Global Tel* Link Corporation

Review: Very misinforming customer service agents

I set up a global tel link acct for a loved one that was incarcerated in jail. She was released so I called to have the money left on the acct refunded. It took me three phone calls in order to get my full refund. The agents was tryin to charge me when I already knew that a refund fee was not required. I was lied to by two other agents before I spoke to a third one and he refunded my full amount. I do not like to be misinformed by agents that don't kno what they're speaking about!Desired Settlement: I want those particular agents given more training or for them to be fired immediately

Business

Response:

Dear **. [redacted]

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

The customer contacted the Revdex.com because she says that a GTL CSR gave her incorrect information about the process to close her GTL account.

We contacted **. [redacted] and explained to her that she was not given incorrect information. GTL’s policy is that an account has to have at least a $6.00 balance because of the $5.00 refund processing fee. As a onetime courtesy we have waived the refund processing fee and have issued a credit of the full balance in the amount of $22.91 back to **. [redacted]’s credit card.

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

Sincerely,

Review: Global Tel Link is the service provider for Arkansas Department of Corrections. In order to use their pre-paid services there is a 25.00 minimum deposit and there is a handling fee of approximately 2.00. When the inmate makes the call, a service charge is deducted off the top and then it's a per-minute charge. When the inmate calls collect, there is no handling fee and the service charge is not as much. My husband and I decided that calling collect is more economical for us and gives us a little more control over the calls. But now I'm told that after 200.00 my home phone was blocked by global tel link and he's not allowed to make collect calls, that we must set up a pre-paid account. First of all, I don't believe that we have made 200.00 in calls in the short amount of time he was calling collect. Secondly, this company is basically telling us how we can use our own phone service and taking away our options to save money. Not until he could not get through were we even aware of this policy and after 2 phone calls and 3 customer services reps there is still no explanation for the limit.Desired Settlement: I would like for the block to removed from my home phone and collect calls to be allowed, or lower the amount needed for the prepaid account.

Business

Response:

October 21, 2013

Dear **. [redacted]

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

The customer contacted the Revdex.com because GTL informed **. [redacted] that if she would like to continue to receive calls from an inmate in the Arkansas DOC she will have to establish an Advance Pay account. **. [redacted] would prefer to have her account remain LEC billed.

We investigated this complaint and determined that **. [redacted] had exceeded the 90 day/$200 threshold limit.

We contacted **. [redacted] and explained to her that that when a customer exceeds the velocity threshold we ask the customer to set up a prepaid account.

The velocity thresholds are not set forth by her Local Exchange carrier but by where the call originates from - GTL's phone platform at the facility. Customers like herself that receive a high amount of calls within various interval could be subjected to opening a prepaid account that needs to be funded through various channels (e.g. check, money order, credit cards). This practice in standard in the industry and there are hundreds of thousands of customers utilizing this service every month.

**. [redacted] informed the GTL CSR that she has applied funds to the inmate's facility account which allows him to call home. **. [redacted] stated that she had already received a call from the inmate.

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

Sincerely yours,

Review: I pay 3.77 per collect call from the jail. On 02/10/14 while in the middle of my call, all of a sudden a recording came on and said "3 way call" and it disconnect the call. This also happened on 2/11, 2/13. twice on 2/14, 2/15 and twice on 2/17. I have not attempted any type of 3 way call nor was there any backround noise while I was on the call. I have contacted this company in regards to having this issue resolved and they just tell me that I am out of luck and it is not their fault. I have been receiving these calls for 1 year now with no issues or changes in my phone or service. Now all of a sudden it happens everyday for 8 consecutive days straight now, and they will not credit my account or look into the issue. They just say I assumed the risk by using a cell phone. This is not realistic considering I have never had any issues with this over the last year until last week and it is not just a random occurrence it is happening on every sing phone call .Desired Settlement: I would like to be credited for the 8 calls that I did not render full services on at no fault of my own.

Business

Response:

March 14, 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 the [redacted] Adult Correctional facility have been disconnecting prematurely due to 3 way call detection.

We listened to the calls in question and contacted **. [redacted] and explained to her that on the recordings we heard that either the called party or the inmate pressed a digit on the phone that may have caused the 3 way detection. On another call we heard the inmate sniffling loud and the system detected it as the inmate blowing into the phone; this could have been detected as a 3 way call attempt as well.

We have issued a credit to **. [redacted]’s account in the amount of $11.31 for the 3 calls that disconnected on February 11th, 13th and on March 7th.

In our conversation **. [redacted] informed us that she had another account that calls disconnected prematurely. We have issued a credit in the amount of $3.77 on that account as well.

