GTL Reviews

There are 2 phone services used by Marion County Jail. Both are terrible!! Very confusing - globaltell.com and globaltel.inc - both (GTL) -very costly and hard to contact (even when I got a phone number and called only a recording came on no real person). Both deny existence of the other. When inmate calls the service interrupts continually trying to have added services put on account. The charge is $0.26 a minute plus the connection fee which varies up $5.95 per call. (Not many calls can be made at those prices!) Then they charge another $5.95 each time to add money to the account. It is a rack sanctioned by the government. Very misleading names and taking advantage of the families of the inmates - not everyone has an unlimited amount of money to stay in contact with their inmate.

I use Global Tel Link to stay in contact with my husband at the Indiana Department of Corrections - Pendleton. Over the last few months our calls have been getting disconnected around the fifteen minute mark, meaning he has to call me back and we have to go through the whole process again. I have called to complain to no avail. I keep getting told that I can't get credit which I did not ask for. Today I was told that no call over five minutes would be researched. If anyone else is experiencing this issue please get in contact with me. My next call is to FCC.

My husband was at jail and service constantly cut off with no warning and no way to track cost of calls. The prices of these calls are outrageous to say the least. You disagree and they are always right. Doubled cost several times. They use your love to cost their pockets. Connection with family is sometimes all that keeps people sane behind bars and families shouldn't be racked over the coals.

I used this company to talk to my son. I gave my credit card information and then my phone was lost. So I told them that this was a temporary number that I was using in order to talk to my son and that the phone number would be back to the regular number. After buying a new phone and calling back to add my funds to my old number they refuse to put my own money back on my number and I check my account and they still took money out of my account for a number that's not in service. I spoke with a negative person name Victor who was supposed to send my call to a supervisor and had me on hold for 30 minutes then hung up.

So my eldest brother is in Cañon City prison, and within the last week he's tried calling numerous times, and every time we answer, we get nothing but what sounds like an obnoxious and deafening disconnected beeping on the other end. What does this mean? And how does it get fixed?

My Daughter was arrested and calling me from the jail. Never can I imagine a longer wordier phone system in my life. After 2+ minutes of BS it asks for my credit card, then exp date, then sec code, then zip code... I mean really? And it has to repeat all this stuff. Then says more BS and by the time I get all that stuff done it tells me the caller has disconnected... I don't know if there is a time limit on how long someone on a jail phone can wait but I've received around 30 calls today from my daughter without getting through. I complained to the jail. They said, "Create a prepaid account." Ok great. I did that. It still talks for a couple minute and after it gave me this wordy thank you for using Global Tel*Link services. Thinking I'm done I say hello? Then it thanks me again and tells me my party has hung up!

I made a accident and put 64 dollars on my daughter's phone account. I meant to put it on her books. I called them and they said they couldn't put the money in the advance trust account because it was over 24 hrs. I'm so pissed. They need to fix this.

I purchased phone time for my wife who is locked up in Middlesex county jail. Only $25.00 credit. She only has a week left. She hasn't called yet and I'm yet to have an issue but after reading all the complaints, it seems painfully obvious that I'm doomed as well. I'm now feeling because MCI ripped us off a few years ago when I was in Valhalla Westchester county jail in NY. My wife put $50 on my phone account. After only $20 was used I could no longer call. A recording would say I must maintain $30 balance in order to continue calls. Please keep balance above $30 to avoid interruptions.

I have been having problems with receiving calls from D. Ray James in Folkston, GA. When answering the inmate call through my cell phone, the machine automatically states that my call is being rejected without giving me options to choose. After calling everyday to GTL and asked to get this problem fixed for me and other people, they refuse to give me a call and stated that I may have to change my phone number. That is the most absurd thing I have ever heard. Through my cell phone provider, everything is fine on their end. Till this day after calling everyday, they ignore me. Thankfully a correctional agent from the facility has told me that she will try her best to help me. Not guaranteed but gave me a peace of mind. But if anyone else knows, please guide me to report this matter up higher. Greatly appreciated.

GTL used to be useful because I have been using it for a number of years however in the last several months it has really been useless! After an inmate makes the call if there is no money on the account the automated system used to have them hold while the call is completed. Now the system tells them to call back and the inmate will hang up even though I am on the line putting my credit card in the system. By the time I do it the inmate has hung up or it has disconnected the inmate during the process but the best part is that it doesn't even let you do that on the automated system anymore! The automated system now tells you no matter what amount you enter that it is an insufficient amount to deposit whether you put in $5 or even $50!

When using the only service offered out of our county jail I experienced nothing but trouble. The fees for the call are not listed anywhere and are not told to you through the automated system. Rates of calls changed with no notice. The rate of the call that you accept and are told that is being charged has never been the amount that's charged. It is always more. I called customer service for the 10th+x to only be told that the FCC changes rates and no one is notified. Then told they listened to my call and it specifically told me my fee. I asked to listen to the same phone call they listened to. To see what I had missed! (Although I have used this service for a little time now & there was never anything that told me my charges outside of .5cents for 30 minutes which is a $1.50 but I'm charged $1.62). This lady said "NO I'm not allowed." She told me and that's what it was!!! I can't believe this & will be doing more to stop this abuse of our human rights.

The app never works, and when you call the customer service they never help you out. I called to add money to my phone and they answer and hung up 3 times after waiting like 15 minutes each time. Finally I was able to speak with someone and just to have them tell me that I needed to call another number or Google the information because that was not their region. Called the number and same thing waited and when I spoke to someone they just told me to call the number I had called in the first place. They are rude and never have an answer for you. They just keep saying “You reach the wrong department,” but yet the website tell you to call those numbers. On top of everything the transactions that showed up as failed in the app were actually deducted from my bank account several times. There is no rates. Either so they just charge different rates for the calls. They are a joke and just take your money.

I believe that there should be a class action lawsuit filed against Global Tel *Link. First off there is no privacy while talking to your loved one in regards to the interruptions, that takes up more of your time, and money because you obviously have to pause until the recorder stops interrupting you in the middle of your conversation, by telling you that the calls are coming from a correctional facility, something that, we are already aware of, so therefore we as customers are not really getting 15 minutes talk time, and at the end of the conversation she again interrupts the conversation by saying that "you have 60 seconds left" and a second after she announces that "you have 60 seconds left," she says that "you have 30 seconds left."

Global Tel Link is the only way you can receive calls if you have a friend or family member in a correctional facility. Unfortunately over the last 5 years I have had to use this service, and there has not been a problem. As a matter of fact I used it 2 days ago no problem. Today I go to use the system and after making my payment I was not connected to the person calling as usual. I called customer service and they said that they have just changed how they do service. The customer service rep could not tell me if the inmates were aware of the changes.

May 31 2016 I deposited $25.00 for my son in BCJ. They did not explain well when depositing money. They have me as recipient not my son. I'm not in jail. There is no live person to talk to when the phone number for customer service provided is called. I sent an email to them and waiting for a reply. To those who say class action, sign me up. Or tell me who to contact to get the ball rolling.

For those with phone/call issues, try using an out-of-state phone number for your account -- either by creating or changing your cell phone # if using a cell phone to accept calls, OR (recommended) create a Google Phone number account with Google. Google Phone allows you to choose your area code (i.e. out-of-state area code & number) and then allows you to have calls to that number forwarded to any phone including multiple phones. (My Google phone account is setup to automatically forward calls to both my home & cell phones, and "generally" works without issue.)

GTL prison phone system is not updated. Employees don't know their systems. They take money. I have a log, every call, time he calls me to time I push 5 to accept call. I wait 30 mins or longer, call back, get employee#, state and balance. Next call no money. I call back, get employee # and state. They are in. Money put back. Everyday this goes on... I log everything...

We need to all call our State Attorney General. I doubt any individuals would recoup the overcharges if a class action lawsuit were filed as the attorneys are the ones that get rich but we could get a little back. More importantly, it would stop GTL from stealing from others. We could try filing complaints with Federal Communication Commission but doubt we get results with them.

First of all GTL phone menu system is antiquated and frustrating to use. I set up an account through my phone one day so my family member that is incarcerated could call me. The next time he called a day or so later I was able to talk to him. Since then every single call was failed to connect. I have over 20 dollars on the account and nothing is going through. The call either says immediately after accepting the call "call not accepted" or it looks like it's going to go through, starts all the disclaimers and then disconnects. I have created an online account with them setting up all of our phone numbers and all have money on them. I have called them twice and and still cannot connect. They keep saying they are "resetting" the account. I truly believe they are doing nothing. Because nothing changes. This company is a sham. After reading all the complaints on here, I am realizing I am not the only one. There should be a class action filed.

My son's trying to call from jail and the recorded options the are offering to open an account and put money in are not working. Recording says essentially to try again later and disconnects. I try going online. Finally am able to figure it out and put money on my account when my son calls again and yet the recording says I need to put money on. I keep pressing the amount plus the pound sign, they say, "Try your call again..." and disconnect. I go online, now I have two amounts entered less transaction fees and no phone call with my son. Don't get it - frustrated, frustrated, frustrated. Horrible service.

It is difficult to even call them with so many repetitious phone instructions given ("Press 0 to speak for assistance") then calls are repeatedly dropped so I call again and again. Inept phone system. Nothing is solved. No money refunded as it should be after the inmate is released.

Well I was reading the reviews due to I have the same issue as most of you guys. I think we should try to do something. I just don't know what. I have tried calling Global Tel and with no luck in resolving the issues and I feel like we're with our hand tied because we want to talk to our loved ones so we keep ditching out the money. If someone here knows of a way we can get Global to stop doing this please let get together and do. This is not fair. We all work hard for money.

I have a loved one that is an inmate in the NC Doc system. I called and set up my account so they would be able to call home. They made several attempts to call and none of the calls would go through to a landline phone. I called GTL and the reset my account and sent the info over to the tech dept. It came back that the reason my calls were not coming thru was due to the landline was being forwarded to a cell phone. Ok, I took off my call forwarding for over a week. Still no calls coming thru.

