Global Tel* Link Corporation

February 26,...

2016
The Consumer contacted the Revdex.com because she states that GTL withdrew money from her credit card but never applied the funds to her account.
We investigated this complaint and tried several times to contact Ms. [redacted] via telephone, unfortunately she did not return our request to call us back. We e-mailed Ms. [redacted] and advised her that the payment she made to her account declined in our system. Ms. [redacted] needs to contact her financial institution and ask how long they place a hold on her funds before they release them back to her account. Typically it is 3 to 5 business days.
GTL anticipates that this will close this complaint and should you have any additional questions please feel free to contact me directly.
 
Sincerely yours,
 
Kathi T[redacted]
Agency Complaints

Ms. [redacted], I have attached the current rate sheet for Ventura County. I was unable to open the rates that you provided in your last response to the Revdex.com.
Sincerely,
Ms. T[redacted]

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
Regards,
[redacted]

April 23, 2014Dear **. [redacted]This letter serves as a formal response to the complaint listed above.The customer contacted the Revdex.com because when she called into PCS to talk to someone about some billing issues on her account she was treated very poorly by the...

PCS representative.We contacted **. [redacted] and apologized for the negative experience she had with the PCS representative and assured her that the issue has been brought to the attention of the Customer Service manager. In addition we explained to her that when an inmate makes back to back calls that are not answered the funds are withdrawn from her account and placed in a “Pending status”. The funds are released back to the account within 45 minutes to an hour.GTL anticipates that this will close this complaint and should you have any additional questions please feel free to call.Sincerelv vours.

June 3, 2014The customer contacted the Revdex.com because in February 2014 she closed her GTL account and requested that the remaining balance on the account refunded. [redacted] has yet to receive her refund.We investigated this complaint and contacted [redacted]...

on June 2nd and she informed us that she received the refund check in the mail on May 27nd.GTL anticipates that this will close this complaint and should you have any additional questionsplease feel free to call.Sincerely yours,

April 23, 2014
Dear [redacted]This letter serves as a formal response to the complaint listed above.The customer contacted the Revdex.com because the calls she receives from an inmate in a correctional facility that Value Added Communications (a subsidiary of GTL)...

is the telephone provider for have been disconnecting prematurely. [redacted] is requesting a refund for the dropped calls.In order for us to investigate this complaint we need the dates and times of the calls in question. We attempted to contact [redacted] several times to get this information. On 04/23/14 a person answered the phone and when we requested to speak to [redacted], the called party hung up the phone. We tried to call back and no one answered the phone.We would be more than happy to investigate this complaint when the customer provides us with the necessary information.GTL anticipates that this will close this complaint and should you have any additional questions please feel free to call.Sincerely,

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:  They are lying.  I received ONE phone call at my job and when I was NOT able to speak with the lady that particular instant, I asked her to call me back in about an hour or two and she did NOT call me back.  I was in the middle of payroll when she called and I could not stop that very instant and talk to her.  Additionally, WHY would I want a "DIRECT BILL" account with this company when they will NOT even provide me with any kind of statement whatsoever to show how the money is being spent????   I have filed several internet consumer complaints on the internet and have already had another person respond that they have been fleeced by this company as well.  Her husband is in jail and they are doing her the same way they are doing me and thousands of other customers who have absolutely NO recourse except to take their valuable time and try to find someone who will help them.  The thousands of people who are forced to use Global Tel Link are at the mercy of Global Tel Link - which is ZERO.  I still do not understand how they can monopolize and keep [redacted] my chosen and preferred long distance provider from billing me for these calls as has been done for over 14 years.  At least I can get a bill ... a REAL and legitimate bill from [redacted].  Maybe I won't like the bill, but at least I know they have to ANSWER to someone like the FCC and they can't just fleece me out of money with entirely NO explanation.  I want to be able to have my phone like it was.  I want to be able to receive long distance collect calls from my family member. 
Please, PLEASE take time to read the attachments.  All you have to do is [redacted] out there and you can find them yourself.  Lots of people are angry about this but they are just like everyone else, they have a hard time finding out HOW they can fight it and WHO to contact.  Plus they are hardworking every day people who don't have time to PLAY with Global Tel Link.  Please tell me you are going to partner with the FCC and see what can be done about these peoples' unethical business PRACTICES.
Regards,
[redacted]

