need to pay a termination fee... but at least you can get your full 5GB at high speed with out the slow speed fraud hughes net provides.)

I suggest you file a complaint at:
www.ftc.gov
and (thanks to Jim Smith's post on Jan 17th 2008) at: http://www.oag.state.md.us/Consumer/complaint.htm...

ComplaintsBoard
A
12:00 am EST

Hughes unfair bandwith limit penalty restricts beyond daily limits.

Hugesnet (formerly Direcway) implemented a 'Fair Access policy' (FAP) which does not allow for the daily download bandwidth paid for by the service plains. This is because there is a 24hour penalty after the threshold for a day is reached.

If at 11:59pm I go 1 byte over the 200MB in my contract they will limit speed to below dialup speed for 24 hours after (not the 1 minute for the rest of the day or until the usage is back on track). This makes the 2 day average of broadband access 201MB or 100.5MB/day, not the 200MB/day that I pay for.

This is NOT indicated on the page with the list of plains and allowed daily usage. You need to click to another page to read about the 24hour restricted usage.

Hughes net advertises:
"With HughesNet®, your super-fast, always-on, satellite Internet access is ready when you are—no dialing in, no waiting and no tied-up phone lines. You can download files in seconds, check email instantly and surf faster than you ever imagined." What they don't say is that you only have a fraction of an hour at their advertised download speeds a day. The 'always-on' is 'always-on' unless you want to use more than an hour a day of boradband such as video.

The FAP page then goes on to say you CANNOT do broadband applications without being unfair!?!

I just tried to read the fair access policy on the page with the descriptions of the residential plains an found I need to log in! That is, there is no way for a person who is not a subscriber to know about the 24 hour restriction AFTER they daily limit is reached even if it is at the end of the day. Below is a list from this document of what is NOT considered to be fair use:

from:
http://www.nationwidesatellite.com/HughesNet/service/HughesNet_fair_access_policy.asp

1. Full-length movie downloads
2. Peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing programs such as Napster, Kazaa or LimeWire
3. Continuous downloading or viewing streaming media content such as audio or video programming
4. Hosting of server devices such as email, FTP or Web servers
5. Hosting computer applications such as Web camera feeds
6. Automated computer to computer connections used for archiving of local computer content
7. Extensive downloading of Usenet Newsgroups (NNTP)
8. Use of BitTorrent applications
9. Simultaneous file downloads
10. Downloading large files (i.e., file sizes that are close in size to the download threshold of your service plan)

Note that all of the services above are considered boradband. I don't believe Hughes net can advertise always on broadband, have a system that will work at advertised speed for under an hour and then indicate that the above broadband activities are not allowed. After all that, they violate the terms of their advertised plains by limiting service the day AFTER a violation occurs to not be boradband either.

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Update by Andrew
Jan 04, 2008 8:46 am EST

I placed this in the wrong category. Will re-post.

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Grizz
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May 24, 2008 11:06 pm EDT

File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. I did file one. If we all stand together and file a complaint just maybe it will help. Just call 1-877-ftc-help or www.ftc.gov

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Grizz
Send a message
May 24, 2008 11:05 pm EDT

File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. I file one. If we all stand together and file complaints just maybe it will help. Just call 1-877-ftc-help or www.ftc.gov

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Craig Bullim
Send a message
Jan 19, 2008 10:47 pm EST

HughesNet is full of ### and has been since they started using VSATs in 1997
HughesNet is full of ### and has been since they started using VSATs in 1997

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Craig Bullim
Send a message
Jan 19, 2008 10:45 pm EST

"fair" access policy is not fair. You are entitled to receive EXACTLY what you pay for.
"fair" access policy is not fair. You are entitled to receive EXACTLY what you pay for.
"fair" access policy is not fair. You are entitled to receive EXACTLY what you pay for.

File in small claims court. Bring PAPER proof: contracts, communications, transactions

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12:00 am EST
Featured review
This review was chosen algorithmically as the most valued customer feedback.

I have had Directway then now Hughes.net. I am constantly getting FAP'ed even though no one was home for 4 days. I am on a wireless network, but out in the country. Unless cows have gotten laptops then no one is close enough. Calling them is a 3-4 ordeal. You have to deal with their "English" names although they are in India. They have no clue to how...

