Global Tel*Link

As if your loved one being locked up isn't bad enough, here these jerk-offs are profiting from it. So I spent at least $200 a month on phone calls with them. My husband calls me and it says he has insufficient funds. I called the 1-800 number and sure enough, it says I only have 9 cents on there. I called customer service for what reason I don't know because there's nothing they can do about it. They see there's more than 9 cents on there but they can lift a hold on my money for 24 hours. How do you pre-pay for something and then they will give you access when they are good and ready to. ** I hope no one gives these rats ** another penny of their money.

Thank God my husband will be home tomorrow and I can spend some money on me now instead of giving these thieving scum sucking ** my hard earned money for absolute chaos! Why these ** are still around after all the complaints I'll never know. This is not the only site that has complaints about them either. It's obvious they are just taking advantage of people when they are most vulnerable. I thought we had laws in place to protect us from shady business practices - I guess not!

I was told that the charge for Greenville County Detention is $1.76 for 15 minutes. I paid a total of $25.00. I have over 10 calls that do not come through, but the calls were still charged and deducted for the prepaid deposit. They are stealing the consumers' money and will not refund or credit the money back. They will argue with the consumers, even though the latter are correct. I have kept record of the calls and expressed to them that they did not get accepted, and they have trained the customer service team to lie and steal from poor family of inmates incarcerated. I want something done about this right now. They have too many complaints, and the government has done nothing.

I called to set up an account for my incarcerated child and recently moved to Powhatan Reception Center. I called with my debit card in hand willing to fully load the phone. My usual is to put on $200 and that lasts from 1 to 2 months. To my absolute shock, I would be required to provide my personal and private utility billing and bill for my cell phones just to pay a ridiculous price for my child to call me. The pricing is bad enough but to require a person to give out all their personal info and then pay such high fees for the calls is not only intrusive but absolutely wrong and punishing for those of us that are actually law abiding.

I will not do it and I implore all of you out there to hit them where it hurts, refuse this communist service! If they do not make money, the company will cease to exist. Shame on you Global Tel*Link! You are not only taking advantage of us by overcharging us you are slighting yourself specifically of my account that could have meant good revenue for you.

My boyfriend went to jail 2 months ago. I opened an account, had to fax them my phone bill and utility bill. I had to send it 3 times because they claim they never got it. Well, he came home the day after I put on $40.00 to the account. I talked to him once. I had a friend call me from jail 2 nights ago and it said I had to add money. When I called and sat on the phone for 45 minutes, they told me that I never put any money in there as I'm looking at my credit card bill and the date they took it out. It never got resolved so they took $35.00 and there is nothing I can do.

Global Tel told me for $25, to have my son's call from jail, I would have to use a prepaid or credit card. With that, there would be $3 and a chance for initial connection and .89 per minute. I was on the phone for 10 minutes and my call disconnected. Somebody with a brain can do the math. Keep in mind that the phones we use today keeps a counter for every minute you talk, that's how I know how long I was on the phone. At first, I thought it was the jail disconnecting the call but when my son called back, it said insufficient funds. When I called Global Tel Link back, they blew me off. They would not let me speak with no one or refund my money or give my minutes back, they would not send me to or give me the address and phone number for me to file a complaint. There were basically no consequences and because these are your loved ones in jail, it's like who cares and that's not right. There needs to be some action taken against this company for what they are doing because I know I'm not the only one.

For the last six months, I have been making $20 - $25 payments to my account per week online with debit card. On Saturday, April 28, 2012, I did as usual, made a $20 payment. When I hit "submit", my screen flashed rapidly and then confirmation came up indicating I had made a "$200 payment". Wow! When I went to print the confirmation, it would not let me. I had to wait until Monday to call. After speaking with 4 CSRs to supervisors and being on hold for 15+ minutes each time (call took over 1-1/2 hours), I was told they would not refund my money but they could only freeze all collect calls for 30 to 60 days.

So considering how this has occurred, I really think the person or group that is in charge needs to step up to the plate instead of these people who have to lie to honest hard working people because of a so-called "policy". This is really crooked! It's sad that a company has set up their online payment system to take more money than what the customer is paying and then has an excuse as to why they can't give it back to you. One day, maybe, Global Tel*Link will have to answer for their wrongdoing.

I tried on numerous occasions to have collect calls come to my phone. The prepaid account is sucking me dry. You put $25.00 to start and the next thing you know you are down to $3.00. Their system is faulty. I called to speak to a supervisor (Al) and was told because I set up a prepaid account that I will never be able to receive collect calls. An AT&T representative named Laurie called to help solve the issue. They told her something totally different. They told her that I have to have a prepaid account with them for 6 to 7 months before I can receive collect calls.

Something needs to be done about this company; they should not be allowed to victimize the families of people whose love ones are incarcerated. I have not committed any crime. They are holding us hostage because they have pretty much cornered the market on prison phone services. How can we complain about a government-run service to the government and expect some type of retribution? How come our political leaders are not concerned about this issue, because it doesn't affect them?

This company needs to be monitored very closely. When an individual robs someone, they are arrested, tried and sentenced. This company is robbing us blind, and yet no one is being held accountable. A class action lawsuit should get their attention. They need to be court ordered to fix their problems, compensate the consumers or be put out of business.

I requested a refund for one of the numbers on my account on April 5, 2012 from Global Tel Link. I was told it would take 7 to 10 days from the day called for the money to be applied back to my credit card. Those 7 to 10 days went by, I have yet to see a refund. So I emailed them to see what's going on. I got an email back from Joe ** stating that there wasn't any notation of me requesting a refund for that number, which I knew I requested a refund for that number on April 5, 2012. So I emailed Mr. ** back letting him know that I did request a refund for that number. He emailed me back saying, "Sorry, I made a mistake. I do see where you request a refund and it's going to take 30 to 60 days to get a refund." What I don't get is how I went from getting told I had to wait 7 to 10 days to now 30 to 60 days. I never in my life heard such thing. Also, I have noticed that they would charge me $1.29 and a fee of 5 cents then they would start charging me $1.29 and a fee of 3 cents for calls, which I don't understand the reason for that.

They are taking money without a connection. I put $50.00 on my account. I did not accept a call and the recording said there was $37.00 on the account. Later, my daughter called and the recording said there was $31.00 on the account. I want a printout of these connections and charges.

My boyfriend called my phone and I accepted it for a 15-minute phone call and the service cut us off at 3 minutes, but I just put $25. I don't understand why that happened. I need some answers and my minutes put back on my account please.

I have a friend that used to work at what she would call the evil corporation GTL. She did tell me that there are 3 offices, one in Mexico which is the worst since it's a new office and everyone is new and under cheap labor that can barely speak English or Spanish for that matter, and messes up everything and dumps everything on to the Florida office. There is a third office, which is the Alabama office as well but they close early. Their goal is when they are on the phone with customers, they have to be off the phones within 4 to 5 minutes call per their company or their evil main illogical head manager Elaine, which isn't right. They really need to explain their rules and policy and stop showboating the time of their calls. A lot of people don't know what's going on or how the system works.

As to the issues, if an inmate calls you back to back, it will lock up your account. Your money is actually on the account, but placed on hold from the inmate jamming the account. This part is true because I told this to my brother and he knows to wait 20 minutes to about 30 minutes to call me back if we disconnect or the lines hang up. We have figured it out to a science on that part. Normally in the past, when this did happen, we had to wait over 2 to 4 hours for the line to be back to normal and my brother giving up calling. We also found out that if I'm in the menu options on the phone to accept the call, it's still considered being connected so if my brother thinks I'm not going to accept the call and hang up and all I hear is dead air soon as I connect, I'm still getting charged for the connection (which is so weird). I guess in a sense, I was connected even if my brother didn't talk to me, which is messed up.

Cell phone and landlines issues. If you have a cell phone and your calls are dropped, then they do not issue any credit back to your phone at all. Their reason for this, they think cell phones drop all the time and they don't want to deal with crediting people back money all the time. Landline - if your phone call drops and it's under 5 minutes, they can issue credit back. But if it's a second more like 5 minutes and 2 seconds, they can't issue credit.

Advice by my friend. There are some places that in order to get an account, you have to send a fax of your cell phone and utility bill. If this happens to you, then you have to have the cell phone and utility to match both your name, address, info and make sure to circle your number for the account. The bad part about this is you actually have to wait 3 to 5 business days to even find out if you are able to get an account. I thought as well Global Tel Link was a messed up monopoly, which isn't the case. They are actually a government owned and operated company under the FCC.

There are other companies with them known as DSI or DCI and another company called Suscuse or something to that matter and VAC. What happen is that these groups of companies get together and arrange as to which jail or prison goes to which. So since they are a government company, there is nothing the Better Business Bureau can do since it's all set up by our own government. The other issue there is even though you speak to the reps, most of them actually agree with you. But it's their job and they have to follow the policy that they are scripted or trained to tell you per the company rules. This is why when I do speak to a rep on an issue, I do let them know I know it's not their fault and they didn't set up the rules.

Also according to my friend who worked there, she explained to me the service fees so listen to how this works. You place money on an account, they take out a 19.7 percent of the $25.00 you place down in your account. You now have $20.25, the service charge of the 19.7 was $4.75 so where did that service charge go and why did I have to pay it? It went to the company to pay the workers of the company. Apparently, they used to not charge anything but as the economy went up in prices, so did the start of the service charges (as my friend explained it to me and it made some sense). How many of you would really work 40 hours a week for free? That is something I can't combat because I know I wouldn't do that plus she only made between 8 or 9 dollars there and some change.

I've worked in an insurance and made far more than she did for less than what she has to deal with. As for the charges, any time you make a payment, there is a 19.7 that is on the payment you place. $25.00 up to $110.00. Apparently, some places don't have the fees but that due to where the prison is located or whatever deal the prison or jail made. Okay, that's all I know for now. I'll have to ask my friend more on the company, but some small stuff that I know that I can answer from previous people's post.

