GTL Reviews

In early May or late April I discovered that my credit card was being used fraudulently by my brother’s girlfriend to accept jail house calls from my brothers on my mother’s phone line. I called Global Tel Link and was advised that the total amount stolen was $175.00. I was advised $50 had not been used. I later was advised because it's friendly fraud I'm not getting my $ back and they are not going to refund the $50 not used and not going to remove the block. Every rep I spoken with has given me a different lie/story and refuses to esc to their corporate office. One min I am told that I need to get the acct holder on the phone for help. Then when she is on the phone I am still refused help. The next min I am told that a req to refund my $ was entered. Then the next I am told it’s not.

All over the net GTL advertises unlimited calls for 7.95 a month but when contacted will not honor it. I complained to them without success. I filed a complaint with the BBB. They wrote GTL and gave them a month to respond and they never did. GTL has a monopoly on inmate telephone service so we are at their mercy and just have to bend over and take it!

I am already frustrated that my husband is in jail...I am even more frustrated that every time he calls me we are almost always immediately disconnected due three way calling...I never attempt to call anyone while on the phone with him yet we are abruptly disconnected due to three way calling..When I complain to customer service at Global Tel*link they negate responsibility due to the fact that I am using a cell phone...Almost everyone in the world uses cell phones...The home phone is almost obsolete, therefore, they are making millions on hanging up on consumers and saying they are not responsible due to us using cell phones...

Global Tel Link is clearly a scam by uneducated and thirsty individuals who take one's devastating circumstances to make millions. The customer service department is run by individuals who clearly have no training in working with the public. Not only do they deduct a service fee when you add money to your account, they deduct unused minutes to their advantage. The last two times I made a deposit, I was only able to speak to the inmate a total of two times. When I contacted customer service, the agent was extremely rude and offered no solutions to my situation. The supervisor that followed spoke such broken English, I could barely understand her and I ended up disconnecting the call.

I have been using Global Tel Link which is now Connect Network for 3 years. I have noticed that when a call has been made it charges $1.44 and $0.05 for tax per call. Well, I have been noticing for months that the amount I have in the balance column after each call and tax is wrong. They always have a negative in the balance column but a positive amount on top where it says Amount Available for Calls. So, yesterday I put $20.00 and my inmate tried to call and it said no money on account. I checked and they took over $25.00 with no explanation. I have printed my statement and they obviously cannot do any math - the whole list is wrong. The amount they charge is one thing but to continuously rip me off a few cents every phone call for 3 years is absurd. I am pissed, but because they have a monopoly there is nothing I can do. I just checked and they replaced the $25.00, but I am not even sure if the amount is correct because they put money on and take it off at their every whim.

My brother has been trying to call me for the past week and the call keeps being dropped!!!!!!! GET YOUR SYSTEM TO WORK! It's breaking my heart hearing his voice for a short moment and not being able to communicate with him. :(

I am told that if I want to receive call from a person from a correction facility, I HAVE to set up an account that allows THEM to connect the inmate to me! This has got to be illegal... I was told that, "The ONLY PHONES the INMATES have available are GLOBAL TEL*LINK operated," and that they're based out of Mexico city. The minimum amount is $25 - maximum of $100.. Tell me, is this not "KIDNAPPING/HOLDING" SOMEONE AGAINST THEIR WILL!?? How are they supposed to talk to ANYONE outside the gates?!!? THEY'RE HELPLESS!! SO IF YOU GET ARRESTED & (sorry I was yelling) can't remember ANYONE'S number because you only know them by their pic on YOUR phone when they're calling, WHAT ARE YOU TO DO?

I prepaid Global Tel*Link $50 to talk to a friend at Larry Smith Corr. The first call, I got The recording told me my account balance was down to $41 before I started. 2nd call, I had $38.3 min into the conversation. The whole $50 was used up and I was cut off. There is no way to contact a person, only machines wanting more money.

Mar 15, 2014 I called to request a refund to my credit card for the unused balance on two phone accounts. I was told the refund would be processed within 30-60 BUSINESS days, and specifically told a refund would be received by Jun 6, 2014. Today, June 6, I called to find out the status of my refund and was told it had not been processed. I was told to submit my request in writing and that it would take an additional 30 BUSINESS days. We'll have to wait and see if that happens. Their website states refunds will be processed within 30 days of the date of the last charge to the credit card. This company has less than acceptable business practices and takes advantage of families that are already experiencing stressful circumstances.

I am a senior Citizen, 66 years old. DSI Phone company scammed me by refusing to refund my money. The service was never used since December 4th 2013 of last year. I called them up, they promised within 30 business days they would return my money. They never sent the refund for this never used service.

After spending an hour on their website trying to figure out the different nonsensical terms and links that send you nowhere, I thought I was done. I then receive a call from my incarcerated friend, who had a type of calling card account he had money on. So then the system tells me before we could talk, I NEEDED TO ADD MONEY! I thought the whole reason he had to have money on his account so he could call me, and they was me to pay to receive the calls as well? So after being prompted to quickly add money by pressing 5, it then hangs up on my friend! I tried multiple ways to speak with some representative and was asked "for English, press 1" and as soon as I pressed one, it says "goodbye". What happened to the good old days before idiotic automated computer-prompted machines controlled your phone calls in a slow-paced, high-pitched, overly happy cyborg voice. Not to mention, everything on the website wasn't truly compatible with my mobile phone. I couldn't even look up the facility or state! Shame on you and your greedy correctional system, America!

I realize now that the last time I did this (having inmate calling from jail and while on the phone trying to talk to them and giving my MasterCard info only to get cut off the call once it was completed and after 11 times of trying this going online to set up account and later an email comes and I call the number like it tells me to in order to finish the registration) only to find out that they have taken my money and provide me no service and no customer service BUT THAT'S WHEN ALL THE FRAUD STARTED. THEY MUST HAVE SOLD MY INFORMATION TO CRIMINALS (THEY ARE CRIMINALS THEMSELVES - I can't believe they get away with this???) Why? Because it's family of criminals in jail? No big deal, right? Wrong!!!

I put $25.00 on my account. Had three $.50 phone calls and have a balance a little over $11.00 because of all the fees they charge and nowhere did I read that I would be charged $5 just for using a cell phone. There was a $2.00 service fee and a $5.00 account setup fee. Just plain ridiculous.

Everything everyone has written before this is true... And how did this company even get this contract? Exorbitant fees, and charges, dropped calls, cannot log into web account, can't even get the automatic phone system to recognize simple keypad entries for credits to my daughter’s phone and commissary account. And a couple of hundred dollars a month spent, so she can feel like she's connected in some way to her family?

I used my credit card to set up an account for my cousin so he could talk to his brother. I have a landline so he can call me collect but my cousin has a cell phone. Anyway, I paid, $99.00 for one year, plus a one time activation fee, and another fee to have same day activation, for a total of $141.21. Did it work? NO! I tried emailing them, and no response. I tried calling and they had no record of me setting up an account or for the money I paid with my credit card. I called my credit card company today and I am disputing the charge. Global Tel*link does not deserve any stars! Where can we complain?

I signed up with this company because it was the only one that provided phone service to the Dallas County Jail. When it came time to deposit funds, I had forgotten my log-in information. After spending over a week emailing and calling them, I have gotten nowhere. After several emails they sent me new log-in information that did not work either on an Apple or Windows system. I sent them another email telling them this and have never received a response. In my numerous attempts to call them, every number gives me another number to call. I can't pay over the phone because a site number, which is required or they hang up on you, is not available on their web page. I have dealt with thousands of internet site, several inmate phone services, and never experienced anything remotely similar to this. Companies usually want to take your money. This one doesn't seem to care, it's a joke. Thanks to them, I will have to drive 45 minutes each way to speak with this inmate. If possible, stay away from this joke of a company.