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12:00 am EST

Hughes fap

Hughesnet FAP is outlandish and I feel probably illegal. How can you tell me you are going to sell me HIGH SPEED INTERNET then pull me under dialup speeds yet still charge me 60 dollars a month. These people think they can do what they want and nobody will do anything about it but pay them even more money to stay above the FAP. If anybody knows about a class action suit that is started already or are willing to start one with me feel free to send me an e-mail. I'm telling you each and every one of us is going to have to stand against this bs or we will have no option for highspeed internet depending on where we live at. The one option we have is unacceptable and the providers of it are criminals at least in my eyes. If everyone sues them at once and even if losing the suit vows on petitions to drop their service putting them out of buisness they will get rid of their FAP and do the responsible thing and provide more bandwidth.

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Joyce Cummings Davis
Amite, US
Send a message
Feb 09, 2011 2:30 am EST

I purchased HughNet Internet service because of their television ads. I live in a rural area and only have access to dial-up service. The advertisement never told anyone that you would be limited to only a few megabytes per day and after that you have to purchase "TOKENS" in order to use this service. They did not tell me about this until after my little 200 Megabytes had been used up one week or less after purchasing their service. This is deceptive practice and should be stopped now. I intend to contact the President of the United States about this as well as my elected officials. They want everyone to have high speed internet service, but HughNet has turned it into a scam for their own profit. I am extremely upset and sent them an email without a reply from them. Ok. Its on >>>>>>

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Joyce Cummings Davis
Amite, US
Send a message
Feb 09, 2011 2:31 am EST

I purchased HughNet Internet service because of their television ads. I live in a rural area and only have access to dial-up service. The advertisement never told anyone that you would be limited to only a few megabytes per day and after that you have to purchase "TOKENS" in order to use this service. They did not tell me about this until after my little 200 Megabytes had been used up one week or less after purchasing their service. This is deceptive practice and should be stopped now. I intend to contact the President of the United States about this as well as my elected officials. They want everyone to have high speed internet service, but HughNet has turned it into a scam for their own profit. I am extremely upset and sent them an email without a reply from them. Ok. Its on >>>>>>

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Joyce Cummings Davis
Amite, US
Send a message
Feb 10, 2011 3:58 am EST

I did file a complaint with the FCC last night. I am waiting for a response. Don't worry, I am writing President Obama also. I figure he will download it to someone else, but I am not giving up. Thanks Molliewollie

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Bud Parker
US
Send a message
Sep 29, 2009 8:37 pm EDT

http://www.druginjurylawyerblog.com/2017/09/pbm_files_class_action_against.html

HugnesNet Class Action Lawsuit!

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Brookglen
Coalgate, US
Send a message
Jul 03, 2009 9:39 am EDT

Check out what I posted it will help you or anyone else get out of your contract with hughesnet.

Hughesnet Internet Service — contract and slow internet speeds

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D
12:00 am EST

Hughes rip off!

I hate being scammed by smooth talkers. Hughesnet is so bad two tin cans and a string is a faster way to get info. My wife and i cannot even watch the damn commercials, with that carrot top saying "all you need is a clear view of the southern sky."What she should have said was " all you need to do is bend over and hold on tight" The fact that i now know that they have 5 levels of tech support, is the reason i burned up 3 cordless phone batterys, umteen hours of my time, and countless babbling with OOCHKMIN Al HOOCKALOUGGIE.

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Pilch Family
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Mar 02, 2008 10:31 pm EST

Yes, we are a CAPTIVE customer here. I am pretty sure as questionable at times our cell phone reception out here used to be, and how often our phone lines had too much static to hold a download of government documents, I sometimes wish we hadn't signed a contract with the only pirate in the business of internet. The Hughsnet folks.

I'm now looking into hooking up my cell phone to the computer as I am sure it's alot better and cheaper to maintain (cost $325 to repair the system this time). Yes, two years and five service calls I have HAD it with this pathetic excuse for a satellite company.