One Global Tel Link can't block your collect call on a landline, but your landline company will block you. The charges normally go to your main phone line and charge you that's why, until GTL sends a bill to your phone company and your phone company no longer allows you to receive phone calls. This happened to me and was explained to me from AT&T. Also, most cell phones can't receive collect calls from inmates so that is already on a block. Oh, very important! Placing money on an account, you can only have two credit cards on an account that allow Visa or MasterCard. You can do gift cards, but it has to be reloadable that works with their system and the workers there do not know the ones that will or will not. If you use a regular one time use gift card, it can take the money but mostly it won't take it. If you use more than one card on the system, it can lock up your account and decline your card for usage.

Their system is very wishy-washy from what I know. Otherwise, I know people are mad and pissed off with the company. I know I'm still am, but realistically, I have to deal with them until my brother gets out. I rather tell you some of the tricks and trades of that company to help you deal and know what to expect instead of me bitching about it. If anyone needs more help, I'll find out from my friend she will tell me the insides and I'll post it on here.

I couldn't receive a call. I already have a GTL account. When my nephew called, I had to pay $25 more to receive his call. He called again. I got the same message, press 5 to set up an account. This happened 4 times. I have over $70 in my account. Why is GTL so inadequate?

My friend is in prison. It took two months and several people before Global Tel would take the block off my phone, even though they had my money. When we do talk, I'm charged for calls my answering machine picks up. I put $25 on my phone, $5 is always subtracted, leaving me with a $20 balance. My friend called once and it left me with a $17 balance. The next time he calls, we talk for 15 minutes and he doesn't call back. I call to check my balance and it says I owe Global Tel 75 cents. He is local and only 17 miles from me. I spent less on calling cards when my ex-husband was in Iraq.

This company is guilty of usury! They have somehow blocked my telephone company, CenturyLink, from my ability to receive collect calls billed through normal channels. After three months of collect calls, accepted directly by me, Global Tel Link cut off my access and demanded prepaid calls. The first call cost over eight dollars; the second call shut off my end of the line. The calls were continually interrupted by dead air. I wonder how this fraud of a company is allowed to continue to operate. Oh yes, on inquiries, the responders are very belligerent.

There is a block on my phone from a prison. I have tried everything to get this block off but they keep telling me that it is resolved but each time the inmate tries to call, it is still blocked. If they try they could find the problem and correct it but I guess they just want to keep my money. I do not want the money. I want my granddaughters to be able to talk to their dad because they miss him so much. They are 13, 8 and 6 and they don't understand why their dad won't call them.

I tried 2 prepaid cards and my credit card. Each one was not accepted, but they took my money and refused to put it back or give me my minutes.

I have a brother in a Bay Area Correctional facility. After receiving a couple of calls, the next time he called, a recording came on and demanded we provide a call card payment in order to transfer the call. I immediately called my long distance company who we have had for 10 years and they confirmed I had not authorized anyone to place a hold on my home phone.

My question is can a call company I have never authorized business with, prevent me from accepting a call that I am responsible for paying? I understand prisoners have a lack of rights, but this company does prevent prisoner for call and it prevents citizens from accept calls without purchasing some sort of calling card. This is very concerning because I prefer to collect. How will I pay my bills? I feel this was a complete violation of my privacy and unauthorized by me. I know this to be true because I have a special code on my phone and I am the authorized person to make changes to a phone I have held for more than 10 years. Can Global Tel Link do this legally and if so, what legal statute permits it?

My brother called me from M.O.C.C, it said I had 6 dollars and something on my balance. In less then 1 min, we were disconnected, so he called back and it said I had 3 dollars and something on there and was disconnected again. So I called Global Tel*Link, a clerk tells me my account is frozen because of a back to back call, so I told her, there would not have been a back to back call if we had not been disconnected. Her response to that was, I can't see the calls you are talking about, for 6 to 8 hours you can call back then and in the mean time I can get any calls from him. I don't understand how they can stop calls I pay for and charge me for calls I don't get to talk.

I am receiving calls from ** on my cell phone. I am called numerous times a day, morning, afternoon and evening from the same number. When you answer it, the system tells you it's a call from Global Tel Link and if you wish to block the calls, you press numbers on your keypad. When or if you do, the system tells you that they are going to bill you to block this number. Who gives this company the right to call repeatedly on your personal cell phone and then when you try and stop them, they want to bill you for doing so? Please investigate and have them shut down this practice immediately.

I got billed $60 for the service I never received. I tried numerous times calling the customer service, but could never talk to anyone live. I don't know who else to call. I spent all day trying to call and emailing customer service, but no one has ever got back to me or at least give me the status of my order.

Global Tel*Link's collect call service is a fraud. All it does is take our money. I've spent $200.00 in calls and only spoke like 12 minutes every $25. That's robbery.

On multiple occasions when trying to connect the person calling collect, the call is dropped and they still took out the amount for the call. I have called their customer service multiple times and each time was told that we talked on the call when in fact no connection was made. When the person is calling collect, their machine tells you how much is available when the call is coming in before the call is dropped without connecting. When the person calls back and they tell you what is left, they have taken out for the call that was never connected. They are really robbing you blind.

In a matter of two and a half weeks of receiving daily calls, it has happened to me four times. It's not like they are cheap. These calls are very expensive. You have no choice but to use them since they are the only one you can use from certain jail facilities. These calls are timed calls yet still Global Connect wants to tell you that you talked varied minutes. Just because your family member is in jail, it does not mean that their families should be bled dry by this company. They need to be looked into. I am sure most people just accept it and do not complain because your family member is incarcerated. So most people believe there is no recourse.

I have tried to set up a prepaid account so my friend can call me from county jail. The first time, it worked. But I have tried four more times and they kept my money and nothing was added to my account. I've called with no luck and my friend still cannot call me.

I was charged with 2 $25 transactions, and only credited 1 $25 transaction, to credit my account. It took them 1 minute to debit my bank account. I was advised to mail in a snapshot of my bank account that shows two transactions were debited. Really? How about faxing that information, or better yet how about going over to the billing department and look at the accounting system, which should display that there were 2 transactions. The core business values stands out with this company, when you call and ask for a supervisor three times, and they are too busy to answer customer service calls. I was on hold for 30 minutes the first time, the second time 20 minutes, and the third time, 30 minutes. The fourth time I called, I was irate and explained that I am not going to be on hold, and that I want to speak to a supervisor in the next 5 minutes, and that I did not want to listen to elevator music.

I stated that at this point, their company are looking at theft and fraud charges, that they will be the one calling from jail. I was told that the supervisor was answering customer service calls, just like the other agents. Hello? Supervisor is equal to supervision, dealing with issues. I explained that I was going to elevate the issue to the local authorities. The priority is, making money; ethical behavior is lacking, as displayed in the customer service, and correcting incompetent transactions. Further, if their software system doesn't align with what is being charged and credited, I think an audit is justified.

Global Tel*Link phone advanced pay automated system declined my debit card and they deducted the transaction without a bank hold. My complaint is that after speaking with two customer service reps and being told their system was down and I would get a release of my funds after 24 hours, that happened on 2-22-2012 and today is 2-26-2012. Their system is updating ironically after I complained that there isn't any. Records of me having any Global Tel*Link service in the past six months and my number isn't in their system, which is a lie because my fiance have called through Global Tel*Link since last year. I have read other reviews of same incidents but luckily I have phone records and bank statements. Customer rep was unprofessional and had me on hold and came back to phone smacking like she was eating chips. She was so rude and had an attitude. They take money off. He tries to get through but call isn't accepted surprisingly but the $2.75 back on phone. But I can't put $25 back on my card.

I have read, literally, every complaint posted here regarding Global Tel Link. Each and every one is valid and I can identify with almost all of them. The last time I received a call from Lynwood CRDF in Los Angeles, CA was on 2/14/2012. At that time, my balance was $21. The phone call was 11 minutes in length, leaving a balance of $16.31. Today I received another call with the automated system saying that I needed to set up an account to receive calls. This was extremely frustrating, but not a surprise, as this was the third time this happened.

I called the 800-483-8314 number to check my balance and was informed that my balance was $.03. I then called the 866-230-7761 number and finally connected to a human named "Joe" who could barely speak English. I explained the issue to him and he pulled the account up, telling me that I still had $16.31 on the account. I explained to him that I had just received a call from the facility saying that I needed to set up an account. He stated that if an inmate calls back within one minute, that the system would do that. I further tried, and I mean tried to tell him that the issue occurred with the first call and the subsequent calls were at least five minutes apart. It was like talking to a brick wall. I also asked him why the automated balance check system only showed $.03 balance. He then restated the one minute between calls caused the problem. I was barely able to get a word in the conversation. I told him at least five times that the problem occurred with the first call. Obviously, my words fell on deaf ears. He said the $16.31 would be back on the account within 45 minutes. It's been over three hours and everything remains the same. I thanked him for his time, asked to speak with a supervisor, put my phone on speaker and waited for 45+ minutes with no answer. What a surprise...not! I hung up and did a search for Global Tel Link scam. Unbelievable. The web page was full of GTL scam info, which is what brought me to this site.

As I said earlier, this was the third time supposedly having nothing on the account. What happened with the other two times I was told that my credit card had a hold on the account. The same credit card I've used since day one. I used another card to put money on the account. Almost immediately, it all worked once again. He said "the fact is, there was $71 hold" by my credit card company. Yeah, right. I called my bank and they knew nothing about a "hold". So far, they're into me for $125.

GTL is ripping us off and giving kickbacks to the jails and prisons at our expense. I'm looking forward to attorney contact. This crap is, in every sense, robbery! That used to be a crime, didn't it? FYI, since we have no choice but to use GTL, everyone should be advised that if you use the 866-230-7761 number and wait for a human, there is no fee. This has "Class Action Suit" written all over it. God bless all who have been ripped off by GTL.

This is one of the very few call centers where we do not have to put up with your crap. If you want to receive calls, you pay, easy as that; if you do not like the service, then that is too bad. Maybe you should teach your criminals better. You call and complain about us ripping you off, about us hanging up on you, about the calls being dropped, about the horrible customer service. What you are receiving is a luxury, yes , a luxury! The privilege for an inmate to communicate with someone else after he/she has committed a crime. You want to talk to your loved one, you pay, bottom line! All you do is complain, complain, complain! This is not cable service, internet or telephone service, it's customer service for your criminals! I left jobs like those because all you want to do is treat us like crap, call us names and try to put us down. At least here, I have the freedom to not take your insults. Feel free to complain some more, every time I answer the phone, I'll be more than happy to assist you! Thank you for calling Global Tel Link, my name is... How may I help you today? LOL

My son called collect and I was automatically charged without my approval. I did not press any keys on my phone was charged without approval on my card. Don't know how they did that but I have used you in the past very upset and to me that was fraud.