I used this service 2 times. The first time I didn't stay on the phone long enough to know what would happen. But I was very unsatisfied with the amount I was charged for a 15 minute call but I understand companies have to make money whether it's dirty or not. The second time I used them I went through the whole spiel, paid 13 and some change and 1 and some change for the actual phone call. Well in the beginning of the call after it takes your card info it says of "the call is never connected. Your card won't be charged." Well mine was.

My call was cut off at exactly 7 minutes. I paid $15 for this call, so basically $2 per minute. I am appalled that a company takes advantage of those least able to afford it. I suggest those of us who are unhappy with them, try to do something about it. I was under the impression it was to be a 15 minute call, however, it was cut off at 7 minutes and I can bet they do this so an inmate has to call back and they get another $15. I want to file a complaint somewhere. Can anyone help with this?

On several occasions this company has stolen money from me by double charging my bank account. I had to go out and get a Green Dot card which then charges you $4.95 to fill and then Global Tel Link charges me $4.75 to add funds and $4.95 for the first minute and then $.40 cents per minute because I don't live in the area code of the county jail. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I want any of you who are interested in joining my suit against this company to email me at **. We cannot just stand back and be stolen from at a difficult time in our life when we have a loved one incarcerated.

This company should be incarcerated! They say they will save you 90% on inmate calls. They say so much (fee charge), then only 0.30 cents a minute. After I opened an account they charge me $7.95 EVERY TIME I add money to the account. I was paying like $13.00 service fee and $1.80 per call on normal collect calls. I put $30.00 in my account since these scammers were going to save me so much money... How about after ONE CALL, I no longer had any money in my account! I call them and my phone call was $19.95 plus $7.95 deposit fee, etc. I closed the account immediately. EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW!!! THESE PEOPLE ARE GOVERNED UNDER THE FCC! The FCC place a cap on what they can charge per minute on inmate calls, so they make up all these ** fees, etc. And steal your money that way. One person contacting the FCC to file a complaint will NOT do anything.

I set up an account with Global Tel*Link so I can talk to my son. I truly have never had to deal with a company like this so was really confused at first on why I had to set up an account to talk to my son. I'm old school, you accept the collect call and go on. But this is not why I'm writing this. The account balance I setup with was $20.00, global transaction fee of $9.75, which I had $10.25 to get the information I needed from my son. Now it took only two calls so I had about a $4.00 credit coming back. Now it doesn't work that way. They want to charge $5.00 to refund your money. That is highway robbery and I can't believe they are getting away with charging these fees. Also, I believe that as consumers we should have the right to select better options than go through one company. Old schools work better. Someone calling you collect, you accept the call.

This company is conducting a money scam by telling you that you can have one month of telephone calls unlimited for $29. The grand total when fees are add is $51.00. They add additional one time fee a month. It's a lie and a scam along with it. Then when you purchase the one month it later give you another phone number to use. When you use it you will have to pay additional funds for that new number. People don't use this phone services. It's ripping people off... Everyone who have been ripped off using this service could call the Better Business Commission of the United States to file a complaint against your complaints with BBB online complaint center. Many we can get a civil lawsuit done. It's damn sham how they are ripping people off...

I set up this account to speak with an incarcerated loved one. Everything was fine for a week. Now I am not able to receive calls even after making multiple deposits. I called in a ticket for them to check it out. They said the resolution would take 72 hours to complete. It's now been over a week. I call every day. Ask to speak to their "escalation" department. Nothing gets escalated. Ever. I've been hung up on several times and you can't just get through to a person. You have to go through multiple menus and wait on hold. Nothing. All they do is take your money and prey on you in your time of need. It will also take 30 days to get a refund. All I want is to be able to speak to my loved one. Their practices are just shameful.

Company should be in jail because it steal all of your money. How is it that I live one block from the jail and I pay $12 for 15 min. This is crazy and thats not all. If something goes wrong and your money dont upload they will not give you a refund and if you dont use it in 90 days they keep the money. This I don't understand because why can the money stay on my account? They shouldn't have accessed to my funds unless a call is made. In one week I pay 125 dollars just to get to my son. I hate that this company take advantage of people unfortunate situation. They are bullies!!! I wish I had money to sue them!!!

During the month of March 2015, I purchased service for jail calls in the total amount of $100 over the phone with my bank card. During the same time period, GTE* charged another $450 to my bank card without my knowledge, nor my permission. When I called the GTE* Customer Service number on my bank statement, I had to listen to ad after ad. After 11 ads I pressed "0" for an operator/live person and got hung up on. "0" wasn't an option that was offered, but neither was an option to do anything except listen to ads or to buy from them.

GTL should be put behind bars!! It's called stealing! False charges for calls never made. Service fees that change with each call! This is a very shady and pathetic company.

My son is in jail in Lebanon TN Wilson County jail for a month. Collect calls from the facility cost $1.80 for 15 minutes with a #13.75 or $19.75 transaction fees depending on time of day or transaction fee goes up with each call. I researched and discovered that the FCC have put a cap or 11 cents per minute on call from inmates. Obviously Global Tel get around this cap by charging these ridiculous transaction fees. I understand people have to have consequences for their behavior. But these charges are gouging families already in financial distress. Global Tel executives should be the ones locked up. Why are they allowed circumvent the FCC rules?

My son is incarcerated at TGK Correctional Facility. He attempted to call me for the first time. The automated system instructed me to pay $1 and press the number 5. After pressing number 5 the system tells you the charge is $5 with a complete charge of $7.95. This happened twice. The calls did not connect to me. The recording says this inmate cannot accept collect calls. My son called again and the same thing happened again. I called Global Tel Link and explained what happened to one of the representatives and asked him not to charged my credit card because I did not talk to my son. He insisted on trying to charge me anyway. I told him that was not right and I was just giving away money for nothing. He just kept asking me is, "there was anything else I can do for you ma'am?" with a very snobbish attitude. He still didn't tell me whether or not he removed the charges from my credit card.

GTL sucks. Their Customer service are a bunch of idiots, disconnected calls, unable to return calls while speaking to a supervisor, Escalation Supv/Debbie/Employee ID **, has zero customer service skills. Ask for a refund for dropped calls, forget it. Their technical department determined the dropped call was not a GTL issue. I know for a fact I didn't drop the call nor did the originator of the call drop the call, maybe a poor GTL telephone system dropped the call.

This is fraud. Don't believe whatever they say to you on phone. I paid 25 pound, they give me 1653 minute for Pakistan home or land line number. First time when I dial the number, machine told me 600 min. After 10 minute I dial again guess what, I only had 510 minute. Then I called them and they said "when your minute will finish we will top up again rest of your minute," but I never have them, my 1051 minute. So pls don't buy this card. They will beg you, promise you for this and that but all fraud.

The charges are ridiculous! How can l spend $100 /week to talk to a loved one. On my cellphone l pay a monthly fee of $75 and l make unlimited calls. Is there a better company to work with so that l can talk to my relative in prison and not having to worry about the high costs of maintaining a phone account?

My fiancee has been incarcerated for four months now and from the very beginning, I've been having issues with my calls dropping at 8 mins exactly. I had my account reset twice and talked with the manager/supervisor three times about this issue. They told me there was nothing they could do since the calls are more than 5 mins, which they don't credit back. My calls are only dropping in this instance and it's consistent. I've filed a ripoff report and saw that I was not the only one having this 8 min problem, yet they can not find any issues on their end. That just doesn't make sense to me.

I tried to get a service to receive collect calls from an inmate. Instead, they take 30$ from me for a service and still can't get calls. Have to add more money to that. Then when I want to cancel and get refund, well no one can help with that. Worst company ever! Worst customer service. Just the worst experience I have had so far as a consumer.

My fiance was incarcerated 8 months ago. GTL will not allow you to place a collect call. I made sure my home phone was set up for it & was told yes, but still GTL will not allow him to make collect calls so now he buys a phone card for 10.00 to be able to call home & calls have dropped. Then when he calls back they deducted monies for a 20-minute call when we spoke for 30 seconds.

I am spending on average $25.00-$30.00 a week in phone calls since Oct of 2015. They have outrages policies in place so that if call goes thru they will still charge you for a minute or less $2.00 and will not give refunds, if you are using a cell phone or not. Bull because the other 100 calls went thru the same cell line just fine. They like to accept the calls and charge you, then the calls disconnects. When you call for a refund they refuse to pay.

I found out recently that Global Tel was taking money from my bank account without my permission. They (Global Tel) told me I signed up for an account on November 23, 2015 via email. I never signed up for an account with them, I was already dealing with another company that I was quite satisfied with. Somehow they got my ATM card info and was taking $29.99 from my account for three months before I realized it. I brought this matter to Global Tel attention. I demanded a refund for the three months they took my money. They claim they could not do that but could refund a maximum of $20. I informed them I will report them to the BBB. Just a warning, beware of this scam of a company!!!

All I have to say is it is wise to get a home phone through Verizon. You will come out cheaper. Global tele will drain you for even the cotton in the corner of your pocket. I put forty down and decided I didn't want their service so they took 13 dollars from me and then lied about putting the rest back on my card... People, we need to band together and sue them. They are a bunch of crooks and liars.

Not sure that this will in any way help, as it seems companies are able to get away with anything these days. They don't have to be accountable to the public and they know it. This company is blatant in its manipulation of families that want to speak with their loved ones... they are predators. My brother died and I asked that they refund the money left on the account, which they did not. They said they don't have a record of the request and said they tried to contact me about the account, which is untrue. Now, two years later they tell me that I forfeited the money because of inactivity. Beware, dishonesty is their only real policy and they teach their employees to lie and cover for them. Shame on them!

I was told in November of 2015 that it was a $7 per month service charge. When I signed up calls are $3 per call, ok cool. But now every time I deposit the $25, $7 is always deducted. In a week I'm spending at least $75-$100 just to talk twice a day. It's a total rip-off now when I try to switch to the $30 a month plan I'm denied.

I made a transaction earlier today in hopes to speak to my loved one of $25 with a loading fee added to that transaction. Upon several attempts of the inmate trying to place a call it would NOT work/connect the call. So being very flustered and confused because I was given this company's contact info by the facility my loved one is housed. I called customer service to try and resolve this issue. I was told several times by a rep "sorry" and pause. At that point I requested my funds to be returned so that I may find if another company and was told that "I would be CHARGED a $5 REFUND FEE and would see my funds in my ACCOUNT within 30 business days." WTF???

