Global Tel Link
Reviews and Complaints

Yes, they are unimaginable. To my knowledge, they will no longer be handling certain state facilities anymore as of the end of this year (but that don't include all). I can't believe they have lasted this long. It is insane the way things are done. And, I guess they have lowered the limits all across the board because they don't want to lose money as they will eventually disintegrade. So, they will either make consumers spend more in order to talk and make their money fast, or they will not lose as much money when it is time for them to stop doing business. You are not alone, it is sad ($4.85?). May God bless that company, highway robbery.

I had a block put on my phone for$ 4.85 and I think that is very sad plus the complaint line won't even call me back I hope someone close Global Tel down soonand was spending limit was reduced from $100.00 to $50.00.

Can not contact the company. I have a balance on my account, and they will not put the call through unless I keep adding more money to it. What can I do ?

I've just sent an email to one of our local TV stations that have an investigative team to see if they want to start digging into this scam company.

I have been extremely vexed by the sneaky practices of the phone company with out any warning, and they did this last year too.
mar 2008.
15 minute call $3.50, then without warning it changed
15 munute call 14.00, then it went down to...
June 2008
15 minute call $3.50...
but in march of 2009 it changed without warning to ..
15 minute call $6.00. then My phone was blocked and I had to prepay, and I only owed them 35.00...
...
so I prepaid $25.00...
I gave them my credit card number over the phone, , , , ,
my credit card number to a phone company who I did not trust...
I got one 15 minute call and one 5 minute call and that was it. and they came on the line asking for
another $25.00...
This is all too distressing to me, so I had my
phone turned off and now I have a magic jack.
I am a disabled veteran and I find this
extremely vexing.

On February 18th, 2017 Global Tellink took $25.00 from my account with out my permission and now they won't return my phone calls or emails. This is ridiculous because they're already making too much money as is by overcharging for phone call. All I want is my money or my phone to be credited the right amount time so I can talk or give me my money back. If that doesn't happen than I will report them to the BBB.

Every time I attempt to contact Global Tel Link so that I can receive phone calls from an inmate I get an automated voice telling me that they are not able to accept my call because there are too many people on the line.

Finally my call was accepted. And I got another automated voice (yet again) telling me that I had to pay twenty five dollars on my credit card in order to speak with the inmate. Unfortunately I do not own a credit card.

So there is no way for me to talk to the person I love.

Hey I have the same problem. I actually got some resolution by calling the numbers on this web site.

http://www.dc.bbb.org/report.html?national=Y&compid=132001633#Complaints

I think that we should all go to our elected officials and complain about this horrible company. I'm personally tired of hearing that GTL will call me back within 2 hours, and that my phone number is in there automated call back system. I've tried to send money through western union and what to you know it has gotten lost. I was also given a fax # to fax my reciept [protected]. It didn't work, it said it wasn't received. I think I'm going to start by calling my state representative and complain to him. Whatever he tells me to do next then I'll do. Hopefully if enough scammed customers complain something will be done.

I have spent so much on phone calls with this terrible company. Even bought
A phoe number through them which was suppose to help save me money in which
It did not. I recommend getting a google voice # it is free!
I have a $13 balance an.
the system says i have insuffient funds to
Accept the call. I called the company and a Ignorant agent by the name
Of Peter advised me it maybe a "glitch" in their system ringing my phone!
Therefore making it appear as the inmate has called many times. I was told i had
To wait 24 hrs and here we are 24 hrs later and still the same. This is the second time.

I have given $25 to accept calls from niece. I had one 7 minute call and now i am empty. They say $6.25 fee and $2.5 surcharge per call to accept and then .89 a minute. I have 2.80 left but not enough to accept a call! So they just keep it! Unearned!Thieves! that got a contract through bribes. This a license to steal and take advantage of a bad situation. I am certain when an investigation is complete, the people making the $ are guilty of bribery and the people that accepted are guilty of selling out their office. People should absolutely go to jail on this.

For Tiffany I have paid with my debit card and they still said I did not pay After me looking at bank statements which showed they were paid is when they admitted to having a system problem on the day of payment. so if they loose payments through debits imagine western union or anyother payment method. bottom line they need to be shut down

INMATE VOUCHERS:

FRIENDS AND FAMILY FRIENDLY OPTIONS - Prepaid vouchers can be sold via the facility commissary system. Therefore, inmate friends and family can deposit money into the commissary account for the purchase of prepaid vouchers.

LESS MANPOWER REQUIRED - A system administrator will not have to enter debit account deposit amounts at the workstation. By having the inmate "cash" the voucher, this responsibility is shifted to the inmate.