I am not taking anybody's side but there are a lot other inmate call services that are bad as well.

I have a landline that I have had for almost 30 years and was receiving collect phone calls from my son who is incarcerated in the same county as I live in. I started receiving calls stating I had reached my limit and my phone company had blocked me from receiving any more calls. I checked with my phone company and they had not blocked my line or restricted my line at all. Global Tel*Link had placed a block on it saying I had reached my limit. Of course, no one ever tells you what that limit is to begin with or that there even is a limit. Now, they want me to set up a prepaid account in order to talk to my son and I can't afford that along with my regular phone bill. It is just their way of getting more money out of people who already have enough to deal with. Thanks for nothing, Global Tel*Link.

It's crazy how I'm reading all of this and to think I was just about to signup for them. It's getting too crazy. I bet it has something to do with the feds. People then paid all this money and no one haven't did ** about it. You'll just pray everything will be okay.

I don't know how these people got my cell number but I get a call every morning between 7 and 7:30. They leave a message. It is very annoying.

My fiancee and I have been having trouble with Global Tel Link for awhile. We keep getting dropped calls. When you call, they are rude and say you're only paying this for the call. Well, this is terrible. They do not ever give you credit. I have lost between $30 - $40 on this happening.

It's the high connection fee . Each time you receive a call, it costs over $3. Then they add a fee for adding time on the card, which can be extremely high depending on how much you add. If you pay the initial fee, you shouldn't have to pay a connection fee each time . I'm not sure how many companies are available for inmates to connect , but the fees are a little outrageous. Why is it allowed? The majority of the people in county jails are not in for serious crimes, and who benefits from these outrageous fees?

I received a phone call from my son in Dekalb County Jail in Decatur Georgia. Global Tel is telling me that I have to setup a pre-paid account to accept calls from my son. I asked them why when I have a home phone. They tell me that my phone service provider had a collect call block on my phone which is not true, because I had talked to my provider and there is no block. I am a retired employee from AT&T and I know what services I have on my phone, and the plans that I have. So, I know it is a scam from Global Tel.

Every time I am on a call, it allows me to use 14 minutes and on the last minute, it mutes the phone so he can only hear me. I can't hear him. It also stated all calls will be $2.50 after 1/1/12 but it's been charging me $2.93 on every call. The customer service reps are rude and act as though they can care less. They hang up on you and they are very are not professional.

This company rips customers off like it's their daily business. They give different information and they hide important information somewhere at the end or in the middle of the paragraphs so that customers don't see it. Then when customers complain, they say "it's our policy". The representatives are extremely rude. They even will threaten you that they'll stop your number anytime and you can't have your money back. So I hope some authority do something about this company being a monopoly and taking advantages of both customers and the government.

I had money left and I was promised to have the refund 7-10 business days after the 3rd of December, but still got nothing. I talked to them on January 3 and I was told my money would be on my debit card on January 4, but nothing came.

I have called and got different information each time. Also, I had money taken from phone calls but never was credit for it. I call them, it was on then I call no one put anything down about it. I now have had enough. I have spent a lot of money through Global and got ripped off. Now, Global won't refund my money so I have to go to Better Business Bureau.

The sheriff's department under BACA is so corrupt. I have begged them for help, and they are so rude. No help has come from their way. This, even though they get a cut from Global Tel Link. No other company is allowed to provide services, even though though they can provide them at much cheaper rates. Global Tel Link cuts calls short. This is because the bulk of their money is made with the so called connect fee. It is bad enough that we have to deal with the horrible rates. I thought monopoly was illegal. So, just because it is the gang in uniform makes it okay? Most people take the bus to visit. Funds are a sacrifice for 99 percent of people. Remember they are doing the time, and paying the crime, and sometimes even with their lives, at the hands of the thugs in uniform.

When is someone going to listen? A real journalist would have not only a real substantial story, but would be doing a lot of people and his country a service to purge all this horrible,and corruption out of our country. The vending machines in the facilities, do you know who really owns them? Global Tel Link makes billions on robbing people, and the same exact thugs in uniform who protect them, are the ones arresting and putting so called criminals behind bars. So why are they allowed to rob us every single day and get away with it? Simply because of the money they get from Global Tel Link? Where is justice? God will make things just. He does exist. Global Tel Link is robbing people. Why are they not behind bars? They took money out of my account without my authorization. I want to know why I don't have the choice to go with another company of my choice?

My calls are constantly terminated preceded by a recording which states" "This call is being terminated due to three way calling." I keep filing complaints and am told they will investigate. I am only reimbursed for calls that they claim or 5 minutes or less. Now I'm being told this is somehow something on my end and a computer is making the determination about three-way calls. I have never even attempted a three-way call yet it's my fault. And the recordings verify that I haven't. I also have a call record that shows many of the calls that were terminated by them and why. Now I'm refused these records by the customer service dept. and told I am not privy to those types of records. No one there has any resolution to my issue or even attempted to seriously address this matter. Is there an alternative service besides this provider? And how can I be reimbursed for all calls that are terminated wrongfully?

This company is a fraud. I have been putting $25 or $50 on a prepaid account and my credit is gone in 2-3 phone calls. I finally got a hold of someone last week, and he said he would open an investigation, and I have not heard back. Now, every time I call, they ask for my name and phone number, and why I am calling. When I tell them, they hang up on me every time. I am now on the phone with my credit card company (the card I used to set up each prepay), and they attempted to contact Global Tel with the number they have, and still couldn't get through.

They are now disputing all $400 in charges, due to the fact that I didn't get the services I paid for. We'll see how this goes, but so far it sounds pretty reassuring. The bad part is, I won't be able to communicate with my husband any longer by phone. My suggestion to everyone who has been ripped off and defrauded by this company is fight back, don't let them get away with it. Call your credit card companies and banks, and report the fraud.

I am almost afraid to complain for fear Global Tel Link will block calls from my son. They used scare tactics to me in order to get me to use an advance pay account. I did so because I had no choice. My son listed his wife's number, my number, and his sister's. They made me set up separate accounts for each. When I put $50.00 on each account, they charged me $10.00 per account, and do so each time you run out of money, which takes only a couple of calls, due to their insanely high rates.

The calls are dropped, I cannot hear my son due to a bad line connection, and the customer service reps are the rudest I've ever encountered. How in the world can all, who have had the same experience, come together and have this company investigated? I am spending over $200.00 a month, which I can ill afford to speak to my son for a few precious moments. When I found out he could call my cellular phone on a local area code, they called me and told me I could not use that number, unless I prepaid, which I found out was false. Please tell me what action must be taken to resolve the hundreds of families throughout the United States that are victimized by this company. I see all the complaints listed. What is being done? ?

They have horrible service! They are such a rip off. I live within the city limits, 2 miles from the facility, and I am being charged a crazy rate of $1.76 for the first minute, then $0.18 a minute after that. For a 15 minute phone call it's, $4.46! What I find odd is that my mother, who lives in a completely different town, gets a much cheaper rate of $3.00 for a 15 minute call. They refused to answer any of my calls.

Global Tel link has got to be the worst company ever when it comes to their staff. They are rude. Most of them don't know how to do their or don't know how to use the computer that does their job. If the staff doesn't know the answer to your problem, they will not transfer you to a supervisor. Instead, they hang up on you and that's after being on hold for a long time. They have a technical problem with their equipment in the Los Angeles area and they are not telling anyone this. I had my phone company do a trace and that's how I found out. So, we are all paying high cost for a service they are not providing. Global needs to be shut down for price gouging their customers.

This company is an outrage. They charge you five dollars to put twenty five dollars on your phone. Then on top of that, it's $2.50 a call. Before you know it, you have to reload more money and each time, they rip you off five extra dollars. It's a shame that they prey on us as well as our loved ones, and rob us of our money and limit the talk time to only 15 minutes. I tried to look for other companies that provide this same type of service, but Global Tel Link seems to have the ultimate control. I am pretty sure that they have gotten various complaints and still, this continues to go on. I will discontinue the use of the company till they improve the conditions of their service. The guy who did the recorded voice sucks!

This company is one big joke. You put $25.00 on the phone to talk to your love ones. When they call and you got to say hello, the call ends not 1, 2, 3 times in a roll. People that are on a fixed income can't keep paying this just to get to talk to their loved one. Something needs to be done and done fast.

On October 26, I placed $25.00 on my Global Tel*Link account. My family member has tried to call me twice and was told that my phone does not accept collect calls. My phone provider, Verizon, assures me there is no block on their end. I tried to speak to a Global Tel*Link rep who was very rude and told me that there was no block on my phone, even though the inmate had to spend his own money from his account and pay for a calling card to be able to call me.

I think I will just send him money to purchase a calling card from now on, but then do the calling cards also come from Global Tel*Link? Why do they get to have a monopoly on inmate phone calls? It's $4.95 just to purchase $25.00 worth of calls, and the per minute fee is ridiculous I hear, but then I wouldn't know, because I can't seem to even get a collect call. Most family doesn't have this kind of money to spend just to be able to keep in touch with their loved ones! Someone really needs to do something.

Put a block on my phone. I called the phone co. At&t. Wasn't them. I got on line to get the company number to see about taking it off and saw all the complaints on this company. The state attorney generals should put an end of this corruption. It is very apparent that this corporation is paying bribes and/or kick-backs to the attorney generals or they wouldn't allow this corporate raping of the U.S. people.

Global Tel*Link told me that I had exceeded the maximum number of calls allowed by my carrier. I called my phone company and they said, no. This Global Tel Link" took over. They charge a $4.75 fee for every $25 you add to your account. Rip offs. It was much cheaper than my local phone service. If I can find a way to delete their service, and still talk to my loved one, I will do so. They are cheating the local phone companies and us, the recipients of collect calls.

