Ask HN: Starlink Signup failed, no recourse
I have gone through the (not great) starlink support pages, and one can apparently only contact starlink through an account that becomes available through the confirmation email. Naturally I have none. It also states that if that confirmation email wasn't confirmed, the order would be cancelled after 7 days (it hasn't). There was no email in my Spam folder.
Now it's been over 3 weeks. I am a customer but as far as starlink is concerned, I am not. They obviously did their utmost best to not need a helpdesk, having generous procedures in place for when things fail. There is no one to talk to, not even a silly bot. This is all great when it works, but when you fall on the side where things don't work as intended, as I do now, it doesn't exactly feel great. It feels like a scam, it's indistinguishable.
There is also a potential for a scam. If I somehow filled in a slightly wrong email address someone else could, in theory, have taken over my account, and could have redirected the shipment. The point is, I'll never know, and I was not made aware of such risk while signing up. Indeed the signup experience was strangely feed-forward, without an email-confirmation step. In the end it felt like I was supposed to dump €480 into a void, with nothing to show for, except a bank transfer. I was forced to rely on the reputation of the brand, only.
I think the above is a relevant data-point to many of you (non-scammers), because it represents an extreme case, even beyond Google, one where not only the non-fallability of software artifacts is presumed, but also the non-fallability of the organizational process that led to its 100% no-contact design.
That's sure to have some relevance to the community, but of course I just want someone to talk to and solve what could have been the smallest of issues. Any advice on how to proceed next is appreciated.
Edit:
- as commenters have mentioned, there is a reset option, by email or phone. AFAIK neither works.
- I'm pretty sure I filled in everything correctly, and at the correct site. Never had this kind of problem.
87 comments
[ 4.2 ms ] story [ 157 ms ] threadI’m not hugely surprised that they lack customer support. SpaceX won’t have had any of that in their DNA, won’t be practiced at it, and will have had to scale that function rapidly. Unless they hired amazing leadership for it at the outset, it’s going to take a while I’m sure.
Given customer support experiences at, ahem, related, companies, it may not be a priority for senior leadership. It needs to be something the top care deeply about and treat as an advantage, otherwise it’ll be perpetually underdeveloped and scraping by to provide the bare minimum as it will be treated as a cost centre rather than a differentiator.
Yes, this was a very deliberate design, and I understand the desire/necessity. But it's also a dream. I guess I'll have to write a letter or something, though I have no idea yet to whom. I though of sending out a tweet (though not a user), but I'm afraid the recipient is too busy right now.
1.) To start, open up:
https://auth.starlink.com/
2.) Click “locked out”.
3.) There’s a chance you entered your email incorrectly, but this screen gives you the option to recover by either email or phone.
I just tried to sign up and in Canada, my only options are Apple Pay or a credit card.
Anyways OP, this is a good thing to start thinking through. I’m not sure where you’re from but I only have the option to pay via card.
Edit, the IBAN is: DE47 2022 0800 0092 9273 61
Actually following the papertrail and disconnecting the fund transfer shops for helping the scammers is not done, so they can go on with impunity.
There is a papertrail, as i mentioned, but the CC ecosystem seems to be not too interested to kill it. They derive legitimacy off and make money off scams.
Strangely I don't get a response through both the password or phone resets. Neither was the payment returned.
Regardless, this is not meant as Starlink bashing, this is a process somehow failing.
Edit: you are right, the word "scam" is used too often. As a start I changed the title.
Alternatively, call the bank, claw the money back, and use a different email/phone to establish a new account.
Their might be an address you could contact (they have to have one on file for lawsuits, etc).
I think a second try could work. But I'm not in a position to do so yet.
2 good suggestions.
I'll be living and working in Africa soon, from a van. Starlink is operational in only a few countries but in 2023 it'll be about half. To me it's a life-saver, and I suppose it is for Africa.
Yeah, regarding Musk, we are witnessing the birth of something the world hasn't seen before. Literally out of this world. Something people could righteously get nervous about.
Anyway, here's an idea: livestreamed self drive safaris!