Ok. So I put 89.00 on my phone through this 888-949-3303 number, said I was approved in the amount of 89.00. Ok so the money never went on the phone claim. I have to wait a week till my money goes back on my card so then I switched cards, bought a whole new card, put 80.00 on it, called the same 888#, said I was approved. Still no money has been added on my phone yet. Straight bs. This company really needs to be investigated. It's stupid and they have scammers working there. Nobody have money to waste and be stolen.

Beware. This company has no customer service. I had a friend that was incarcerated 4 months ago for what turned out to be one week. I deposited $25 so he could call me. He never did use the service. He just tried to call me, but now I've been told that because the account has been inactive over 90 days, it's on "hold". It will take 5 - 7 to reinstate the account! They take your money immediately, but they can't reinstate it for a week! I'm sure their hope is that in your desperation, you will deposit more money.

This is the 4th time in 7 months they said my payment was declined but the funds came out of my account. They got $400.00 and it took 3 months to get $270.00, and never credited me for the rest. It happened to me yet again today. This is THE WORST company I have had the displeasure to do business with. I wish the prison system would let GTL have a little competition and take bids for the best phone rates. I guess GTL gives the biggest kickbacks. I LOATHE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS THIEVING COMPANY!!!

I deposit money in the account and I have the receipt for it. I called and they could put the amount of money I added last time. They told me I have to wait 24 hours. YAY! They take my money from the bank right away and I have to wait 24 hours. This company is taking advantage of the people in need. This company is making lot of money by stealing the people.

GTL is the worst inmate phone company I've ever had to use since my boyfriend has been incarcerated since March 2013. The calls drop at exactly 8 minutes, and has happened to me more times than I can count. Regardless of where I am, it has nothing to do with my service because it's happened at my house or in places where my service is 100%. I call every time and they tell me they will put it in for review. Nothing is ever refunded. 2 years ago when my boyfriend moved and I had to change phone companies before coming back, they wouldn't refund my money when I closed my account because I didn't have the exact date I opened it. All they do is take your money! They could care less. If I had an option to change companies, I would in a heartbeat.

I physically placed 80.00 cash to my nephew's Trust Fund account on 12/16/2015 using the on location GTL Kiosk Offender Connect Portal. My nephew never received the funds and this was confirmed by Warren Correctional Institute in Ohio by Chae **, Wardens Assistant/Public Information Officer on 12/29. Called GTL on 12/28 who said verbally on the phone they would contact me in 24-48 hours. Never received a call back. Therefore, I emailed support@offenderconnect.com. A representative named Chris **, Director of Field Service states this will take another 3-5 days. Meanwhile my nephew does without funds for evening food and necessities.

Why is this phone service being able to charge a service fee without advising the customer they will be charged this fee? When you set up an account through the automated system there is no mention of any fees that will be charged, or that this fee will be deducted from whatever amount you deposit into your account. Isn't that illegal? This company said they are authorized to charge this fee and I understand that but I do not understand how they are authorized to charge a fee they do not make you aware of.

My husband is in Allendale Correctional. It took 2 wks to get acct set up. Taking money for the calls but he's not getting full time. Calls not clear. When uses up funds on acct. I'm going to find something else... I was thinking about JPay.

I set up a phone inmate account for my husband to call me from the facility in which he is incarcerated. I posted a payment with my debit card and my money was withdrawn the following day. My money stayed in pending status for days. I made repeated calls as to why my money had been withdrawn but I had no access to it. The customer service reps including a supervisor could give me no explanation. They said they would place my account in review and there was no time limit when the review would be completed. They told me it could take months! I waited for days, called them back, same response. I finally ask for a refund which they then indicated would take 30 days! This company is atrocious and their business practices are despicable.

Global Tel Link is a truly terrible company. They provide phone services in jails and prisons across the country. First of all, the rates at which they offer phone calls is beyond higher than any of the actual costs they could possibly incur for providing this service. Second of all, be prepared for this company to lie to you, cheat you out of money, and blatantly steal from you. I was using this service to receive calls from a prison and they SUDDENLY, without ANY WARNING, stopped their service to that jail. I attempted to receive a refund for the money that I had left in my account with them. This was in JANUARY 2015. Still, TODAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2015 I HAVE NOT RECEIVED MY REFUND. I have spoken to multiple people about this and they all tell me different things. But the bottom line is that it takes them 30 seconds to take money out of your account, but A WHOLE ** YEAR to put it back into your account.

I received a call stating someone was trying to call collect but it cannot be completed (have a cell phone) therefore I need to call 800-483-8314 or go to www.connectnetwork.com. I tried the web address first. I set up the account info only to have it say there's an error & I cannot set this up at this time. I then made the unfortunate choice to call the 800 #. Press 1 to set up a new account or to add funds to existing account ok 1 it is. Recorded voice plays back my phone number--ok so far--please enter your credit card #--ummm I don't have an account set up yet why do you need my credit card already? I hit the * button finally was transferred to a "customer service" rep who I could hardly understand. Explained to her I was trying to set up an account but their website has an error & when I called it just asked for my card info.

It takes them a month to refund my money after I quit using this phone.

I have a brother in prison and have been dealing with Global Tel*Link for several years. On many occasions, my brother would call when I didn't answer and I was charged. On other occasions, I didn't accept the call and charged. The rep argued and said I needed to learn to add. This company is shaft. Beware.

This company has quite simply taken my money deposited in the account I made to contact an incarcerated friend and ripped me off. When I set up the account I was never notified that if no calls were made over a period of time that the monies in the account would be placed on hold. When on hold no calls can be made, even though there is money on the account!!! I have to call and reset the process. Then today I find out that I'm being charged an $8 admin fee for using a credit card. When I call to inquire why I have been basically given the runaround.

I opened a phone account authorizing $100 charge. When I reviewed my credit card statement there where 6 additional charges totaling $363 the next month. When I called requesting information they told me it was from their sister company DSI and that I would need to call them. I told them the charges were listed to them but they would not help me. When I called DSI they said the exact same thing, that I should call Global Tel*Link and request a refund. I have filed a complaint with the FTC and my credit card company has reversed charges pending an investigation. This company is a total RIP OFF with exorbitant fees for adding funds and monthly open account charges. It's a crime that families of inmates have no alternative than these shysters to deal with in a stressful time.

I filed a complaint with FCC and so should you! I called to ask how much they are charging per call and why. They said 3.45 flat rate +.45 per minute based on my location to the facility. I compared and they only charged 2.09 for 22 min. to the inmates mother's account. My charge was 13.15 for 22 min. We live one block away. Her number is area code (240) mine is (410) the call comes from (301) both are cell phones. GTL is a cellular company in MUMBAI said the call to me was more because it was in the Washington Zone. I said, "No it is not Washington DC. It is Prince George's County. They did nothing to correct this. I asked to speak to a manager. He did nothing. I asked for the corporate number, George, the manager, said there wasn't one. He gave me a PO Box 2827 in Mobile, AL 36652.

I set up my account for my son to contact me in May 2015. Cost ran about 6.00 a call within the same state and between LATAs. Not sure how that matters in terms of cost because this is a voice over IP network which is agnostic to LATA or state lines. For the months of April through September costs were the same. Now all of a sudden the same call now costs as much as $12.00 for a 30 minute a call at the tune of .40 per minute on a prepaid call. What is going on, Never mind the cost to have money debited from my account. This is nothing but a robbery without a weapon. The calls are choppy and there are dropped calls often. This company needs to be investigated for theft and abuse of the public.

I think I'm the only person on the planet who hasn't had major issues with GTL. I've been using it for two months now ever since my boyfriend became incarcerated and only minimal complaints. Yes, the service charge of 7.95 is a bit outrageous. And every once in a while (like once every couple weeks) my boyfriend will swear he calls me but it never rings through on my end but I've never had a dropped call. I've never been accused of three way calling over background noise, and I've never had money disappear from my account randomly, and I use a cell phone, not a landline.

GTL has dropped 3 of my calls this week and my fiance has to call right back. Calls are already 3 dollars so now it's like I'm paying 6 dollars because the call drops. The recording claims someone is pushing buttons? Makes no sense, I have been calling and complaining since Sunday and all they say is it has to be reviewed to see if they are at fault. Why would I disconnect a call so my fiance has to call back and I pay more. They say if they are at fault I have to wait 7 to 10 business days for a refund of my money? I don't understand, they don't wait when they charge these ridiculous fees. I pay 25 dollars and all I have in my account is 16 dollars after fees? That's crazy. I just want my money for my 3 calls credited back to my account. I work hard for my money and don't appreciate being ripped-off.

I have been reading all the negative reviews for GTL and I am completely surprised at all the negative reviews it has gotten throughout the year. The first time I used GTL was about 5 years ago when a friend of mine was incarcerated in Corcoran Prison in California. I used the service that allowed me to accept calls on my cellular phone, but the fees were added to my Service Provider billing statement. It was only for a few calls though, but I did not have any problems setting the service up, nor problems with dropped calls. This time though, I have been using GTL's Prepaid Phone services since October 2014 and have not experienced any problems when I used it for my son's calls from the county jail. Zero unfortunate dropped calls, no billing issues, and no difficulty funding the account with my debit bank card. I have, also, used GTL to fund my son's Trust Account, now that he is prison and still no issues.

My husband was recently incarcerated for a traffic fine. When he tried collect calling the house, it says my carrier does not support the collect calls which is ludicrous to begin with. You could always receive collect calls until this monopoly of the cable started!! Any-who, UNFORTUNATELY a person is forced to use such a RIDICULOUS COMPANY AS GLOBAL TEL LINK!! The fees are extremely high and what they charge per call basically boils down to EXTORTION. My husband is permanently disabled and we really can't afford to constantly put funds into an account so that you can receive MAYBE 3 calls (if you're lucky) for adding $25.00; of which after they take a fee for the use of the most stupid service in the world!! They prey on people who are in an unfortunate situation. It is my hope that this company is investigated and regulated!!

My uncle been trying to call a whole week and he keep saying the number doesn't work. And they're giving me the runaround.