Global Tel Link has placed a block on my phone, stating that my phone company will no longer allow collect calls to go through. I spoke to numerous people at Global Tel, who were all rude. Well, there was only one nice supervisor. I sent my complaint to the Better Business Bureau and some rude lady has kept calling me saying, "If you don't pre pay, you can't get your calls." I feel as if I'm being forced to do this when I have other options.

So, I will keep complaining. I also wrote a letter to my state attorney general. I recommend everyone else do this too. And I wrote to the CFO/President at Global Tel. These people are trying to rip us off. I'm sorry. I'd rather write letters and have my husband get pissed off at me than to do business with these people. So while everyone is on here, take time to complain with the Better Business Bureau and state attorney general, and write the president of the company too.

Putting $50 on my account resulted in a $9.50 service charge. A) The amount is usurious. B) Under Massachusetts law (the account is for Massachusetts DOC within Massachusetts), prison telecommunications providers are not permitted to charge additional fees for the service, a clear violation of MGL.

There is always a problem. The agents are rude. They seem not to understand that we (families of inmates) help pay their salaries by using the service. I feel that all of us should protest that this provider should not be used due to their unprofessionalism, rudeness, and hidden contacts that are not explained upon getting the services. The agents always pretend that they don't know who we should file the complaint with. Or, they put you on hold for an extended amount of time and get disconnected without speaking to upper management.

My boyfriend is currently incarcerated in NY and has been calling me collect and it was being billed to my telephone provider, until yesterday, when they informed me that my provider is no longer allowing the collect calls and I must set up a pre pay account through Global Tel*Link. So, I drove 45 minutes to the nearest Walmart to buy a prepaid credit card to set up the account and pay $25 so that my 3 year old and I can talk to his daddy. We talked for 14 minutes.

When he called today, I'm told that there is insufficient funds to allow the call to connect. So, I call Global Tel*Link for an explanation and all I get is some rude man telling me that there was a $3 connection fee and the rest was charged for the call. I asked him to break down the amount they charged per minute and was told that he can't do that and if I wanted to continue to receive the calls, I would have to add more funds, end of story.

So, I did the math and I was charged $1.57 a minute. I told them, "Thank you very much for ripping me off, "and hung up. I then called my phone provider and asked about the block that Global Tel*Link told me that Verizon had put on my phone. Verizon says no such block exists and that I should be able to receive the calls, but Global Tel*Link will not allow this to happen.

This is the second time they have ripped me off and it won't happen again. This "company" is nothing but government sanctioned criminals. They make you use their pre pay network to talk to your loved ones and give you no other options. It's a bunch of ** that we, as their family, have to go through this as well as them being gone. I've read all the complaints here and it's a shame that no one has shut this company down yet. I mean, really, exactly how much money and how many people does this place need to rip off for something to be done? We all know that if it was one of us doing this, it would have been taken care of long ago.

I get some recording about some collect call from some prison and it gives me the option to dial 7 to block the call so I push that and 10 minutes later I'm getting the same call. Then it says if I want to permanently block calls to call this phone number which I did. Now they have my name and phone number, thanks to caller ID and the guy hangs up on me. I think this is a scam and if I get some charges not authorized by me on my phone I'm going to be very upset. They need to be shut down.

My son called from DeKalb county jail in Georgia, collect, and the recorder states that I have a collect call from ** and that my phone company have a collect call block on my phone number, but it is not. I am a retired employee with at&t and I know that there is no collect call block on my phone. Global tel link is running a scam on a lot of people.

This need to be reported to the state attorney general so they can stop this company for doing business. If judge ** hadn't given people to start up other companies to compete with Bellsouth & at&t we would not have this problem.

It's bad enough that my daughter was just imprisoned for being under the influence, two years ago, of drugs. And it really hurts when this company, which I pay dearly to, to hear her voice, not only overcharges horribly for the service, but the connection is always extremely bad or underwater sounding, if there is a connection at all. I have not heard from my daughter in four days now because without telling me, and for no reason, this fraudulent company blocked my number from receiving her calls. Over the course of three days, she tried to call me at least ten times a day, and every time I picked it up and said hello, Global Tel Link disconnected my call, even though I have plenty of money in my account. This abuse and corruption cannot go on. Now, I am not receiving any calls for two days now.

I finally called Global Tel Link to ask what was the matter that I cannot receive a call, and they said that I have not given them my address or password. Now, I am afraid that they will use the password I gave them to take money from one of my bank accounts. They claimed that my number is now unblocked. I would gladly visit my daughter in jail but I live 160 miles away, so this will be an extreme hardship on me.

I cannot believe that I am paying this company to not only defraud me, but to cause my daughter and myself undue hardship, anguish, strife, and pain. As with the entire criminal justice system, no one cares and no one ever does anything. It is a crime what the jails and Global Tel Link are doing to my daughter and to their families. The abuse is not only inside the facilities, but extends to us just as well, with companies like Global Tel Link. Like the jails, they need to be highly regulated and/or shut down immediately.

I have been sitting on my couch for five days waiting for a phone call and wondering why she doesn't even call now, and this is a crime in itself. The jail will not give her a message; this is another crime, as I am worried.

Every single call from Theo Lacy Jail using Global Tel Link has not been audible. I cannot tell if my son is saying yes or no when I ask if he is OK. His voice is a machine-like sound. Cellphones do not even connect. I reported this to the jail, who said they could only give me Global Tel Links' number. After waiting 15 minutes and having to give a lot of info, they transferred me to the supervisor which took another 15 min. wait. I seemed to have emphasized on the problem being repaired instead of just getting the charge reimbursed. After several days of the same frustrating phone calls, I called Global Tel Link again. This time I was told they weren't going to take the charges off until I send them my bill and that they would have to listen to the calls.

I asked them again to repair the phone service but they just told me to contact the jail. After contacting the jail, I was told that I'm the only person complaining about the service so it must be my home phone company. My phone co. verified it is not them. I called the jail in tears on 10/22/11 after another inaudible collect from my son, with no help. I have received no help or improved service as I continue to pay for a barely audible service because I am desperate to know that my son hasn't been beat up or raped in the jail. This is unacceptable and I feel completely taken advantage of in this knowingly vulnerable condition.

My son has only recently been incarcerated and my experience with collect calls is just beginning. The first call was barely audible. Tonight the first call also was barely audible and quickly disconnected. The second call about 10 or 15 minutes later was the same so we both hung up. There has to be some collusion between Global Tel and government regulators, for these kinds of shenanigans to continue. What another sad commentary on the state of affairs in our country today.

I got the scare of my life today. I received a call stating that there had been a family emergency and three of my family members were hurt. I was given instructions to dial *72 and a number. They explained some fees that would be charged to my number, which, in panic, I accepted. I am very ill at the moment and I did not need this scam. I have no idea how my number was obtained since my number is not listed. I was told by my phone company that there probably would be charges to my land line. I am still shaking from the scare that I received. Something needs to be done about this company.

Suddenly, we have been unable to receive calls from my son for $1.25 charge that we knew nothing about. The money has been paid and they still refused to unblock the service. They also began tacking charges on my phone that we had never received. Previously, all my charges were paid through my land line telephone service. We have never contacted them for a "prepaid service" but they have decided that I needed one. I thought that you had to verbally set up a prepaid account by calling and/or signing a contract, which we haven't done. No one from their company is willing to solve your problems. They truly sink as a company.

I am unable to accept a collect call on my home phone because you have blocked calls. Have you done this so that you get the money instead of Verizon? I put money on PrePay and cannot hear the party calling me and am charged for the calls. I am wasting dollars every day. It's cheaper for me to go the facility and see him instead of the calls.

Thank you for your rudeness and no concern for others. My complaint is on Global Tel (for inmates in correctional facilities in California).

I sent them a money order to avoid the service fees. And on my first call, they said I was on the phone for 40 minutes and took out $10. I never am on the phone that long, 15 minutes max.

I had to call over and over with no resolution and them being so rude.

I put $25.00 on my daughter's phone with my debit card. I then tried to put $25.00 on my phone. But GTL put that money on my daughter's phone also, even though I had given them my phone number. I then tried to put $25.00 on my phone number again. Again, GTL put that on my daughter's phone. I still couldn't accept a call from my son even though I had just spent $50.00 and keyed in my phone number.

When I finally got to talk to a GTL customer service, they would not move that money to my phone. They were very rude. On another occasion, he had not called my daughter for a few weeks. GTL said that there was no money on the account. When I asked what happened to the money that I put on the account, they responded that it had expired. It costs between $6.00 and $7.00 each time he calls, plus the $5.00 service fee they take for each $25.00 you put on the account. They are robbing us and there is nothing we can do about it if we want to keep in touch with my son.

When I put an initial $25.00 on my son's account after the card info has been received and debited from my account, it tells me my call will now be put through. But it gets dropped every time, even though they charge the $3.00 for that call. Then, when my son calls right back again, I am charged another $3.00. I am not talking about the initial $5.00 service fee. This has happened several times. I want a refund of those initial $3.00 charges. Thank you!

Global Tel*link charges $4.85 just to connect a call to an area code different from the one you are in. After that outrageous amount, they then charge 40 cents a minute. These prices are outrageous! They have inconsistent services such as cutting your phone call off after you pay the connection fee and talk for two minutes to call back, telling you that you have to pay the connection fee again! They are ripping people off.

I put money on my account so I can talk to my son in Men's Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles, Ca. They take various amounts of money for a service charge each time. They have no consistency at all and even charge for incomplete calls. This is not right and as far as I am concerned, this a scam!

I purchased a $20 dollar reload to my phone using Global Tel on September 19 or 20 and total charges came up to $25. I received one phone call of one minute and when my daughter tried to call me back later that day, there wasn't any money left.

I used this system before and this is the second time this happens. I need a refund or reimbursement.

This company has debited my bank account on two separate occasions, without my knowledge. I used their system to put money on my son's books. Later that day, someone stole money from my account. Then three days later, they took money again. I contacted them only to be abused verbally and hung-up on. I am filing fraud charges against this company. They are not fit to be doing business.

