Inmate Phone Calls — Ask the Inmate
Prison phone calls are one of the most important lifelines between an incarcerated person and their family, and one of the most expensive. The prison phone industry has historically operated as a near-monopoly charging rates that few other consumer services would get away with. This section covers how the prison phone system works, why rates are so high and what has changed in recent years, how debit calling accounts function, how to get a number approved on an inmate's call list, how InmateAid's local number service reduces call costs by up to 70 percent, and what international callers need to know about reaching a US facility from another country. The questions answered here come from families who are paying too much for calls and from inmates trying to navigate phone access from inside. Understanding how the system works is the first step toward getting the most contact for the least cost. See also our sections on Money Transfer and Commissary.
Related InmateAid Services
All inmates must go through the Admission and Orientation Program which is designed to help them understand their responsibilities and the rules of the institution. Each inmate will typically be interviewed by their Case Manager and Correctional Counselor within the first seven days after commitment to the institution. During their orientation, they will also participate in various lectures, examinations, tests, and interviews. This means that numerous staff members, at one time or another, will participate directly or indirectly in the inmate's
Read moreNo, the inmate will not automatically know to call you just because you signed up for the discount phone service. When you sign up, you will be given a new local number, but it is up to you to get that number to the inmate. Facilities do not pass along phone numbers or messages on your behalf. Here is what you need to do: Send the new number to the inmate in a letter Make sure
Read moreIf he got moved, you might need another number. If you do, we will get it for you at no additional charge. If they are both in the TDCJ, the carrier is going to remain Securus but we will check to see if you need another number. The Texas number you have would be the same price you've been paying, but we found another number that would carve another $0.75 off the per-call price. Would you like that number?
Read moreHere is how the discount phone service works for a federal facility like FCI Allenwood: Step 1: Sign up for the service Go into your InmateAid account and select the Discount Telephone Service. You will enter: State: Pennsylvania Facility: FCI Allenwood Your phone number Your inmate’s name Then choose the monthly plan and complete payment. Step 2: Receive your local number After you sign up, you will be given a new local phone number
Read moreAt Spartanburg County Jail, all inmate phone calls go through a contracted provider, which is GTL. That means you have to use their system to receive calls, there is no way around it. Here is how to get set up so he can call you and the kids: Step 1: Set up a GTL account You will need to create an account with the phone provider and add funds. This allows you to receive calls and
Read moreThe phone service at all of the correction centers are set up through bid process. There are about 30 prison-specific phone companies that fight to get the contract for each and every prison. Whoever has the contract for all inmate outbound calling and to tape record the calls essentially has a monopoly and you have to use them to receive calls. The choice is whether you pay them for a long distance call that can run as much as $15.00
Read moreOnce an InmateAid local number is requested and payment is processed, the number is typically assigned and ready to send to your inmate within an hour. That is fast enough that you can include it in a letter the same day or pass it along through the next available phone call. The setup fee for the local number service is $19.95. Whether that cost makes sense depends on how much the number actually saves per call and how frequently
Read moreIf your inmate is moved to a different prison, you do not lose the phone service you already paid for. All you need to do is contact InmateAid with the new facility information. Once they have the updated location, they will assign you a new local number that matches the rate center for that facility. This is what keeps the calls at the lower local rate. There is no additional charge to switch the number when your inmate
Read moreThe phone system should be the same in Allenwood as in almost all of the federal facilities. The inmates use Trulinks which is monitored and maintained by the BOP. Inmates have an internal, closed computer system that controls the inmate accounts: commissary, Corrlinks email and the telephone system. Loved ones from the outside fund this account centrally through Western Union. The inmate moves the money between the services at their discretion. During the holiday time (Nov & Dec) inmate get
Read moreYou pay $19.95 for the local telephone number that comes with 300 long distance minutes or 1000 long distance minutes. There is nothing on the site that mentions "unlimited minutes" and any site that does, usually has other fees for things you won;t know about until you are billed for them. There are no complaints about InmateAid andthis service and as long as you know that you have to use the prison telephone company with your local line, you will
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