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
Subject: Inmate phone calls
The 300 minutes are not free. They are an allotment, meaning the Bureau of Prisons sets a monthly cap on how many minutes a federal inmate can use, but every call within that allotment still costs money that comes out of the inmate's account.
Here is how the financial side works. Federal inmates manage their funds through TRULINCS, which is the BOP's internal banking system. Money deposited by family members on the outside flows into the TRULINCS account, and from there...
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
Yes, the service works across every facility listed on InmateAid, but every situation requires examination based on the carrier rates. The platform covers jails and prisons nationwide, from county detention centers to state facilities to federal institutions.
What changes from facility to facility is not whether the service works but how much it saves you. The savings are what we are seeking. Every jail and prison contracts with a single phone carrier, and that carrier sets rates based on the type...
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
No, the User must notify the inmate that funds are on their account so that they know they can make calls to you.
Subject: Inmate phone calls
The number is delivered three ways simultaneously, and checking all three will resolve this quickly.
First, check your email inbox for a message from InmateAid. It should arrive within about an hour of your purchase. If you do not see it in your main inbox, check your spam or junk folder. Messages from new senders, especially first time purchases, frequently get filtered there before your email provider learns to recognize them.
Second, check for a text message on the phone number you...
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
It usually takes a few days before the inmates are given phone privileges. The Orientation must take place first before the inmate may make calls, receive visits and buy commissary. If you are also in the state of Texas, we can make the calls cheaper, check it out.
Subject: Inmate phone calls
Probably not. Eleven cents is a good rate, but some go as low as 4-6 cents per minute - it depends on where you're talking about. IC Solutions has a rate calculator on their site and we'd have to run a check to see if there was any way to go lower. Without knowing the facility name, we're just guessing.
Subject: Inmate phone calls
Yes, and the savings are immediate and significant.
Securus holds the contract at that facility, which means every call your inmate makes runs through Securus regardless of what number they dial. That part does not change. What InmateAid changes is which rate tier applies to your specific number within the Securus system.
At $0.52 per minute you are paying the highest rate Securus charges for that facility. With an InmateAid number, that same call through the same Securus system drops to $0.21...
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
Each facility has one phone carrier only. The company that they use determines the pricing. That is why the price is so high. InmateAid uses software to determine the best price based on YOUR phone number and the carrier. We can save big money on about 70% of the instances. We encourage you to email or call to get an honest estimate before you buy. If you buy and we cannot save you money, we will refund the transaction, no...
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
InmateAid is the starting point for finding the cheapest rate available for calls from whatever facility your son is in at Trenton, Tennessee.
Here is how it works. The jail or prison where your son is housed contracts with a single phone carrier, and that carrier sets the rates based on the number being dialed. Depending on where you are located in the Selmer and Savannah area and what area code your number carries, you may already be at a local...
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
The different number is the "special sauce" that makes the calls cheaper. InmateAid's computer algorithm determines the best price based upon the rate calculator on the phone carrier's website. Sometimes the best is a local number, other times it's a completely different state altogether.
We don't make the rules, we use their rules to make your money last a lot longer.
Subject: Inmate phone calls
You can try calling, but do not count on it working. In most facilities, the rules prohibit staff from modifying an inmate's approved phone list based on a request from an outside caller. The phone list exists as a security measure and changes to it are supposed to go through the inmate, not through family or friends calling in. That said, some staff members will make an exception for a simple request like adding a phone number, particularly if you...
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
Yes, they are calling from the jail or detention facility's landlines. The caller ID to you'll see is the phone that they call from. That number CANNOT receive incoming calls, it's enabled to only make outbound calls.
Subject: Inmate phone calls
The InmateAid discount phone service replaces the high per-minute rate with a flat rate of $0.21 per minute. There is no separate connection fee under that structure. Your inmate still places the call through Securus using the InmateAid forwarding number, and the funds still come from his Securus account, but the rate he is charged is dramatically lower.
Here is what the math looks like on a 15-minute call at your current rate: $1.85 connection plus $0.88 per minute for 15...
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
InmateAid does not touch your inmate's call card balance directly. The way it works is that InmateAid reduces what Securus charges for each call, so less money comes out of the account per call rather than InmateAid drawing from it separately.
Here is the math on your specific situation. Right now you are paying $1.36 to connect plus $0.66 per minute. On a 15-minute call that works out to roughly $11.26 per call. With an InmateAid number, Securus charges $0.21 per...
Read moreSubject: Inmate phone calls
Yes, absolutely... we currently have people communicating with inmates at this facility