I'll be working remotely, so I thought starlink would be a very worthwhile investment. Even though it's still booting up.
Btw, keep the tips coming, I'll need them :)
Africa is our future.
Also it's possible this person didn't even buy the service, as they say they got it without a credit card, but the service requires you to use a credit card to buy it.
Edit: It may be the norm in Europe to pay by bank details but the Starlink site does not allow you to pay by bank details, unless you can show that you can somehow there with a screenshot.
Incorrect. This is Europe and direct payment is the norm.
Edit: the downvoters never heard of Sofort, Bancontact and iDeal. Here's Starlink accepting Sofort: https://hackmd.io/So0zZS9DS9OCKOzWA7RALw
I would never pay for anything with it.
I've been born and lived in EU all my life and the most common way to pay online is with credit card. Most websites do not accept much else.
Some more traditional companies do accept direct transfers.
Sometimes these claims are limited in time by a number of days (like 30) so get it on it straight away!
You should definitely pursue a refund from your bank. I hope you don't have to initiate a legal proceeding.
Finally having an email is great!
I think a lot of the tech companies deserve a wild escalation for ignoring customer service. It can be infuriating if you have a problem with Paypal or Google and they either blatantly ignore you or have focused all their UX skills on making it as hard as possible to find a way to contact them.
https://api.whatsapp.com/send/?phone=14253313125&text=Olá%21...
Edit: note this identified itself, at least on my PC (which has PT-BR as its idiom), as Starlink Brasil. Edit: I see portuguese text was part of the link.
Edit: "phone number shared through url is invalid", is the phone number correct? It seems it's missing a country code?
Edit: I tried adding +55 (Brazil) and +351 (PT) to the link, didn't work. Maybe I didn't format it correctly.
425 area code is a US area code in Washington state near a Seattle. Literally copied URL, so if there is an error it’s from Starlink’s link. Phone number in link is 14253313125, which appears to be a valid US number, but agree I got number from what is likely Starlink Brazil; picked that because you appear to be in Brazil.
Which country did you order it for?
Also, might be wrong, but you mentioned iDEAL which as a payment option I have only been able to find that as a payment method for Netherlands. For Sofort and iDEAL payments on Starlink Netherlands both state:
“You will be redirected to your bank's website to complete payment. By submitting this form, you authorise (A) Starlink and Stripe to send instructions to your bank to debit your account and (B) your bank to debit your account in accordance with the instructions from Starlink and Stripe. As part of your rights, you are entitled to a refund from your bank under the terms and conditions of your agreement with your bank. A refund must be claimed within 8 weeks starting from the date on which your account was debited.”
Which means you still have sometime to try to resolve this or get a refund. Possible since Stripe is mentioned that they might also be a way to get this resolved.
As for the IBAN number you have, if you Google IBAN lookups, you will get the bank information, but my suggestion would be to contact your bank as soon as possible to find out what the process is from their perspective to get a refund in case it takes time so you’re not trying to be within 8 week limit; per Starlink, which might not actually be the legal limit per law where jurisdiction is for the transaction.
* stifled laughter *
You may already know this, but the entity you made payment to is:
Starlink Internet Services Limited
5th Floor, Beaux Lane House, Mercer Street Lower, Dublin 2 D02 DH60
Registered with the Company Registration Office under No. 677409
Lauren Dreyer is listed as the Director: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-d-8077b594/
Her email address: edit - removed now that OP has seen it
Before taking a payment on a SPA, everyone please make a separate database transaction that records the user - come back to display the UI for CC collection AFTER. If you try to add the user, run the CC and return in one shot, while attractive from a transactional perspective, it's NOT good if your DB rolls back but the third party CC processing did not.
Then you end up with users that pay, but no record of payment in your DB. Get it right people.
Yes you can at least confirm your own transaction is committed in one shot THEN perform the CC, but separating these two out is still the best bet.
Starlink goes out of its way to avoid allowing non customers interact with them. For example, dishy doesn’t ship with an ethernet jack for its router or enough hardware to actually mount it in most situations. They don’t let you even view the accessories store (or prices for the mandatory extra equipment) until after they ship the dish + router.