I am complaining because on several occasions such as last week 3/14/14 and 3/17/14 my phone was charged for calls that were deducted from my account I set up with this company but did not get to receive the calls but my account was charged and the funds was deducted and I was not able to talk to my family members. I would like to be reimbursed for these call. This is a system that rips families and love ones off with this company doing this. I want to be compensated back for these calls that I was charged for but did not get to speak to my family members.This is ripping people off and I want a refund for these calls. As Soon As possible.

This company charges an exorbitant fee for each call - nearly 90% were dropped. Once dropped, inmates have to call again and we're charged again. With a $25.00 deposit at GTL, one can't make more than three calls, if one's dropped then we can't get even three. How does one go about initiating an investigation? How can GTL gain a contract with Lee County? IC Solutions, operating for Hamilton County, Florida charges reasonable rates. Why aren't we able to use the company we choose? Somebody's getting his palm greased.

Our son has been incarcerated out of state for over six months. In that time we have spent close to one thousand dollars in calls because of the charges involved with being able to speak with our son. I can't begin to tell you how many calls have been "dropped". They recharge you to reconnect the calls. We decided to put A land line in. He was only allowed to make $70.00 in collect calls because they control that too. Not to mention calls all hours of the day and night reminding me that "my account is low". Nice way to take advantage of people.

Could not sign back into online account after the first time, and called Customer Service and they give you false information, having you send text to Support and they never have responded back as of this day after sending 4 emails, then Agent will tell you at Customer service they will send email to set password, never received it. This is Absolutely Sickening, when you have to pay those high fees, just Disgusting.

After dealing with this crooked company for over a year and spending ridiculous amounts of money just to keep in contact with my best friend, I have had it! This would be the second time that I have made a payment and it disappear. After depositing $25 into my account, I can't receive calls and I owe them $7.00! When calling the pathetic customer service department, I was told that it would take 3 to 5 Business days to even get a response. I then asked to speak with someone who could explain to me why my money disappeared, I was given a P.O. Box number. I mean seriously! This is absurd and this company should be shut down! I am going to contact the BBB and file a complaint!

The calls automatically takes $10 off when my husband calls then it disconnects so he has to call back. Then it cost $5 for the call and keeps disconnecting in the middle of our call which in turn he has to call back. Now I ran into the problem where they put a hold on my card because I've used too many prepaid cards and their system will only allow you to use so many cards. So they have a hold on my card and will not put the funds on the phone so that my husband can call. They claim this can be up to 10 days...

Anyone on here knows there isn't any other way if you want to speak with your loved one except to use this service, and it is the only one provided. Yes the fees were astronomical, and there was little left after they were taken out. What really has angered me to no end is the fact I requested a refund, and it clearly states a refund by check will be mailed. 1- 1/2 years later I still continue to request my money. I have gotten so many different stories from so many people there, its hard to remember them all, the check is in the mail was the most common one. Now they have me going back and forth with Western Union claiming they sent the money to me through Western Union. Of course Western Union has no records of the transfer being made so, now I'm out of the balance that was left when I requested a refund. They have us where they want us with this business. Pay the fees, get bad connections, disconnected, and never get your money back if you request the balance sent back to you. I would say write letters and be written back but they control the system of money to buy the paper, pencil and stamps too.

In addition to the $6 fee they charge you every time you add funds to the account, the fact that you MIGHT get up to 10 minutes to speak for the $19 left after the $6 fee, and the DISGUSTING customer service and DROPPED CALLS, they also charge $5 for a refund if the inmate changes location. But wait there's more...... The refund takes AT LEAST 60 BUSINESS DAYS!!!!!! That's AT LEAST 3 WHOLE MONTHS BEFORE WAITING ANOTHER 3 WHOLE MONTHS TO GET YOUR MONEY BACK!!!! But they take the funds from your account with just 6 seconds of the transaction to upload your account. This business needs to be slapped with a lawsuit for customer abuse. They are fully aware that we need to speak to our loved ones. Whether they're a "criminal" or falsely accused of something, they are still human beings and our pockets are simply not deep enough to pay for a $4/minute phone call, nor can we afford to wait 3 whole months at least to receive our refund!!! This is modern day pickpocketing and knocking out of the old lady to steal her purse. Absolutely DISGUSTING!!!

GTL charges a fee every time money is added to your phone account. I am retired and I have paid a lot of money to them so I can speak to my son. After the fee is deducted there is only a certain amount left for phone calls. I get maybe three calls from $25. I told my son not to call so often. It's sad the amount of money they charge. I am my sons only contact. I have dealt with these people for numerous years.

$3 to load a prepaid card every time. Then I counted the minutes I got for $25 ... 6 mins almost 7. That's $4 a min!!!!! And it's $6 for it to connect the first time every time. Help!!?! Are any of the prepaid $6.99 - $8.99 for unlimited to or from jail legitimate? I miss my man.

I am not going to express my situation since everyone else has gone through the same problems, instead I am going to give you a link for the US Government where you can file an actual complaint and honestly hope you do. The more people make noise they more they will take us seriously. I chose UNWANTED TELEMARKETING, TEXT, OR SPAM then Telemarketing. Stop these people from stealing our money and abusing the consumer. I am sorry but telling me there may be a fee is not fair. They need to state the facts before they charge you!!! Good Luck!

MONEY taken while waiting for transfer to another facility. I too had Global Tel Link take the money that was left in my account. It takes 2-3 MONTHS for inmates entering the State Prison System, and GTL TAKES the money left in the account after 30 days!!! STEALING money from those already struggling just to stay in contact with loved ones is a CRIME and should be punishable by law! I can't believe that the State of California allows this to continue!! It is bad enough that there is now a monopoly of the CDCR facilities, yet to have the money stolen straight up as our hands are tied if we want to keep in touch with our loved ones? The fees they charge are 18%!!!! That is just the fee you pay when you add funds to the account! To top it off, they are now routing the calls through a Texas number, so no matter if you live local or not, you either have to pay to find a local number, or get charged up the ** for long distant fees, ALONG with the fees for EACH call!!! WRONG! This should not be acceptable by the State Of California, or any other State that is employing the services of GTL!!!

Global Tel-link is totally ridiculous. Global Tel-link requires you to set up an account with them before you even find out what the rate of the call is. Wherefore Securus had a website page where a potential customer could go to and put in their phone number and what facility the call was coming from and they gave you a call rate for that call. So with Global, I have set up an account, wait for the inmate (my son) to call me before I know how much it will cost me.

My husband is in a CEC Center in Philadelphia, PA where he calls me from on a daily basis. So I set up an account with Global Tel*Link, they never made me aware that I could only use 2 credit cards per account, as I was buying prepaid MasterCards due to I don't have a bank account nor do I have any credit cards. So after using about 6-7 pre paid cards, I bought another card and called to add money to my account. The message said sorry, your card could not be approved at this time, please try again later, so I called my card to make sure that I registered it right.

I was reimbursed for my prepaid phone account after filing this complaint.

I paid 25.00 each for 2 phones. I received 1 call on 1 of my phones. I checked balance and I only had a few cents left. They stated that the call was 16.46 because it's made to a cell phone. So this leaves me with my other phone with 1 call left. I check the balance for my other phone and it shows 1.66 left and when I called about this money on account, they say I received a call and spoke for 30 min. This makes no sense since my other phone only left me with only 46 cents for 30 minutes. I NEVER RECEIVED 1 CALL ON MY SECOND PHONE, YET I AM BEING CHARGED. I paid 50.00 and only received 1 call. THIS COMPANY IS RIPPING PEOPLE and THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN DO. Don't use Global Link. Write a letter. THIS COMPANY IS A THIEF. They think because it's inmate calls, it's ok to steal our money.