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

Sincerely yours,

Review: on 7/25/2014 (first time I noticed) I made a $25 phone credit to my account then I went to check the balance by following there instructions and and it said I just put $21 dollars into my account!

they charged $12.50 for 3 minute call when the charges are not that much.Desired Settlement: to correctly have the amount you paid for and to charge correctly for each call

Business

Response:

August 4, 2014Dear [redacted]This letter serves as a formal response to the complaint listed above.The customer contacted the Revdex.com because on July 25th 2014 she made a $25.00 payment and when she checked her account balance it showed only $21.00 was added to her account.We investigated this complaint and contacted [redacted] via e-mail and explained to her that prior to processing a credit card payment the recorded prompts advises the customer that applicable service fees will be applied to this payment. The service fee is $4.75 for each $25.00 transaction. This fee can be avoided by paying by check or money order. There are no fees attached to these 2 types of payment methods. The rate [redacted] is charged for each call is billed @ $3.79 for the first minute and $0.69 for each additional minute.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

Review: CHARGES THAT I WAS MADE UNAWARE OF BY REPRESENTATIVE OR AUTOMATIC SYSTEM.

I HAVE BEEN MAKING DEPOSITS TO TALK TO AN INDIVIDUAL FROM JAIL FOR ALMOST 2 MONTHS, I SPEND OVER 500.00 AND WHEN I CALL I USE THE SYSTEM, ONLINE OR REPRESENTATIVE.WHEN I FIRST SET UP THE ACCOUNT, I WAS ADVISED OF THE DEBIT CARD FEE UPFRONT. THE SECOND TIME I CALLED BECAUSE I HAD BLOCK AND THE GUY REMOVED IT AND STATED THAT THEIR IS A FEE FOR EVERY DEPOSIT I MAKE. TODAY 9/11/2014, THE INMATE CALLED ME AND I ACCEPTED THE CALL AND MY CALL DROP, UNDER 2 MINS AND THIS HAPPENED TWICE. AT THAT TIME MY BALANCE WAS VERY LOW BY THE TIME THE 3RD CALL CAME THRU AROUND 12:55PM. I WAS CHARGED 5 DOLLARS FOR 2 MINS PER CALL. I CALLED AND SPOKE WITH A REP NAMED STEPHANIE HAD A ACCENT AND SHE ADVISED THAT MY CALCULATIONS WERE INCORRECT. I WAS TOLD DUE TO LONG DISTANCE MY FIRST MINUTUE IS $3.45 AND AFTER .45 CENT, THAT TWO MINTUE COSTED ME 5.19 CENT. I ASKED FOR A SUPERVISOR AND WAS GIVEN TO STEVEN ESCALATIONS HE STATED THAT SHE IS CORRECT BECAUSE THEY CHARGE ME A FEE OF .78 CENT AND TAXES ON EACH CALL. I ADVISED HIM THAT I WAS UNAWARE OF THAT.HE STATED THAT THE REP SHOULDVE ADVISED ME WHEN I SET UP THE ACCOUNT,I ADVISED HE CAN LISTEN TO THE CALL, I WAS NOT. I MADE THE CALL TWICE WHEN I SET THE ACCOUNT UP AROUND THE MIDDLE OF JULY. .IM ONLY HEARING ABOUT THESE FEES BECAUSE I WAS DISPUTING MY BALANCE.HE STATED THEIR IS NOTHING THE COMPANY CAN DO, I ASKED FOR HIS SUPERVISOR WHO IS MS. R[redacted] AND STATED THAT THEY DONT TALK TO CUSTOMERS, I WILL GET A CALL IN 24-48 BUSINESS HOURS. I ASKED HIM ON THE WEBSITE WHEN YOU SET UP ACCOUNT, THE TERMS STATE:

K. Charges for the Service. Fees will apply to your use of certain features of the Service, including any calls that are made through the Service. The fees and charges may vary based on, among other things, the correctional facility where an offender is incarcerated. We reserve the right to change the fees charged periodically, in our discretion.

BUT I CALLED IN TO SET UP THE ACCOUNT, EVEN ONLINE IT DOESNT STATE WHAT FEES OR GO IN DETAIL.THE REP DIDNT ADVISE ME OF ANY OF THIS.Desired Settlement: I LOOKING FOR A REFUND FOR THOSE TAXES AND FEES.

Business

Response:

September 23, 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 the taxes and SCCRF that she is charged per call that she was not made aware of when she first set up her GTL account to accept calls from an inmate in a correctional facility that GTL is the service provider for.We investigated this complaint and contacted [redacted] on September 22nd via telephone and explained to her that we are required by law to charge the taxes and SCCRF. GTL does not keep these fees. They are paid to the appropriate agencies on a quarterly basis. Upon further review of [redacted]'s account we determined that there were 4 calls that disconnected prematurely. We have issued a credit to her account in the amount of $20.36 for the dropped calls. [redacted] thanked the CSR for the explanation of the fees and the $20.36 credit to her account.GTL anticipates that this will close this complaint and should you have any additional questions please feel free to call.Sincerely Yours,Kathi TAgency Complaints

Review: A website called "OffenderConnect" is a cluster of communication services for people trying to communicate with jail/prison inmates. Apparently "OffenderConnect" is only a surface website name, and within that site are several mysterious in[redacted]als of companies such as GTL or [redacted] and other ones. One of the services falls under "[redacted]" and it is supposed to allow an email to be sent to someone in jail.