May 6, 2014
Dear [redacted]This letter serves as a formal response to the complaint listed above.The customer contacted the Revdex.com because she does not think she should be charged 5.00 to close her account and have the remaining balance refunded.We contacted [redacted]...

[redacted] on May via US mail and advised her that we have waived the 5.00 refund processing fee and have issued a credit in the amount of 5.93 back to her credit card. [redacted] is aware that it could take 5 to 7 business days for the credit to appear back on her card.GTL anticipates that this will close this complaint and should you have any additional questions please feel free to call.Sincerely yours,

May 8, 2014
Dear [redacted]This letter serves as a formal response to the complaint listed above.The customer contacted the Revdex.com because when he was online to make a $25.00 payment to his account his credit card was charged 50.00. **. [redacted] called to request a...

refund and the $4.75 credit card processing fee was deducted from the 25.00 refund.We investigated this complaint and contacted **. [redacted] via e-mail and advised him that or records reflect that the $4.75 had been issued as a credit to his account on March . **. [redacted] responded to our e-mail stating that his complaint was not filed concerning the small amount of money, but due to the fact 20% of the money deposited goes to paying fees. A closing Email was sent to **. [redacted] thanking him for such a quick response and again we apologized for the inconvenience and the mannerism of the Customer Service Representatives that he spoke with. GTLs CSR training includes showing compassion with our customer issues in a professional manner. The CSR that resolved this complaint provided **. [redacted] with her direct phone number should he have any additional problems in the futureGTL anticipates that this will close this complaint and should you have any additional questions please feel free to call.

I have spoken with [redacted] about this complaint and I believe we have resolved the issue. [redacted] has my direct phone number should she have any additional problems.
 
Kathi

This letter serves as a...

formal response to the complaint listed above.
The Consumer contacted the Revdex.com because she is requesting a refund of the $100 payment that she was told declined in GTL's system; however the payment was deducted from her credit card.
We investigated this complaint and contacted Ms. [redacted] via telephone and explained to her that the $100 payment in question on March 15th "controller Time out" was collected by GTL. We have issued a credit back to Ms. [redacted]'s credit card in the amount of $100. Ms. [redacted] is aware that it could take 5 to 7 business days for the credit to appear back on her card.
GTL anticipates that this will close this complaint and should you have any additional questions please feel free to contact me directly.
Sincerely yours,
Kathi T[redacted]
Agency Complaints

July 25, 2014Dear [redacted]This letter serves as a formal response to the complaint listed above.The customer contacted the Revdex.com because she is requesting a refund of the remaining balance on her account.We investigated this complaint and on July...

22nd processed a refund in the amount of $30.50 and have expedited the refund check to [redacted]. [redacted] was advised of this resolution via e mail.GTL anticipates that this will close this complaint and should you have any additional questions please feel free to call.Sincerely yours,Kathi T[redacted] Agency Complaints

This letter serves as a formal response to the complaint listed above.The customer contacted the Revdex.com because she states that GTL's CSR provided her with misleading information with regards to her mother in law was told that she would have to set up an account with GTL to be...

able to accept calls from her son.We investigated this complaint and determined that there is not an AdvancePay account set up on [redacted]. The inmate uses his pin debit card when he calls this number. Ms. Neto failed to provide her mother in law's telephone number so we are unable to investigate the status of her account.We contacted Ms. Neto via e-mail and requested that she provide us her Mother in laws number and she wrote back stating that she does not want any further contact from GTL and that she has already wasted enough time on this issue.GTL anticipates that this will close this complaint and should you have any additional questions please feel free to call.Sincerely yours,
Kathi Tarkir
Agency Complaints

Review: Forced thru high pressure tactics and lie too, in order to talk to my love one in [redacted] Correctional Institution, [redacted] South Carolina.

