I absolutely cannot believe this company is still in business. Against my better judgement and because I had no other options other than dial-up, I had this service installed about a month ago. The experience was the worst I've ever had on every level you can imagine.
The advertisement for me was free "standard" installation, $99 activation fee and first months service upfront. Ordering the service went great! Of course it would be cause they haven't stuck it to you yet. A few days later, another company called to schedule the install (HughesNet apparently outsources this to independent contractors).
The technician came out on a really cold, rainy day and it was obvious he didn't want to be here but he checked out my house to figure out where to put the MONSTER dish. He told me that due to the way my house is and the trees around it that he could not do a "standard" installation and me have optimal reception. To this day, I don't understand that because DirectTV had no issues like that when installing my satellite TV service.
At any rate, he determined the installation would include a pole. I asked how much it would be and he said no more than $125. Reluctantly, I agreed. He told me the size pole I needed was also not standard and he'd have to go buy it and return on a different day.
It was crunch time, I needed internet access that week in order to do my job (I work from home). My company was taking down a server that prevously supported me through dial up so time was of the essence. I explained this to the technician and he promised he would have it installed in time to prevent any down time with my company. This was on a Tuesday. Due to his schedule, he told me he would try to be back on Friday but most likely it wouldn't be until Saturday. That was fine because the dial up server wouldn't be taken down until Friday so I really wouldn't need access until the following Monday. Friday came and I called to see if he would make it out that day. He told me he couldn't and we did expect this but he did say he'd be out the next day.
Saturday came and went and the tech not only didn't show but didn't call and didn't answer or respond to the numerous calls I made to him. I finally reached him on Sunday and asked if he could do the install that day so I could work the next day. His response was, "I don't work on Sunday's". NO apology or concern for the position that he has now put me in i.E. I won't have access to my companies system in order to work on Monday. Not to mention, the guy then proceeds to blame ME for the situation because I'm not a standard installation. HE KNEW THAT WHEN HE PROMISED TO HAVE THE INSTALLATION COMPLETED ON SATURDAY.
He then told me he'd be at my house to do the installation around noon on Monday. Ok, that wipes me out of a days work but I have no choice at that point. Monday comes along and he didn't show up until 4:30. Because of the late start, he couldn't complete the installation before it got dark so he quit and said he'd be back the next morning. Now at this point the pole, dish, and everything on the outside of the house had been installed and all that was left was putting the cables through the hole (that we ALREADY had drilled for him) and connecting the inside. We supplied him with a flood light to do this so we could be done with it but he refused and insisted "he was done for the day".
Great, another day of not being able to work. He comes back the next day and spends 3 hours completing the installation. He packs up his stuff and then informs me that I owe him a check for $295.00!!! The install, his words, "would not be more than $125.00". I am now furious!!! He says the size pole was extra, digging the hole was extra because my ground was too hard and it required extra effort to dig it, etc. He knew all of this when he quoted the $125.00. Of course I protested but the guy cared less and demanded his money. Now, I just wanted him out of my house and his attitude was starting to scare me. I was home alone and he was very intimidating.
I wrote the check just so I could get him out of my house and lock the door behind him. Did I mention he also left ALL of the packaging laying in my yard as well as the debris from the install?
I called the company he worked for and left a message. I sent a lengthy email to them detailing everything that transpired and never got a response from either. I also called HughesNet and reported the situation. They said they would make it right and I should expect a call back within 5 days. Never happened. I called again a week later, got the same thing "you will hear from us in 5 days" never heard a word. Based on every complaint I've read on here, I now know, I am wasting my time trying to get justice from these losers with absolutely no integrity or honesty.
Now this was just the installation process, I haven't mentioned how bad the service sucks. It's slower than dial up much of the time and try to get somebody who speaks English on the phone, it won't happen. I've been on the phone with India several times since the install due to the slow speed and getting disconnected. After I had the insall, I had another company come to intall wireless networking in my house. This caused even more of a slow down in speed which HughesNet said would not happen. LIARS!!! Their India guy had me do all kinds of stuff to try to improve my speed but all he did was have me do something that disabled my wireless networking. I paid good money to have the wireless put in and now it doesn't work and I'll have to pay more to have that fixed too. Does HughesNet care? Hell no!!! They now have my money and a contract ensureing they'll continue to have my money for the next 2 years.
These people could care less about their customers, customer retention, their reputation or anything else. They take complete advantage of those of us in rural areas who HAVE NO OPTIONS. I think they know that as soon as we get other options in our rural areas, we will all drop them like a bad habit so they are scamming as much money out of us while they can.
If ever there is a class action suit filed, count me in. I have NEVER seen anything like this.
Justicedenied
somewhere, Texas
U.S.A.
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