I have noticed that my payments to my GTL phone account have not been applied to my account in August. There are 5 separate debits from my bank account that were not applied, totaling to $130.00. This has caused me to begin investigating this company. I called them tonight and was told to fax them my bank statement to prove that the money was debited. I am faxing that information to them. I hope this company gets shut down for misusing funds.

I received continued messages from this company early in the morning telling me that an unnamed inmate from an unnamed prison would like me to accept a collect call and that I need to give them credit information to complete it. I have not answered any of these calls but others likely would. The entire scenario smells of phishing to me.

I charged $25.00 on my debit card for a telephone credit. The credit was not used. I called the company; I was repeatedly promised and even told that a credit was issued back to my card, which was false. That was over 60 days ago. To date, they still have not credited my account.

Global Tel Link or GTL took money from me. I deposited it into a prepaid account to receive collect calls from a Connecticut correctional facility.After the account, I spoke with their representatives several times and faxed them letters to close the account and return the deposited monies but they never did. This is a horrible company, if you can even call them that. The service they provide is a tool that allows people to speak with family, etc. who may not have any other means of communication. Instead, this is the biggest scam to take people's hard earned money. It seems as if this company has the blessing of the BBB and state regulatory agencies since they have not yet been significantly fined, sued or shut down.

It is a total ** rip off. This has no connection to your loved ones or what so ever. They just make repetitive calls to get your credit card and take your money, with no results. Don't do it!

My complaint is against Global Tel*Link. I have purchased your service to speak with my boyfriend in DOC in Smyrna, De 19977. Phone connection was terrible. I spent the whole call trying to hear each other. For the cost of the service, the phone connection and/or phone equipment should be almost perfect. Price of $50 to talk on three calls and not be able to complete a sentence with the connection dropping is ridiculous. I was just charged $9 again today for a three-minute or so call. If he moves the phone, it loses connection. The service you are providing is not worth the cost you are charging. But you know that we as a FAMILY or the inmates have no choice in the matter. I believe your company is taking advantage of the situation, causing undue hardship to the families.

I deposit plenty of times in my boyfriend's account and looks like my phone is always blocked. He is trying to call everyday and I feel upset already. Please do something. They are just taking people's money and staying with the service charge for no service, too bad.

I am being harassed by Global Tel Link. Thursday morning at 1:20-1:30 AM, I received 4 calls; and today from 6:34-6:44 and later at 8:30, I received a total of 4 calls from a supposed prison inmate to accept the collect calls. I hung up, and I tried to block the calls to no avail. I contacted AT&T. Their blocking equipment does not work on my phone. Help! What can I do! I do not know anyone in prison.

I have collect calls on my local phone service, but they say that I don't. So I had to purchase a prepaid account in order to speak to family in the Minnesota DOC facility. For a collect call from Global Tel, they charge almost $4.00 to connect and 50 cents per minute afterwards—what kind of absurd business is this? This is highway robbery and their doing it legally. Why? My children weren't able to speak to their father—that's huge.

Everyone answers to someone except God. Go on line and e-mail your complaints to the Federal Communication Commission (FCC). They are the ones who may be able to remedy this con game that Global Tel Link plays.

I've had messages left on my phone, recordings: "to accept charges from a prison inmate." So far there's been 2 calls, but it looks like there will be more! Help! How can I block these calls since they are coming from different prisons? Last night it was another number, so I can't block each and every one. There has to be some way that prisons themselves can eliminate cell phones. They can be traced electronically by the towers they are bounding off of.

It's been constant interruption in my work day and my time at home with my family. Also, the fear that a criminal has my cell phone number and is using it for his/her amusement!

I have a prepaid account. I was told to disregard any invoices, however, I'm being billed $11.00 for calls I should be paying for. If it's prepaid, why am I paying more? I have had much stress over this matter. And I have reported this to the BBB!

My boyfriend was arrested on Oct. 24, 2010. I knew that he would try to call me so I made sure to have money on my Visa. Global Tel Link charged my credit card for the $25 prepaid fee and I received all of one call from him on Monday, the 25th. The jail released him on October 26th. So I called Global Tel Link on the 27th and asked them to refund the balance of my money--whatever was left after the processing fee and paying for the one call.

They told me that I would receive a check for all of $12.49. It is now November 18th and I have yet to see my money. I agree with the last person who complained and said, "Why is Ma Bell gone and GTL here? What happened to the time when your people called you collect, and you had the option to accept it or not and get charged per call? The Better Business Bureau needs to get rid of Global Tel Link!"

My daughter is in jail in Waco, TX and I started getting these collect calls through Global Tel Link. I signed up for the account as I have not been able to find my daughter in over a month. It cost almost $5.00 to set up the account. I was only able to get three calls from my daughter until the funds ran out. I received eight minutes and 21 seconds worth of calls. All for $25.00! Outrageous! I am filing a complaint with the TX BBB, TX State Attorney General and the FCC. This kind of extortion should be criminalized! I am unemployed. My daughter is in jail in another city. Now, I can't talk to her. I don't have another $25.00 for calls that aren't even ten minutes! This should be considered as an extortion!

I have been battling GTL for over a year. One thing I know is that they make up their rules as they go. I've sent numerous complaints to the FCC and ICC about their behavior. The "kickbacks" to the state correctional facilities pretty much drive their business model. I know in Virginia that each vendor to the VADOC has to deal with corrupt officials and politicians. The FBI is conducting an investigation concerning the state's business practices involving interstate contractors.

This company is ** rip off; it's a shame that you can't speak with a loved one in jail without being ripped off. My husband is not a criminal but being detained under immigration status. I called and spoke with an operator and he asked me how much would you like to put on the account. I said $50. He never said the fee would come off the 50 dollars. Now I didn't mind paying the fee but I wanted to start of with a $50 balance because one phone call cost $25. This is a shame that this company is allowed to do this and no one has been able to put a stop or have this business closed down for good.

GTL blocked my home phone from receiving collect calls from the jail my son was in. My private phone! Does anyone remember Ma Bell? And why are she gone and GTL isn't? Ma Bell wasn't slipping profits to the prison union! All their hidden fees, etc. A 15-minute call went from $5.65 to about $11.00. But the worse of it is their mistakes and poor service interfered with receiving some real important calls and interfered with helping my son's legal defense.

Global Tel Link stole my money!

I called on 10/25/10 to add additional money to my account. That day, the county jail I was receiving calls from had canceled their business with Global Tel Link. Instead of informing me of this (which they where well aware of this situation), they took my money but did not provide a service for me.

When I called to complain, I explained to them that they stole from me and I need to get a refund. They told me it was $5 to get my money back that they took! I could understand paying this if they had provided me a service. But they did not!

I understand that I have a family member in county, but why are you punishing the family more for this? I also don't understand why when you give them money it is immediately taken from your bank account, but when you pay them $5 to get your own money returned it takes 7-10 days to return. Sadly, there is no way to stop this phone monopoly.

I first contacted Global Tel*Link on October 17, 2010 and they were not available to speak with at the time I called. The reason for my call was I had made a $25.00 payment per the automated system that advised if I would like to take a collect call from an inmate, that was holding on the line for me, which I had done and successfully completed two calls without any issues. The next call came through and the Global Tel*Link automated system advised me that I needed to make another $25.00 payment which I knew was not correct. I tried to contact the 1-866-230-7761 because I know I should still have funds available, however, the automated system was giving me false information and I was forced to make another $25.00 payment instead of being able to use the remaining of my $25.00.

I called and spoke with someone on Monday, October 18, 2010 who informed me that I should have just waited because if a call attempts to come through and they release the call, meaning the automated system, it holds the funds. I listened to all instructions because this was my first time using this service and it never said that it would give me false information and require another payment. It did tell me that the rate of my call would be $4.00. The lady was not able to refund my money which I was willing to accept. However, this company takes no responsibility for their customers. I was asking for the $4.95 back that it charged me to make the second payment. and they were not able to do that. It's frustrating!

October 18, 2010, the balance was around $21.65 and I was taking my calls trying to use up this non-refundable $50.00 payment I had made when I only intended to make a $25.00 payment. I was on a call and the operator came in and stated three-way call was detected and released the call, which was not true, just a way to steal money from me. I called Global Tel*Link again on Tuesday, October 19,2010, and spoke with Kayla, who advised me that they are not responsible for any background noises that my mobile phone picks up even though they could tell I was not making a three-way call. I asked for the money back for that call and was denied. Kayla upon my request put her supervisor on the line. I believe she told me her name was Ms. **. This supervisor was very rude and unwilling to listen to what I had to say started the conversation off. Well, unfortunately, I made the same request for her to refund my one call, a value of $4.65

I found out from Kayla, which the automatic system told me the call would be $4.00, never said anything about taxes or any other hidden fees. The supervisor said that she could not issue any refunds to a mobile phone but if I changed the account to my home phone. She would review the call and see if a credit was due. I allowed her to do so then after changing the number on my account. She advised me that there will be no credit and she informed me of that prior to changing the number, which was not correct and you will be able review that call. I am planning to seek legal counsel in this matter because I know that this has been going on for a long time. I know that this is a scam and they are taking money without providing the service and no one is being held accountable.

I was told that they have nothing to do with the information that their automated system provides but this is your company and this is the first contact with your customers. I asked to escalate following the chain of command for Global Tel*Link. I was denied to speak with anyone else and I was hung up on. It's frustrating

As a lot of people before me reported, this company is ridiculous. Many of the inmates are broke or depend on the funds that their families or friends send them. To slam these people with no justified cost for the collect service is unbelievable. I would understand that a collect call would be more than a usual call, maybe up by 50% but $25 for 5 minutes is not justified by any means.

I cannot understand that by now no class A file has been placed yet. Inmates are paying their dues to society by doing time, but to more upset them because they can't receive the support of their families, because they simply can't afford to accept these collect calls doesn't do any good. If the state tries to integrate the inmates back into society upon completion of their sentences, they should at least try to keep their spirits up. Economy is not only bad for the states, but also for the individuals. People can't just raise their paychecks to cover for additional, unexpected cost. I am very disappointed by this.