My son has been calling collect thru our local [redacted] service and recently I was forced to put $25 on Global Tel Link account because I was told by Global Tel Link this was the only way we could speak with our son. This company is a SCAM and as a senior citizen who is disable, due to unforeseen sickness this should be illegal for them to do lie. In addition, there are hidden fees that is not disclosed (set-up, re-paying when calls drops, service charge for each call fee, ) as a consumer why can't I use my local long distance carrier which will save me 45%. When, I spoke with [redacted] today (3/20/2014) he said that because I set-up with Global Tel Link I can never go back to [redacted] accepting collect calls from my son. I told him that I was forced to set up this account and no one ever told me that I had options or declining this. Therefore, I am requesting to cancel my forced Global Tel Link account and continue accepting collect calls thru my local [redacted] service provider. This should be my right to use what every phone company is choose. All calls are recorded and it should not be scam or forced upon senior citizens or anyone to pay this ridiculous fee to speak with your love one.Desired Settlement: To have my love one call collect thru my local [redacted] carrier in order to have conversation with our son!

Cancel service with Global Tel Link who is a rip off and Scam service provider.

Business

Response:

June 20, 2014Dear [redacted]This letter serves as a formal response to the complaint listed above.The customer contacted the Revdex.com because she was informed by GTL that if she would like to continue to receive calls from an inmate in The [redacted] Correctional facility she will have to set up an Advance pay account. [redacted] would like to go back to having the calls billed to her [redacted].We investigated this complaint and contacted [redacted] and explained to her that GTL did block her phone. On January 11, 2014 our records reflect No collect calls allowed. The No Collect Call block was done by her [redacted]. The block has been removed and we have changed the account back to [redacted] billed. In addition we have issued a refund in the amount of 69.14 which was the remaining balance on her Advance Pay account. [redacted] is aware that if she exceeds GTLs 30/30 day call limit she will need to set up an Advance Pay account.GTL anticipates that this will close this complaint and should you have any additional questions please feel free to call.[redacted] Agency ComplaintsOffice [redacted]