NO THIRD PARTY - The system runs on Global Tel Link´s platform with no third party involvement necessary. As a result, Global Tel*Link does not need to rely on a third party for any aspect of the program ­ including the printing of prepaid vouchers.

SECURITY - Prepaid vouchers can be thrown away after being cashed at an inmate phone. Unlike similar programs, inmates do not have to retain actual cards that can be stolen.

RECONCILIATION REPORTS - Since the prepaid voucher or debit method programs runs on the Global Tel*Link´s platform, LazerPhone® provides detailed, accurate reporting capabilities through the reconciliation reports to manage the Prepaid Debit and the KEEP IN TOUCH Prepaid Voucher programs. These types of reports can be printed via the facility LazerPhone® workstation.

This information came directly from their website...

Is there a possibility of your misunderstanding somethin? Because I am confused of your true issue.

And regarding the individual that western union payment was missing: What information did you provide on the Western Union form? GTL does service county facilities as well as state prisons, so the information provided on the form will determine which system the payment actually posts to.

I think that we should all go to our elected officials and complain about this horrible company. I'm personally tired of hearing that GTL will call me back within 2 hours, and that my phone number is in there automated call back system. I've tried to send money through western union and what to you know it has gotten lost. I was also given a fax # to fax my reciept [protected]. It didn't work, it said it wasn't received. I think I'm going to start by calling my state representative and complain to him. Whatever he tells me to do next then I'll do. Hopefully if enough scammed customers complain something will be done. If anyone agrees please let me know.

It sucks when you go to jail and actually have to pay for something doesn't it?

THEY MUST BLOCK OUR PHONE NUMBERS, BECAUSE I CANNOT GET IN TOUCH WITH THEM EITHER, CONS CALL HOME/ MESSAGE SAYS TO CALL GOBLE TEL LINK THEY MUST BE WORKING TOGETHER. MY SON HAS TRIED THE NUMBER AND IT CONNECTS TO MY PHONE, '''''but the message is COLLECT CALLS CANNOT BE RECEIVED ON THIS PHONE TO CALL [protected] takes you to global tel link DO NOT TRUST "cons call home" and possibly Global.

This is a bunch of crap. I've tried for days to try and get on the system. My son keeps calling me and when I try and sign in NOTHING HAPPENS. THEY DO HAVE MY CREDIT CARD NUMBER CAUSE EA. TIME I TRY AND GET ON TO SIGN UP I HAVE TO ENTER IT. I HAD BETTER NOT SEE THESE CHARGES ON ANY OF MY BILLS. THIS OUTFIT SHOULD BE IN SAN QUINTEN FOR 10 YRS. UNLESS IT'S THE DAMN HURRICANE. I AM IN CALIFORNIA. I WANT TO GIVE THEM THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT. BUT I NEED TO CONNECT WITH MY SON. GEEZUZ. I REFUSE TO RECOMMEND THIS SERVICE...SO CALLED. TO ANYWAY.
NO THANK YOU. claire

gtl do suck I did tried them put 25 on my phone talk three times and that was all ... then had to pay services fees scew them

Globaltellink is Garbage...There Scam Artist...They take ur hard earned money and do with it whatever they want...There customer service SUCKS!...There actual services SUCK! and there WAYYYYYYYYYYY to expensive... There representatives are [censored]bags and i despise the entire company.

this is the first time I ever had to deal with this, back in the day inmates could just call and you would either accept or not, but now everything as changed . Is there someone else they can deal with, because they are rude and very quick to give you an answer before you can even finish your question. I'm affarid that if they don't find a reliable company that we the people will end up behind bars!

I have tried for a week to get in touch with Global. No one answers or the line is busy?
"We are experiencing large call volumne? " All I get is a recording or no answer!
We need a reliable phone service we can trust and not a fly by night company. I felt this company was questionalbe after I could not get a copy of calls made to me by my son on the internet. A call was made and I received a copy by mail. The information did not look professional.
Does anyone know a reliable service that can be used for inmates?
I'm watching my credit card for any suspicous charges .?
WHAT CAN WE DO?
DO WE NEED TO CONTACT OUR STATE REPRESENTATIVE?

address iof gtl ----box 173875, denver co 80217----if someone in the postal service could look up you applied for this po box # maybe there's a name and address attached.?

i agree my step son is in jail and they just ripped us off for 20.00 of are debit card and when i call gtl they say some one will call you back but you no they do not call i wish some one can help but i no i am going to look in to it i will write the paper why should we keep paying out money and it does not show you payed it we can not keep paying out money to put in there pocket i think they put it in there pocket and take it home for kfc they should pay us for all the calling we do to get them to pick up the phone to talk to us and put up with them takeing from us this crazy i want all my money back out of there pocket i hope they give us a new company