They put a block on my phone. I later figured out it is because they want everyone to have a prepaid account because you spend more money that way. If I put 25 dollars on the account, it's all gone after 5 minutes. There has to be a way to stop them.

The only way inmates in Los Angeles County Jail can communicate with family is through collect call on the Global Tel Link network. On three occasions, my daughter has tried to contact me. Each time the connection has had so much static that I couldn't make out what she was trying to tell me. When I called Global Tel Link about this problem, I was told that they couldn't discuss it with me. I think it's time for an attorney. I haven't received the bill yet but I'm sure I'm not alone in this problem. I'm certain many families are experiencing similar difficulty.

This company is a rip off. My provider is AT&T and inmate calls have always come through. My nephew was moved to Cuyahoga County, and the service is asking for a prepaid account. If he is moved prior to the money being used, refund will cost $5.00. I do not want to change providers, and it is unfair to make people prepay. The other comments: there are hidden fees. The prison system charges the family for supporting their family members while incarcerated, the cost of food, essentials, etc. are triple what it is out in the "free society". The prison system purchase in bulk, at a steep discount, so what gives.

Global Tel Link is a rip-off. I paid $50 vis my debit card on 6/16/10. The inmate was released on 6/17/10. Subsequently, the inmate was placed back in county jail on 9/17/10. The inmate tried to make a collect call using the balance of the account and Global Tel Link now claims there isn't a balance left on the account. When called they cannot explain the discrepancy, only offering me to place another $50 on account for their services. Plus they want to charge another $15 as a courtesy to set the account back up after charging a $15 original set up fee.

On August 7, 2010, I called the prepaid phone number and I entered my debit card number in to put $25.00 on my account. My first transaction was declined by Global Tel Link so I called back right away and the second transaction was accepted. When I looked at my bank statement, there were two $25 transactions deducted from my bank account. When I called Global Tel Link, they said I needed to fax a letter from my bank stating that there were 2 transactions on the same day deducted from my account. I did this on August 16th. I gave them time to respond but never heard from them. So I filed a dispute with my bank and Global Tel Link then sent back $25 out of my current account and blocked my phone.

I still had $14 left on the account when they blocked it. I was told I would have to use Western Union or send a Money Order to Denver office from now on because I filed the dispute with my bank. My bank reimbursed me $25 before Global Tel Link received the dispute. Then after Global Tel Link received the dispute, they sent back another $25 back to my bank so I am still out $25.

The Global Link telephone lines are a monopoly, and a violate consumer rights on how to receive collect calls from inmates in custody. There is only one telephone service allowed and its through Global Link, which returns some of the funds back to the jail. This is a money making monopoly, high price phone call. Instead of letting consumers with telephones pay a lower price the jail via Global Link is charging an amount that is deplorable. The smallest amount of minutes that can be purchased is for $35. From that $35 dollars a processing fee of $5.99 is taken. Then when you do receive a call the first minute is $4.99 and $85cents each additional minutes.

Loss of telephone time, dropped phone calls that were charged.

The previously named company above has, on multiple occasions, charged my card for calls I did not receive. It would tell me my card was declined and then refuse to let me speak to my husband. Then I would see that I was actually charged when my bank statement came, even though no money was added to my account. My bank, which is a national bank, attempted to contact the company for fraudulent charges and to have my money refunded. The company insisted there was nothing they could do to refund my money.

Quite frankly, this is ridiculous. I have documented evidence that I was charged and then the money wasn't added to my account, via my banking statements and my telephone bill. The company will not address this matter except to tell me that there is nothing that can be done. That's theft. At no time did I give them permission to charge my card without adding money/minutes to my account. Now they are insisting my card number is invalid. However, I've had the same card, which it previously accepted obviously, the whole time. The only option I have is to pay online instead of over the phone and they charge a "convenience fee" of $9.50 for payment made online.

I am at a loss as to how one could possibly conclude it's a convenience to pay online, seeing as how the automated telephone system's malfunctions are the cause of having to pay online.

My husband is currently in prison. We have no choice but to use Global Tel link to talk. My phone calls just went from $6.44 for 20 minutes to $8.77 for 20 minutes. I nor his children did not go to prison, he did. So, tell me why I have to pay so much just to talk to him. This is a car payment! It is awful that this company is taking advantage of the families of Alabama inmates. What is even worse is that our state is allowing this!

Our son tried to call us collect through Global Tel Link from the Volusia County jail in Florida. Although we were charged, we could not understand anything he said. There were multiple calls. There was no other way for my son to call me. There were collect charges and there was mental anguish for my son and for me.

On July third 2010 Scam! Alert! Global Tell Link is a scam, do not use or give credit card number, they will not help you after they charge huge fees for each call and Be ready to talk fast! $25.00 = about 5 minutes plus your card can be billed more than once and you will be lucky if you ever talk at all. Problems with service and took so much of my time. I only got recording for help and it didn't help.

Globe Tel is a prepaid phone service for inmates. For $25, there's a $5.25 service charge, and then they charge almost a dollar a minute. This is not right! There's also no way to track your minute and cost. I called, and they yawned when I complained about the cost. There are no other choices to be able to speak to inmates at certain prisons. If you're lucky, you get 20 minutes for $25, and the number comes up as a local phone number, so it's not because of the miles between the prison, and the home. I have spent hundreds of dollars in 3 weeks of time, with these outrageous costs.

I keep refusing calls they keep putting through. I have had Verizon, put a block on for collect calls and their calls still keep getting through because of Global Tel Link. They call and get my answering machine. I am billed because it picks up a voice on the answering machine. Someone needs to do something to stop Global Tel Link from this practice.

I've been billed fraudulent. I neither have nor know anyone in Houston, TX. I have a loved one who's in Carson City, MI. They have billed me for calls I have not accepted and no one else lives in my household or stay here while I'm gone. Therefore, I will not be paying this bill of $109.26 to Global Tel*Link. I see they have complaints of people not receiving calls from their loved ones so maybe they've crossed their lines, in any case I did not receive any calls from Houston, TX, and I will not pay for them!

Global Tel*Link placed a block on my phone for no reason. I have been told it was because of a new system. This was only after waiting 4 hours for a call-back from their automated system the second time I tried. The first time I never got a call-back. I was told to fax a copy of my phone bill because they will no longer bill my phone company directly "because of their new system". After waiting 7 days, I tried to call them again. Guess what, I waited 2.5 hours for a call-back and asked for a Supervisor. When I questioned the Supervisor, she told me to hold on and never came back. Someone picked up the phone after 15 minutes of waiting and apologized and told me there was nothing she could do to speed up the process. My loved one is in prison and can no longer call me collect because of them.

My daughter was arrested on June 11, 2010 today is June 19 I finally was able to complete a account after many, many attempts to complete a transaction only to say my credit card was declined which was not the case they gave me the automotive center. That was no help like I mentioned I was successful in completing an account I was never informed about how much the service charges would be or how much it was for each min Global Tel link is a major scam.

My first experience with Global Tel*Link was a nightmare. Their automated sign up never finished with the full instruction recording, so the jail gave me their number. I called with no human response, setup up a prepaid account with no instructions on how much minutes would cost, how much setup fee was. I'm so frustrated I cannot go on; it was just unbelievable what took place. One accept call from my son, the first time in jail (5 minutes) used up the card and they wanted more. I cannot afford this at $25 dollars per 5 minutes. I'm wondering if this city's county jail systems are getting a kick back from Global Tel*Link as I have a hard time believing they support a scam like this.

I place 25 and 50 dollars on prepaid account with GTL and every two or three calls they take money off of the account by saying that I only have 90 seconds left on the call as soon as I accept it. They charge the same amount for 90 seconds as they do for the 15 minutes that I am supposed to get for each call. Then there are times when there is money on the account and when my calls come through, the same that I do not have enough funds on my account. Even when I turn around and call to check and the money is there, they do not allow the call to come through. Is this company so powerful that there is not an honest lawyer out there willing to take this on?

I never get to talk to anyone. There is an automated system that will not call anyone back. None of the numbers have live people answering. Are there really people working there? I do not know how much I am getting charged! Why do these DOC facilities get away with ripping off people? They can charge anything they want, because they know that there are so many young men in prison that have mothers who need to talk to them. This is ridiculous and unconstitutional.

I keep calling to find out how much I will be charged for long-distance calls from a correctional facility. But I get routed to an automated callback. Why are all these DOC-calling facilities all crooked as hell?! I do not get calls back. I have no Idea what I am being charged.

I think the state of California is missing out on a lucrative money making opportunity. They contract through this service that continuously rips people off. Where are the crime fighters on this issue? If California is so broke, maybe they should consider getting into the prison phone business. It seems to be doing well. Why do I have a phone company for collect calls when I have to go through this fraudulent company?

I am not sure if it is the customer service or the company, but it has the worst service ever. I was charged for a call made four months ago and I was trying to find out why. The customer service rep's respond was to just pay it. My issue was, is it a legit call and why did it take so long to post? The rep's exact words, "I do know but you need to pay for it." I was then transferred to ILD, their billing department or billing company. ILD's resonse was, "We just send the bill, you need to call Global Tel Link about the charges." It was one big circle of blame. After three hours of phone calls, I gave up.

I received a call saying it was from an inmate at a certain location wanting me to accept a collect call on my cell phone and it was using a company called Global Tel*Link. I didn't accept the call. I just hung up but they tried it again and I did the same thing.

This company is a scam at its finest! I was told in order to receive collect calls from a loved one that is incarcerated for a short time, I would have to open a prepaid account with Global Tel*Link. I did and added funds to the account in the amounts of $25 and $50. The first call I received cost me the entire $25 to talk maybe six minutes.

I attempted to load the account again using my card and their automated system told me that my card was "declined. " I called their customer service and I was told by them to contact my financial institution. My bank assured me that there was nothing wrong with my card like Global Tel*link was claiming. So, I attempted to load my account again using the same card; and again, was told each time that the card was declined. When in fact, each time I was told that my card was declined, the money was actually coming out of my account! And I still have not been able to speak to the loved one that is incarcerated since.