Review: No where on the Company Website does it say they provide no refunds to cell phones. The [redacted] Regional jail does not tell anyone to not use a cell phone due to GTL not refunding to cell phones. When calling the toll free number from GTL 's recording to set-up a prepaid plan for a loved one to call you who is an inmate and talking with a live person they say nothing about no refunds to a cell phone only land lines if you want to set-up a cell phone number and use this for the inmate to call you on. In March of 2014 and April of 2014 calls were coming off the balance way too quickly and I had not had a chance to call GTL to find out what was going on and why was the balance being used up so quickly when I had not talked with my loved one that much/ Was moving and could not even answer my phone half the time when they were out on rotation. Previous to this I had problems with the phones in the jail not functioning properly, not being maintained well. The cords have shorts in them and the inmate calls then they can not hear you or you can not hear them after a call is excepted. They are saying hello hello or you are saying hello hello, then sometimes there is so much static from this short in the cord and my loved one would wiggle the cord and then this would go away and I would have to say hold the cord right there now I can hear you, but if he moved then I could not here him again. These calls are 3.00 dollars a call and then .24 cents per call and the jail only allows 15 min. for each call. Now I have requested documentation from the cell phone provider for March and April of 2014 to show the missed calls waiting for this to come in the mail and have requested those records for October, November and December of 2013 and Jan through Feb. as well after March and April of 2014 was requested to check and see if I was being charged for missed calls on my cell phone I had never requested then as well. Before March of 2014 I had spoke with several customer service agents who said they would send over for a refund and have the recorded calls reviewed which can be done and if they find it was not due to a cell phone then a refund would be issued as in a lost signal dropping the call and this would take 3 to 5 business day to call and check back. The answer would always be the inmate hung up the call or I hung up the call on my end or we do not issue refunds to cell phones only land lines. Now I said I understand I lost signal on a cell phone and not refunding this however the call being reviewed clearly they would know this was not do to a lost signal the static is not due to a cell phone and hear the conversation as well and I am wiggling the cord can you hear me now, turning the volume up on the pay phone can you hear me now. This is crazy and it costs enough to keep in touch with loved ones in jail and very necessary to make sure they are being treated correctly, getting medical attention they need if sick or medicine they were on prior to being arrested and support to get through this, Not everyone in jail is guilty and some take plea bargains scared they may get more time if something does not go right in court and then due some time in jail and figure well it is better then a longer sentence if the court trial goes wrong for some reason and so on. I have also requested printouts of my account from global Tellink since I opened to go over all the charges and still have one more printout to request. I had to request the first one 8 times before this finally got in my mailbox and each time the customer agent said they had sent back an email saying it was mailed out. The last time on the missed calls the customer agent read what he seen and I said the call at 8:45 pm that day was never answered it was a missed call on my cell phone I was not even able to answer that call that night. He said he would email technical and make a report for them to check this out because it say zero min and zero seconds but the 3.24 has been charged and they will refund these back to you. When I called back the customer agent says they mailed you out a report and they could find nothing wrong with the system and did not refund your money and they do not refund to cell phones, I told her this is crazy I never answered these calls they are missed call son my cell phone and I will file for a refund another way I am tired of this, GTL is just ripping people off their hard earned money.Desired Settlement: They need to refund the money back to my credit card saved on file the last one used because I had a replacement card issued since I first opened the account. They also need to honor refunds to cell phones as long as it is not due to a lost signal or call on the cell phone, calls can be reviewed to determine this.

I can mail all copies of the printouts to the Revdex.com and my cell phone printouts showing the missed calls and so forth. GTL said several times they would email those to me then sent email and regular mail and I am sure I used [redacted] for the email address and never got the printouts via email guess they thought I would give up on my hard earned money not a chance. I am not able to attach those to a file if they can be faxed I will faxed them and would appreciate an email confirming a fax number to either email address so I make sure they fax gets to the right person and will give a correct refund figure then/ My loved one is being released May 7 th and I have not been able to talk with him for two weels now due to the money going off the phone account like this did not deposit anymore on the account and had a two dollar some cent balance.

Business

Response:

June 2, 2014Dear [redacted]This letter serves as a formal response to the complaint listed above.The customer contacted the Revdex.com because she is requesting a refund for calls that she receives from an inmate in [redacted] Regional Jail that disconnect prematurely. In addition [redacted] does not agree with GTLs cell phone policy.We investigated this complaint and advised [redacted] via a letter sent by US mail on May 22° the following resolution:We apologized that you disagree with Global Tel Links business practices, service and Cell phone policy CELL ACCOUNTS ARE CREATED (G) CUSTOMERS OWN RISK. Currently, [redacted] this policy remains in place. Upper management granted you 3.24 credit for one call on March 22, 2014. We have emailed you copies of your Call Detail per inmate calls from [redacted]REGIONAL JAIL and advised that you are not charged for unanswered calls. Your funds are placed on hold for forty five minutes to one hour then released back to your account balance per inmate dialing back to back. [redacted] you have been advised on numerous dates October , 7th, 25th, December . 10, 21st, March and April 17" of GTLs Cell phone policy and again it does not appear in writing and thats why CSRs are very articulate making sure customers understand the policy prior to establishing Cell accounts.We have issued you an adjustment of 3.24. Again we apologize for any inconvenience this issue may have caused you and the inmate. Per monitoring and reviewing of your calls it appears inmate was arrested again after his release. There were a lot of disagreements during conversations between you and the inmate when the premature disconnects was mutual.GTL anticipates that this will close this complaint and should you have any additional questions please feel free to call.Sincerely yours,

Review: I contacted the company in early Feb 2013, within a few weeks of its last use, requesting my account be closed and a refund of the remaining balance (prox $23). Their policy requires that to receive a refund the account must be closed within 90 days of its last use (which I believe should be an illegal policy).