I think it's a bunch of ** that you guys record phone calls and charge all this extra money for short amount of phone calls. It's ** stupid because you guys wasn't charging me a lot of money at first. Now you guys are charging me way more which makes no sense. It's **. I talked to a lady on the phone and she was just being a ** about it.

I have been using GTL since 2012. The same credit card. Nothing has changed. When I tried to put money on the account GTL denied the card. But they took the funds from my account. They are refusing to take it from pending transaction status so I can get my money back. This is not only the worst company I have ever dealt with, but the fees are ridiculous.

The phone's volume is very low, it's always pick up the correctional officers on the loud speakers and disconnect the call stating that there is a three ways call attempt, I have have several interruption at 7 mins saying that you have 60 seconds left on the call and there was money still on the account. Global Tel*link is a big rip off. I am trying to file a lawsuit.

My husband has been having problems for the past 2 days trying to call me saying my # wasn't working **. Now I haven't heard from him in almost 24hrs which we never go 3hrs without talking. For the past 3 days I've also been trying to add money to my phone and it tells me I can't, my card doesn't have money on it. Now they tell me I have to speak to someone to add money which then they charge for almost $9.00 to add $25. This is crazy.

I was literally on the phone with my boyfriend for no longer than 5 minutes and they terminated my call saying due to three way calling when it was only me and him on my phone. I deserve my credit back. They took my money for the call and it wasn't even 30 minutes!!!

Not only could my family members calls not come thru for 2 days. Every time I called they said my account wasn't set up. Lies. Not only did I set it up online but spoke with 3 representatives that set it up again with a pass code so I wouldn't have to do it again. But everyone asked for all my personal info every call. They all have been nasty and rude. Even the call escalation team was rude and basically hung up on me. Don't use this provider. They charge too much and this customer service stinks. Find a better one online!

Global Tel Link is prepaid phone minutes for inmate calls. For every $25 dollars you add to your account the company deducts $6.95 which leaves you with a balance of $18.05 and the area you call from will determine the amount of phone time you get. My phone number is out of the area so for $18.05 I get 2 phone calls. When you go to the website there are no price breakdowns. So you don't really know how much you're being charged per minute. I had a balance left on an old phone number that I wanted transferred to my new number. For the transfer GTL wanted to charge me an additional $5.00 on top of all the $6.95 charges they've already charged me. The balance I wanted transferred was $3.61 which means after the transfer fee I end up owing them!

The jerks took my money and let one call go thru then placed a block on my line so my 16 year old son wasn't able to get thru even though I had a $10.88 balance left for him to use. And when I called 4 times about it they told me it was a technical issue that would take 3-5 business days to correct! Then when I asked what kind of credit or compensation I'd get for the inconvenience they told me GTL doesn't credit consumers. The company is a joke and they charge ridiculous fees just to add money on your phone to talk to your loved ones!!!! I HOPE SOMEBODY DOES SOMETHING ABOUT THIS AND PUT THESE JERKS OUT OF BUSINESS!!!! They are a rip off!!! I pray I never have to use them again!

Everyone is right about Global Tel Link. Their company sucks, they don't care about their customers or them paying their good money for crappy service. When setting a new phone number it takes 24-48 hours for money to be placed on your account so your money is withheld during this time! INSANITY! They have to make a hard situation harder. How are we supposed to talk to our loved ones? I hate it! if you have a long distance number from where your loved is located, good luck, because the prices for the call are outrageous! About 21 cents per min. plus tax! It's just crazy and lots of needless stress!

I went on to their site prepay account GTL, on 8/8/15. Signed up for an account, all info as far as what person, phone number, and debit card info. Received a message telling me someone will be in touch and a pin #. After 2 weeks, I called, they told me had no record of my account. Took my money and said they couldn't help me.

I called for a refund for my account. It has been 2 months and a half and I haven't received anything. I just called today after 2 and a half months and they told me there was delays and my check never got sent out and they will send it today and it will still be 30 more days. That's amazing and unbelievable. Not right at all. How can this company be like this? 30 days. If there was delays why didn't they call me and at least have courtesy to advise.

I don't have enough space to list all my complaints. They constantly end the calls if you cough or sneeze even. They took 200.00 and it wasn't on my acct. and then they couldn't find it. 3 months later still no refund or phone time. They get away with it because there is no other options.

Why am I out of minutes if I just put 25.00 on my account? We only had like 3 or 4 calls.

My mother and my son's girlfriend has been putting money on this service for almost a year and just lately we have put money on the phone and now the phone service is blocked and nobody can get their money back. I just put money on my card and it's still saying blocked. Where's our money. Don't nobody have money to give away.

So my friend is in a correctional facility in Miami and I live in Fort Lauderdale. I have Metro and my wireless service is perfect. He's been in there for five months. Calls are super expensive since he calls at least three times a day. GTL is a rip off. He calls me and seven minutes into the call they terminate the call due to three way calling and it's just me and him talking. Other times I hear static then the call just ends. But it's all after their magical five minutes mark. If you get to talk longer than five minutes they won't refund you your money period. I have called several times and their customer service people are terrible.

I just got online to add money to my account so I can talk to my best friend, and decided to look at the account activity to see where my money is going. I'm adding $25.00 every few days, and she doesn't call me that much to be completely out of funds after only 2 MAYBE 3 phone calls. Upon looking closer, I notice that they're charging me between $3.00 and $5.30 for a "prepay station to station fee". WTH is that??? I'm already paying a service fee that's ridiculous, WHAT are these fees now?? Are these people kidding? It sounds to me like I'm not the only one being charged for these insane fees and mysterious missing money. Thank God my best friend gets out in just a few days, and I'm DONE with these people!

Anyone else having problems when you get call?? I would answer - I answer it and it hangs up, what should I do?

I called the customer service number to ask what my daughter needs to do to re-add or re-activate a phone number that she already had on her call list and she removed it but wants to add it back on. I asked the person that answered the phone 3 times what she needs to do and was told all 3 times that they needed to know the number so they could research. I told him 3 times that it was just a general question as some of her friends had the same problem so I was trying to find out for all of them what they need to do to reactivate a phone number on their call list. He finally admitted that he didn't know and then asked me if there was anything else he could help me with. I said, "I guess not since you can't help me by answering the original question that I called in to ask!"

I have been waiting 5 months to get a refund from this company and every time I call them I'm told one lie after another. It makes no sense to have to wait to get your own money back, and then the fees they charge you to put money on the account is ludicrous. I have had it with this company, deceit and lies, and I am now looking into starting a class action lawsuit against them due to all of the similarities in the comments I see above!!!

Every time I answer my calls some time it hang up. If it's 5 minutes or less it still take my minutes. I want my minutes back.

I had $17.31 and I added 25$. Why didn't the money add up? I would have had 42.31$!!! You all just took it and I really think it is unfair. So if you all could let the money stack instead of taking money, it would be nice. You will have a lot of happy customer!!!

I have been with GTL for almost a year now. Sometimes our calls do not connect or he cannot hear me. GTL blames on the jail and the jail blames GTL. GTL claims that it is $1.95 the first minute and $0.20 every additional minute. I time it myself and they charge $0.50 a minute. I also changed my # and they will not transfer the money over to my new phone #. Something need to be done about these hungry for money crooks. I would like to get together to stop these thieves from getting away with stealing our money!!!

This company is a rip off. Plain and simple. They charge 22 cents a call then tax every call and add surcharge. They add on minutes when calls are set to cut off in 30 min so it can't go over. They sent me a print out I can't make sense out of. How can they charge such outrageous prices?

I have spent $50.00 with this piece of ** company trying to talk to my loved one. I've only got to talk to him once for 15 minutes as every other call was dropped after about 30 seconds. I called to complain and they say it is my wireless provider. I have NEVER had a dropped call other than with this ** ass service. They even saw I was on the calls for 30 seconds and told me it's a risk I take accepting the call and fees??? Wtf? As many complaints this company has, how are they still in business? It's ridiculous. This is our only option to go through to speak with our loved ones!

I requested a refund of my balance with GTL of $6.98 and received a 98 cent credit to my bank account. The same day gtl debited my account that I did not authorize and now owes me $12.00.

I made a mistake entering the facility and wasn't able to correct it. No matter what you put on the 'manage facility' page if you make a mistake setting up the facility with the phone number there is no way to change it. This is the worst website I've ever encountered. Customer service is contracted out to India and they are of no help at all. They said they didn't know anything about the website. Why have customer service? The drop down boxes don't work. You can't enter anything at all.

I've been trying to put money on my account. I tried just putting 25$ but said my payment was not approved. So I called customer service. The first time I called the gentleman was very nice and helpful. He was able to put money on my account. So when the funds went low since their rates went up, I tried using the automated service thinking it would work. Sadly it didn't. My card was not approved when I had more than enough in my bank account.

I have experienced many dropped calls with Global Tel. I've complained only to be told it's my cell provider. I have told them that my carrier never drops calls. These calls are expensive and you can only talk 15 min. Bad experiences!!

I have read so many complaints on the internet (this site and others) about this company and their underhanded business practices. I fought them for a long time and they finally released the block on my phone after I spent a couple of weeks fighting with them and screaming to whomever would listen. I filed a complaint with the FCC, I filed a complaint with the State Telecommunications authorities. I filed a complaint or two with the Better Business Bureau. I e-mailed congressmen/women and senators. I posted unhappy reviews of this company. And, when that didn't work, I started all over again making the rounds. I think the only reason they released the block on my phone was because they saw I was NOT going away, and I even told them I was NOT going away. I told them I would keep screaming until something was done or SOMEONE listened to me.

My son is incarcerated at Blackwater River Correctional at Milton, FL. He has already tried to call 6 times this morning! The recording is supposed to come on where you can press 0. But since last fall, the recording doesn't come on half the time. Last week, he called home 15 times in one day and never did get through! On his end, it says we don't answer and we do! We live in Tennessee and he's in Florida. We are older and my husband is disabled and we can only go see him once a yr. When you write him, it takes 8 or 9 days for the letters to get back and forth. When you call to complain, they say they will reset the account. That's what everyone says! Resetting the account does not help! Do you hear me! This is a ripoff!

