Class Action Lawsuit Against Hughesnet Satellite Internet Service (1 Viewer)

[bicycleman]

Despite that mantra from the cable and telephone industry, large sections of the country have two options for broadband service – satellite or nothing. For an estimated 80,000 Californians, nothing may be a better option. That number represents the estimated number of state residents locked into a contract with HughesNet for satellite-delivered “broadband” service. For several years, many customers have been appalled at just how bad HughesNet is at delivering that service, and now several have had enough.
Filed in the Northern District of California federal court in Oakland, a class action lawsuit alleges that HughesNet falsely advertises the quality of its service, particularly regarding speeds it promises but doesn’t deliver, and does not disclose the full extent of the company’s throttling and cap policies.
HughesNet limits customers to a daily limit starting at just 200MB of consumption, and then throttles speed to dial-up or slower for at least 24 hours for anyone who exceeds it. Repeated instances of exceeding the cap extends a customer’s time in the throttled speed penalty box or can lead to service suspension.
Customers who find they no longer wish to live under this kind of “broadband regime” find escaping the two year service contract expensive, requiring a $400 early cancellation fee.
For millions of Americans, well beyond cable lines or too far away for DSL service, broadband under any terms is an extremely expensive proposition. HughesNet requires customers to purchase equipment, costing around $300 up front (after a $100 mail-in rebate), including mandatory installation fees. For just 1.0Mbps service, the monthly cost is around $60 with a 200MB daily limit. If you want to attempt service at 5Mbps, that will cost $350 a month with a 500MB daily limit.
For HughesNet customers Tina Walker and Christoper Bayless, who instigated the class action suit, even pricing this high wasn’t the reason for filing the suit on behalf of California residents. It is because speeds promised are speeds rarely delivered. Many independent reviews of the service agree, with many finding download speeds at 200-300Kbps more typical.

Californians Launch Class Action Lawsuit Against HughesNet for Slow, Capped Service | Stop the Cap!

I live in rural eastern Virginia, and this service beats dialup any day of the week. I am not one of those individuals who downloads a great deal, knowing that I can be subject to the 24-hour penalty if I exceed the now 250 MB download limit, which I have done about 10 times, downloading Skyrim updates. Then again, between the hours of 2 AM to 7 AM, I can get unlimited downloads, free of the penalty.

I signed up for the basic package, which includes 1 Mbps (1000,000 bits per second) download speed. It is important to note this distinction because it doesn't appear that these 2 people, who filed the lawsuit, knew the difference between bits per second and bytes per second because Hughesnet didn't lie about their download speeds, they just neglected to actually explain what the customer was getting. The difference is in how the download speed is written. If it says 1 Mbps, (Megabits per second) that translate into 125,000 or 125 KBs (kilobytes per second, 8 bits = 1 Byte), download speed. If the "b" is lower case it means "bits", but if the "B" is capitalized, it means bytes. So many people fail to understand this simple math and then cry foul that they are getting gyped.

When I had dialup, I was lucky to connect at 21.6 Kilobits per second, and anything I had to download was going to take forever at 1.75 Kilobytes per second. Yeah, Hughesnet is great, but if you are used to a T! or DSL, you think we in the rural areas are living in the dark ages.

 

[Jerry]

How the hell is anyone supposed to get a 25man raid accomplished on 1Mbps?

 

[bicycleman]

How the hell is anyone supposed to get a 25man raid accomplished on 1Mbps?

Forgot to mention, no online playing, but I did manage to play Left 4 Dead 1 and 2 online with no problems, other than other players didn't know how to play the game, or constantly shot me in the back.

 

[Jerry]

Forgot to mention, no online playing, but I did manage to play Left 4 Dead 1 and 2 online with no problems, other than other players didn't know how to play the game, or constantly shot me in the back.

That's like....half the interwebz tho......

 

[bicycleman]

That's like....half the interwebz tho......