I agree that they are not easy to deal with. My ex-husband had a problem with them last year and it seems that I am having a problem with them now, January, 2010. They blocked my phone without even telling me anything. My son could not get through to me. When I called the number they left on the phone and asked why they blocked my phone, they said it was because we used more than $200 in a 90 day period. Dah, who knew this was a rule. I have never had any contact with this company although the supervisor told me that I have had contact with the company (because I accept the collect call). This supervisor would not listen to my story which was that we did use the phone more in December because my son had not talked to his sons in three years until this year when they visited me. His ex-wife cannot afford to receive call with the exorbant amounts that this company charges. And now they want me to pay another $6.95 each time I give them money. No thank you. I am writing to everyone, maybe even FOX News. You really wonder who is the criminal here, ones in prison or on the outside.

these people are nothing but theives i say we call our congressman and turn them in. they have to investigate your complaint.

i Hate global tellink! has anyone figured out how to shut these people down? is there another company to go through besides them? i will be turning them in to the BBB and see where that goes...

They took my money from my card. 25$ and set up the wrong account. Once I realized that my husband was still unable to call. I call them back and they tell me that I have to have 50$ on the account to activate it. I give them 25$ more dollars to activate the account. He is still unable to call. I call them back again oh and each time that I call the agents are rude and I am ALWAYS left on hold for a long time. So once I have the 50$ on the account my husband is still not able to call. I call Globel Tel Link AGAIN. This time I am told that the account was set up wrong again. So now I have had this account for about a week and my husband is still not able to get through. So I call Globel Tel Link AGAIN. This time I want to cancel the account and I get a different story each time that I call them. They told me that I could set up the correct account with the 50$ credit that I have on my account. I say "no" to that I want my money credited back to my Visa. I was told that it would take 30 days to get my money back on my VISA. I feel that they are scammers to get the money and it takes forever to get my money back on my card. Meanwhile I am still not able to speak to my husband. THIS PLACE SUCKS DON'T USE THEM!

paid the bill 8/05/09 my phone is still blocked as of 8/08/09.. my husband is upset we cant talk .. we need to talk... thank GOD i ws able to visit him today.. waiting for my phone to be put on... mrs gamble very upset

BEWARE... this company is a rip off..they are quick to take your payments, but are to greedy to refund or transfer balances, they have lots of b.s. and no respect for you or your loved ones.stay away, write its cheaper .. i can"t believe this place is still allowed to operate and not in jail themselves...

EVERYONE!... There appears to be a common theme of complaints regarding Globel-Tel across the globe. Perhaps everyone should join together and get a petition together to be filed with the FCC and also sent to all of your elected officials. GTL is governed by the FCC and even though those ### are all getting a kick back they still can't ignore their Constituents who have banned together to demand that GTL improve their services or get them the hell out. On top of that a CLASS ACTION LAW SUIT should be considered where you demand they pay back all the monies they have stolen from friends and families of those who are forced to use their services because GTL has monopolize the Correctional Facility Phone Systems. Put all your energy into giving these Crooks a royal smack down. Additionally, the other scam they have going is if you use like say Google Voice to have access to a local number and forward that number to your phone, they are causing these calls to be dropped or have faulty connection. When you report it they act as though they are going to resolve or fix the problem but their scam is to keep this going until you get frustrated and have your love ones call your long distance number so they can now charge you for the those long distance calls. Don’t give into them……DEMAND that GTL be held responsible ….they are commenting a serious crime…. They the executives of GTL should all be held accountable and SERVE PRISON TIME FOR THEIR ILLEGAL ACTIONS…….

Maybe should pay your bill on time next billing cycle? I don't understand how this is a complaint? Its a weekend. Maybe waiting for a check to clear?

Globel Tel Link has the most horribly rude employees! I was speaking with a loved one in a facility in Spokane, Wa. We were cut off for the use of three way. I NEVER used three way! I was on a cell phone, with a bad signal. It took me hours to track down numbers to talk to customer service, and then they told me it was my fault for using three way. I am angry with this company and our govenment for contracting such a poorly operated business. My children, could do a better job! Globel Tel Link is a joke!

Globel Tel Link is the worst. They only stay in business by, sharing the savings they are obtaining by not employing a customer service work force, with the institutions they service. Please complain to your institution about this service, it stinks!

hi.. my name is dharmendar singh, , wants to know about the customer service number or a toll free number to register my complaint for Global tele link noida, , new delhi bcoz i have to recharge my account for further calling. plz anyone help me out of this problem...

