GTL Reviews

The customer service staff treats the customers as if they are inmates. They’re very condescending and not helpful. I tried getting help with an account and Angel, said that she could not find my account. She was very condescending. Every time I call, I’m met with customer service agents who act as if they’re are doing ME a favor, or who act as if they do not like their job. Also, there should be assistance with those that need to cancel at the last min, or need to reschedule for important reasons.

When you register your account and add your card information, they automatically sign you up for a three month service that they charge you $49.99 for. Asked for a refund because I wasn’t even on the correct website and they told me that in the “terms and conditions” they indicate a $19.99 non negotiable fee. So they wouldn’t even give me my full money back even though I never utilized the service. Absolutely sneaky and deplorable. Let’s rip off people who are already going through hardships with their loved ones in jail. My mind is blown. Buyer beware!!!!

Service sucks! A 20-30 min call $3 & $4 if you upload money by phone while your love one on call they take $7.67 and don't reimburse you for another following call. One call is $7.67 while your love one is on the call and you managed to come through before being disconnected and if the call breaks up you won't be refunded at all.

GTL seriously is the most frustrating company I have ever dealt with. My LO literally has to call me several times and still is not connected to me, they have said this is an issue with my carrier T-Mobile, but I honestly think its GTL's poor service. I agree with others when they say GTL continuously tells you the incorrect balance left on your account, I check mine daily to ensure I have enough funds. Their video visit software/app is also garbage, I am not allowed to schedule anything and when I call customer service it is a joke. They have instructions that are BOGUS and their sense of urgency is non existent. They know we have no other service to use so they are likely not going to fix anything, making this process frustrating to say the least.

Please be aware!!!! GTL has a scam going on where they are telling you the wrong amount for your balance. They will say your balance is $12.00 when the actual balance might only be $2.00 so that when you accept the call it will allow you to talk the entire 30 minutes then put your account in the negative balance leaving you owing money to GTL. The next time you add funds it will automatically take the negative balance. Always check your balance before and after a call because they will trick you. They got me once but never again.

This service is the worst. Half the calls don't even go through despite hitting the prompt (#5) to pick up the call. My loved one spends majority of his rec time trying to get through to no avail & when it does go through we only have a few minutes to talk as if our time isn't already limited. We pay for this service and expect it to work. Customer service pasted the blame onto the prison. When I contacted the prison the officer explained to me that it's on GTL because other inmates are having the same issue. All they do is turn the phones on/off. I called customer service 3x to resolve this matter and nothing is working. Perhaps since they are a monopoly they can blow off their customers while taking the money. Perhaps a class lawsuit should happen..

Took my money and gave me a hard time to refund. I have to file a dispute. I would not recommend this company to no one. I will file a formal complaint as well. I suggest you do your research. You don’t need this service.

Global Tel is a scam. Do not use this company. I'm battling them now for a refund due to horrible service. After your incarcerated individual call and it's offered to put money on do it that way because this company is horrible.

After loading my account several times today the system still didn’t allow me my 30 minute call. I called customer service which was a joke. First representative says it’s because my boyfriend attempted the called more than 15 before it was connected which was a lie. I asked for my call to be escalated then the so called supervisor on duty was worst. He could not tell me why my money was being held.

You can pay for a visit and not get it because your phone isn’t compatible!!!! Then when you ask for a refund for services you didn't use they tell you it's your fault because your phone isn’t compatible!!!! For real? So you keep people's money because your phone isn’t compatible which in email it didn't say that or I could of cancelled by the way they charge you a service fee for that too!!!! They are scammers!!! Somebody investigate this company.... Switch to a new service for the people!!!! Not the company!

This company is a scam. They don't follow through with terms that they themselves imply. Seriously, how the hell is this place still operating? The stuff they are doing can't be legal. SOMEONE INVESTIGATE THESE THEIVES!

It’s a shame that my loved one has been waiting entirely too long for a tablet! Why not allow them to purchase one of their own?. The prison does not care but the family and friends do and it’s not right to have to wait on something that can be purchased! My loved one has been waiting for a tablet well over 4 months and still doesn’t know when he’ll receive one! DO BETTER!!!

There is no customer service support! They don’t answer their phone, tell you, "Leave message, someone will call back." All they do is send emails. One representative said they will not help me if I use profanity. I told them to look up the definition cause nowhere in my email ever had profanity. I used the word stupid!! A couple of time. Shame on this company!!

This place is a scam! When I realized I was in the wrong site they took my money. When I tried calling they didn't answer. I called back the next day. They answered. The lady said, "You have to pay 14.99 for service fees." "Service fees for what? I didn't use your service!" She said, "I will forward this to someone else and see if you can get a refund for the remaining balance." I said, "I will report you to the bbb." She said, "Okay. Go ahead." So I did. Next I got a email saying they don't have any association with the bbb. Well we will see! This is a scam. Don't use this site! Who would argue with a consumer telling you I made a mistake. I didn't mean to use your site. Please just give me back my money. This lady was downright rude! And the emails to follow were also!