I had to pay $400 for the dish and modem, plus another $150 set up fee for a 2-year contract, at $59.99 per month. After the initial fee, I did come out $2 cheaper per month, since my dialup fee was $29.99 per month for Mindspring and the fee for the second phone line added additional cost. I have signed up for an additional 1-year contract at a lower monthly fee of $39.99 per month. After my contract is up, I am thinking of switiching to Wild Blue. They have a new system called Exede that boasts download speeds of 12 Mbps with upload speeds of 3 Mbps vs. Hughesnet's upload speed of 128 Kbps. Here are Hughesnet and Wild Blue's plans.

http://www.exedebroadbandinternet.com/deals.html#availability_anchor

HughesNet Satellite Internet Service | Deals | 1-877-659-1098

The problem is that if I switch, I am out the cost of the Hughesnet dish and modem, and have to buy new equipment. It sucks, and I don't see DSL coming to our area. Now, my neighbor did chuck Hughesnet for a Wi Fi hot spot.

 

[lpast]

These lock in contracts for cable and satelite and cellphones need to end...may the company that provides the best service and makes their customers happy prosper....A contract written in stone assures they dont have to perform and still get your money for two years...or fine the hell out of you....Americans should rebel against these contracts.

 

[bicycleman]

These lock in contracts for cable and satelite and cellphones need to end...may the company that provides the best service and makes their customers happy prosper....A contract written in stone assures they dont have to perform and still get your money for two years...or fine the hell out of you....Americans should rebel against these contracts.

Agreed. I received a post card in the mail on Saturday regarding this class action suit, but I don't qualify to receive any money because I never breached the contract or was never removed for constantly being in the penalty box. I looked up the suit and discovered something rather ugly regarding Hughesnet. It seems that if you constantly continue to download "humongous files", anything over 250 Mbytes, they will terminate your contract, and charge you a $400 fee for breaking the contract that they broke by kicking you out. That really doesn't sound fair, and I can see suing them for that reason. Of course, the company feels they can get away with this practice because who is going to stop them since lawyer's fees are going to run $700 to several thousands, just to fight them over $300-$400 penalty charges? Looks like somebody did, and Hughesnet lost.

 

[lpast]

Agreed. I received a post card in the mail on Saturday regarding this class action suit, but I don't qualify to receive any money because I never breached the contract or was never removed for constantly being in the penalty box. I looked up the suit and discovered something rather ugly regarding Hughesnet. It seems that if you constantly continue to download "humongous files", anything over 250 Mbytes, they will terminate your contract, and charge you a $400 fee for breaking the contract that they broke by kicking you out. That really doesn't sound fair, and I can see suing them for that reason. Of course, the company feels they can get away with this practice because who is going to stop them since lawyer's fees are going to run $700 to several thousands, just to fight them over $300-$400 penalty charges? Looks like somebody did, and Hughesnet lost.

I have brighthouse cable...no contracts...but they keep you in line with packaged discounts for example...I have tv, HDTV...Dvr and cable telephone and 40k dl cable speed..for 130 a month...if I drop the tv and the cable phone...the 40k dl a month alone costs me 85 plus taxs...thats how they discourage going direct tv or dish and dropping their cable phone...and cable companies conveniently have no competition within their area of service..

 

[bicycleman]

I pay $78 or so a month for Direct TV for the TCM movie package. Before that it was Primestar, which was absorbed by Direct TV. I have been with them since around 1999 or so. I can't even get a DVR, yet Direct TV offers a free DVR to new subscribers, only, and blows me off every time I call asking for one. They say I don't qualify because I am an old subscriber so try to soothe me with 3 months free Showtime. I stopped taking their freebies because they never terminate my free Showtime, but after 3 months is up start charging me for the extra channels, making it difficult to get my bill changed. They are just as unscrupulous. I suppose my only solution is to cancel service and go with Dish Network. Then go back after a couple of years to Direct TV just to get a DVR. Dish Network is not the answer, either. They are cheaper but they offer less channels.

 

[Baralis]

200Mb daily limit :shock: oh my!

So far this month I have used 139.4 gigabytes. It would take a very serious readjustment for me.