I attempted to place $50 on my account. The automated system denied my transaction. Then I attempted to place $25 on the account and received the SAME message. Confused because I had funds available I checked my online banking which confirmed what I already knew. I called GTL to explain what happened and was told the $50 was declined due to insufficient funds but the $25 had been approved. I asked how that was possible when I had more than enough funds.

I am going to contact an attorney and get this on local news. I have been trying to get a refund for over 2 years. All the complaints, I think we have a good chance to win.

I called the automated to put the minimum amount of $25 on the account but it would not accept so I waited for customer service to pay. I finally got someone and when he ask for the name on the phone account it is in my mother's name and she is deceased but I am the owner. I tried to stay calm and tried to explained this to him but he was very rude telling me that I need my mother to call back. "Well that is IMPOSSIBLE" I told him, but oh no he kept being very rude to me.

Hello All, my name is ** and I has the absolute worst experience with GTL phone services. I have been utilizing their services for over a year now and I have never set up automatic payment arrangements. When I called their number to resolve this issue, I got nothing but nasty, rude, and abrasive tone from each representative that I spoke with. The young lady ** was the worst, she could care less about the fact that the payment through my account in the negative and when I ask for a one time courtesy to refund the money back both reps pretended it was nothing that they could do. And when I asked to speak to her boss she told me she had to put a ticket in for it and stated no one was going to call me back anyway and hung up the phone. Total lack of compassion and lack of professionalism with their staff. Horrible experience to know that this company treats their customers this way.

I set up an account through GTL network website so I could receive calls from a friend who was in prison. Every time they called the recording said the same thing it would say BEFORE I opened a GTL account. I never got one call that went through. Then to top it off, I called GTL for a refund. They said my money somehow went to DSI (whoever the heck they are and even though I used GTL connect network website), and that I would need to contact them (DSI). When I did, they told me they would refund my money. This was in April when I called for the refund. I set the account up in February and I still am waiting for my check. I called back a few weeks after asking for refund and they said it takes 30 business days to process. I'm calling back today. Good luck. I will be submitting them a claim about this.

I put $100.00 on my phone account and even though I got confirmation number it was, well so many excuses it got to be almost comical. It has now been 6 weeks to the day and they still can't find me my money. I don't know what to do anymore. This is the most inept, incompetent bunch of obnoxious people in one company I've ever seen. If you want to talk to your loved ones this is our only choice. Someone needs to change this and NOW! Thoroughly disgusted in Washington is an understatement!

My son's in Lorain Correctional Institute. He's been trying to call me for days. The automated ask me my name and then I get disconnected. Haven't been able to talk to him. You guys need to fix this problem. I call the phone company and I get excuses. Now supposedly they put a work order out but that will take 5 business days.

I pay for collect calls so my granddaughter can speak to her father in county jail. There is a charge to put money on the account. Then they move him and are not allowed to notify either one of us so that he may use the remainder of the money on the account. I asked them to transfer the remaining money to state collect calls and they tell me they cannot do that. I ask for a refund and now they want to charge me again to give me my money back. I am unemployed and have medical issues. I'm not eligible for assistance so I'm on a very tight budget living off of my savings. I have custody of my granddaughter and get very little help for her with no help from her mother. I think it's insane that I have to pay a fee to get a refund when I have to pay a fee to use this company. Don't they realize that the people paying are not the ones that should be getting punished by fees?

My fiance is currently in Dan River correctional and have had to deal with this awful co. for 4 months now. Dropped calls and saying insufficient funds when I have $ on the account. Customer service is very rude and hung up on me 2 times when I called to complain. This company needs to be regulated. I would like to look into suing them. They apparently rip everyone off with no other option. I detest this company.

This company is stealing from people! We're getting ripped off because we want to speak to our loved ones. It's ridiculous and inhuman and the jails are in on it!

I set up an account for my brother to call me. His time to call is very limited. In January I put the minimum amount of funds required. He has called me a few times. On May 21st there was a 25.00 balance. GTL withdrew the money claiming it is now expired. They are thieves and should be in jail next to the prisoners who phone service they claim to assist.

They have been ripping me off for months! Lying about who's charging the extra fees taken off my account, blames the phones in jail/prison for the dropped calls, refuses to do anything about or refund calls, and a lot more! If anybody files a lawsuit, pls contact me **. I've spent maybe 2000 dollars in the past 7 months, complained numerous times and nothing has been done. I'm thinking of calling around Monday and trying to find a lawyer or somebody to help with their scam they're running on us. Email ** if you are interested in trying to sue their ass. I know something is terribly wrong and they are getting back off lying and refusing to refund our calls. I'm pissed off. If there is anyone else that has filed or looked into this, please contact me.

As much money they charge customers, they always have technical difficulties. You should not be in business if that's the case. Sometimes I go two weeks not talking to my love one because of your stupid DIFFICULTIES! The company doesn't have no answers for inconvenience. Meanwhile I stay without talking to my son. Shut them down!

This company so ** (sorry). It's so much I want to say about this no good company. You call them they do not help you. I put money $40 on my account and still is not able to talk with inmate then I put money on the AutomateIt. I put another $25 on the account when inmate tried to call after the $40 (talk with representative when I put the $40 on the account). $40 did go through but still wasn't able to talk with inmate so I put another $25 on phone. I got a chance to talk with inmate 3 times. Now they cut off my account saying it no money. I never did use the $40, never finish using the $25 and I had account where I had $11,70 left on a old number. Ask to transfer the money to that new number, they say I could't because I had did it before in 2012 - no I didn't. I didn't, no this inmate in 2012. I didn't know anything about this company in 2012. I just got this account just about a month or more ago.

I have been charged collect rates at $3.40+ tax for more than 120 calls that should have been billed $3.15+ tax per NC DPS gov’t website. I have been charged $4.75 service fee 18 times, but $7.95 3 times. I have been charged the full (yet incorrect) price for 7 calls that had GTL technical problems, include a 2 second call that was a busy signal. I have been told by GTL that my billing will not be researched, and that I will never, ever receive any credit to my account.

My son is in the county jail. He keeps trying to call me. I do everything the automated voice tells me to do. I have the cost billed to my Verizon bill, then they ask for my zip code followed by the # key. It asks me for it three times then hangs up on me. I would really like to talk to my son. Also I think their prices are outrageous -- $9.99 for 5 minutes. I better not be charged for the calls I didn't get!

I've had service with Global Tel*Link for almost a year now. The automatic system was taking my money but not providing me services. When I tried to call about what was going on nobody helped me. I tried to fax my bank statements they lied and said they didn't receive it. Meanwhile they placed a block on my phone on top of taking money from my account and not providing service. Please do not use this service. They will jerk you in the end. It's a complete rip off.

Every time I put money on this I have not received or accepted a call yet and it charges my account. I feel like I'm getting robbed...ugh, but no other choice.

Numerous prepaid calls disconnected after only 2-3 minutes. Unable to reach customer service. Automated system is a joke. No matter what you enter including the numerals instructed to enter the response is that is an invalid entry and the call is ended. Numerous requests send via email to request help and refund also remain unanswered. Each call is six dollars regardless of call length. On more than one occasion I have been disconnected 3 times...on fourth call finally able to talk the full fifteen minutes. Call ultimately cost 24 dollars by then.

I wish I could give this company 0 stars. They are such a rip off. I have been charged fees for opening the account, adding money in the account, everything you can think of they charged you. I would put $50 in and after everything they took out I would only have enough for 1 call. Finally my uncle's facility changed companies for phone services, so I called GTL and asked them for a refund of what the funds I had left over. Mind you, I called back in February and I talked with a very rude customer service rep. After about 30 minutes of going back and forth she said she would issue me a refund, send to my new address and it could take 5-7 weeks for me to receive a check. Fine I said, I'll wait.

This is the most messed up system I have ever dealt with. Everything is automated and you can't get a person. My son has a money for postage paper also phone but GTL said he had not added home phone. Don't believe this I know he added this number.

My husband has been incarcerated since January 2015 and I have had to use this crappy co since then to talk to him. At one point they were "holding" $220 because they said the payments had been "declined" yet on my end it said approved. I had to wait two weeks for it to clear off and in the meantime was having to drive 15 miles one way to put cash on the phone so he could call. Numerous times it has never rang on my end though he called over and over again. One would think that if they charge you $4.95 per deposit that they could get it right. On top of that some credit cards work and others don't at all. Hell even cash doesn't work sometimes.

A friend was recently transferred into a MD State facility in Howard County and has been trying to reach me to give me his update information and what-not. His call was supposed to cost me a $9.00 initial fee and such-and-such per minute (I actually forgot how much out of frustration). He can't reach me for all the rhetoric during the introduction as well as the cost of the call. After reading several reviews, I am EXTREMELY hesitant to set up a prepaid account with them for him. This seems to be the worst system that Maryland ever drew a contract. They need to reconsider their dealings with this company.

I put $25.00 on my daughters phone service. She tried to call... their automated system said to press 0 to accept the call. I did and nothing happened. I pressed 0 again, nada. Then it said again to press 0 to accept this call. Third time I pressed 0. Then it was dropped. I was charged $3.00. My daughter calls back 4 minutes later... another round of unresponsive phone prompts. I was charged another $3.00. This has happened over and over. I am being charged for NO connections. It is against their policy to give refunds. This is blatant theft and they should be sent to prison for what they're doing. This is far worse than anything my daughter did to get herself there.. I'm ready to start a lawsuit... anybody game?

As a new customer to GTL, I thought this company would be understanding to my situation. I mean come on, it's in their mission statement. Yet, the company takes advantage of people in distress. They charge you $2 every 15 mins and $7 to add money. Woooow. Then when it comes to a refund, the company does not contact you on about your complaint. Then when you call the customer service number, they give you a very difficult time then charge you to CANCEL, THEN TELL your money will be issued in 60 day! This company failed to put this vital information on their automated phone operator. Then told me I had to mail a letter to request proof of my refund. Really, believe me Global Tel*Link is a scam! I hope this helps the next customer.

Sorry you all are having problems accepting calls from your guys! Global has been ripping me off for 16 months now! I just wanted to say someone said they had some $ disappear! I also experienced that! I was & still am wondering where it went! I realize, to global it's only a couple bucks but to us it's half a phone call! Yea, refunds from them I'm sure ARE impossible! What a shame! That's ok, karma is tough! At least they had to drop the rates now! I still feel I should be credited for being ripped off for 16 months! Shame on you Global Tel*Link!

