Why Does Securus Charge More for Local Numbers?
"If you are already local, we cannot save you money. - in most cases unless the carrier is Securus, NCIC or CityTeleCoin where the opposite occurs." Can you please further explain this? The jail does use Securus, and I do have a local number. My inmate told me to look into getting a long distance # to save money.
Securus has the pricing structure backwards compared to most phone carriers. With a normal phone plan, local calls are cheaper than long-distance calls. Securus flips that entirely. With Securus, calls to numbers within the same state as the facility are actually the most expensive. Calls to out-of-state numbers cost significantly less. Your inmate figured this out from the inside, and he is right.
So if you are in the same state as the facility he is at, your local number is costing you more per call than it should. What InmateAid does is provide you with a phone number from outside your state that forwards calls directly to your real phone. You never miss a call, nothing changes about how you receive it, but the call routes through an out-of-state number and Securus charges the lower long-distance rate. The savings can drop the cost to around $3.00 per 15-minute call, depending on the facility and your current rate.
The same pricing quirk applies to NCIC and CityTeleCoin, which is why InmateAid flags those carriers specifically on the site.
To get started, send InmateAid your current phone number and the name of the facility. The team will give you an honest estimate of what you are currently paying versus what you would pay with the forwarding number before you commit to anything. No guesswork on your end.
My situation is different — ask your own question.
Our advisors answer within 24 hours. Free, always. Former federal and state inmates with direct experience.