Ask The Inmate. Real answers from people who've been there.

International calls from US correctional facilities are handled at the carrier level and GTL in particular can be inconsistent in how they explain the options to international callers. Getting different answers from the same company is frustratingly common. Here is the most reliable solution for your situation. The US Number Solution The cleanest way to receive calls from a US federal or state facility to a UK number is to obtain a US phone number and have it forwarded to your mobile. Here...

Commissary setup is not a complicated process but it does require knowing the right channel for the specific facility your inmate is at, since each facility works with a contracted provider that handles trust account deposits. The inmate trust account is essentially a personal spending account that lives inside the correctional system. Money deposited into it does not go directly to the inmate in cash. Instead it sits as a balance the inmate can draw from when they place a commissary...

If you are already in the same city as your sister and your number is considered local to the jail, then the discount phone service likely will not benefit you. Here is why: Jails contract with a single phone provider for all inmate calls That provider charges different rates for local vs long distance calls The discount service works by giving you a local number to reduce long distance costs In your case: If your number is already local, your sister is already calling you at the lowest available rate There is no long...

Yes, in most cases. When an inmate is transferred between facilities, their personal property is packed out and travels with them. Letters, photos, books, and other approved personal items are inventoried and transported along with the inmate rather than being left behind or discarded. What happens at the receiving facility is where it gets more complicated. Staff at the new jail will inventory everything that came in with the transfer and compare it against their own property rules. What was allowed...

If your fiance has registered the number through the facility's phone system and is still unable to get through, there are a few possible explanations worth working through before assuming the number itself is the problem. Confirm the number is fully approved. Registering a number through a service like OffenderConnect is one step, but the facility's phone provider also needs to process that registration and activate the number on their end. That approval is not always instant and can take a...

This is a known and deliberate practice by Securus, and understanding why it is happening helps explain what can be done about it. Background: prison phone carriers like Securus were previously blocking local numbers from being used to receive inmate calls, effectively forcing families to use long distance numbers and pay the higher rates. A federal lawsuit challenged that practice and Securus lost. Rather than simply comply with the ruling, Securus shifted tactics. They are now classifying certain local numbers as...

It depends entirely on the facility. Some jails and prisons require visitors to schedule visits in advance, while others operate on a walk-in basis during designated visiting hours. There is no universal standard across the thousands of correctional facilities in the United States. Federal facilities generally have more structured visitation processes and may require advance scheduling or at minimum advance approval to be on the visiting list before showing up. Many state facilities operate on set visiting days and hours where...

Tulare County Men's Correctional Facility in Visalia, California does not always maintain up to date visitation information on their public website, which is a common frustration with county-level facilities across California. The most reliable way to get current visitation rules is to call the facility directly. Ask specifically for the visitation department or a staff member who can walk you through the current visiting schedule, what identification you need to bring, whether you need to be on an approved list in...

Buenas tardes, Para poder verificar su linea necesito que me mande su nombre, apellido y el numero de telefono asignado por InmateAid. De todos modos queria clarificarle que nosotros ofrecemos unicamente la línea local, que es la forma en que se reduce el precio de la comunicacion. Usted todavía tiene que seguir abonando a la compañía de teléfono de la prisión para que el recluso pueda usar las instalaciones de telefono. Por favor register el numero asignado por Inmateaid en...

Go to your My Account area on the website. Click on Discount Telephone Service, click Add a Local Line, then select the state, the facility name, your telephone number and the calling plan you wish to buy. Go to checkout and then the pay page. Enter your debit card or credit card and pay. You will get an email confirmation of your purchase and in about an hour, you will get your new local telephone number emailed to you to...

Putting money on an inmate’s commissary account can allow them to make phone calls, but it depends on how that facility’s phone system is set up. There are two common ways calls are paid for: 1. Inmate pays from commissary funds: Money you send goes into their account They can use it to buy phone time or calling cards Downside: they can also spend it on other items, not just calls 2. You set up a phone account: You create and fund an account with the facility’s phone provider Calls...