I have been using Global Tel for years to speak with people incarcerated out of Memphis TN and honest I have had each and every single problem as the people who wrote other reviews. Seems like y'all would actually care about your name and reputation regardless of your business. I have also used similar companies in other states and Global Tel is the worst. Y'all charge way too much per call. I do feel as though y'all are taking advantage of people. Seriously how can y'all sleep at night knowing that someone didn't get to speak with say their grandmother and she passed away because she prolly couldn't afford to speak with their loved ones.

My husband is housed in Monroe, WA. WA is a money hungry state. The state of Washington acts as though they don't have millions of people paying taxes to service this state. Instead of acting like human beings they go right to prison and rip the clothes right off inmates who want to talk to their loved ones! Some of these guys are hard up for a phone call and they can't make one. To add money to a inmate phone account it cost $5.95 every time you put money on! Calls are $3.21 per 20 minute call. Let's do the math here! Average household rent in Washington State is $1500 for a two bedroom! Most say the average wage is $50,000, but we are going to take that lower for the ones who take jobs because frankly we need to feed our children! So let's say $25,000 a year for the average low income family! So $1500 a month for rent for 12 months is $18,000 a year, okay that's not so bad I still got some money left after each pay check to put money on my loved ones phone.

Since July 2014 we have had technical problems with Global Tel*Link. My husband is incarcerated in a Georgia correctional facility. When he tries to call my landline number at home either gets someone else's house or never gets the phone to ring at my home. Sometimes when I answer it will go to the Recording and no matter how many times I push the accept button the recording just keeps rolling. This is been going on for eight months off and on. It will fix for a few weeks and then it goes right back to doing the same thing. Every time I call Global Tel*Link is the same runaround they don't know what the problem is. My phone company has checked my lines. Global Tel*Link told me to go buy new phones so I did that. Still got the problem. WORST COMPANY EVER.

This has been one of the worst experiences ever. Not only is their system difficult to figure out, when you call their customer service reps, they are completely useless and rude. I had so many problems getting the account and system to work for us and we didn't even get to use it. Then when called for a refund of my deposit that wasn't able to be used, I've gotten nowhere with customer service in order to get my money back! HORRIBLE service AND staff!

I made a payment of $75 and they pulled the payment twice but says they never received it. I called in to learn they will not do a three-way call, send a fax or email to my bank so they could release the money. I added 25 and then the same thing I’m put 50 a weekend ago to learn the jail is no longer under GTL. They are under their sister company DSI and still waiting for that money. All together I’m waiting on $225 and haven’t talked to my husband since.

My man called me from Bo Robinson and I pressed 0 to accept the call but instead of connecting the call, it said the call was not accepted (this happened twice). When I called GTL customer service I could not speak to anyone to help fix the problem. Now my man is probably thinking I've turned my back on him which is not the case at all!!!

Well I had several dropped calls and a refund was not given. How does a thief work for a prison. How does an out of state (alabama) business profit from a prison in maryland? The crime most likely was a against a maryland resident and maryland tax payers foot some the burden also. Just how the good old boys from alabama profits in this is beyond me.

I have tried for 2 days to contact Global Tel Link. When I finally reached a real person he hung up on me saying he could not help me. The next person just said I can't receive a collect call and had to pay so in order to talk to my husband in the co jail.

First of all, this is the rudest phone service ever. They never tell the truth! They let you add funds but never offer you a special. Then I get online just to find out they do have specials? I have 75$ on my phone for my daughter who can't even call. This is unacceptable! Shut them down and use JPay. GTL will not give refunds either. I didn't want to even give this company 1 star. Done with them, and seeking legal help against them as well?

War on the Poor. The jails and prisons have sold their souls to the devil and let shyster's handle all the personal details of contacting your loved ones and the commissary companies that send packages at 70% times what you would pay for buying from a retail store. What a gig! Billionaires in the making. I wonder whose names are behind these companies and how they sleep at night.

The system would only let me load money by phone to my phone which costs more than by the site that has technical difficulty all the time. I tried to call the Co. 4 times with no satisfaction. The last call the contact person filled a report and told me to call back in a few days. The service charge is very high to load money. The calls themselves are high and costly. Global Tel*link is ripping people off. And preying on people who are having problems in their lives. They have a sure money maker who doesn't want to hear from their love ones. Or are try to find out what’s going on with them. You’re locked in, no other CHOICES. RIP OFF!!

I put money on my credit card to receive calls from a friend. He has been trying to call for 2 weeks since then...cannot get through and it doesn't even ring on my end. Asking for a refund but by the reviews I have just read, that's probably not gonna happen. Very unhappy.

Had no problems at first (except prices), but other than that fine. After 3 months now all of a sudden when I press 0 to accept it doesn't acknowledge it. Switched phones still same problem. And they won't refund my $. Thieves-- Global is!

I along with others have been experiencing issues accepting the calls from the jail my husband is in. It say press 0 to accept the call & the system doesn't recognize that 0 is being pressed. I have $15 on the phone & unable to use it. I called customer service 4 times they said you're using a cell phone so it's at your own risk. I ask to speak to a manager they hung up on me. Worse phone service ever. Our daughter is sick. I had to go up to the jail to inform him vs just accept a call. I guess they're not going to fix the problem. My next step is asking for a refund which I highly doubt I'll get.

If I could give them zero or negative stars, I most definitely would. I got the pleasure of setting up an account with GTL through offenderconnect.com due to a family member in county jail - the minimum amount for phone acct is $25 including fee. The fee was $3.75 which left $21.25 for calls. I got 2 calls out of that money. Each call cost me $9.74!!! Are you ** serious?? Then 2 calls total only adds up to $19.48 but my acct says $0.00. Where's my other $1.77?? It just disappeared. Let me guess, it goes to "other fees"?? This should be illegal, but dealing with anything where the government is even slightly involved, I expect it now. Being the only option to add money to phone accts for your incarcerated loved ones, I guess I'll go back to the day and age of snail mail. Screw this "trusted" company.

I am speaking for myself and other families of inmates incarcerated who are forced to pay the high rates that Global Tel Link charges for phone calls received by their loved ones. As a wife of an inmate who has been incarcerated for 2 years, I am already struggling to survive on one income alone. I am trying to keep my marriage together and therefore know the importance of phone calls from my husband. It is most important for his rehabilitation to communicate with his family. The outrageous charges from GTL should be illegal! So many families are in poverty because of the struggles of loved ones incarcerated. GTL has taken advantage of families who need to speak to their loved ones. Why is this being allowed to happen to us?

I pushed the buttons to block one specific inmate that called me, and it block all of scdoc! It had been over a month since I've talked to my friends or mom that are incarcerated in scdoc because Global Tel*Link can't seem to take the block off but yet they can accept my payment at the click of a damn button. I have called over and over, I have sent emails I get the same ** run around every time! They say they are handing it over to the upper department and then one guy said the block has been removed already... not true! This is the only time I've ever had any problems with this company, but I'm about done with it.

I admit I made a mistakes. Was supposed to add money to jpay account instead of offender connect. 60.00 to phone? Instead of service person listening to me, instead she continued to cut me off. 20 mins of rudeness and unprofessionalness. She tells me it’s No way to get my money back cause it’s the inmate money. Wtf? I used my credit card not the inmate’s credit card.

On Feb 23, 2015 around 10:51 am. I walk in a locating Weston Union locating adding $20.00 Plus 10.95 fee. Total about paid 30.95 to added minutes on my phone for an inmate at Collier County Jail located Naples Fl. As incoming call coming in from the inmate at Collier County Jail unable to answer the call. I thought I may click on the wrong option. I received an second call and still unable to answer the call. So, I called customer service and spoke to rep and they stated it takes 4 to 24 hours for the mobile device to retrieve payment. 24 hours later... still unable to answer the calls.

I'm so upset. I put money on a prepaid account with GTL so my BF can call me from the county. The payment went through but I still can't accept his calls. I called the customer service number for GTL numerous times & it took me a long time to speak to someone because of their automated system. The people from the customer service are so rude, they don't help you with anything. I'm so sad because my BF keeps calling and there is nothing I can do to accept the call. Now at this time, I just want my MONEY BACK!!! And these people are still giving me problems... Is there anything I can do about this? I feel like they are taking advantage of people at this vulnerable period of time... Someone PLEASE help me!!!

Global Tel-Link is the most unprofessional business I have ever dealt with. The employees are very RUDE, considering what you're already going through with your loved ones. They don't know their job information, and will not hesitate hanging up on you. I get different stories or lies from each of them I talk to. They are the worst company EVER....I think they are rip offs, and they also have false advertisements on their websites, about plans they supposedly have, that they DON'T All!!!!!!!!!!

I received calls to set up the account by phone. I did. I have putting money on the account three different times (or more) in less than 2 months, yet half of those calls dropped. The account is blocked, and yet I have spoken with three different GTL customer reps, yet the account is still blocked. I never put a block on it. I have not been able to speak to my son in over a month. Ripped off by this phone system. This is illegal.

I made a payment to my phone to receive calls from an inmate but it was the wrong facility and the new facility was not accepted by Global Tel Link. I requested my money back and they are charging me a fee. That's not fair. I should receive full credit.

I put $25 on a gtl account using my credit card. On the first call I received the automated message said press 9 for rate fees. I did, it said $2.50 per call. I had 5 total phone calls of which 2 were dropped. I contacted gtl 4 times because they kept hanging up when I asked for an answer of what I was charged and they finally on fourth call told me I had 3 full calls at 14 minutes each and 2 dropped calls. One for 1 second and another dropped after 45 seconds.

I spent 75 dollars for a total talk time with my daughter for a total of 30 minutes in phone calls....and they call the inmates’ criminals. That should be illegal.

GTL blocked the phone so my son can't call. They refused to return my money and refused to unblock the phone. I am suffering extreme emotional pain because I am not allowed to speak to my son.