I tried to use this company's services, and the service did not work. It said something like, "Mail cannot be sent to this inmate" or "Not found" or something like that. Yet when I contacted the facility, they confirmed the person was there, and indeed, the person's name came up in the OffenderConnect database (else I could not have even keyed-it in). My [redacted] was charged $5.00, but when the operations failed on their website, I was told no refund would be given.

One of their agents reminded me that fine print had stated no refunds. It is my opinion that a "no refund" policy should not cover their own FUNCTION failure. If I change my mind as a customer, that is one thing, but if the service itself is not working, that is another. If they are going to present themselves as offering a service and then keep money when it doesn't work, then they are running a scam. I wonder how many little units of $5.00 are being raked in under the "no refund" policy because people just give up and call it a loss? Five dollars is not much to lose, I admit, but I am not someone willing to be scammed for any of my money at all.

Not only is my complaint about that, but I am further angry at the "fortress mentality" of this company in hiding behind different "company names" and in having their main customer service phone line (an 800-number) having the operators tell a caller that the "phone number line" is not actually the company she is seeking. There is only one phone number shown on the website, yet those operators say they are clueless as to all the various services on the site--that they assist with only one narrow area. Instead, say the phone operators, the proper company or subsidiary can be reached only via email. Interesting to me that the proper company or subsidiary ([redacted], [redacted]?) is once-removed from contact. I wonder why that is? <--Seems like hiding to me, and deliberately making it not possible to contact them.

So... second step is writing to an email address. Response is, "Sorry, no refunds." My next communication said, "Why not? Your own website instruction does not work. This is a flaw on your end, not mine. I want my money back. I want to talk to a supervisor." Reply is something like, "There is no way to contact the higher-up sources in this company. Sorry, no refunds."

So... this would mean that hour after hour, consumers attempt to use a service which is offered and described, pay at least $5.00 (it's the minimum... could be more) and then their money is kept even though the service does not work. If only I could "think up" a website that would offer something people might want (but not really have to deliver it), accept their payment and then refuse to give it back ... I could rake in dough on at least a statewide level with Utah customers. Easy profit!

Incidentally, a few days later, the issue was moot, because the incarcerated person was released. I will never have reason to write an email to someone in jail (a presumption on my part which I do not wish to be charged $5.00 for making). So again, this is not even a useful "credit" for me. Even if their technical issues could be solved, my reason for needing the service is gone.

Lastly--and this is really just a philosophical marketing point, I admit--[redacted]-GTL's required "package" or "bundling" of service charges is something consumers see in many places--meaning, you can't buy just "one" of something, you have to buy "three", or you have to buy "six" or "nine". I'd just like to take this opportunity to say how much I hate that because it's seems just downright Greedy to me. And in THIS case, we're not even talking a physical "bundle" or "package" of something. We're talking an electronic/digital function. Just charge the actual cost of the function--of the email transmission--and let the customer send a message. or two messages. or seven. If [redacted]/GTL are going to keep a person's money, might as well require she pay above and beyond what she really wants (?), so that the price of the one time is inflated for a bundled "marketing value." In the long run, there is the hint of a "double" cheat there... she has to buy three messages when she might have wanted just one, and the added "beauty" of it on the company end, is that the combined price of all is "not refundable", no matter if none of them work at all. Ensure that your website's PAYMENT function works, but say "Oh well" if its SERVICE function does not. Charge for three, deliver none, keep the money. Heh.Desired Settlement: The Revdex.com cell prior to this one has a list of "Desired Settlement" options. Very interesting list with options such as Apology and various Refund methods. I think an apology for "run-around" and for "stone-walling" would be nice. But I guess Refund (we could talk about putting it back onto my [redacted] or refunding some other way) is my basic choice.

*The thing is, that Inmate Email service would be really cool for people. The jail facility is so hard to deal with; it seems so difficult and discouraging to communicate with someone who's been arrested, and the hope of a quick Email was awesome. For the sake of c[redacted]zens in trouble and people trying to support them, I have to say (after my selfish $5), the very best outcome would be: Make your function work.