I placed $25 on an account I set up to communicate with my boyfriend and when he called ONE time, I was told I have a balance of $20 and some change. I assumed that the call was averaging about $4 and some cents for each call. They said the call was 15 minutes and it seemed only about 10 minutes. When he tried to call back, I couldn't accept the call because now I had NO MONEY on my account. If I am told that I have a BALANCE... then I expect to have that money available the next time. Misleading and the website does NOT specify you will be charged according to distance nor how much it will be per minute.

Global Tel*Link is a major ripoff. First it takes money out of your account, charge you for calls that didn't go through & charge for drop calls. I just deposited 50 bucks on my account but Global Tel*Link claims I owe on a prepaid account. How is that possible? It's prepaid, you deposit money before you're able to receive calls & if there's no money, there are no calls.

OMG, they got you by the balls. It's the only way inmates can make calls so why not take advantage of people that are obviously already in a bad situation. Why hasn't a class action lawsuit been filed to stop this scam? When I received a computer call saying "this is a one time courtesy call," yaddy yaddy ya, "press #5 to add money to account," "recipient has selected to fund account," "please try your call back shortly"! Well, like everybody else, that was a week ago. After numerous phone calls and emails I've yet to receive a call from my account.

I deposited money. Friend couldn't call me due to WASCO being a temporary facility so he had no phone privileges. Time was from May to Oct. that he couldn't call me. No clear indication in terms and conditions, they turned the account to zero and stole my money!!!

I opened up an account for a person to call me collect from the detention center. I put $50.00 on the prepaid account via Visa. I have yet to receive a single call. The inmate calling says Global Tel said the party he is calling needs to have the account set up. I called Global Tel and they have already deducted money from my account but I have not received any calls. I am upset they take my money and still the collect calls are blocked. What a complete waste of my time and money.

I placed $25 on an account I set up to communicate with my son and when he called ONE time, I was told I have a balance of $20 and some change. I assumed that the call was averaging about $4 and some cents for each call. They said the call was 15 minutes and it seemed only about 10 minutes. When he tried to call back, I couldn't accept the call because now I had NO MONEY on my account. If I am told that I have a BALANCE...then I expect to have that money available the next time. Misleading and the website does NOT specify you will be charged according to distance nor how much it will be per minute.

The Oakland County Jail Inmate information site indicates: Friends and family members are now able to place money on a specific phone number account through V-Connect. In order to receive collect calls, you may first have to establish an account with V-Connect. For more information please log on to www.myvconnect.com or call 1-800-913-6097.

Global Tel *Link has disconnected my account from the system because they did not have enough professionalism to contact me in reference to updated information on me. If they had bothered to call me via phone, because they certainly have my number considering that has to be in the system to accept calls from the correction facilities, I would have been more than happy to update their records. The moment that I called them to transfer money from one building to the next building, they told me they could not do this. The place is the same so why would a company deny a customer their own monies to be transferred to the other building, not another location, but the same place. Instead they want to hold your money for thirty days so they may earn interest off of it while you have no goods or services that you have paid for. It takes them a second to take your money from your Bank Account and they expect you to wait thirty days or more.

The software that this company uses is awful. I've called on numerous times about their services. I've also went on to ask to speak with a manager and they did not want to transfer me. When calling from the jail the majority of the time the phone hangs up. It's said due to the high security that the software is picking up other voices and thinking it's a three-way call. Even I've had my music playing and it hung up. When I first started to use this service, I couldn't get the calls to go through. I called and they didn't explain to me that right after the recording says to push zero, you have to push zero. I've called back to try to get a credit and they said I couldn't. This software needs to be looked into. It's very annoying especially when you don't receive good customer service.

I cannot accept collect calls from my brother in the local county jail without providing my credit card to GTL to set up a prepaid account. GTL has informed me that I surpassed an "unpublished $50/90 day rule". I have requested documentation about this rule and have not received anything from GTL. This is not a payment issue as my bill is automatically paid every month without fail. The calls that I managed to receive before being blocked were billed thru 3rd party on my standard AT&T bill, but GTL says this is no longer an option due to the "unpublished rules" that I violated.

I placed money, $40.00 to be exact, which after their inflated fees I was left with $33.20.... on my account with Global Tel, & when my son collect call me ONCE, we spoke for 10 min then when he attempted to call me the next 3 days, he couldn't get through.

My son went to jail in Conroe, Texas and he tried to call me. I tried to put money on my phone through Global Tel*link. They took 2 payments of $25.00 off my card. Every time I tried to accept a call it would hang up. It finally let me receive a 5 minute call and told me there was no more money on my account. When I called their # and spoke to a supervisor she assured me the $50.00 would be reimbursed. That was on July 18th. So now it is Sept.6 and $25.00 was returned to my card. So when I call to ask why they tell me I was charged $6.95 for each $25.00 plus $5.95 return fee. Are they kidding me? They steal money one way or another. There must be some way to file a class action lawsuit against these people. They need to be put out of business. If they provided an honest service it would be fine but they don't. They lie, steal and cheat!!!!!!!

My brother has been in prison for six years now and I'm his only relative. He has always called me collect with no problem. However, I made a mistake at the prison and put money on a phone account instead of his food account. I realized it after I did it and I ask one of the guards how do I go about getting the money back. He tells me it's not worth the trouble and to go ahead and add more money to the food account. Well, now I find out GTL put a block on my phone because I set up a prepaid account and it cannot be changed. Ever! Stupid! I was on the phone with a man today for over an hour and nothing got resolved. I couldn't understand him and I ask to speak to a supervisor and she keep telling me I could not change it back so that my brother could call collect again. She did tell me I could ask for a refund which I did, so who knows what’s going to happen now. I hate GTL and I think they should not be allowed to treat us this way. We are giving them tons of money only to be treated like dirt. I really don't know what I'm going to do now. Him calling collect was the only way that I could talk with him. I was stupid for what I did and it's costing my brother dearly.

They take your money and give you the worst connection ever. And when the call drops, they don't want to give you your money back. They say if your call is under five mins., they will give you a credit. But then when your call does drop under 5 minutes which mine was 39 seconds and I call them and they see that it was under 5 mins. they have to review. Wtf is that about and they say that they have a policy which I never read or saw or was emailed to me. They should be shut down. For real. I hate them.

Called Global Tel Link to set up collect calls through Qwest only to be told that they only allow $5 a month for collect calls even though website says $100. I was told it's an old website under an old system and they are trying to make it all prepaid. Problem I have is call will be way more than $5 and once you go over they automatically put your account on prepaid! Also prepaid service takes $8.75 out of what ever you pay them just for their pocket then charge u to connect calls per use. Thank God I set up a Google voice number near the facility so calls will only cost me $2-$3 a call.

Well, 1st of all, I been trying to get collect calls from my girlfriend and I just barely got new service at home so that way she can call me, and I thought she would be able to call and no. I needed to make an account with Global Tel and they told me it will take 1 week for me to be able to get or receive her calls. Well now, I still have not been able to receive her calls, and now it's going on 2 weeks now and they are telling me that my phone company needs to review it with Global for security reasons and that it can take about 7 business days and still can't do anything. Thing still don't work. What can I do? Does anyone have another way to do this?