I try so hard to get to talk to my fiancee, but I can't cause I have no credit card. Is it that hard to put a feature to where the payments forward to your bill like a NORMAL collect call, or are they going to really sit there and force people into the state in which I am in through saying "talk to loved ones" then rejecting people due to social status. I wanna make terroristic threats towards them in a foul manner it's that bad. Not everyone is perfect and not everyone smart. Not everyone can be like the people who created it. So they need to realize to make it so it can be easier for those of us who can do what they could.

I signed up on 1/16/2015 on a promotional special of $20 per month and free activation. I was suppose to receive an email within 2 hours or call the hotline. No hotline number was ever provided. Paperwork also said if we do not respond to email an activations representative will contact me within 4 to 24 hours. Never got an email or a voicemail. There is no number at all on my receipt.

#2. Has to wait 60 days to get my money back of a telephone account that I closed. The charges are too high, but they know we have to communicate with our love one so they take a lot of advantage of the situation.

Your site does not work AT ALL!!! It won't let you choose facility!!!

My son is incarcerated in the New York penal system and is housed in separate instate locations. In order to provide a means of communicating in a more cost effective manner, I got a local phone number for one of the area (Albany) where he is sometimes housed. GTL will not allow me to use this access number, as it is much cheaper to connect via this number. In trying to access my account they have repeatedly block this number, and have tried to prompt me to provide my personal information (credit/debit card) to their customer service representative.

Awaiting refund now for over 6 months. Have made numerous phone calls. Employees are very rude. I do this as a favor to a neighbor who only speaks Spanish and currently has a son incarcerated. The company is quick to take funds from account but put back 6 months later still waiting.

After reading a surmountable number of complaints regarding the same issue, I have to wonder if Consumer Affairs or any other governmental agency has the power or cares to investigate and bring this matter to a halt. The penal system appears to be established to also punish (financially) those family members, friends, and others that have not committed any crimes and are merely attempting to encourage and/or support inmates.

After thoroughly reading leaflet and literature provided to the local jail where I had just visited a female friend of mine, I was still leery of hidden fees (I've heard horror stories). Well I'm on temporary assignment here in Tucson, Arizona from San Diego, California. I called the number on pamphlet and when I gave them my SD phone number was giving a rate of .22c a minute versus a flat price of $2.25 if I had a local number. I asked about other, or miscellaneous associated fees, peek on or off hours for a discount. I was specifically told those are the only two numbers I would be working with.

12/25/14 Merry Christmas to me. I was able to speak to my incarcerated loved one for 27 min when all funds were depleted from my landline account set up with Global Tel Link. The minimum amount of money you can place on the account to speak to the person incarcerated is $25-GTL takes $6 for admin. Fees. Still that leaves $19 to talk. One phone call placed to me should not cost $19 when the prison is 45 min from my house within the same state (NJ). I used to be able to get at least 4 calls from the $25 I put on the acct. but all of a sudden when I put $25 in the acct. we only spoke once and the funds are depleted. This happened twice. I paid $50 for those 2 calls. When I called GTL they said I am not the acct holder and the name on acct. is someone else so they will not help me. Funny b/c that telephone # has been mine for 17 years. GTL runs the show for the prison phones, there is nothing that they will do to correct their mistakes. They can scam us b/c there is no one to compete with them or threaten their business.

Have used the service 4 yrs and never had a problem. Once GTL took over for vconnect they dropped 5 calls on us, saying we attempted 3 way calls. Even after they listened to the calls and verified it was just background noise they still refused to give me my money back.

4 payments, 19 calls all dropped, no refund!!! Here, go get em! I did! Global Tel Link Corporation: here's your man! Brian Oliver, Chief Executive Officer, Global Tel Link Corporation 2609 Cameron St Mobile, AL 36607 Phone: (251) 479-4500 Web: Globaltellink.com. Consider a cc to all correspondence, same address; (2nd copy Addressed to Their attorney) David Silverman, Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Global Tel*Link Corporation Washington D.C. Metro Area Telecommunications

Global Tel*Link is not updating their phone systems within the Federal Prisons so Inmates are paying 21 cents per minute when they should be paying 6 cents. I contacted my provider and they told me they had called support at Global Tel*Link twice and had been assured that it had been corrected but for my family member, they would have to file a complaint with the prison. My family member contacted me today to tell me they were still get charged 21 cents per minute. My phone provider YLC communications has been so good about helping. They have even offered to change my local number at no charge so that my family member does not get charged 21 cents. I recommend YLC communications.

Today 12/12/14 7:25 pm I called GTL customer service and they answered quickly which was great but however I told them that I have 2 disconnected calls from your network and the dropped calls did not come from my cellphone provider because I have all my signal bars. The representative said that it's nothing we can do for you because it's not a landline. So I said that is ludicrous and is this one of your legal scams not to reimburse people after you guys disconnect my calls and plus there are other inmate families complaining too. It's sad that they want to make people keep spending their money faster so they disconnect your call and interrupt and say no three way call when there's no three way call happening.

My friend is incarcerated and I add money to my account once a month to speak to him. We speak at least twice a day and it used to be ok-affordable but it's still pricey. I understand that there are other people who pay a bigger ridiculous bill just for a 20 minute call, but this is why I am here and upset. I am upset for those unfortunate people and people like me who don't have a steady job, living in NYC, going to college and just want to speak to a close friend daily.

My son has been calling my mom since his incarceration which was over 2 years ago. She has a landline, so he just calls collect. Yesterday my son tried to call and upon my mom answering, there was an immediate message that she would need to open an account to be able to accept the call. Fuming I called Global's idiotic half-breed, incompetent customer service and the gal explained that they have always done things the same, that regardless of a landline or not, my mom would have to set up an account and prepay for minutes in order to speak with my son. When I stated that we've NEVER had to do this before, she said, "Well she's lucky then, after a short time, they, (Global), does require an account if your son has called her, even for landline." WTF????

This company is absolutely the worst company I've ever dealt with! I have a family member who is in jail and I went and made a prepaid deposit so this family member could call the house! I set it up to where she could call the house phone seeing as I thought that would be the fastest way. Well I was wrong I've had money, MIND YOU MY MONEY on the account for a month in a half and she still can't get through, I've called global telelinks numerous times and their customer service reps are SO DISRESPECTFUL so I asked if I could get the money refunded back to my debit card since she couldn't call from the detention facility she's at and they had the nerve to tell me I had to write a letter!!!! Well I didn't have to write a letter when they got my money.. so after all that my family member still can't get through and I still have money on the account. I'm sending A WARNING: DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS COMPANY. Not only do they give you the runaround but in my honest opinion I THINK THEY STOLE IT. BEWARE!!

The call was dropped while setting up the service. I deposited $25 for calls, immediately about $18 was available. Once I had it set up 2 more calls were dropped. I am calling each time and keeping a record. They charge $5 to refund your money!

I tried to use this company and used my credit/debit card over the phone to be able to accept collect calls from my family member who is in jail. They keep taking out of my account but I still cannot accept collect calls from inmates from my phone. I think it's not right they take money off your account from using credit/debit cards plus charge a fee but won't allow the phone calls to go through and have a computerize machine to tell you you do not have the funds. The jail limits either $25.00 or $50.00 for the calls and it's coming off my bank account but getting ripped off. I still cannot accept calls. There's no order number I get by phone.

The fees charged by this joke of a company are outrageous; especially when they are compared to the quality of the telephone connection. Why, in this technologically advanced time, is it so horribly difficult to have a solid and clear connection... FROM A LANDLINE. A landline is the most basic type of phone connection and yet this company cannot seem to simply provide a solid and clear connection. Generally when a company charges premium rates, the service reflects the obnoxiously high fees. Global Tel*Link has to be one of the biggest jokes that ever considered themselves an actual business. Either have the service reflect the fees or have the fees reflect the service. This is not a hard concept to grasp.

My fiance (who is my kid's father) was incarcerated last week. I set up my account so he could call the kids with my last $25. He called one time before today and when he tried to call today we got disconnected twice. I was charged the connection fee for both calls but never even got to speak to him. When I called GTL to get a refund for the 2 disconnected calls they refused to do it because I got a cell phone. Even though it was a problem with the phone at the jail. He did get through on the 3rd call so in a matter of 2 days my balance went from $25 to $0.76 all because of the 2 disconnected calls. Now my kids won't be able to speak to their dad on Thanksgiving. Thanks GTL for ripping us off of our hard earned money.

Added $30 to my phone number 18 days ago. The $7.95 fee (! ) was taken out right away. But when the inmate tried to make a call, no funds were available. I called the number that is listed on their website for the website support, but was told that the phone support does not have any means to communicate with the website support. The only way to contact the website support is through email. I had tried that a long time ago (6+ months), but never got a response. Tried it again about 2 weeks ago and didn't get a response either. When asking the people on the phone about this I was told, "Sorry, but that's the way it is", meaning that I was out of luck.

Too often while talking on the call that has come through on Global Tel Link the phone will just disconnect, leaving the person to have to call back and start over paying the initial connect fee of over 21/2 dollars. The other day our phone call was disconnected for what I heard the was supposedly a 3 way call which was totally false. And our phone call was disconnected. And what's worse if I'm not mistaking, you cannot receive another phone call for about 24 hours. It's utterly ridiculous!!!! I realize that the people who are in these facilities have broken the law to some degree some way worse than others. However their family including children, parents, spouses and friends, mentors and alike are not the law breakers. Yet it is these individuals that are being sapped of their money by these greedy opportunist who are allowed to do it because the jails and the Government has no empathy, or respect for anyone. It's as if they blame the family members and friends for having a person who has broken the law related to them.

I have read all the complaints on GTL. There is one simple resolution. Instead of using prepaid account, simply send the inmate the money and they can put the money on the phone from their end. It also eliminates the service fee GTL charges. This can be done anywhere in the country. I receive calls from a facility in NJ. The charge is 15 cents per minute for a 15-minute call, which with tax comes to 2.59 per call. I had 2.21 left on account and when someone called it said insufficient funds. The 2.21 I had should have at least been sufficient for a 10-minute call plus tax. GTL claims I needed a balance of 2.59 in order to receive a call. They are a ripoff!!! SEND THE INMATE THE MONEY!!