Business

Response:

October 21, 2014Dear [redacted]This letter serves as a formal response to the complaint listed above.The customer contacted the Revdex.com because she signed on to our company website, ConnectNetwork (previously called [redacted]) and paid $5.00 to send an e-mail to an inmate in the [redacted] County Detention facility. The e-mail request did not process and she is requesting a refund of her $5.00 payment.We investigated this complaint and contacted [redacted] on October 16th via telephone and informed her that we have issued a $5.00 credit back to her credit card. [redacted] indicated to us that she was satisfied with this resolution.GTL anticipates that this will close this complaint and should you have any additional questions please feel free to call.Sincerely Yours,Kathi TAgency Complaints

Review: In July I called Offender Connect and gave the customer service rep 5 different days that I was charged $4.34 for 2 minutes calls once again I was told I would be credited back the money and til this day August 15, 2013 I still have not receive my credit back. I have called on two other times requesting the calls money back on account. All I am told is we put the problem in and we see the 2 minute call. But I can not tell u a date.Desired Settlement: Credit back to phone account $21.70 I do not no why I have to go through the Revdex.com to get my credit back they need to just when they see it in their This is my Second complaint the first one was handle very quickly Thank You Revdex.com

Business

Response:

August 20, 2013

Dear **. Horne,

The customer contacted the Revdex.com because she is requesting a credit back to her account for calls that disconnected prematurely.

We investigated this complaint and have credited **. [redacted]’s account for 3 calls that were under 2 minutes in length.

We contacted **. [redacted] and advised her that the credit was applied back to her Advance Pay account.

DSIITI, LLC anticipates that this will close this complaint and should you have any additional questions please feel free to contact me directly.

Sincerely yours,

Review: I called Globaltel Link and set up and account and I then gave money to start up a services for collect calls from a certain jail. I found out on August 1st 2013 that this company does not do service with this jail. I called Globaltel link and told them that they should not have allowed me to set this account up knowing they do not service this jail and that I want my $25.00 refunded. The agent on the phone told me that it would take 1-3 business days for it to be refunded. 2 weeks after I still have not received my refund I called again. This time an agent told me that it would take 30 business days for them to refund me my $25.00. I told the agent that this was not what the last person told me and that I want my money refunded no later then the next business day, she told me that it is not possible. I then asked to speak to a supervisor and instead I ended up talking to the same person who claimed she was a supervisor. I told her I would be contacting them in 30 days. So today, Sept. 5th 2013 I called Globaltel Link again because I still have not received my refund. The agent this time proceeds to tell me that it takes between 30-60 days to get my refunded amount and that I should receive it no later then October 25 2013. I then ask to speak to a supervisor and she tells me that she is a supervisor. I then say I want the number to someone higher up in the company then her and she tells me there is no one higher then her.Desired Settlement: I get my $25.00 ASAP!

Business

Response:

September 10, 2013

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 only to find out later that GTL is not the service provider for the facility that the inmate is incarcerated in. **. [redacted] is requesting a full refund.

We investigated this complaint and contacted **. [redacted] and explained to her that our refund processing department processes a large volume of credit card refunds on a daily basis. We have processed the refund for the full $25.00 and advised customer to please allow 1-3 business days for the credit to appear on her card.

Please make a not that we received this complaint on 09/09/13 and the issue was resolved on

09/10/13.

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

Sincerely yours,

Review: I had a family member who was in jail. I set-up offender connect phone service with this company. Sept 2013 I informed them that I no longer needed the service I was told that I would receive a refund of the balance which is $15.78 on or about 9/30/2013. When I did not receive the refund I contact them again and was told that they were sorry but the check was not mailed out but they would send it out and I should have it within 10 business days which would be 10/25/20013. I called today, Oct. 28 after I did not receive it in the mail and was told again that they were sorry but it was not mailed out. I told them that I was contacting the Revdex.com.Desired Settlement: I want them to send me my refund along with an apology.

Business

Response:

November 11, 2013 Revdex.com

Of the Metropolitan Washington DC and Eastern Pennsylvania

1411 K ST NW, 10th floor Washington DC 20005-3404

Attention: [redacted]

Re: [redacted] - Revdex.com Complaint ID # [redacted]

Dear **. [redacted]

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

The customer contacted the Revdex.com because in September 2013 she closed her account and requested that the remaining balance in the amount of $15.78 be refunded.

We investigated this complaint and determined that the refund was never processed. We contacted **. [redacted] and informed her that we have processed the refund and it is being sent out for overnight delivery on 11/12/13.

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

Sincerely yours,

Review: This company provides phone services for inmates and perhaps others. This service uses an automated message to tell you that in order to speak with the inmate you must load at least $25 on to there service. They do tell you that "a service MAY be charged" however they do not tell you that the service fee is $6.95 each time you load money nor do they tell you it will cost $3.95 for the first minute and then $0.45/minute after that to speak to the inmate until after you load money and are connecting to the inmate. So I spoke an inmate twice totaling 8 minutes and 36 seconds and was required to load additional before they would allow another phone call because with the fee, I only had $4.31 left. Also, their system has a message of your balance at the begging of phone calls but it is erroneous. It first told me, before I was ever connected to the inmate and after just paying $25, that my balance was $6.71?? The next call it said it was $11 something. Perhaps closer now knowing the other fee was charged. Surely there is an organization that not only investigates their business practice but also the legitimacy of their fees. All told the first three phone calls cost $34.52, $2.58/minute! Companies should not be allowed to take advantage of people who have no other choice but to use their services. I thought monopolies were illegal in this country. Also, I had to provide additional private information, not required to process my credit card twice!, after already verifing who I was before they would discuss my account charges. Please investigate their lack of information to customers and pass on to the appropriate government agency their unfair fees and paractices.Desired Settlement: Refund of $6.95 fee, notification to future customers up front of all fees, hopefully fair trade for the future.