Personally I have always thought that speeds and usage caps should have a logical relation, meaning that if you have 1Mbs service your cap should be the usage of 1Mbs 24/7/month. None of this "Oh super speeds for only $50 more" but we only increase your usage cap by 10% so you can hit your monthly allotment in a quarter of the time!

 

[bicycleman]

200Mb daily limit :shock: oh my!

So far this month I have used 139.4 gigabytes. It would take a very serious readjustment for me.


Personally I have always thought that speeds and usage caps should have a logical relation, meaning that if you have 1Mbs service your cap should be the usage of 1Mbs 24/7/month. None of this "Oh super speeds for only $50 more" but we only increase your usage cap by 10% so you can hit your monthly allotment in a quarter of the time!

Woo! What do you download that takes that much, streaming video and songs? I realize I can't play games on line, have to be careful how much You Tube I watch, and the like. Besides, after awhile You Tube slows to a crawl anyway with the traffic so I don't even mess with it. Tell me, does You Tube slow down for you during peak usage hours, or that is just a problem with those of us with satellite systems?

 

[Helix]

that company sounds horrible. hope that they get competed out of existence eventually.

 

[dontworrybehappy]

I do suggest Millinicom for anyone within Sprint or Verizon cell phone coverage. They offer 3G speeds, for Verizon based service, there is a GB cap, I think it's 20gigs a month, but for Sprint, it is unlimited and it is mobile. Meaning you can take your 3G card anywhere in the country and it will work, if you have access to either a Verizon or Sprint tower.

I had it for a few months, 69.99 a month for unlimited and 59.99 for 20gigs a month with around 1mbps being normal. I then found out DSL is available in my area for 49.99 a month, 3mbps, so I now have that.

Check out Millenicom | High Speed Wireless Broadband

 

[Baralis]

Woo! What do you download that takes that much, streaming video and songs? I realize I can't play games on line, have to be careful how much You Tube I watch, and the like. Besides, after awhile You Tube slows to a crawl anyway with the traffic so I don't even mess with it. Tell me, does You Tube slow down for you during peak usage hours, or that is just a problem with those of us with satellite systems?

I download and watch all my TV programs on the internet and I also host a TS3 server plus the normal internet radio, games, ect. It can add up surprisingly fast. And I have not noticed any significant difference in YouTube speeds during peak hours.

 

[bicycleman]

I do suggest Millinicom for anyone within Sprint or Verizon cell phone coverage. They offer 3G speeds, for Verizon based service, there is a GB cap, I think it's 20gigs a month, but for Sprint, it is unlimited and it is mobile. Meaning you can take your 3G card anywhere in the country and it will work, if you have access to either a Verizon or Sprint tower.

I had it for a few months, 69.99 a month for unlimited and 59.99 for 20gigs a month with around 1mbps being normal. I then found out DSL is available in my area for 49.99 a month, 3mbps, so I now have that.

Check out Millenicom | High Speed Wireless Broadband

So this looks like an air card, either by USB or Express Port. I briefly studied about getting one of those, but opted out since I would have to erect an external antenna so I just went with the Hughesnet. Verizon works in the rural area, but I am lucky to get one tic of reception on my cell phone. Verizon has a download limit of 5 Gigabytes per month, and if you exceed that, you are charged at 25 cents a megabyte for all you go over. One father of a teenaged daughter received a bill for $10,000. If I went with the other Wild Blue satellite plan, they have a monthly download limit of 7.5 gigabytes, but if you do the math, it amounts to 250 megabytes X 30 days, and it comes out to the same answer, the only good part if you exceed 250 megabytes per day, you won't be penalized. For Baralis, it's still not enough. I don't like my plan, but it's better than dialup, and I had nothing with dialup. The other side of the equation is that I get to live in the country and you guys live in the crowded city with the fast internet speeds.

 

[bicycleman]

that company sounds horrible. hope that they get competed out of existence eventually.