I called again in June 2013 and was told I had made the initial request too late, which I explained was not factually correct. I was told a refund would be credited to my card....I gave them a new Credit Card #.

Called a few months later and was given the same routine....I had made the request too late. I explained the facts and was told the refund would be credited to me. Around Feb 2014 I called again and was told to contact the "escalations department." I received check # [redacted] issued 2/3/14 (about 1 year late) for $17.58, with no explanation of the reduction. I called and spoke with [redacted] who told me they had a work backlog and someone would call me "by Friday." I received no phone call from them Friday or thereafter. I called twice more, the last call 3/4/14 and was told the company's recently reinforced policy was absolutely not to waive the "fee" that was deducted.

Thus this complaint.

The check I received was from Global Tel*Link 2609 Cameron St Mobile, AL 36607

The account was used to contact an inmate at the [redacted] County Jail in [redacted], NY.Desired Settlement: The service they provide is for people to call inmates in jails around the United States.. I would like to see changes made to their abusive policies which applied to my calls :

CLOSING YOUR ACCOUNT: You must close your account within Ninety (90) days of the account's last use to receive a refund. Any accounts that have no activity for Ninety (90) days or more will be automatically closed and any money remaining on the account will be forfeited and considered a closing transaction fee. If you owe a balance after the account is closed, you will receive a final invoice. Requested refunds will take approximately 6 to 8 weeks to process.

The minimum deposit to an account is $25 from which an outrageously expensive $4.75 fee is deducted, leaving $20.25 available to place calls to an inmate.

Each call up to 10 min has a charge of $4.51 incl tax - outrageously expensive

If cell phone call disconnects after the first 2 or 3 seconds, no refund is available against the $4.51 charge. This is an unreasonable policy.

Inmates need to hear from family and friends.... It should not be abusively expensive to call an inmate needing to hear a friendly voice.

I intend to notify my Congressional Representatives (House and Senate) and the New York Times.

Business

Response:

May 6, 2014Dear [redacted]This letter serves as a formal response to the complaint listed above.The customer contacted the Revdex.com because he does not agree with GTL’s ninety day refund policy, cell phone policy, $5.00 close out fee and the credit card convenience fee that is charged when you use a credit card to make a payment on your account.We investigated this complaint and contacted **. [redacted] via telephone on April 30th and advised him that our records show that we received his initial refund request on February 13th 2013; however due to human error the refund was not processed until January 21th 2014 in the amount of $17.58. As a onetime courtesy we have processed an additional refund in the amount of $5.00 which represents the refund processing fee.Unfortunately even though **. [redacted] does not agree with GTL’s policies; all policies will remain in effect. Should **. [redacted] need our services in the future, he can pay on his account with a check or money order. There are no fees attached to these payment methods.GTL anticipates that this will close this complaint and should you have any additional questions please feel free to call.Sincerely yours,

Review: I contacted global tel link after I looked at my detailed billing statement, and noticed that the charges weren`t adding up. I was contacted by [redacted] who told me after sending him a copy of the billing told me to use a calculator myself and add up the charges. THAT is not proper customer service. Everyone who has a loved one that is incarcerated is not a complete it. I looked on my account today and noticed that the detailed billing is no longer there.Desired Settlement: I would like an apology for the terrible customer service, and have my concerns addressed.

Business

Response:

Attached is the resolution letter to this complaint.