Business

Response:

We have called this customer and have sent her an e-mail. as of today she has not returned our phone call or responed to our e-mail. I am requesting that we close this complaint. We will be more than happy to reopen this complaint once we receive a response from [redacted]

Review: I've requested a refund from this particular business for a little over 39 days not including weekends or holidays. Every time I give them a call in reference to my refund they give me the same response, refund takes 30 days, but mines has yet to be refunded back into my account! Even had one of the customer service rep by the name of Katiba tell me that it is normal policy for them to basically make up lies to tell there customers about when they should be expecting their refund, when I asked!Desired Settlement: For starters my refund, along with an apology for their horrible customer service!

Business

Response:

July 21, 2014Dear Ms. HorneThis letter serves as a formal response to the complaint listed above.The customer contacted the Revdex.com because she requested a refund over 2 months ago and she has yet to receive the refund.We investigated this complaint and determined that [redacted] made a $25.00 payment on May 28th and requested a refund on May 29th. Unfortunately the refund was never processed. We have contacted [redacted] via e-mail and advised her that a credit in the amount of $25.00 has been issued back to credit card ending in 3755. We have waived the $5.00 refund processing fee. In addition we informed [redacted] to please 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: I put $20.00 on my phone so that my son can call me from prison and they took my money say that I owe them $24.39 this a pay as you go account so if I do not put any money on my phone then he can not call so how do I owe them $24.39Desired Settlement: I would like my money put back on my phone please

Business

Response:

November 25, 2014Dear [redacted]This letter serves as a formal response to the complaint listed above.The customer contacted the Revdex.com because she made a $20.00 payment to her GTL telephone account and was advised by GTL that she had a $24.39 outstanding balance due on her account.We investigated this complaint and contacted [redacted] and informed her that our records show that [redacted] used someone's credit card and made a $40.00 payment to her account without the cardholders' permission. When the cardholder discovered that her credit card had been fraudulently used she called her bank and requested a chargeback. The $40.00 payment was deducted from [redacted]'s account to cover the chargeback. This is the reason that [redacted] has an outstanding balance due on her account.GTL anticipates that this will close this complaint and should you have any additional questions please feel free to call.Sincerely yours,Kathi TAgency Complaints

Review: I originally contacted Globel Tel Link (GTL) on 10/03/13 to deposit $25.00 into my account with them in order to receive collect calls to my cell phone from a correctional facility. I completed this through their automated phone payment system with my bank credit card and the money was deposited in the GTL account the same day. Also on the same day, I used $1.18 of the $25.00 I had deposited. The person calling from the correctional facility was released the same day 10/03/13 so I contacted GTL a couple weeks later on 10/18/13 and requested they refund the $23.82 that was left in my account with them. The representative requested my credit card number that I had originally used to make the deposit and advised the $23.82 would be credited back to my credit card within 30 business days. The money was never returned to my credit card, so I contacted GTL on 12/05/13. The representative stated that no refund was issued because they did not have my credit card number to return the funds to. When I explained I had already given this info to the rep on 10/18/13 and questioned why they were now telling me they didn’t have my credit card info, they had no answer or reason. The rep asked for my credit card number again (which I did provide again) and he advised I would have to wait another 30 business days for the refund. I advised that would not work because I had already waited since Oct 2013 for the refund, so I was not waiting another 30days. I only used a dollar and some change of the $25.00 that I had deposited with their company two months earlier and I wanted my money back at that point. I was transferred to an escalated line/supervisor line where I spoke with [redacted]. She advised they now had the info they needed for the refund and I would be refunded within 7 to 10 business days. Six days later on 12/11/13, I received a voicemail from [redacted] stating they AGAIN needed my credit card number so they could refund my account for me. She requested I call again and provide the credit card number that I wanted the money refunded to. I called GTL the next day on 12/12/13 and spoke to a different rep in the escalated call area. I advised I had already provided my credit card number to their company when I deposited the money into the account on 10/03/13, on 10/18/13 when I called customer service and again on 12/05/13 when I called again. I advised I was not comfortable giving my credit card number to another person in their company over the phone because I was unsure what was happening to my credit card number all the previous times I had given it. I was giving them my number, but no one had a record of it which was troubling to me. I questioned why they were not able to pull my credit card info from when I had called their system and entered all of that info in on 10/03/13. The rep advised that I would have to be mailed a check through US mail if I didn’t want to give my credit card number over the phone for the fourth time. I was not stratified with this answer and asked for her supervisor. She advised she would send the info over to her supervisor and I would get a call back from them within 48 hours. I never heard back from GTL so I contacted them AGAIN on 01/10/14. Per [redacted] in the escalated area, it is now past the time where they can enter my credit card number in to refund the money back to my credit card so I the only way to get a refund at this point is to be mailed a check through US mail. I expressed my frustration with [redacted] on how I had called multiple times since October 2013 and provided my credit card information to their company on several occasions. I advised I did not see how this delay was my fault or how I should now have to wait for a check to be mailed to me when I clearly had contacted their company in a timely manner. It was the fault of their company and representatives that my credit card info was not captured/entered into their system in a timely manner. I was advised that my info had to be sent to the refund department and they should be mailing me a check by Tues 01/14/14. I asked [redacted] how I would know if this is really going to occur or not? Or am I just getting the run around again? How would I know that a check is actually going to be issued on Tues 01/14/14? She advised she could only verbally confirm with me that it would happen (just like all the other reps since October 2013 have done as well) and we ended the conversation with that. I understand this is not a large amount of money, but I find it very troubling that I have had to contact this company so many times to get my money returned to me. It see** as though they are stalling for some reason and do not want to return my money to me? I also find it alarming that I have provided my credit card number to this company on multiple occasions, but each time I do so and call back on a later date, I’m told they don’t have my information on file. This makes me wonder where the info is going when I give it to them then since it’s not going into their system. With all of the fraud and identity theft these days, I don’t feel comfortable with how they are protecting my sensitive credit card information or how they are handling this issue.Desired Settlement: I would just like my $23.82 returned to me. Preferable on my credit card (so I do not have to wonder when the check is going out or if its lost in the mail), but if it cannot go onto my credit card, then I would like a check ASAP.