Now after three weeks of phone calls and shipment of parts, and finally a tech, I find the final JOKE! I apparently use the computer TOO MUCH and I am an "orange" after only one week of service! Yes, can't get the pages up for FIVE MINUTES at a time, if it goes through at all. Which means these folks clearly have TOO MANY CUSTOMERS on their satellite and rather than not take on more customers after last months fiasco with one of the satellites, they are making the situation worse and worse.

Orange means I guess my "service" is a sad illusion, and Hughes is claiming I'm 'greedy' for service in their explanation. No, no viruses, not downloading huge files, but I DO have a company who has techs that think if the internet is running for five minutes, and SHUTS DOWN before they fill out the paperwork, then they have done their job. The tech told ME I had to get another service call or wait til it came back on (it didn't, turned out the equipment installed was bad). The SAME tech told his office I needed a pole (so the satellite dish could sit lower so I would DEFINITELY not get service as I live in a remote area with trees). Yup, I refused to pay 200 more for what sounded like nonsense and came to be determined as nonsense. I was mislead to believe a pole would be taller than my house. But what do you expect from a tech that won't admit he didn't install the system to WORK.

Yes, I told the Hughs folks NOT to send the same brain dead tech who installed the nonworking system, and they did anyhow,... over and over again. Finally the system was...working! Yes, they had to send someone other than a guy who only knows how to install TV satellite systems! Guess two way was too much for a dish network installer to comprehend, but WHo CARES if the customer has no internet if the dish is sitting where its supposed to and he can fill out the paper fast enough to get out of the house before the signal DROPS again because it isn't done right.

Cable company says we're too remote. Basicly I'd say if you live in a remote region, save yourself a TON of aggravation, about a grand in repairs and set up fees in less than two years, not counting the 70 a month, and just get a cell phone with a cord hookup. Bet the service will be MUCH FASTER.

ANYONE KNOW WHO THE LEGAL DEPARTMENT IS? I am interesting in seeing if I can get more than ONE WAY COMMUNICATION ("...the system sucks... Tech: "Why no, it's just the weather." ) Maybe dates and excess fees (200 for a modem after six months of use) can be INTELLIGENTLY discussed in a court of law. Does anyone know the address to their legal department so my credit isn't screwed up by these con artists? I really need to either get them to credit me for the poor service and their chance to FIX the problem, or to be let out of the last onths of this contract I hold.

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adam
london, GB
Send a message
Jan 12, 2008 7:57 pm EST

That was true and funny i have hughesnet too it s*cks.

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About Hughes

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Hughes Network Systems, commonly known as HughesNet, is a provider of satellite-based internet services. The company caters to customers across the United States, particularly those in rural and remote areas where traditional broadband services are limited or unavailable. HughesNet's primary offering is its satellite internet service, which utilizes geostationary satellites to deliver internet connectivity to subscribers.

The service is known for its availability, as it can reach locations beyond the reach of cable and DSL. HughesNet offers various plans that differ in data allowances and speeds, designed to accommodate the varying needs of its customer base. These plans come with a built-in feature called the "Bonus Zone," which provides users with additional data to use during off-peak hours.

In addition to internet services, HughesNet also provides business solutions tailored for small and medium-sized enterprises. These solutions include business-grade high-speed internet and additional features such as enhanced security and business support.

HughesNet's equipment typically involves a satellite dish and a modem, which are required for the connection to the satellite network. Installation is conducted by certified professionals, and the company provides customer service and technical support to assist with any issues or questions that may arise.

While satellite internet is generally not as fast as fiber or cable, HughesNet's service is designed to support common online activities such as browsing, emailing, and social media engagement. However, due to the nature of satellite communication, there may be higher latency compared to other types of internet connections, which can affect real-time online activities like gaming or video conferencing.

Customers considering HughesNet should evaluate their internet needs and geographical location to determine if satellite internet is the most suitable option for them.
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Overview of Hughes complaint handling

Hughes reviews first appeared on Complaints Board on Aug 29, 2006. The latest review Disappointing Experience with Gordon's Moving and Mobile, LLC was posted on Mar 7, 2024. The latest complaint false charge on returned satellite equipment was resolved on Dec 21, 2014. Hughes has an average consumer rating of 2 stars from 3668 reviews. Hughes has resolved 134 complaints.
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  2. Hughes phone numbers
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