I am not at all satisfied with this service. How does it just from $40 to only $5.23 on a 30 minute clip? This is absolutely ridiculous. Then you call and they act as though they don't know anything about the company and/or as how they can be a service to you. Is there another alternative for receiving calls at MCTC? If so someone PLEASE let me know ASAP.

This is the worst company ever. I pay for service which I don't get. They say it's my carrier, then it's my account. They could care less and I think someone should stop them from doing business especially at the times we are having problems with having someone in jail, this service sucks.

My son tries to call and when we press 0 to accept the calls, it tells us the call has not been accepted. This has been going on for over a month. We have called Global tel-link and they keep saying they will fix it in two weeks. As of today it has not been fixed. My son tried calling today 6 times.

I called Global Tel to file a personal complaint to let them know that they have a phone down in Laguna Hall at CIM 2 and I was told that the officers at the prison have to call Global Tel to report the problem. The problem is the officers do not have the net to file a complaint.

I feel the prices charged are extreme and the family of the inmate is unfairly charged. There is absolutely no excuse for the prices being this high. Furthermore they make you set an account to add even more money to their pocket, they charge you five dollars for a refund so they still are making unnecessary money off of inmates and their families. I think this company should be shut down immediately.

My boyfriend tried calling me so I tried to add funds to my account like I did before but this time it says press 4 to add money then it automatically says unable to process and hangs up. So I called automated number to add funds. I added $25 before I hung up. I pressed 2 to hear my balance. It said $19 then I pressed 2 again. It said $16.03 so I hung up. 2 min later a 1800 number called me to tell me my balance was low to add money!! It's a ripoff!!! They charged my account, took my money then tried to get me to do it again!!! ** GTL!!!!!

I was charged for calls not received. I called GTL and they said they would send out a letter showing I received two calls. I told them it even showed only one on my AT&T bill but they would not help me.

So I am forced to set up a account with this company because it's the only the jail has. I set the account up, they automatically deducted $8 off the account. I cannot receive calls for my husband. I called, they told me it was my phone provider so I called them. They said that I had no blocks and my service was good so I call gto back and they tell me it is because it a cell phone bull crap. I asked to speak to someone from their corporate office. They claim they don't have a number. This service sucks and they rip you off, no help to anyone and if we are paying for the service we should at least receive it.

I have had it with this "service" Saturday 10/4/2014 8:58 pm after 3 attempts to reach GTL. I want to know how much the collect call costs. In order to get the amount of charge after a call has been made from inmate you must dial back 1-888-415-0377. The system sucks, after following the instructions (press 1 for English) you get this response "GOOD BYE". You do not require an account with them to receive collect calls yet that managed to get my dad to open an account because he thought he needed one in order to receive COLLECT call from his son. So now, when his son tries to telephone his dad, he is unable to receive the call because INSUFFICIENT FUNDS on the account. This crappy system should allow phone calls to family member cell phones. Not everyone has a landline anymore.

My son has been incarcerated since July, after hearing all these reviews I'm scared to even give them a try. If they were smart more friends and family would be willing to use their service. Currently I can visit with him twice a week but my golly, when he gets transferred to a state prison... is this what I have to look forward to?

Activated the account 9-23-14. My phone would ring a couple of times and call drop. My son said he could hear me answer but I could not hear him. I called customer service, they say it could take up to 72 hrs. to check into. After trying for 6 days, my son got through and call dropped after 2 minutes. I called customer service again, they blamed my cell phone. This phone service (GTL) is no good. The customer service is just as bad! What can we do?

My 20 year old granddaughter is in facility 5500. Brittany ** and myself being her grandmother cannot answer but made one phone call every 2 or 3 days, and I have spoken with way too many representatives and 2 supervisors about my granddaughter. They have offered every excuse you could think of. When in 2013 when she was locked up, I didn't have any problems receiving her calls for 7 months, please can someone help me.

My calls are constantly dropped and GTL has no method of reimbursements, this whole system needs to be put out bid so that I can be more consumer and service friendly!!! It will help with the prison systems revamping!!!

UNTIL PEOPLE/FAMILY MEMBERS BAND TOGETHER AND FIGHT THIS, COMPLAINING LOUD ENOUGH AND HARD ENOUGH TO THEIR LOCAL POLITICIANS AND THE FCC AND THEIR STATE UTILITY COMMISSION THESE CROOKS ARE GOING TO GET AWAY WITH WHAT THEY ARE DOING. They count on it being too much trouble for the family members. PICK UP YOUR PHONES, GET ON YOUR COMPUTER AND FIGHT THEM!!

I started my account almost 2 years ago. I hadn't used it for a while because my husband came home, but I had a balance of about 40/45$ that I decided to leave, because you just never know what can happen. Recently my husband went back in knowing I had a balance with them. I called inquiring about it, granted I did put 50$ on the account till I got that issue settled but as all we users of GTL know that's really only 40$ for us to use. So GTL tells me that on Sept. 1st 2014 the new rule was that if I didn't claim the balance in 90 days it was theirs....COMPLETE THIEVERY.

This company is the biggest scam artists I have ever dealt with. My husband is incarcerated in WA state and GTL just recently took over the phone calls from VAC, poor choice! We never had problems with dropped calls before and if I did, I would call and get a refund. With GTL we had 3 dropped calls in one day in a matter of minutes. One call was 1 minute, one was 10 and one was 13. I called immediately and was told they would give me credit for the one minute call but not for the other 2. When I asked why I was told it was their policy not to refund a call over 5 minutes. ARE YOU SERIOUS??? I did not hang up nor did my husband. When I stated that fact I was told it was their policy, or at least that is what I thought I was told... The non-English speaking customer service person was very hard to understand.

Called the 18002307761 and was hung up on 7 times. I asked for a supervisor and they hung up again. The reason for my call was to find out why my number wasn't working when it worked in the past with no problems; they kept telling me to call back.

My husband has been locked up for 2 week. I have done put 100$ on my phone. He only calls twice a day and my balance is low then he called and it hung up for some reason before the 15 mins and they won't credit my account. This sucks. I like t nex so much better than this.

I have gone back reading many of your complaints and have had many of the bad experiences that many of you have had with GTL. First, since the ruling last fall that prison phone companies have to keep their rates within reason; GTL has wised up and not been so abusive with their practices. If you do have a problem with them; however, my advice is to file an FCC complaint to start. Also, in addition I recommend following up with the Office of Consumer of Government Affairs in Washington, and your states attorney generals' office. Sometimes it may take a few weeks; but GTL's corporate offices will respond to it. Second, one thing that has greatly changed is now they can't block if you have a local number to the facility and they no longer require you to send them proof of residency. Someone on this page had said about GTL accounts in the the state of Maryland. I, too have experienced this because I talk to someone at MCTC in Hagerstown and think it is ridiculous that they want 15 dollars of your hard earned money upfront, but I do like that the calls are only 51 cents a piece once you get past establishing an account. So bottom line is that GTL is like any of the other companies; they have their good point and their bad points.

I have an incarcerated family member, and I got a land line to ensure that he could call me and save a few dollars where I can. Prior to me getting the land line, I researched the website, and I noticed there was no mention of the company changing their billing, nor was there any information about a courtesy limit being placed on land lines. He tried to call me today, and I realized there was a block placed on the phone. I called Cox, and was informed that it was nothing on their end. I called GTL, and they informed me that I had to set up a prepay account on the land line!!!

Calls are constantly dropped and when you call to get a refund they say that they are not responsible if a mobile phone is what's used to accept calls but not to mention the next call you can talk the whole 15 min. Then inmates not are able to purchase their own time with state issued card and when the call is dropped on their end they can't get the money back. It's businesses like this that rip off loved ones of those incarcerated.

Global Tel Link is the communications provider for inmate payphone calls from multiple institutions including the Pinellas County Jail. Evidently this company has been awarded the contract to gouge citizens. They charge exorbitant fees for local phone calls from inmates to their loved ones, which are prepaid by the innocent recipients of the calls who simply want to keep in touch. The charge for prepaying any amount on the account is 19.67% per deposit, whatever the amount. Personally I have been dealing with them for 2 months and have deposited over $200 in the account for calls from the Pinellas County Jail to my home in Pinellas Park, a distance of less than 6 miles. So in essence, I am paying more per month for less than a daily 10-15 minute phone call from an analogue pay phone than I would pay for a single line monthly smart phone with a data plan.

Incarcerated people and their families' ILL circumstance being taken advantage of by GTL, by their overpriced phone system, in which people have no choice but to be subject of their system, people being price gouged. It's wrong and is in violation of amendment rights. File complaint w/ FCC. Please, would like to file action against them. Any information on how to stop this please contact me.

After several months of trying to get service straightened out, what with their demands of providing them with proof that I own my own phone line, and having to verify my phone numbers, as well as problems documented by others here, our relative said it was easier for him to deposit the funds from his commissary account. I'm not sure how he figured this out, but we stopped having difficulty. We transfer his funds to his commissary account and then he funds the phone calls from there. He can then call us on numbers that don't need prior approval. Secondarily, if there is a way to get yourself a number local to the facility, you will save a wad of money. We have Ooma VOIP service, and Ooma allows you to have more than one phone number, which you can choose from any area code in the country. So of course, we obtained a number with an area code local to him. This has saved us a lot of grief from this grifting company! Tom from Deep Thoughtlessness, CA, your comment was uncalled for and nasty.

The company GTL owns DSI and other companies. They change the name so there's no monopoly. People, you just need to stop using the services. There's a fee when adding money to your account and there's a refund fee (??) to get your money back. YOU just need to stop using the service. Tell your family member to stop getting into trouble? Don't use the service. It's that simple....

This company SUCKS!! They already deduct a $8 fee EACH time you add money to your account then when you finally do talk to your loved one the calls are dropped OR the recording says you've attempted to make a 3 way call and terminate your call!! When asked to speak with a supervisor, you get a non professional lady who has no remorse or sympathy and basically says it's because you're calling from a cell phone. It's 2014, who really conducts their everyday business on a land line these days?? Does anyone know how to report them Or contact the BBB because this is straight FRAUD!!! And clearly, by all the reviews they are getting away with it on a daily basis!! This is the only way I can speak to my fiance and feel that this is a rip off!! They're robbing ME with no gun!!! Heeelp??