I wish that zero stars was an option. These people are absolute thieves. NEVER use them. They guise themselves as another company they have no affiliation with and then steal your money. I contacted them only moments after the purchase, left a voicemail and now they're going back and forth with me via email instead of refunding my money. I hope they go out of business.

Scam practices and fraudulent company, never give them your credit card, you see any circumstances, they attach to a legitimate website and before you know it you have paid a company you never wanted to pay. They then tell you they cannot only $31 of the $46. NEVER USE THEM.

Terrible company. They do not refund unused funds. They will not remove phone numbers from my account. On their website they claim you can email them for a refund, so I did. They responded that I could call them. I don't have the time to sit through their hold times, so I told them, fine, keep the money, but please remove 3 numbers off of my account. They will not respond. They won't remove the numbers either. I literally have no control over my own account, and they are impossible to deal with. I pray a new company will come in as an alternative.

GTL Getting Out app is garbage. The app will not let me deposit money to family and friend account. When I go through the process it only show the previous tab, there is no next tab. Called but no help.

The calls are always being dropped, the audio constantly cuts in and out resulting in long silences and never the audio never recovers, and in the few instances when I can hear my loved one he sounds like he is underwater. This service offers "free phone calls" but they NEVER work. We spend $.05 per message and half of those don't go through either. When we try to use the video calls, the audio and video are always cutting out and it's impossible to use. This has to be the worst service ever offered and there is absolutely no accountability. There is no customer service support to help with these issues. They are happy to take your money though.

They stole my money. All me and my kids wanted was a phone call with our loved one... My kids have been in tears. This is not right. It's not ok. A company like this shouldn't exist. We are already going through enough.

This company charges you 49.99 to create an account. It does not state that before you sign up for an account! I called and they hung up on me when I demanded a refund. This company needs to be taken to court and everyone refunded!!! Misleading company!!!

I was overcharged. I was charged 2 times instead of once. I called and they said there was nothing they could do so I disputed only one charge with my bank since I couldn’t work it out with them. They (GTL) in return took both transactions so I still ended up eating $80. I did everything they asked which was getting a printout from my bank and showing the charges and I proved just that and what did they do they put a permanent block on my account. And the person I talked to last told me I needed to get another letter from the bank stating I made a mistake and did not mean to dispute the charges. I said that would be a lie and Joe (from gtl) told me that would be the only way they (gtl) can fix it!

They want to verify you about your money. Bad company and poor customer service. They wanted a copy of my phone bill to verify my phone number for what. Crazy. Stay away. Called to only be told call back in 3 days. Already been 5 days.

Someone has to stop these crooks. They took $46 out of my account with no authorization whatsoever. They check the box stating terms and conditions. And even still the terms have nothing stating that charge. Any attorneys out there you have an easy class action. Unfortunately I am not the only one. Many many more. They deserve jail time. Paypal blocked payment. I had to get a new card. They stated this isn't the first time as I they are familiar with this corruption. Look online. They CHECKED the box. Then refused a refund. They still didn't get my money.

They blame it on the FireCamp, that my son does not have a pin # in calling out. The FireCamp Ishi says it GTL. And they put me on hold up to 30 minutes, to tell me to call another #. They are rude and it’s the only Company you can go threw. My son went threw the same thing, before he got transferred from Jamestown. Everyone got a tablet, but he didn’t. The prison said they had nothing do with it. I had to call GTL. Same thing, the lady from GTL was Evony, and she was very rude. When I would go online, for video calls, it says he is released. Never had a problem while he was at Wasco prison waiting to get transferred to Jamestown. When everyone else gets tablets, and he doesn’t, and now he can’t get a PIN number to call out. Sounds like they are prejudice. Hope something can be done about this.

I called to report their service was down for the third time in three weeks. I was told the inmates have to report it. Like report it on the phones that do not work. I understand why you changed your name. Too bad you didn’t change your terrible service.

What an unprofessional, lazy, worthless company! It’s unbelievable that they are even allowed to be in business. They are complete trash! They need shut down for how unprofessional their business is! I wish I could give them a 0/10.

They will not let you...GO...as fast as you came. $45 quick charge. To be held hostage for...15...for trash service and nothing. Took 15 mins on hold to...hear ...chickens, laughing. Glad my 15 was worth it. It wasn't to me.