I just want to say that I have been totally dissatisfied with this service that Global Tel offers. From the start I have had calls come in from my husband and I try to accept the call and then call gets dropped. My husband calls and I accept the call and he can hear me but I can't hear anything on the call, so for a call that lasts 25 seconds or so I get charged over 2 bucks for (every time it happens). And then I got told how much the charges were to accept the call and how much it is for each minute after that and well fine so I try to limit our calls according to those charges that I was told, but it turns out I've been getting charged more than that. So I call Global Tel to find out what's going on and to double check on the charges and of course the fees are higher than what I was told from the beginning. Plus the container service rep was rude to me! I am very unhappy with this whole situation. I'm pregnant and already going through a difficult pregnancy and am not supposed to be stressed out but thanks to Global Tel's rip off fees, my stress level just went up again. So I hope someone can do something about this bull, because I'm about to find another phone service to set up to talk to my husband through.

I put money on my account. They said it takes 72 hours for the money to be put on my phone so that my loved one can call me. It didn't take 72 hours last time. Also, GlobalTelLink stole 250.00 off of my Wal-Mart debit card. I could not get it back. They only put 100.00 on my account. I put $20 on my account and they just stole 250. Loved ones of prisoners are already suffering enough and yes! We are taxpayers! Someone please make this business treat their customers right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You are a bunch of arrogant **. I bet you wouldn't be so disrespectful in person. It's easy to be rude over the internet or phone and hang up. No wonder you don't allow people to come to your office in person to set up accounts and go over issues. Because if you did that you would have have to take more responsibility for your actions. So ** you and have a nice day...

In NY state I was very happy when VAC took over the prison phone call systems, after having to deal with Global Tel*Link and their rude customer service reps and outrageous phone charges. Now again they have bought out VAC. Already I am dealing with ignorant customer service people, having to set up another account for offender call or whatever they call their new (same old) company. Hopefully every loved ones of NY state inmates and county jail inmates will again drive them out of NY. They are greedy thieves making extreme amounts of monies off the mistakes of our friends and families and taking money and energy out of honest hardworking taxpayers.

On a Wed., I received a collect call from my son, he was in jail. I put $25.00 on my phone and could not receive a call. He called back, I added another $25.00 and it did not connect the call again. He called back and I got a $5.00 call. It was late so I could not get in touch with them. I called Global Tel*Link at 7:15 Thursday morning. The man was giving me the runaround so I asked to speak to a supervisor. She told me if they refunded my money I would not be able to receive any more calls. I told her, "I don't care, just give me back my money." It is now Monday and no refund. I called to talk to a supervisor again and they told me it takes 30 business days to get a refund. I told her, "I am in retail and I know it takes 3 business days." She said, "That is not Global Tel*Link. We take 30 days." I told her that's what they told me last year when this happened and I never got my refund. Is there any way to file a class a lawsuit against these people? Seems like there are enough complainants.

Global Tel*Link provides telephone services to inmates in local, county, and state correctional facilities. In some states (Oklahoma to name one), they "block" telephone numbers that inmates call collect after the first call and then call the number and demand that a prepaid account be set up. They do not publicize their rates, terms, or conditions. If you refuse to deposit funds into a prepaid account, they refuse to release the block.

I just got released from prison a little over a month ago where I was around 300 miles away from my home. My phone calls through Global Tel*Link were around $5.30 a call. Now, my son is locked up in the county, not even 15 miles away and I'm being charged $15 on every $50 I put on the phone, not to say they are charging between $9 and $11 a phone call and I have a local number. So my question is, is the county making that extra money? Or, where is it going?

Global Tel*Link is a scam. They know they didn't have anything to do with a certain jail anymore but they still tell you they do and that they will set up your account and it will be ready in four to twenty four hours but it never showed. Then when I tried to get a refund, they don't know where it's at. Scam! Nobody that answer the phones for this place can speak real English but the supervisor, but he ain't no help and I still don't have my money and this was the second time.

My 5-year-old may have accidentally blocked our phone number but after reading some of the reviews on GTL, now I'm not so sure. I called GTL and spoke with agent who assured me she was unblocking the number. However, my spouse still wasn't able to call. Thus, I called GTL again. This time, I was accused of basically being a LIAR, since 2 agents REFUSED to assist me. They claimed that the name on the account wasn't matching their records BUT we have had the same phone number for 15 years!!!

I purchased $25 phone minutes two times so my boyfriend can call me. He is four hours away so I cannot just go visit. The first time, we got two phone calls for five minutes. The second time, one phone call. Of course, it happens after the customer service is closed (if you can get a live person). This is a ripoff and people who want to visit or talk to their loved ones in jail have no other choice.

I was receiving collect phone calls from a relative in the local jail and had no problem. They would call collect, even though it was only about 8 miles away. I would press 0 or say yes and the call would be put through. All of a sudden, with no warning or explanation to either myself or my relative, I would pick up the phone and receive a recording asking if I wished to accept a call from the local correctional facility. I would say yes or press zero, but the call would be denied. It took me 2 days to find out that a new corporation had taken over the phone service. I then called them and asked why the calls were not being put through and was told that I had probably gone over my limit. I told them that was impossible as I was not aware of any limits in my phone service; and even if there was a limit, I had only accepted 2 phone calls at that point. I did not see how that would be over my limit.

When my young daughter was first incarcerated, I put prepaid money on my cell phone and had nonstop problems! Dropped call (from the jail, not my cellphone), horrible quality calls, and the list goes on. I was always charged for dropped call. GTL's policy is they don't refund anyone using a cell phone! Most folks don't even have a land line anymore. Well I do, so I added funds to my land line. I added $25 to my prepaid account and got a whopping 2 phone calls. GTL is offering me a $7.53 refund. What? They are just plain stupid and are robbing us blind. Someone needs to put them out of business.

For 10 months, I've been receiving calls from my family member in LA County. Suddenly, in May, calls would come, but when prompted to press 0 to accept the call (and I would), the recording repeats itself. This problem continues, and they claim it is because I use a VoIP provider (Comcast). I still have money on my account with them, but my family member cannot get through because GTL will not fix this problem permanently.

This company let someone get away with using my credit card to receive inmate calls. I called with my bank to receive the money back and was told I didn't have to dispute it with my bank and they would return the money to my card because it was fraud. I've spoken to almost every ** person in this company after being told I'd get my money back. And 3 months later almost, I have yet to receive it and was told I now need to dispute it with my bank!! This company allows your money to be taken, and as fast as they take it is as fast as how quick they are to transfer you instead of giving your damn money back!!

This number called me EIGHT times in a row. I hung up, told them to ** off, pushed 1 to cancel... it just kept calling back. This was NOT from anyone I know and I don't understand why the prison or whoever allows it! The number is registered to Global Tel, who I guess does prison calls. The caller kept saying, "How are you and the kids?" Doesn't work for me. I'm a senior citizen with grown up kids AND grandkids.

I have been paying these RIPOFF ARTISTS for almost a year to speak to a loved one!! What a ripoff!! I just paid $25 YESTERDAY. We spoke ONCE for approximately 5-7 minutes and the remaining balance is $8 TODAY!!! I am going to try my best to get this information to the mainstream so that folks will picket your company! You are ripoff artists and playing on the emotions of the incarcerated, and the people who love them. I hope you all rot in hell along with **, who was a racist pig, and so are you!!!

My son was in jail. The call to the jail is local same area code. They charge a ridiculous fee each time you add money to the account. When I hear the balance before being connected to my son, it makes no sense. Sometimes right after putting $25 on the card the first call, it will say my balance is $17. This company has a monopoly on the system so they can charge whatever they want. The connections are horrible and sometimes I don't even get to speak with my son because he will try 3 or 4 times and the calls all drop, so he has used up his chances for the day.