The only way they will be put out of the running is for Verizon to offer DSL where I live. I don't see that happening, so now the satellites dominate the rural areas, and before Wild Blue set up their new Exede system, Hughesnet was the fastest system, but the problem is that Hughesnet has oversold their service. Now, the good side is that they have added newer improved satellites, and my system has speeded up to 2.5 Megabits per second, but during peak download times, 2 AM-7AM, my download speeds drop to 75 Kilobytes per second because not only we east coasters but those on the west coast are all downloading at the same time. It will take me 2 days combined, to download all the upgrades Steam requires for Skyrim, and at the end, I am shutdown and sitting in the penalty box.

 

[Helix]

my guess is that eventually we'll have so many cell towers that at the minimum 3g or 4g level service will be available everywhere at a fraction of the price. it may take many years, though.

we used to have the same problems with electricity and telephone service pre-Roosevelt. my grandfather was an electrical engineer working under the REA. internet access is not quite as essential (yet) as electrical availability, but if the problem persists, i can't imagine it's beyond us as a society to solve it. it just might take a while.

 

[radcen]

I pay $78 or so a month for Direct TV for the TCM movie package. Before that it was Primestar, which was absorbed by Direct TV. I have been with them since around 1999 or so. I can't even get a DVR, yet Direct TV offers a free DVR to new subscribers, only, and blows me off every time I call asking for one. They say I don't qualify because I am an old subscriber so try to soothe me with 3 months free Showtime. I stopped taking their freebies because they never terminate my free Showtime, but after 3 months is up start charging me for the extra channels, making it difficult to get my bill changed. They are just as unscrupulous. I suppose my only solution is to cancel service and go with Dish Network. Then go back after a couple of years to Direct TV just to get a DVR. Dish Network is not the answer, either. They are cheaper but they offer less channels.

Personal experience:

Another thing to be aware of when dealing with DirecTV: Automatic re-setting of the two-year contract when an equipment change is done.

Several years ago I was with DirecTV and out-of-contract by 10 months. They contacted me... this is critical, IMO, they contacted me... suggesting that I upgrade my HD receiver as their HD service was upgrading and my receiver would not be the latest and greatest. I agreed, and it was done. Or, so I thought.

Fast forward about 8 months and I got a bundle offer from cable that was too good to pass up. Saved me about $40/mo. When I cancelled DirecTV I got a final bill for over $300 more than I owed. NOBODY bothered to tell me when I agreed to the receiver upgrade... that they kept pushing me to do... that a new two year contract would start as of that day. Apparently, I was supposed to be aware of some obscure page buried deeeeeeep on their website stating this as their policy.

As a matter of principle, I refused to pay. We sparred via phone calls and snail-mail for several months. No resolution. I contacted my state consumer protection office. Turns out there have been untold numbers of the same complaint from all over the country, and that DirecTV had agreed to fix the problem. The consumer just had to know about it and ask specifically (through their state AG office). They weren't obligated to volunteer that they knew they were offering resolutions. It took a little over a year, but I eventually got a letter from DirecTV stating that my account was considered good and with a zero balance.

I am now back with DirecTV, as my cable bundle promotion expired and they refused to work with me to keep me as a customer, but I now know how intentionally shady DirecTV can be, and I am always on-guard when dealing with them. I now include in ALL communication with them by asking if what we are doing will re-set my contract. They always answer, "No, that's only with equipment changes." Ok, just making sure.

 

[Baralis]

Personal experience:

Another thing to be aware of when dealing with DirecTV: Automatic re-setting of the two-year contract when an equipment change is done.

Several years ago I was with DirecTV and out-of-contract by 10 months. They contacted me... this is critical, IMO, they contacted me... suggesting that I upgrade my HD receiver as their HD service was upgrading and my receiver would not be the latest and greatest. I agreed, and it was done. Or, so I thought.

Fast forward about 8 months and I got a bundle offer from cable that was too good to pass up. Saved me about $40/mo. When I cancelled DirecTV I got a final bill for over $300 more than I owed. NOBODY bothered to tell me when I agreed to the receiver upgrade... that they kept pushing me to do... that a new two year contract would start as of that day. Apparently, I was supposed to be aware of some obscure page buried deeeeeeep on their website stating this as their policy.