I have made several attempts to rectify this with their customer service and I was told I could talk to their supervisor on the matter. They put me on hold and then the call hung up on me. I then went to their website. I tried to log in with my account information that was created and it tells me that my phone number is not even on file with them. It really doesn't surprise me that you can't find a physical address for this company anywhere on the website. The only way to contact them? Yep, you guessed it, by phone only.

The fact is that you will never get a straight answer from these people. I was even told by their rep, "Sir, I just don't know what to tell you." They have a long automated service that is designed to take you in circles. And, if they even sense you are getting impatient, (if you are actually able to talk to an actual person),they will hang up on you! I know that there is a valuable lesson to learn here on my part. But, this company is also preying on people when they are most vulnerable. As a result of their automated scamming system, I have lost $200 that will probably never be recovered as a result of the system telling me my card was declined each time I entered my card information. Yet, each time I got that message, the money was being pulled from my account!

When you talk to Global Tel Link, all you get is a different information about what you need to do to call a loved one. It is a very horrible experience. I never had done this before, so I started by my first call on 4-30-10. Mind you I have no credit cards or debit cards, so the lady told me to get a re-loadable card at Walmart, which I did. Somehow when I activated the card and called Global Tel Link, this is when it started. Everybody kept asking me different things and I dealt with a lot of numbers these people kept asking for so somehow the numbers got mixed up, and they were declining my card. Not knowing what to do next, I kept calling. Most of the people were so rude that I wanted to cry, so I asked to speak to a supervisor.

On three different times, I got to speak to two that didn't help at all. At this point, I cancelled the card and asked the Global Tel Link people if there was a different and easier way to go. She said yes, and I asked about Western Union. She told me how to do that, and felt like it was a relief off my back, but boy was I wrong. This is the second week I'm trying to talk to my love. So on 5-14-10, I went and got 60 dollars in Western Union, did everything the superior told me to do. However, it got lost. I felt like my world was coming down. The people at Global Tel Link told me it will be 7 to 10 days to search for it. This is so bad for me and my loved one. If the system can't handle all their calls, they need to let someone else in to do the job. I was told they were the only ones for that city. Well, somebody got it and I have nothing.

Provides fee for service telephone communication for correctional facilities. I received automated collect call from Riverside County Jail (California). When accepted an inmate posing as a "volunteer" stated he was given my phone number and a request to call me as I was his relative and needed medical help. I was then asked to dial *72 and another phone number. I later found that the inmate can then make phone calls and charge them to my phone number. When I contacted Global Tel Link, their only response to this fraudulent use of my phone account was that "well, you accepted the collect call". I was billed for 5 long distance phone calls.

I have been trying to get my cell phone line approved to receive collect calls from a CA State Prison. So far, I have been unsuccessful. I have faxed my info 3 times that GTL has requested to approve my phone line and I have emailed my info to GTL 2 times. Each time this is done, I have to wait a total of 5 days just to find out whether my phone line has been approved. So far, each time I have called, I am told by GTL customer service that my account has not been set up yet because they have not received my information. It's been roughly over 45 days now and it's upsetting because I am unable to give my emotional, mental and spiritual support to a loved one.

I was forced to make an account to speak with my son. I paid over $300.00 within a two-week period and received 6 calls. When I asked to have this account cancelled, I was told they could. However, my son would not be able to call me on my home or cell (since I did the same with it and paid $250.00) phones. For over 15 years, my son's call was paid through my phone bill. My Global part of the AT&T bill was between $30.00 and $50.00 tops a month. This company should be brought to justice quick.

I paid for the inmate calling service in December 2009. Yesterday, I received a call that my account had no money on it. I received no calls from December till present. I put another $25.00 deposit because I was getting a call. The call didn't go through. The person called me again; again the message said I needed to place another deposit so the call could go through. I called two numbers and sent an email to GTL. Message says we're experiencing a high volume of calls, call later. This message remains for the whole day. The other numbers listed for company transfer to the message to call back. No response to my email. I lost $50.00. My girlfriend is not able to contact me and receive my emotional support.

I receive calls from a correctional institute. MCI was a mess. I thought Global would be better but it's actually worse. After paying my bill on time for three months, my calls were increased from 5 to 11. My calls were blocked because I was told that I went over my spending limit. I just finished reading complaints from other customers. We need help. Where do we start? My son is seven and a half hours away. I can't see him as often as I would like, so I rely on phone calls. It's depressing to wait for him to call and find out that they (Global) put a block on your phone.

I have been using Global Tel Link to speak with my husband for the past 3 months with no problems other than the cost of the call, which depends on the facility. However, I am a "single" mother of 2 and can only afford the $25 phone calls a couple times a month. I noticed on my most recent bank statement three $50 charges from this company in one day no less. I know I did not make these purchases but have been unable to contact anyone and am losing hope that I will ever see that money again. $150 is a lot of money to someone especially if you're basically giving it away. This ordeal has cost me great economic and emotional stress. I honestly felt physically ill when I found this out. I have to have some contact with my husband and this is my only option as far as phone calls go. But I feel leery to continue to give these people my credit card information.

I think Global Tel Link prepaid calling is illegal. You get to talk to your loved one twice for $25.00, this is truly a rip off. I am on a fixed income and I have to pay $25 or $50 each time I want to talk to my son. This is outrageous to be in the United States of America. This has caused stress, high blood pressure, pain and suffering, and economic hardship just to talk to my son.

I was extremely upset that I couldn't receive collect calls because of a block that GTL put on my phone even though I never went over their "limit." And my phone bills were paid on time every month. I work for a major phone company myself and we would never get away with the ** GTL is pulling. I was told to set up a prepaid account which I did and it worked from September thru December; then all of a sudden the auto system wouldn't let me use the same debit card I use every time. It was saying my expiration date was invalid. It's not! Then all of a sudden it worked like 2 weeks later. Now, once again my same expiration date is "invalid."

The rep that I spoke with changed her name twice and told me that I'm crazy and she didn't change her name and maybe I should just stop dealing with inmates and get off welfare. I make over $30 an hour and far from welfare and I'm not dealing with inmates. I'm dealing with one individual. Then she called me several names, including the N bomb. I am appalled by the language these operators are obviously getting away with using. I am not African American and I'm not ignorant, so her name calling was disturbing but she kept going trying to make me hang up.

I was placed on hold for an hour and when she came back she's like, "Damn **, you're still on the phone? Hit up Eharmony and find a date. I'm not removing ISH for you and I don't care that you can't pay to talk to a lowlife." Click. She finally hung up. Tasha, or Shaniqua, or whatever her name, may be was rude and didn't know the answers, so she tried to belittle me to make herself feel better. I hate this company and I think someone needs to really look into this company! I'm extremely stressed that I am not able to communicate with my loved one except by mail or visits.

Persons with inmates in prison are being ripped off. I have AT&T and I have to pay 2 long distance companies for use of my telephones. That makes no sense. Our terms of conditions of telephone service is not being honored..Why did I have to pay Global Tel Link for what I already have on my telephone? That is too much and I see no need for it. I pay for phone call through my own phone service. I'm paying more for this than my telephone bill in full. I am being ripped off.

My fiance is currently incarcerated, and it is very hard for me to talk to him through this company. I researched their fees before I put any money into it. I was told the calls were $3.75 a piece, and there was a $4.00 fee every time I recharged my account. This was very steep to me, but it's the only way I get to talk to him. I am currently 8 months pregnant and don't get many hours at work, so my paycheck is small. Twice so far, I have put $25.00 on my account, and I can usually stretch 6 phone calls through 2 weeks, until I get paid again.

The last time I talked to him was December 19, our first daughter's birthday, and they charged me $3.75 and I had $3.25 left on my account. Every time after that when he would try to call, the automated message said I only had $3.25 left on my account, not enough to receive the call. The last time I heard that, it was January 6. After I got paid on January 7, I called to recharge my account, but they said there was $0 on it. I asked them where the other $3.25 that was left was.

I am not a finicky person, but to me, that is close to a whole phone call, and I wanted to know why it disappeared. The rep told me that I was charged $6.15 for the phone call on December 19. I asked why, and she said she doesn't know, because the phone call will not pull up in her computer. I asked to go ahead and recharge my account, but I would like a follow-up call about the missing money. She said she would be happy to get a supervisor to call me back and work out the problem. That was at 10am.

No one ever called me back about it, and my fiance called me at 8:30pm that night, and the automated message said I had $20 on my account. So they charged me $5 instead of the $4 recharge fee this time. I talked to my fiance approximately 13 minutes. After we hung up, he tried to call me back for something he forgot to tell me. But the automated message told me I didn't have enough on my account to accept the call!

I called Global Tel Link, and as usual, they just told me to leave a message and they would call me back. Someone called me back about 2 hours later, and he said they were having trouble with the lines and I did have $13 left on my acct. So they had charged me $7 for a phone call! I asked him why, and he said the rates had went up to $6.15 per phone call!

No way! I couldn't afford that! As he was talking to me, the phone call dropped. I tried to call back, and the automated system said they closed their offices at 11pm. Convenient.

The next day, I called and left a message, and when they called me back 2 hours later, I immediately asked to speak with a supervisor. After being on hold for over 20 minutes, someone finally spoke to me. I explained the whole situation to her, and she said that unfortunately the rates did nearly double because they were trying to have one flat-rate plan for the entire country. I told her I didn't think it was fair, because I was not informed of the rate changes.

She said if I had gone through the automated payment system, then I would have known. I told her that I do not recharge my account without talking to a live person for this very reason. And I asked her why they went back and charged me $6.15 for a $3.75 call that was made in December. I told her that they were the ones who kept telling me I still had $3.25 left on my account. She said I must not have been getting an updated message. I said, "Wow, you guys really have an answer for everything, don't you?"

At this point, she expressed irritation and wanted to hang up. She informed me that I would not be getting a refund. I asked her if $3.75 a call is just not enough money and if they have to gouge us to double that. At that point, she hung up.

Global tel link quit letting me pay through my phone company. Now I have to prepay to talk to my husband. If he calls and I miss the call the first time, now he has to wait 30-45min to call back or else it will say that I have to add more money. The rates are exorbitant. It is ridiculous. We already suffer enough with our loved ones in prison and having to pay money to help them (store) and just to live without them, The phone prices are unnecessary and ridiculous. Not only are the per minute fees too high. It is ridiculous to charge a $5 fee just to add from credit card. Most of us who have loved ones in prison are already financially strapped, without all the stupid fees.