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Regards,

Review: I paid 25.00 to recieve calls from an inmate to phone # ###-###-#### the inmate could not be connected to this line I asked for a refund it was told it would take 60 business days it has been 63 business days as of december 30 2013 and on thaat day I was told it would take another 60 days I want my money returned I paid 25.00$ on my credit card on october 2 2013 and I recieved no services for this moneyDesired Settlement: I want the 25.00 what I paid I recieved nothing for this amount

Business

Response:

January 13, 2014

Dear **. [redacted]

This letter serves as a formal response to the complaint listed above.

The customer contacted the Revdex.com because she paid $25.00 to set up an account with GTL so she could receive calls from an inmate in a correctional facility that GTL is the service provider for. The inmate called and was not able to be connected. **. [redacted] is requesting a refund of the $25.00 payment.

We investigated this complaint and contacted **. [redacted] via e-mail on 01/09/14 and informed her that a credit in the amount of $25.00 has been issued back to credit card ending [redacted]. In addition we explained that she needs to allow 7 to 10 business days for the credit to appear back on her card.

GTL anticipates that this will close this complaint and should you have any additional questions please feel free to call.

Sincerely yours,

Review: Excess charges for calls made from [redacted] county. 1st quote $2.25 per call, second quote $.21 per minute, Yet I am charged $7.00 per 15 minute call.

When I signed up for calls to be made from the [redacted] county jail, I was first charged a fee of $9.75 just to put money on the phone for my son to call home. I asked how much are each call going to cost me, John stated $2.25 per 15 minute call. Every time my son called the balance was given before we could even speak and something did not add up right. The balance went from $35.00 for one call to $28.00 on his second call, and on the third call it stated the balance was $21.00. Today I finally got a hold of them and a guy named Kyle told me the charges per call were $.31 per minute, when I added it up, the calls are more like $.40 per minute. What kind of phone company can charge you a fee up front and increase the amount of each call every time you speak with one of their employees? The worst part of this entire situation is the calls do not come through, my son has been trying for over 2 hours and there is no way to accept them. I have tried to contact the company, and low and behold they are not open after 7:00 pm.How does a phone company run a contract business with a jail and not have any support or contact measures to ensure they do not just take the consumers money and not provide the services they say it will? If, this is the way the South does business, perhaps they need to come up North which is over 2000 miles away and try to contact someone they love to find out what it is like. One more thing, this Kyle tried to tell me the excess charges are to pay my phone company, bull, I spoke with [redacted], and they do not charge anyone for the prepaid phone calls from [redacted], or Global Tellink. Please send me a reply on any information you may be able help me with on this issue.

Thank you

[redacted], South DakotaDesired Settlement: I would like the excess amount they charged me for every phone call put back on the account at $.40per minute and charge what they originally stated would cost me, $2.25 per call for 15 minutes.

Business

Response:

The attached e-mail was sent to [redacted] on 11/19/14. as of today we have not had a response to our request for [redacted] to contact us. Please advise as to how you would like us to proceed with this complaint.

sincerely,

Kathi T[redacted]

Review: I purchased $25.00 of telephone time for my nephew who is incarcerated. This was in August. I inadvertinly chose the wrong carrier GTL. They are telling me that it will take 90 business days (that's 18 weeks) to refund me my money. I feel this is an outrageous amount of time. Nobody takes that long to refund money. It should take no longer than 10 business days.Desired Settlement: I want my money in a reasonable amount of time (10 days) not in 90 business days.

Business

Response:

September 24, 2014Dear [redacted]This letter serves as a formal response to the complaint listed above.The customer contacted the Revdex.com because she paid $25.00 to GTL to set up an account to talk to her grandson who is incarcerated in the [redacted] Correctional facility. GTL does not service this facility so she is requesting a refund in a reasonable amount of time.We investigated this complaint and contacted [redacted] via e-mail on September 24th and advised her that we have issued a credit back to her credit card that she used to establish the account in the amount of $25.00 and to please allow 7 to 10 business days for the credit to appear back on the card.GTL anticipates that this will close this complaint and should you have any additional questions please feel free to call.Sincerely Yours, Kathi T