As a matter of principle, I refused to pay. We sparred via phone calls and snail-mail for several months. No resolution. I contacted my state consumer protection office. Turns out there have been untold numbers of the same complaint from all over the country, and that DirecTV had agreed to fix the problem. The consumer just had to know about it and ask specifically (through their state AG office). They weren't obligated to volunteer that they knew they were offering resolutions. It took a little over a year, but I eventually got a letter from DirecTV stating that my account was considered good and with a zero balance.

I am now back with DirecTV, as my cable bundle promotion expired and they refused to work with me to keep me as a customer, but I now know how intentionally shady DirecTV can be, and I am always on-guard when dealing with them. I now include in ALL communication with them by asking if what we are doing will re-set my contract. They always answer, "No, that's only with equipment changes." Ok, just making sure.

A little off original topic but while we are talking about Direct TV and their poor customer service I thought I would tell of one of my experiences.

This was about 15 years ago when the in ground satellite dishes (not the huge dishes but the larger ones) were still being converted over to the newer sleeker dishes that fit onto your home. Direct TV contacts me and notifies me that my current Direct TV dish is obsolete and they will be installing a new model onto my home. I was fine with this and gave them the all clear. When I returned home from work one day I noticed that they had my new dish in place but they also left the old one in the yard. I called them and asked them when they planned to remove the old dish, they replied that they were not going to remove the old one.

Now I reread my contract and in my contract it stated that the dish and all other equipment belongs to Direct TV and any damage they may incur I am responsible for monetarily. So I call them back up and asked them to please remove their old dish from my property. They refused. When I mentioned the contents of the contract and how the dish was Direct Tv's rightful property the woman said "oh we give you the old dish, its is yours to deal with now". I said Umm no! Im not taking possession of this dish, I do not want it! Stop trying to pawn your old equipment off on me so that I am the one that has to deal with it. Its yours now you come get it! After a bit of run around I finally threatened to take them to small claims court for any expense that hiring someone to remove the dish caused me. They reluctantly sent a crew out and removed the old dish but it makes me wonder how many of these old dishes they pawned off on the customer so they did not have to deal with removing them. Crappy I say!

 

[radcen]

A little off original topic but while we are talking about Direct TV and their poor customer service I thought I would tell of one of my experiences.

This was about 15 years ago when the in ground satellite dishes (not the huge dishes but the larger ones) were still being converted over to the newer sleeker dishes that fit onto your home. Direct TV contacts me and notifies me that my current Direct TV dish is obsolete and they will be installing a new model onto my home. I was fine with this and gave them the all clear. When I returned home from work one day I noticed that they had my new dish in place but they also left the old one in the yard. I called them and asked them when they planned to remove the old dish, they replied that they were not going to remove the old one.

Now I reread my contract and in my contract it stated that the dish and all other equipment belongs to Direct TV and any damage they may incur I am responsible for monetarily. So I call them back up and asked them to please remove their old dish from my property. They refused. When I mentioned the contents of the contract and how the dish was Direct Tv's rightful property the woman said "oh we give you the old dish, its is yours to deal with now". I said Umm no! Im not taking possession of this dish, I do not want it! Stop trying to pawn your old equipment off on me so that I am the one that has to deal with it. Its yours now you come get it! After a bit of run around I finally threatened to take them to small claims court for any expense that hiring someone to remove the dish caused me. They reluctantly sent a crew out and removed the old dish but it makes me wonder how many of these old dishes they pawned off on the customer so they did not have to deal with removing them. Crappy I say!

:lamo

Ok, I currently have an old dish sitting by the side of my house from when I recently went back to DirecTV. I keep telling myself that I'm going to drop it off at the front door of their local office with a note that says, "You forgot to take this with you. You're welcome." someday.

 

[bicycleman]

:lamo

Ok, I currently have an old dish sitting by the side of my house from when I recently went back to DirecTV. I keep telling myself that I'm going to drop it off at the front door of their local office with a note that says, "You forgot to take this with you. You're welcome." someday.

Old dishes make good bird baths and snow coasters if you live in snowy hill country. Alas, I don't so at least the birds love me.