Global Tel*Link is the biggest rip off ever! Their customer service representatives don't even know what they are talking about and you cannot understand them anywhere. Can something be done to get rid of these crooks?! We are held hostage to use Global Tel*Link if we want to receive calls from our loved ones that are incarcerated. Please someone tell us what we can do to get rid of Global Tel*Link services. Biggest rip off ever!

My brother is incarcerated in San Luis Obispo, CA (805 area code). When he calls me, the area code is 713. This switch allows the company to charge more in toll fees. The further the distance, the more the toll charge. Also, this company will not and does not provide statements or a listing of charges per minute to the account holder. This is unfair to the consumer. The consumer has no options or choice to use any other service. We are being held hostage by this ripoff. What can be done about this situation?

I bought £5 worth of credit and it says £2.50 extra free, and guess what? The card was empty after using it for less than 20 minutes. I rang customer service several times, asked me to wait and wait but no credit returned! I was told that credit will be activated after 24 hours; and when checked, no credit given! I rang customer service, they said they've given the credit back. But as I have not used it for few days, there is a maintenance fee charged on it! Really stupid! Beware consumers, this company is a fraud!

I was charged $7.05 for a 3-minute call and $11.10 for an 8-minute call!

This is the worst company ever. They take my money, hang up in my face and tell me that I'm not worth their time and they're not going to solve any of my issues. They block all my calls. They refuse to fix the phones ... I can go on for days. Someone needs to help us with this issue. Not only does this hurt us, it hurts our loved one who is incarcerated.

I have been throwing more and more money at Global Tel*Link. I asked several times about a breakdown of the account, how much they are charging me for fees and per call. I would put $50 on the account and on my next call I would only have $14 left. Well, what about the previous balance? I have emailed them about giving me details of the account and I get a vague, box email sent back. I am disgusted that we are being victimized just because someone we love and need to hear from is incarcerated. I think this is highway robbery and I want to know if they are regulated and by whom. There has to be a better alternative than having to deal with these crooks?! They should be in jail!

Since Maryland DOC has switched to Offender Connect instead of Securus, all we have are problems. We have calls that cut off after 10 minutes (if we're lucky enough to get a call). Oftentimes they cannot get through at all. I went from a normal phone call routine of 6 calls a day with Securus down to 2 complete calls if I am lucky. And if you call to complain, if the call lasts more than 5 minutes, you may not call about being cut off. If and only if the call lasts less than 5 minutes can you call and they will have an investigation. If the investigation doesn't prove exactly what you say, they charge you $5! We pay for 30-minute calls, not 10 minutes, 17 minutes or whenever it decides to cut us off. It is the worst phone system ever and I will do whatever it takes to make sure it is known.

I am being charged $4.46 a local call. First, they told me it's long distance. Then when I came back with a response that it is not a long distance call but local, they told me to get another number.

I have put hundreds and hundreds of dollars on my GTL account and I still cannot receive calls. I called and talked to a GTL rep and they can’t give me any explanation of why I can’t receive a call from my loved one who was incarcerated. He calls me all the time and never gets through. All GTL does is put your funds on hold. I do truly believe that this company needs to be investigated for fraud and white collar crimes. They are the most downright disrespectful company I have ever met. Worst experience I have ever run into in my whole entire life.

I have been attempting to deal with the people in this company for several years and it has been the worst experience with a business that I have ever had. The customer service representatives are rude, nasty and seem to make an effort to keep you as uninformed as possible. Account information such as monthly monetary limits, changing service providers or making payments necessary to keep the account from being blocked is information that will only be given after an account is already blocked. Once an account is blocked, it can take weeks to get it unblocked. I have had nasty and rude representatives every time I have contacted Global Tel Link and in an already tough situation, they are only making things worse with their negativity and harsh demeanor.

I was wondering if you could investigate the company by the name Global Tel*Link. They are the phone company that we have to use if our loved ones are incarcerated. I believe they are ripping us customers off. First, your account has to be prepaid. The fees to put money on your account is as follows: if you do it by the automated system, you can only put $25 or $50 and they take a processing fee out for that, which is about the cost of one full phone call. If you use Western Union, the fee is $10.95! This company makes communicating with your family members very difficult.

This is our first experience with this monopoly and it is a dreadful experience. It's obvious they are taking advantage of a literally captive audience. I was told by Intake that I could set up an account the following day after registering as an approved visitor (required by the facility to register for the phone service). I did so and afterwards got called from GTL saying there were attempts that could not go through and to call them, which I did. The rep I talked to proceeded to tell me I didn't have an account. I assured her I did - I was looking at it online as we spoke. I had deposited funds into it. She insisted I had no account and had to fax them a bill from my phone company proving the number was mine. What baloney. I told her we don't receive a bill - we use Ooma VOIP and they bill our credit card directly - there is no bill with our name, address and phone number on it. She said that without it, we could not receive calls. So I had to ask Ooma to dummy up a bill.

Company plays the old switch and hold program, and you can never talk to a person in charge. They don't mind taking your money, but service is a word they have never heard. Poorest service I have ever had, and I think the company should be shut down for fraud and white collar crimes. Please learn from my misfortune.

Their customer service is a joke. I prepaid $25 on my phone, only to get several calls stating they need more info on the order to allow inmate calls. They wanted a copy of my phone bill. So I called and asked if I could just transfer the money to the offender's prepaid card. They said no, and explained why. So I asked for a refund. They wanted the card number I originally used to initiate the refund. I had lost that card and had a replacement, so they said I had to get a check by mail, which was fine, until they said I had to write a letter asking for a refund in writing. That's when I asked for the CEO's name or the president's name. The rep had no idea. When I asked for the corporate number, the rep gave me a customer service number different than the one I called. I was so mad. So when I talked to a second rep, he set my account up without me sending a copy of a bill in to them and all was well. Why are they allowed to put you through hell before helping? It was just stressful.

Throughout my experience with Offender Connect, I've had numerous complaints. The first is my card(s) constantly being declined online for no apparent reason. I called and tried to do the automated payment, but same thing. I spoke to a supervisor (Carlos), who was of no assistance whatsoever. I informed him that my billing address was correct and I had sufficient funds, so I wanted to know why my card is being declined. He kept reading off of his script, saying my options are Western Union or automated phone payment. I was fully aware of my options as I had already told him. I wanted to know why I couldn't make the payment online. He was of no assistance. He wasn't human. I guess what I wanted to hear was, "Hey, sometimes if your using this __ type of card, the payment may get declined" or something, anything!

I feel Global Tel*Link is acting illegally and has a monopoly on all outgoing phone calls from most jails and prisons. They do not allow collect calls and the actual time used is excessive when compared to other outside phone carriers. Since you are dealing with inmates, they don't care and thus they are allowed to continue to overcharge their customers i.e. the inmates, and their families. This is the only form of outside communications inmates have other than physical visits. The monopoly should cease and other carriers be allowed to have access to inmate communications. This is a clear unfair trade practice that is allowed since it is dealing with incarcerated people. Global Tel*Link should be stopped and/or forced to allow competition! How about collect calls allowed.

For the past year, Global Tel*Link has been draining my pockets by ending my phone calls prematurely though I still have money on my account. I've tried calling Customer Service but it gets me nowhere. Today, when I called, I was told that if you talk to an inmate for 5 minutes, that's a conversation & that's their policy. I emailed a lawyer who is currently pursuing this issue. I think everyone else should too. This is exploitation & they should not get away w/ it.