This company plain blows rectum, can't never read messages cost too much and customer service sucks. All these jail companies suck. Every last one of them including Jpay. They don't accept 99 percent of the banks in the United States debit cards

I had a family that was incarcerated for a short period and when I tried to add money to my account they kept suspending my card making it impossible to use for anything afterwards. I needed up having to upload money via Western Union in order to speak to my loved on. Once my loved on was released I requested a refund for the remaining balance of my account. First of all everyone you speak with over the phone has such a thick accent, you can’t understand them then they cut you off while you are talking. They stated that my refund was approved and that it would be debited to the card that was on file. That was December 22, 2022. They said it would be 90 days which I was not happy with.

Hey all these people are bogus as hell. They boasting about how they are the cheapest for jail / prison calls. They ain't **. I tried setting up an account with them, they gave me a jail telephone number, charge me $50 before I even completed setting up an account, now I can't complete setting up the account and they have the nerve to tell me they won't give me my $50 back. They'll only give me $25. I haven't even used any of the money. Couldn't even finish setting up the account. And then for you to tell me you won't give me my full refund it's **. I don't give a ** your terms and conditions that you tell me that I can't have a full refund because it's not their fault that I couldn't complete my account set up when it is.

The incompetence level and unprofessionalism of this company is staggering. It is nearly impossible to tell which account is which so if someone accidentally deposits money into the tablet account when it was intended to go into their commissary account then you are out that money. Customer Service is anything but Customer Service. They are nothing more than a bunch of thieves and all under the guise of law enforcement.

UPDATED 10/31/2022: Tried signing up to create an account to see if I could add money to an inmate, didn't see nowhere in the site I would be charged over 45.00, I received an email from the site while still in sign up letting me to register this number. (That's when I put the brakes on and checked my bank account and noticed the charge) after a few hours requested a refund of something I didn't agree to purchase. Just trying to sign up. NOT EVEN GETTING A FULL REFUND never even used the service of this website.

I used GTL's Getting Out app to send a message to an inmate in jail. I used the inmate's first name and a nickname in the contents of the message. I had to register with my phone number to use the service. About 2 weeks later I received a call from a company "Jefferson **" asking to speak with (First Name)(Nickname) I used in my message. I have never used those names before. How interesting! BEWARE USING GTL GETTING OUT!

Somehow I got from "PayTel" (an inmate telecommunications service) onto the "InmatesTalk" website. I guess I clicked an "advertisement button" by mistake. I filled out my personal information and even gave my credit card. Immediately, my card was debited $44.99 without my consent. This account cannot not be connected to the detention center my son is at. The company refuses to refund my money.

I was trying to put money on a loved one's acct and in order to do so I put all my info in and they charged me $45, Without so much as a review of charges. I had NO IDEA I was being charged. VERY MISLEADING! I tried to get a refund immediately. They said I would hear from them in 2 days, after 4 I emailed them. They said they could give me $31, that they keep 14.99. I said, "No. I want all my money" and they were nothing more than scam artists and thieves. I needed my money so 2 weeks of back and forth and and I said, "Screw it" and took the $31. Because of this my insurance payment was returned by my bank and I was charged a return fee and a late charge. Ended up costing me almost $50 PLUS the 14.99 that Global tel stole from me!! BEWARE: SCAM ARTISTS, All around crappy dishonest people! Do not use this site.

In the last 11 months of using Global Tel*Link's services, I have repeatedly encountered problems. Their staff are trained to feign incompetence, pretend to forward the concern to the appropriate department or ignore it altogether. In the latest incident, some system-wide issue resulted in GTL resetting inmate's tablets - used for communication and entertainment - and balances dropping to $0.00. As yet, there has been no acknowledgement of the problem, demonstration of effort to fix it, or offer to restore the balance. From what other industry do we tolerate such atrocious service? Global Tel*Link is the exoskeleton on the cockroach of the "criminal justice" system.

This company is definitely scamming people. I signed up for their service in error and immediately emailed them to cancel, it was actually 5 minutes Later. First of all, they don’t display how much you are being charged till after you put your Credit card info in, they charge you a flat rate of 49.99 without your consent to that price.

I thought that I was just creating an account for this company. I entered all my info and was automatically charged $45.99 for something that I didn't and don't want. When I call this company, no one ever answers the phone. I was able to cancel the service immediately but they still took my money. I've been trying to get a refund for almost a week. I wouldn't recommend this company to anyone. They do not handle business the right way. Never again with them!!

GTL or Global Tel*Link is THE ONLY company where you may get a phone call from your loved one in jail. This goes to explain all the other comments about "NOT RECOMMENDING THIS COMPANY;" well, there is NO OTHER company to choose from if you want your son, wife, or simply, your loved one to call you, or, to get in touch with. Therefore, these people are CROOKS with a badge to cheat and rob individuals in need to get in touch with any inmate.