Business

Response:

January 22, 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 open an account with GTL in October 2013. The inmate was released so **. [redacted] requested that the remaining balance on her account be refunded. **. [redacted] complained to the Revdex.com because she has yet to receive her refund.

We investigated this complaint and contacted **. [redacted] and informed her that the refund has been processed in the amount of $23.82 and was mailed on 01/17/14

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

Review: I sat up 2 phone accounts to receive calls from son who was transferred from [redacted] Prison at approximately 10:00 am on 9-26-12. Account was set up on my debit card for cell ####-###-#### & ###-###-####. At 11:00 am 9-26-13 found out it was wrong phone service & called for refund. Have called numerous times since & told now my accounts have been closed.

1-18-13

Dear Revdex.com,

I've contacted company many, many times. Always get people from [redacted] that give many different dates my money would b returned.

Recently story changed & I'm now being told my account was closed. On Sept. 26 when I called to explain it was wrong service & should've been Secure Us, lady told me it would refund in "30 to 60 days or less".

Was told once that it would be refunded on Dec. 19, 2012 "at the latest". Now they say it's been closed. Man last week said they could "re-open my phone service & I could request a refund afterwords". Then I'd go back to waiting months again for refund.

It's been aggravating & exhausting trying to deal with this company. Service was never used & I can't afford to lose my money or I'd foreget it!

Sincerely,

[redacted]Desired Settlement: Company told me on 9-26-13 funds would go back on my debit card 30-60 days. Each time I've called I've been given different dates. Dec. 19, 2012 was last date I was given. Now they say I never asked for refund. Want my money refunded.

Business

Response:

January 28, 2014

Dear **. [redacted]

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

The customer contacted the Revdex.com because on 09/26/13 she paid $50.00 to open 2 accounts with GTL to be able to talk to her son. **. [redacted] realized that same day that GTL was not the service provider for the correctional facility that her son was incarcerated in so she called GTL to request that we refund the $50.00. **. [redacted] still has not received her refund.

We investigated this complaint and contacted **.[redacted] on 01/27/14 via telephone and informed her that the $50.00 refund has been processed back to credit card ending in XXXX[redacted]. In addition we explained that she needs to allow 7 to 10 business 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,

Review: I have contacted this companyseveral times in the last month I have requested many phone calls in regards to attaining corrections on my account there have been several times where calls have not been accepted however I have been charged there have been system issues at the facility however I have still been charged for those calls I have been treated poorly and rudely by the customer service after repeated request to have management call me back I still have not had any phone calls in regards to my issues or concerns with my account there are a total of 6 call in which I have been charged but we're either not accepted or there was an issue with the facility phone the facility has acknowledged the issues with their phone system and the paperwork has been submitted to be credited to my account however Global tel link insist that they have not received any information there is also a discrepancy in my balance from 2/5 until 2/ 27in which there is a four dollar difference where I have been charged additional moneyfor no reason. there have been charges added on from what my billing account shows that are out of order and out of date I have been double bill For calls as wellDesired Settlement: I would like my billing account credited for the six calls from between 2/5 and 2/27 as well as the $4 different an unexplained charges that were added on to my account

Business

Response:

March 18, 2014

Dear [redacted]

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

The customer contacted the Revdex.com because she is requesting that her GTL phone account be credited for 6 calls between February 5th through February 27th as well as $4.00 in unexplained charges that were deducted from her account.