Service fee of 19% everytime you make a payment - I run a non-profit, legal business helping inmates with all their legal issues, credits, etc. When Global changed from a bill account to prepaid accounts, that's when they started hitting the pocket books of so many people. It's hard enough to have a loved one incarcerated, but to communicate with them is even harder. Financially, it's hard enough but to purposely ripoff the innocent ones is unethical and should be illegal. I thought we lived in America, where people were treated fairly. They prey on captive audience and abuse that right. We fight for animal rights. Why can't we fight for human rights? When a facility is locked down to Global Tel Link, the charges triples. Just like Coca-Cola and Pepsi, they will never be one because of the competition.

I have been dealing with this company for years and have lost hundreds of dollars to GTL. No one cares because we are talking to inmates. We have no choice if we want to be in touch with friends or family. How this company is still in business I do not know except that our local governments are profiting from this in a large way and that's why they do not care or act on these criminal acts!

On 1/24/2013, I placed $50 on the prepaid account through Global Tel*Link for my husband that is incarcerated at Duval County Jail. I understood the processing fee of $4.95 would come off that, which I was okay with. I have been through this process before so I understood fully on how it works. The first call was placed at 8:30 am. When the next call came that afternoon, it told my balance was 30 something dollars. I knew it wasn't accurate so I figured it was a system error. My husband placed 2 more calls and the balance was down to $7.00!

I used to receive collect calls on my home phone through Verizon, until Global Tel Link placed a block on my line. They indicate that they are no longer willing to bill a third party for collect calls, yet they have employed a third party to manage their pre-pay accounts. Offender Connect, who manages their pre-pay accounts, takes 20% of the money you plan to use for talking to your loved one and then Global Tel Link charges $7.11 for a 15-minute call. If you want to be able to speak with your loved one, you have no choice but to pay an arm and a leg for an account through Global Tel Link. How is it that they are able to monopolize the prison call system and rob each of their customers? This is not even mentioning the horrible call quality and number of dropped calls, which are not reimbursed.

I put $25 on my prepay account via the automated system on 1/4/2013. Less than 2 hours later, my son called from jail and I was told I did not have enough money on the account to accept the call. I called Global Tel*Link (GTL) and was told by the rep that he sees my deposit however, for some reason, the computer did not apply the payment to my account and I would have to wait 7-10 business days because he has to report a missing payment. He gave me a confirmation number. I called right back to question why they couldn't just put my money on the account and I was told by that rep that he doesn't see my payment and that the last guy only noted that I had a missing payment. I was told, "You have to load up."

I've had to use Global Tel for a couple of years now. I was first billed by Verizon, my phone company, and all was okay as a bill through them. Then, they would no longer use Verizon. So I would get the bill, pay it and add $50 or more. I would get the entire bill and not get credited for the entire advance (I always paid online). This continued for the last two years. I got jacked for almost double bills. Then, on September 25th, they changed to OffenderConnect here in Virginia. They screw you there. I prepaid $75 and didn't use the entire amount. The next bill was a direct remit even when I had told them that I only wanted prepayment so I was charged more. I had the bill in front of me with the amount and they said I owed them $63. But the bill showed the December calls - most on the prepayment which I had added more money to and said I only owed $26.

When my boyfriend was incarcerated in the Gwinnett County Detention Center here in Georgia, I tried setting up an account with Global Tel. Setting it up was easy, though they charged me a $5 service fee. I wasn't ecstatic about this, but I let it slide. He ended up being released before we even got the chance to talk, so I requested a refund. I was then charged another $5 fee, which is ridiculous, making it a $10 payment just to put in and refund my money. When I called the first time in early November, I was told it would take 14-16 business days just to refund the remaining $15. So I waited and when I did not see the money credited back to my account, I called again. I was told that time that I was originally given incorrect information and that it actually takes 30 business days. Once again, absolutely ridiculous. So it would have been credited to my account no later than Christmas Eve, December 24th.

I opened an Inmate Prepaid of $25 on November 21. I called to close it on November 23. I never used the account; they charged $4.75 to open the account. So now, I got $20.25 that I need them to refund it back to me. Now, they charging me $5 to refund my money back. I got $15.25 that they told me first 7 days. I called back in 10 days. They said the representative was new and that he didn't know it was 30 days for a refund. How, if this is an electronic system they are fast to charge your card but it takes 30 days to put it back in my card? Now I called 35 days later. They're saying that I called to cancel but it wasn't processed. Now I got it - call in 24 hours to see what happened with it. I want all my money back. It's not fair that I did this to talk to my husband, and they start trying to jerk me off. It's not fair. You get it - pay to get your own money back. It's not fair. They are robbing.

In this day of Skype and voice over IP, there is no justification for the outrageous fees charged by Global Tel*Link. Three domestic calls of less than one minute cost $25. I understand Global Tel*Link is basically just a billing service masked as a phone service but the company is clearly taking advantage of people in crisis. The executives of this company should be ashamed of themselves. This is not a service, it is a monopolistic rip off. Shame on you, Global Tel*Link. You should be exposed and put out of business.

I set up a $25 prepaid account with GTL. When I received the very first call, before I even spoke to anyone, the recording told me that my balance was low and to add more money! This recording went on for several minutes of useless info before I was finally given the option to accept the call. Little did I know that I was paying for those useless recorded minutes at the beginning of each call at the rate of $1.85 each minute. (It should have said, "To skip this recording, press 0 to connect.") If you add the $3.85 connection fee per call and $4.85 fee each time, you put money on the account. That means GTL sucked up over $14 of that $25 before I even spoke to anyone. Then after 5 minutes of talk time, a recorded message said that I had 60 seconds remaining. The true cost is approximately $4 a minute. That does not include the cost incurred by dropped calls, etc.

The bottom line is that this company is basically the only means of reaching those who are incarcerated. For the first week of calls from my son, we have had at least 5 dropped calls stating an attempt to three way calling - totally not true! As others have also complained, they do this to take your money after talking for 2 minutes, only to have the person dial back, and the balance has decreased by three dollars. Maybe it would help to report them to the BBB - Better Business Bureau. I don't understand how a company could get away with so much for so long; they should be incarcerated!

I hate Global Tel*link's phone service! Every ** time my boyfriend calls, I get disconnected at least five times before I can get through! I have lost so many calls, and sent emails regarding the dropped calls, and still haven't received my money back! They charge way too damn much money to just be able to take people's money and not return it when we aren't able to use the entire phone call.

I set-up an account with Global Tel*Link and after a couple of weeks, they said that I can't use a different card to refill the account. The supervisor contradicted all her reps and said that they gave me wrong information. After showing her how not only were they unprofessional but so was she for discrediting them, she hung up on me. What she also did was had my account blocked once the account was refilled and after she blocked the account, she called me and tried to give the money back. I asked her, "Would I get my money back as fast as they got & as fast as she blocked the account?" At first she said, "Yes," then she said, "The next business day," then she said," 24 to 48 hrs." and then she said, "7-10 business days." After I asked her which one was it, she got mad and hung up.

I was reading a few reviews and I see people are not happy with Global Tel Link. This company sucks and I have been dealing with them for years, but only because I have to. For those of you who said you called and they asked you to send a copy of your phone bill to them, I want to explain why you have to do this and if you don't, you can't get calls. They ask for a copy because they need to prove who the phone's name is in. They do this so no one can buy a prepaid phone and get a local number, so the calls will be much cheaper and so they know who the inmate is calling. Good luck everyone. I hope someday soon there is another company that can do inmate calls that doesn't want to rip us off any second they can. PS: Contact anyone you want in the government official you want but at the end of the day and even though it sucks, we are talking about inmates and even if we love them, the government doesn't care.