I can't afford to pay bills that I need to pay due to high phone bills and this is my husband, and I don't want to tell him he can't call me even twice a week! We have a 3 year old daughter and this is her only contact with him except for occasional visits.

How is that????

Now, Craig w/Global Tel Link says the calls drop because we have a Magic Jack. Which I find so funny, because he called me and we talked for over 25 minutes on our Magic Jack. Strange. I believe Global Tel Link is completely aware, and intentional drop the calls after you hit zero on your keypad, they have charged you and drop the call so they call recharge when your loved one calls you back immedicately. This Is A Scam.

I found out that their customer service people are out of Argentina, they work for a company called APEX-a Sukes company. I intent to stop their contract in the state of Oklahoma. From reading other complaint boards, which are numerous, this is happening all around the USA. You can ask until your blue in the face the owner name of Global Tel Link......no response.
Could this be a front company for Illegal activities against the USA?

Makes me wonder.

THEY ARE SCAM ARTISTS! They rip people off that have loved ones in jail. They won't tell you their fees. I had a $17 credit and then after two failed attempts to get connected, they took my money and I didn't even get to speak with my loved one. They are stealing peoples money. They should be regulated or we should have a choice in companies. They are the worst company around.

Why do I have to prove that my name is on my phone bill? Let alone Global Tel-Link knows to switch the phone numbers. I'm being refused to be unblocked for collecting calls from an inmate. I did what the agents at Global told me to do, even mailed a copy of my phone bill. The staff is rude and nasty twoard others. Refuses to let anyone talk to a supervisor, or anything of the sort.

I pay economic damages everytime I have to accept a call, not to mention the emotional stress ofdealing with this company and not beingable to speak with my loved one because they are price gouging and many can not afford it. It is the biggest rip off I have ever seen. I think maybe it is time for a strike by all prison inmates to refuse to use service and put them out of business

Calls are extremely high and the provider does not reveal the surcharge fee prior to payment which is against the law. Furthermore, they don't reveal a number to access customer service for line drops, resetting the account, or refunds. To date I feel they have taken more money than they need to but I can't be sure because I have been unsuccessful at obtaining a bill of my account. Excessive financial hardship due to the amount of line fees and refunding dropped calls, and resetting errors.

I am writing this letter in regards to a company called Global Tele Link. These is a phone Company That State wide Correctional Facilities use for Inmates to call home and speak to loved ones. Here is my complaint they are very misleading and they dont show the fine print of what happens when you missed payment on a bill. My landlord is doing major construction in my apt building mailboxes etc. I realized I didnt receive my GTL bill what did remind was when I went to see my son and he expressed this phone call restriction. Well I called GTL and the operator told me I did not pay two invoices

I then explained the situation that I did not receive them and to please send me copies of the late bills. The operator told if I pay the Sept invoice of $41.00. I will have collect calls restored to my phone well I did and I western union it, as I would like to receive the calls from my son as he a very important part of my life and I am concerned with his health in regards to his seizures. Well western union went through then the start of the week I called them and they said I now owe for Oct which is a small amount of $33.00 plus 4 calls from Nov 2009 which in total bill $55.00. I explained that the GTL Operator said calls would go back on after I pay the invoice due after 30 days (41.00)

Well now I got the run around and a big disappointment cause now I was being told, I have to pay the whole thing and then you can only receive 4 calls. Mind you I was receiving 11 Calls I asked them why did they take away the extra calls and they said, Because you failed to pay two invoices. I asked when will my calls go back on and he told me Dec. 2009 I am so upset with the lies and misleading information of this Collect call service. I need my Collect calls on now like they told me, not in Dec but now in Nov., as I would like to know if my son is doing ok. I am very concerned about the misleading information and the restriction of my calls.

I would like for you to investigate what are their policies, as I dont have any information that came in a packet from Global Tele Link. All I know are you set up a Collect call account by sending a $50.00 to their Company by western Union. They have my home phone Number and also my cell number they could have contacted me via email or phone when they did not get a payment in September 2009. I feel they are lying to me and they never mailed out these invoices cause I never got them, I only now got the copies. I need help in this company and there non-published policies on there website of any literature about the company Policy. I then Thank you for your time in looking into this matter about this company and hope you will find them at fault in this matter, as my son who is the one who is suffering by not being able to communicate to me by phone.

The managers are just as imcompetent as the workers. When i did ask to speak with a supervisor i had to demand not to get a voicemail which is what i would usually get. They quickly take your money but they slowly provide you the service that you need.

I was advised that I could no longer have calls billed to my Verizon account for calls made from a correctional facility from my son. I was told that I had exceeded my limit. Regardless of the fact that my bill was paid in full and they have nothing in writing that advises you that you are restricted to a certain limit.

After being unable to get my point across I was told she would transfer me to the escalation department to speak to with someone there and after a 8 to 10 minute hold a voicemail came on that said no one was available to take my call, please leave a message.

I think it is a disgrace that this company has control over the calls from correctional facilities and no compassion for the families that need to hear from their loved ones. There needs to be an alternate company to handle these calls.

Over a dozen times and ten different people have told me do many different policies and procedures. This last one really tops the cake. According to the customer service department I can only pay my bill with a credit card thats billing address matches the address on the phone bill that I had to submit to open the account in the first place. Since my bank uses my po box address for my protection and the phone bill Global Tel Link insisted on says my home address they wouldn't allow me to pay my bill. Apparently the only way I can pay my bill is with a credit card that matches my Global Tel Link info. exactly.

So this doesn't allow anyone else like my family or friends to pay my bill or in my case myself!! I think this is just another GTL policy that's meant to screw us consumers over!! It's so unfair that they are the only company there is and I have to go thru them to talk to my loved ones. The lady actually said "well if you dont want to talk to him (my loved one) then close your account with us!" How dare they manipulate the system and force us to do business with them in order to talk to our loved ones! It feels like this should be against a law! I am forced to pay these outrageous fees because they say my bill is late when I tried to pay over the phone and they wouldn't let me, I was forced to mail my payment off and pay fees on top of not being able to recive my calls.

I was advised that I could no longer have calls billed to my Verizon account for calls made from a correctional facility from my son. I was told that I had exceeded my limit. Regardless of the fact that my bill was paid in full and they have nothing in writing that advises you that you are restricted to a certain limit.

After being unable to get my point across because Crystal (the representative) was rude and continued to talk each time I began to speak I was asked if I wanted to speak to a supervisor and after 8 min. holding was given a voicemail that told me no one was available to take my call, please leave a message.

I think it is a disgrace that this company has control over the calls from correctional facilities and no compassion for the families that need to hear from their loved ones. There needs to be an alternate company to handle these calls, as I just paid over $500 to these people.

Since I feel treated, for Globalink, I requested cancelation, but they obligated me pay a cancelation fee. Before I requested cancelation, I asked a Globalink, the credit fro the month of Jun, because I didnt use that service the date or parting the phone from Verizon to Globalink was on July 27th

I had a block put on my phone from this company on June 28-2009 spoke with a rep and was told I had to prepaid for calls did so and still being charge for my calls The rep I spoke with on the 29 of June told me that I had to perpaid Now the reps are telling me that the line wasn't blocked until the 13 of July but when the calls tried to come through I was given the number to call for prepay Now even on the 13 of June I got calls on my bill from this company and I was told by these reps I didn't want to accept what the fact I have a bill when at the same time I have paid a $700 bill within a three month period.

Because we don't have a choice what phone company we use to call our loves ones that are incarcerated, we are taken advantage of. I understand Globel Tel wants to make a profit and a huge profit they do make. The prices should be against the law. Something should be done about it.

I finally got my phone company to let us allow collect calls after my husband got incarcerated. Global Tel*Link told me it would take 3-5 days for it to show up in their system. It's been 3 weeks now and they're saying it's still not showing up. This is some bull **. And now, the last 3 times I've called them, they've put me on a call back list. They call me back, but they hang up as soon as I answer the phone. They're really pissing me off, because I can't talk to my husband, and we're having a baby any day now.

I set up an account with this company to receive calls from my significant other, who is in a correctional facility. For an initial charge of $50 on my credit card, I was told I would be allowed 6 calls per month; however, after only one call, I was "blocked" from receiving more calls and was told I needed to pay another $25 to receive the other 5 calls for the month, which I did.

I was told that after two months of timely paid bills, the call limit would increase by 5 calls to 11 calls. However, two months elapsed in which I still had credit from the $75 initial payment, and I was told the call limit would not increase until I owed them money and had paid two bills on time after that. At that point, I cancelled my account and switched my long-distance carrier to Verizon. Global Tel Link is supposed to now connect my calls and bill Verizon, which they are refusing to do. I call them every day, and each day, I get a new story as to why they will not do this. One day, I am told they will not bill Verizon and I will have to re-open my account with Global Tel Link. The next day, I am told that the phone line is "clear" and I should be able to receive calls.

My phone is still blocked by them, and I am still calling every day. I have never dealt with such poor customer service, and I feel that their business practices are questionable, at best.

They have stupid rules. When you reach a certain amount, they put a block on your phone. They tell you they can unblock it only once, and if you reach the limit again, it's over! It's going to be prepaid from that point on! It's dumb! How are they going to count my money? If I want to accept a thousand calls, that's my money! As long as I'm paying my bill, it shouldn't matter! I'm tired. I put $50.00 in the account, and they take $10.00 of that for fees! I'm mad.

I have called them several times to make payment's and on top of the money they get for the call's they charge you a fee to pay over the phone. All of this is a gold mine for them and they are taking advantage of the pain of the family member's and those that are incarcerated.

I have been accepting collect calls from a person who is presently incarcerated. GLOBAL TEL*LINK is the sole carrier for these calls. Last month the charge was $194.85. There is no other provider for these calls so there are no alternative vendors. The new serive provider (ZPDI for Global Tel-Link) started in Feb 09 (I think). Are there other options for these calls? These charges are excessive for each call. A one minute call costs $3.35 (from within CA).