We investigated this complaint and contacted **. [redacted] via telephone on March 13th and explained to her that a trouble ticket was issued for her complaint and the results were that there were no issues with the phone system at the correctional facility. We offered Ms. [redacted] copies of her call details, transactions and payment history however **. [redacted] declined our offer.

The $4.00 discrepancy on [redacted]’s account is because the inmate made back to back unanswered calls, when this happens the funds are placed on hold and then released back to the account within 45 minutes to an hour.

There is no refund due to **. [redacted] at this time.

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

Sincerely yours,

Review: I have been trying to get my phone unblock so that my husband can call me. I faxed the info to them 3 times and they never seem to get the info. Finally they tell me they received the info but only part of it. They have been giving me the run around for 2 weeks now. And every time they make me wait another 3-5 days. Now they supposedly received a copy of my phone bill but did not receive any of the other info that was sent with it like my marriage certificate which was the page before the phone bill. Now they are asking me to submit the info again and telling me that it will take another 3-5 days after the marriage certificate is received. They have very poor customer service and very bad business practices. Most companies would be more helpful and expedite this but they are giving me and hard time and very bad service. I call them every day and hope to get someone who will actually help but no luck. They will not allow me to talk to management they put a lead on the phone, they will not give me a number for corporate and they will not give me a number so I can talk to someone about the fax. They just say that will be 3-5 day.Desired Settlement: I expect them to expedite the issue. I have waited 2 weeks for a 3-5 day process and have been given the run around because they don't care.

Business

Response:

April 28, 2014Dear **. [redacted]This letter serves as a formal response to the complaint listed above.The customer contacted the Revdex.com because she has been having trouble trying to set up an account with GTL so she talk to her husband who is an inmate in a correctional facility that GTL is the service provider for.We investigated this complaint and contacted **. [redacted] via phone on April 25th 2014 and explained to her that according to the account notes on file there was a problem receiving the required fax to establish her account. The account had originally been set up on 614 254 2554; the $25.00 payment was transferred to account [redacted] as this was the intended account number that the account was supposed to be set up on. **. [redacted] informed us that that she has been able to receive calls from her husband. The CSR that investigated this complaint provided **. [redacted] with her direct phone number should she have any additional problems in the future.GTL anticipates that this will close this complaint and should you have any additional questions please feel free to call.Sincerely yours,

Review: I have been using GTL since Oct 2013 and put a minimum of $25 on my account every 2 weeks since then. I do this online which connects me to another site called [redacted]. I recently was notified [redacted] was changing to [redacted] which is now what it is. I am now being charged a service fee of $6.95 to put money on my account each time. This is outrageous!! I was never charged a fee before. When I called customer service tonight about this I was told that was the prison charge.

My other issue I had tonight was I requested the money I have in my account on a phone number that is no longer in service to be transferred to a new number. I was told they couldnt do that bc I already was given a courtesy of that 1x already. I could have it refunded to my card but with a fee of $5.95!!!!

This company controls all the prison phones so there is no way around using this company but these fees have to be illegal and are definately unethical. The cost of the calls already exceed the normal costs of phone calls and then to make us pay an exceptionally high service fee is just wrong.

Please help me in resolving this matter or directing me to the correct person/company/government agency/lawyer to help all of us trying to stay in contact with our loved ones in a prison serviced by GTL

Thank you

[redacted]Desired Settlement: I would like the service charge removed when making a payment or at least to a reasonable charge of $1-$2. I would also like the practice of this company investigated for overcharging for their services

Business

Response:

July 11, 2014Dear [redacted]This letter serves as a formal response to the complaint listed above.The customer contacted the Revdex.com because she is requesting that the $6.95 credit card processing fee she was charged be refunded and her account balance on her old phone number be transferred to her new number.We investigated this complaint and contacted **. [redacted] and informed her that she was never charged the $6.95 processing fee and we have sent her a copy of her transaction history to verify that she was not charged the fee. In addition we have informed her that we have transferred her account balance in the amount of $8.73 to her new phone number. **. [redacted] advised us that she was satisfied with this resolution.GTL anticipates that this will close this complaint and should you have any additional questions please feel free to call.