I put money on an account and he is not able to use it, said he did not get it. I emailed the governor with a link to this complaint page asking for help to stop this company. Next I'm going to send it to our congressmen. You all should do the same. Maybe we can get some help in stopping Global Tel Link.

I have an account with Global Tel Link which was being billed to me each month. Now that they are changing to prepaid, they blocked my account. I paid $94.00 to them in order to have the block removed and now they are telling me that I have to switch over to a prepaid account by November 25th. So why were they charging me $95.00 when I was not even able to talk to my son for over a month?

I opened an account for $25 two months ago in order for my child to call me on my cell from prison. He can't ever get through because it is a "blocked" number, which is why I paid for a prepaid account. I called customer service, who all have very heavy accents (for their convenience I think) and constantly interrupt while you are explaining the problem. The first time I called I was told to be sure my child does not call collect. Still, he can't get through. I called again and I am told that I must supply GTL with a recent copy of my utility bill and a recent copy of my phone bill. This feels like a scam to me. Really, this company needs to be stopped. They will not return any money and I imagine the company is run out of someone's home. I think everyone who has a bad experience with this company should write their state attorney general and complain.

I've been paying money to Global Tel Link since June 2012. When the money goes into the account for my son to call home from jail, the account is missing $2.00 to over $5.00 depending on the amount of deposit. They have dropped calls for no reason at all and I want the money refunded for cell phone drops. It tells you how much money is on your account before you accept the call. When he calls back after the calls, more money is missing from calls we did not use. It's really pitiful that people are trying to stay in contact with their love one and this company takes advantage of people, and people's hard earned money. They need to be shut down!

I received a call stating that my service provider does not accept or has a block on collect calls. In order to accept the call, I must first start a prepay account, in which I do so for $25. The line tells me to please hold to be connected, only to hang up on me. My phone rang again, only to be disconnected again. I called Global Tel and they said that if it continues, they will refund me my money back. The next day, I called because I still cannot accept the call and requested my funds to be refunded, only to be told that I was being charged for a call $8, that I never was connected too and that it would be a $5 refund processing fee. Are you serious? So you really think that you will be just taking my money from me for services you never delivered. This should be illegal. They need to be shut down immediately.

I had the same dishonest treatment from Global Tel-Link. They called our house asking for more money when nobody was actually trying to use their service anymore. We paid them assuming somebody was trying to call, but Global Tel-Link thinks this is a legitimate charge. Everybody needs to file an FCC complaint against Global Tel-Link **. The FCC does follow up on every legitimate complaint and will often force the company to refund your money. The FCC has the power to shut down the company completely (and they will) if they are not acting responsibly, but they need everyone's complaints for ammunition against the company.

Double paying and bad service - I have been getting harassing calls from a person in the system. It has taken two weeks to get a block on my phone. I had to explain three times to three different people before I got any help. ** service, ill-tempered reps and they want my money. Not hardly.

My son is in jail for over about 6 months. When he calls me, we just talk about for like 10 minutes. When he calls back, all the fund is 0.00. Why are they doing this to us? They are making so much money by stealing from people.

This company is definitely ripping us off. I am so angry. First, those service charges are ridiculous. Now every time I try to use my credit cards to make a transaction, they say it is declined! I have money on my account and when I finally got through to customer service, they tried to tell me it's my bank's problem and it's not on their end. They are a bunch of liars. Why is it necessary for them to hold any money regardless of how many times our loved one calls and we don't answer? I'm all for a class action lawsuit. They are making billions off of us and so are the facilities they do business for. If anyone would like to work on the lawsuit with me, I can be reached by email: **. Let's get started pushing back!

During the time my husband was incarcerated, we had the unfortunate experience of having to use Global Tel*Link to communicate. Every time I'd put the maximum amount of money on the phone and we'd talk for only a few minutes, the next time he'd call, the recording would say we're out of minutes and I'd have to do it all over again. Then there was some kind of block Global Tel*Link put on our phone service, which our provider is AT&T, that wouldn't allow me to simply accept collect calls through AT&T. There was no way of dealing with Global Tel*Link in resolving either of these issues.

A family member has been calling collect for over two years from a facility in SC and last week, I get the recording stating my account is needing money! I have no set up account with Global Tel Link as the calls have always been billed through AT&T. Thus no connection as usual; now begins the journey, over two hours of calls to Global and AT&T and nobody knows a thing about the other. AT&T gave me one number that assured me I would get a $100 Walmart card if I pressed 1. The calls to Global just wanted to sign me up with a pre-paid account which I did not and won't do. And finally, some almost non-understandable guy on another planet told me, it was a new company policy that all had to pre-pay.

About two weeks ago, I added $25 to my prepaid since I had $4 left and my calls were okay before. After they took $4.25 processing fee, I was left with $24.25. My husband tried calling three times last week. He was unable to hear me but I could hear him perfectly. The calls lasted 2-3 minutes each in which they have taken $14 to calls that obviously had no connection on his end. Customer service told me they will investigate and it takes about 5 days to get a refund if they find a problem. They also mentioned that if a call is dropped or has a problem in the first 5 minutes, they will refund. I've been told so many different things from different reps. This Friday was the 5th day. So far my account has not yet been refunded.

My son was in jail in May. I got charged twice for about 6 calls. Each was on the exact same day, exact same time, and exact same length, but from 2 different numbers. How is that possible? I can't contact them; they have no way on their website. I can never get them on the phone. I had my phone company put a freeze on my account, and I'm not paying until I talk to someone from Global Tel*Link. And since I have tried repeatedly to contact them with no luck, I'm done! They can call me if they want to get paid. They have my phone number. I am all for a class action suit against them. Anybody else?

I tried to put $25 toward my account and was charged 3 times totaling $75. And after speaking with 8 customer service representatives and 2 supervisors, I realized they are all a bunch of incompetent idiots. I have submitted a review to BBB and have filed a claim through my bank to get my money refunded. I also plan on calling board of public utilities to make another complaint. How has this company been allowed to get away with such unprofessional practices for so long?

We have been using this company for years and they have continually charged outrageous fees for the inaudible service provided. They forced us to use their services for the collect calling when we were just fine with our local long distance company. The calls from the prisons are either dropped, not able to be connected, or are connected with a line that you cannot hear on. Our complaints have no just response. No refunds or credits were ever given, but we're denied because they do no refunds at all. If you call their very own customer service number, you may never get to talk to somebody because they are closed. Our $100.00 overpayment (due to their faulty billing) has not been received, even though we requested it 4 months ago. Who says class action?

On Sunday, August 26, 2012, I received a call from my son who is in the Denver County Jail. When I got the call it was clearly a bad connection, so I asked him to hang up and call me back. He did this and the second call was much clearer. After our conversation I tried to call Global, but they only work Mondays to Fridays. So Monday morning I called Global again. I was left on eternal hold. Then when I did speak to a person, I was explained the rules. There are no refunds to accounts that are to cellphones and any refund will cost $5. Each call is like $4 because the call goes to Mobile Alabama. So we have to pay long distance charges for a local call. Why doesn't the state, city or counties in Colorado use local services? I am a state employee who has not had a pay raise in four years, yet we let another state take our money. My opinion is Global Tel Link are bigger crooks than the ones in county jail!

This is wrong. I called three times and each time I called them, I was charged $25.00 which added up to $75.00. The calls were not connected, they did not show up on their end, but the charges are showing on my credit card. I will try again to get a credit; it's not fair when your hard-earned money is being taken away by these companies.

