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"Thank You Ladies"
New Phone Fees from GTL as of 12/1/07
Not everyone has to have an account with Global Tel*Link (GTL) in order to receive collect phone calls from California prison inmates. If your phone company allows itemized collect call information from other companies to be posted on your regular bill, you may receive occasional collect calls from the prisons without having to actually establish an account with GTL.
As an inmate advocate, I get occasional collect calls from inmates. I don't get them often enough for GTL to ask me to set up a "Direct Remit" account with them. The calls are billed directly on my monthly Verizon phone bill. There has never been a problem. I receive calls from various inmates, sometimes more than once. No one has ever had a problem calling my number, and I don't have a contract with MCI or with GTL.
Now I've been notified that GTL will begin charging an extra monthly fee to ANYONE in California who gets collect calls from CDCR prisons served by GTL. That would be me! Now, if an inmate calls me, I'll be paying an extra $1.95 for the month I received any calls. If I refuse the collect call, then for that month, I won't be charged the $1.95.
I thought I'd better do some new research on the GTL question, and here's what I found out today! [You're all going to love this one!]
There are three ways to get charged for collect phone calls from prisons by GTL:
1. On your local telephone bill.
2. "Direct Remit"
3. "Direct Bill"
The first two will cost you $1.95 a month. The third is only available in Conneticut, Ohio, and Virginia. Those states give GTL users a rebate on their phone calls, up to 20% in Ohio. They don't get the $1.95 on the "Direct Bill" accounts....apparently, that's not a choice in California.
Why in the world would CDCR circulate a memo that even mentions option #3, when it's not a choice in California? Hmm.
So, basically, what this memo means is that ANYONE who gets collect phone calls from a CDCR facility in California that is served by GTL will get the $1.95 a month extra charge. No one gets out of it.
The GTL memo to CDCR follows:
GTL
As an inmate advocate, I get occasional collect calls from inmates. I don't get them often enough for GTL to ask me to set up a "Direct Remit" account with them. The calls are billed directly on my monthly Verizon phone bill. There has never been a problem. I receive calls from various inmates, sometimes more than once. No one has ever had a problem calling my number, and I don't have a contract with MCI or with GTL.
Now I've been notified that GTL will begin charging an extra monthly fee to ANYONE in California who gets collect calls from CDCR prisons served by GTL. That would be me! Now, if an inmate calls me, I'll be paying an extra $1.95 for the month I received any calls. If I refuse the collect call, then for that month, I won't be charged the $1.95.
I thought I'd better do some new research on the GTL question, and here's what I found out today! [You're all going to love this one!]
There are three ways to get charged for collect phone calls from prisons by GTL:
1. On your local telephone bill.
2. "Direct Remit"
3. "Direct Bill"
The first two will cost you $1.95 a month. The third is only available in Conneticut, Ohio, and Virginia. Those states give GTL users a rebate on their phone calls, up to 20% in Ohio. They don't get the $1.95 on the "Direct Bill" accounts....apparently, that's not a choice in California.
Why in the world would CDCR circulate a memo that even mentions option #3, when it's not a choice in California? Hmm.
So, basically, what this memo means is that ANYONE who gets collect phone calls from a CDCR facility in California that is served by GTL will get the $1.95 a month extra charge. No one gets out of it.
The GTL memo to CDCR follows:
GTL
2609 Cameron Street
Mobile, AL 36607
Mobile, AL 36607
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS AND REHABILITATION
NOTICE TO INMATES
NOTICE TO INMATES
Effective December 1, 2007 GTL will implement a new billing requirement that will impact
some
customers who receive collect calls from CDCR inmates. This Notice is being issued so that inmates could share the information with family and friends during calls or by mail. A Notice to Family and Friends will also be issued.
Please share the information on this notice with family and friends.
Customers who currently pay for inmate collect calls on their local telephone bill or have a GTL Direct Remit account administered by GTL’s third party vendor will be impacted.
GTL will include a single bill fee of $1.95 each month that will be included on the telephone bill or Direct Remit account statement. This is a flat charge and will not be dependent upon the number of calls received in a given month. GTL will not charge the $1.95 fee to customers who do not receive collect calls in a given month.
Customers who pay for their inmate collect calls through a GTL Direct Bill account which is billed directly by GTL will not be impacted and will not be required to pay the $1.95 fee. If customers want to avoid this monthly fee and establish a GTL Direct Bill account they can contact the GTL Customer Service number at 1-866-770-4896.
GTL will include a single bill fee of $1.95 each month that will be included on the telephone bill or Direct Remit account statement. This is a flat charge and will not be dependent upon the number of calls received in a given month. GTL will not charge the $1.95 fee to customers who do not receive collect calls in a given month.
Customers who pay for their inmate collect calls through a GTL Direct Bill account which is billed directly by GTL will not be impacted and will not be required to pay the $1.95 fee. If customers want to avoid this monthly fee and establish a GTL Direct Bill account they can contact the GTL Customer Service number at 1-866-770-4896.
Family and Friends may contact the GTL toll-free numbers listed below
for all questions related to GTL inmate/ward telephone services.
GTL has Customer Service numbers for inmate international telephone services.
1-866-770-4896 – Domestic collect calls to
the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands
001-888-216-7423 – International calls to Mexico
0808-234-4566 – International calls to United Kingdom
(GTL Customer Service Numbers for International Countries will be issued on a separate document)
for all questions related to GTL inmate/ward telephone services.
GTL has Customer Service numbers for inmate international telephone services.
1-866-770-4896 – Domestic collect calls to
the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands
001-888-216-7423 – International calls to Mexico
0808-234-4566 – International calls to United Kingdom
(GTL Customer Service Numbers for International Countries will be issued on a separate document)