Review: I signed up for this prepaid service on 9/6/14. The call was initiated by the company. I proceeded to speak to a representative who set up my prepaid account. After this was done I was able to use my credit/debit card to automatically put funds into the account. I was informed that calls were $2.45 for 30 minutes. Almost immediately 2 out of 3 calls were disconnected by the service provider prematurely with a recording stating a third party call was being attempted. I do not even know how to make a third party call on my phone. After losing about $15 dollars for disconnected calls I called the provider on 9/11/14 to get the issue rectified. I was told the calls had to be reviewed and a resoloution would come about in 3 to 5 business days. During the interim the GTL continued to disconnect 15 more calls between 9/11/14 and 9/16/14. I informed them of this problem because I have to continue to put money into this account. The calls lasted from 35 seconds and 18 minutes. When I called again I was told that I would not be reimbursed because I have been using a cell phone. Not to mention that I called today the 5th business day and I was simply told that some of the calls that Im complaining about do not exist in their records and that the issue has not been reviewed. I will not be getting my money. I inquired as to why this "at your own risk" policy was not explained. This is not fair to me as a consumer paying for a service. The provider states they can identify if I attempted to make a third party call but it doesnt matter because I wont get my money back. This was never initially expalined to me.Desired Settlement: I would like all my money refunded for the calls being disconnected by the GTL and this company should clearly explain the risk taken by using their service.

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 states that the calls she receives from an inmate in the [redacted] Detention Center disconnect prematurely due to 3-way call detect.We investigated this complaint and contacted [redacted] via telephone on September 23rd and explained to her that the GTL telephone system is quite sensitive and any clicks or noises detected during a conversation with the inmate could cause the call to disconnect prematurely due to 3-way call detect which is not allowed. We have issued a credit to [redacted]'s account for 2 calls that were less than 2 minutes in length. In addition we apologized to [redacted] for not having been advised about GTL's cell phone policy which is we do not guarantee service to cell phones.GTL anticipates that this will close this complaint and should you have any additional questions please feel free to call.Sincerely yours,Kathi TAgency Complaints

Review: It is bad enough the company has a monopoly on handling calls from correction system inmates to verizon cell phone customers. But in addition, they require consumers receiving calls to prepay in $25 increments, without stating what the calls actually cost. I'm still not sure what the calls cost, but I am sure it's around 50 cents per minute. I'm also sure the phone payment system mentioned a "fee". Upon viewing my account online, I discovered the fee is $6.25. That's a 25% transaction fee on putting money into my account. So not only does the company overcharge mystery rates to connect and per minute, but they charge a 25% transaction fee. This fee is pure gouging of the consumer thanks to their monopoly.

Other companies have sought to provide better service and have had to battle the FCC to force these primary providers to not block their numbers when inmates try to dial out.Desired Settlement: A refund of all transaction fees will be enough for me to not bother filing a lawsuit against this horrible practice. No matter what they do I'm actively pursuing alternative services, such as those that battle the FCC to force this one to allow them to provide better service at non-abusive rates to users.

Business

Response:

October 21, 2013

Dear **. [redacted]

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

The customer contacted the Revdex.com because of the credit card processing fee he was charged when he set up his account as well as he would like to know why GTL has a monopoly over the correctional facility.

We have made several attempts to contact **. [redacted] with regards to this complaint however **. [redacted] has not responded to our e-mails. We wanted to explain to him that when a customer sets up an account the recording states that a processing fee will be deducted from the payment.

With regards to a monopoly a correctional facility can only contract with 1 telephone service provider at a time. In this case GTL is the contracted service provider.

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

Sincerely yours,

Consumer

Response:

[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]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

Review: I set up an account online with Offender Connect so that I could speak with my son while he was in the [redacted] Justice Center. I was allowed to create the whole account online and add money to the account. Nowhere on the Offender Connect site did it mention a service fee. The minimum amount that can be added is $25.00. When I added the $25.00 the site immediately showed the amount was really $18.75 as there was a $6.25 service charge. I was not thrilled but thought it would only be for the first time set up. I knew time was close for my son to be released but we needed one or two more calls. The minimum amount that can be added is $25.00 so that is what I added hoping the rest would be refunded. Again the $6.25 service charge was removed. Now a little irritated, I decided it is what it is and they are just a another consumer rip off place anyways. Now today my son is home and I went to the website to close the account. Although the website gave instructions on how to close the account it did not actually let me close it online. I had to call the customer service phone number. They said the reason I had to call is so they could tell me there is a $5.00 fee to request a refund. None of these fees are mentioned anywhere on the Offender Connect website.

There is also no way to view a list of calls made and the charges for each.

The customer service line called GTL. They said they did not have any of my information from the Offender Connect website such as my address. But they know my telephone number and how many calls were made and when the calls were made and how much money was added to the account and when it was added.Desired Settlement: It is unfortunate that any company has to arrange expensive payments for calls from inmates. As far as I can tell the phone lines are the same as the general public uses.

That being said I know they are there to make money and can see the service charge for the first time set up but I believe a service charge every time I want to put money on my account and the refund fee are a bit out of line. They are making money with every call as it is.

I would like the additional service fee and the refund fee back.

Business

Response:

Attached is the resolution letter to this complaint.