For the last several weeks, every time my husband calls, he said it sounded like we're talking through a puddle. We've been talking several times a week for many months where I've had no issue until recently. I have an iPhone with a Sprint account and I've had Sprint reset the satellites, call from a landline, etc. I pay incredible amounts of money for my children and I to talk to my husband throughout the week. Nothing has worked. We use Global Tel*Link and if anyone reading this knows a way out of the HDSP Susanville, CA phone **, please let me know. Thanks so much!

How can they be a company? I got so ripped off by this company. I once paid them $25 for a 4-minute call. I can't believe how a company takes advantage of people. I called them and they said that there was nothing they could do. As soon as I would add money, say $50, they would automatically deduct $10 leaving me with $40. I hate the way they rob people. It's like taking advantage of people and not caring. I would always get disconnected. I hate this company!

I sent the information for my son 14 days ago. I called the last 4 days - no account. Now, when I tell the person on the phone what’s up, she goes on to tell me that they told me the wrong fax number and it is going to take 14 more days. I read all the comments and they are not lying - things that they say are happening to me and this company ain’t **. My son will just have to write. They will get no money from me point blank.

My mom is 70 years old and she recently got service with AT&T so she can receive collect calls at a much cheaper rate. But lo and behold, she was told because she started using their prepaid services (Global Tel) that she still won't be able to receive calls. She then asked why is that if she no longer pays for their service, and again she was told because she started using their service, she can't use her own service provided by AT&T. This is ludicrous and some **. What a rip-off. Trust and believe that I'm contacting DA because there's no way you all can do this especially with no contract signed or strictly word of mouth. Global Tel is definitely a scam because there's nowhere on their website that states that. I hate people who try and get over.

Where's my money?! Let's file a class action lawsuit! Two days ago, I posted a $25 payment for inmate calls using Global Tel Link online payment service and am being told that I never made a payment. Yet my checking account clearly shows that the organization, DSI, deducted that amount from my account. I have spent four and a half hours and have talked to at least 3-8 customer service representatives and superiors from PCS, DSI, Offender Connect (via email) and Global Tel Link today and yet no one knows where my money is! I never experienced this level of dishonesty, evasiveness and incompetent customer service representatives and service in my life! I just want my money. And, I really would be willing to sue this company for everything it has! It's a scam!

This company is run by a sad bunch of incompetent idiots! Let me start off by saying that I worked for Sprint for years and had already some dealings with them from their side. It didn't seem to be too bad, but as a customer who wanted to speak with her brother well, it was an absolute nightmare! It began almost 4 months ago when I tried to fax in the necessary paperwork to get an account set up for my cell phone. I waited the 3-5 business days that they tell you about. The first time, they said they had no records that I even called and for me to try and send the info again. I did that and waited the 3-5 days again. I called back, and they said that yes, they had a record that I called but had not received my fax! Needless to say, I went through this at least 3 more times. Every time I called, there was always some kind of story as to why this or that went wrong.

My son has called me at ** several times, only to have the call dropped, ear piercing fax-like tones that cause a disconnect, loud static noise on both ends of the call so you can't hear. The automated accounting that tells you what your balance is so far is inaccurate at least 70% of the time. Your phone number is not easily located, displayed or found, thus causing at least 15 minutes to 20 minutes to hunt your number down. I called and complained last week and the customer service rep could not help me or would not help me and told me that something else must have happened. He would not review the recording, he would not allow me to speak with his supervisor and said, after I spent 30-45 minutes, that I would have to call back at least 24 hours later and he would not take my number and give it to his boss when he or she would be available.

I've tried to get GTL to improve the service from White Post Diversion Center in White Post, VA without any luck or responses from them by calling their 800 number because they don't provide any means of contacting them via the web on the billing site. We actually have two phone numbers my son calls depending on our location that day and both numbers have the same issue. Extremely low voice levels from White Post and in some cases, he has to hang up because we don't hear him at all. I know it is their service because we have no volume problems with the announcements they make about the call. Also, I can hear him say his name clearly to their system but then when our lines are connected, the service is poor to very bad.

I want my money back! I was just told that the money left on my account from the first time I set up an account is gone! After 90 days they closed the account. Where does the money go? No one knows. This time I want to get a refund ASAP. No such thing, it will take 7-10 business days for it to go back on my account and they are charging me $5.00 to get my refund! It’s my money! I had to pay to get the account set up now more money to close it! What a rip off. I asked the person who governs this company who to complain to, she had no idea. Well you can be sure I will find out. They are nothing but thieves!

I am pissed, because I have been using the service for about a month, and the recording goes in a loop. Hit #5 to connect to inmate, so I press it. It rarely lets us connect. I called last week, and the operator told me it will be 3 to 5 business days for the matter to get resolved. LOL, funny. So a couple of times more, I was able to connect. Now we are in the loops again, and I can't talk to my love. I am irritated. So I called again, and she told me we have to start the process over again with tech support. Once you connect, it starts all over again. So now loops again, and I need to talk to my man. The operator told me she only had seen this happen once before. What a cheesy service. The operator was nice, but hey I want to see progress on my end. I want to talk now! Why would a prison use this company? Oh yeah, they don't care.

My son is located in Lapalma. We used to use IC Solutions. It was okay. I have been on the phone since last night for about 3 hours and this morning for already 3 1/2 hours, trying to add money to my account so my son can call me. I cannot get a live person and finally gave up. I guess I will just write a letter.

I've been using their service for 4 months now. Nothing out of the ordinary - I pressed 0 to accept the call and we got disconnected a second later. I waited till he called back and again pressed 0 to connect. This time a minute into the conversation, it disconnected again. I called GTL’s customer service to see if I can get credited or a refund for my 2-minute call that costs me $14 and some change. Miguel the operator didn't seem interested in helping me out. All he kept on telling me was, “We do not do refunds/credit for drop calls. If you don’t like our service, go else where.” What the **! It’s not my fault that your service cut my call. If I could use another service, I would. GTL, you worthless piece of **! You need to stop ripping people off! I don't understand why they are still in service with all these complaints!

First of all, my husband has been away for some time and I have always paid my bills, sometimes in the hundreds of dollars, most of the time with credit in my favor. All of a sudden, I started receiving letters from collections. I figured this must be a mistake. Global Tel*Link claims that they have been sending me bills for almost a year. Now that I haven't paid collections, they're calling my phone off the hook but I don't have any blocks on my phone so I still figure this has to be a mistake. I still received calls.

I don't even know where to begin with all the things wrong with Global Tel Link. Starting with the difficulty in setting up an account to the outrageous fees that they charge, the blocking of phone calls after taking your money and their trained monkeys in customer service who have no idea of what they are doing. When I finally got my account set up and put the initial $25 on it that ended up being $20.25, I was still unable to accept calls because they froze the funds due to my husband trying to call too many times while I was struggling to get started. I tried using their automated system and ended up with the funds frozen on three different credit cards. The credit cards were fine, but their system screwed up entering the charge.

Terrible connection and fraud - I have pre-loaded an account to have calls sent to my cell phone. The person calling me has called me a total of 9 times and only one call has been connected. This company and its service is a sham. They take your money and charge you for calls that are not connected. I don't even care about being reimbursed at this point. I just want my child to talk to his father. It is heart-breaking for him to hear the phone ring and just when the call is being connected, the line drops. Completely unfair.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

When you accept the call and get charged, you can hear nothing. Other times you accept and you pay, but you get dropped. Then if you want to have your credit moved to another phone, they won't. Just crappy services. Well they said since I use Magicjack, I get no refunds for dropped calls and I can't have my credit moved to my cell. They are a ripoff not because the calls are high, but because of the dropped calls and the muted calls you pay for.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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