I do Agree with all of you's that are having trouble with GTL! Let me start with saying on top of the CSR being crappy u cant tlk to any one on the weekends WTF. I used to get billed straight through my local telphone company but they switch and GTL took over they give u a 100 dollar limit @ almost 4.00 a call I been having a reason to believe that they were charging me for calls that I wasn't having I would add money to my acct, talk to my love 1 twice then my phone will blocked again! HUH hw does that work ! There exscuse to me was ohhhhhh it takes 24hrs for the system to updated so the balance they give me might not be accurate? So I decided to wait a complete 48 hr without excepting any phone calls and long behold 11.00 was added on to my account Im beyond pissed and to top things off it's a saturday and I cant talk to any one about it! Hw the hell do i get my mney bck? all the times I freak out when my phone was blocked and just added mney on my acct! Just to make sure I could communicate with my love 1. It's not easy having some one that we love incarcerated and they treat us like crap rip us off I could only imagine hw many other times this happen to me and other people! I Would like to Knw WERE THE HELL R THEY LOCATED SO I COULD TAKE A TRip. M.S PISSED

This is the absolute WORST system I have ever seen. The customer service is the worst. The charges are unbelievable. Your unable to change or update any information with the billing and that makes it impossible to talk to your loved ones in prison. I am willing to pay these ridiculous fees and they can't even help me when I want to spend my money to pay them- that's how twisted they are. Prison sucks and then to deal with these ###s on top of it is THE WORST! They are making SOOOO much money off these phone calls. Almost $5 a call and you can't even provide adequate service. GTL should have people 24/7 ready to take care of their customers. We are paying way too much for the WORST phone service in the country. GTL can suck my ###!

Same problems as everyone else who has posted. They billed me twice on the same day. When I recieved my visa statement I called Global Tel immediately. They gave me a fax number and said to make it to the Attention of the Refund department. Well so far I have tried 4 different fax numbers to no avail. The numbers fail to connect. They also told me when I finally did talk to a human that they are showing I was only billed twice, while my Visa statement is saying 3 times. I needed to talk to my family member and as far as I know this was the only way available to us. What choice did I have. I am still on my mission to get this resolved, but like most others I don't have all day to wait around for them to decide to call me back. Good luck to everyone else in the same boat. another unhappy customer.

Good luck trying to cancel service once you don't need it any more. A month ago we finally got to talk to a real person after an hour of trying to get through. We were told to fax our request to cancel and was given the fax number.

Well here it is a month later and guess what, still not cancelled! We tried again to get them on the phone but after two hours of fustration (disconnects, waiting for a rep going through the automated system ect.) we gave up. I faxed a second request today and told them that my next step was the Alabama State Attorney General's office.

Maybe we'll get results. For anyone that may not have the faz number here it is:

[protected]

I do not know why these prisons are using GTL because they are like you said using people and getting over on them. This is a company who is suppose to help inmates to receive phone calls from love ones, but instead they are taking advantage of the inmates and family. I put money on the phone and if it runs out they are not suppose to allow phone calls to come throught. Well guess what they allow calls to come throught anyway because they want the money. Next thing I know I have a high phone bill. If I could check my account to see how much money I have on the account this would not happen. They do not care about us like I said they just want our money. I now go through a better company and I can check my balances on-line and if the amount is 2.00dollars or less they put a block on the phone until I send more money in. They need to drop GTL because they are not no good. For familys out there that have not talked with their son or daughter or husband and wife look this needs to stop now. Someone needs to protest against this company GTL. I had a friend who had a child close to her and she tried to set up account they told her that they could not set up the account because of her address, They said that people are using addresses so that they don't have to pay a high phone bill. Man oh Man is is unreal that a company will do this, it is not like they are getting free phone calls they still have to send money in for the account. What is wrong with this company she has a phone bill showing her address and they still refused. I thought this company is suppose to help the inmates receive calls. No they just want the money. I would never go back to GTL as long as I have a love one inside there. No wonder inmates are getting or trying to get cell phones into the prisons.

Our grandson calls us collect several times a month and the facility he calls from uses Global Tel Link. We use AT&T for our long distance carrier and pay our bill monthly. Global Tel Link tells us their company policy is to bill the party directly when charges are $100 or more. Our phone company always accepts our payment. What is the deal here? They say their charges won't be any more than AT&T would charge. I doubt that or why are they insisting to bill us themselves? Or are they getting a cut somewhere along the line for heavy usage at the consumers expense or inconvenience of having to pay another bill? Someone should look into this.

I have had it with this company! This company treats customers like they are hardin criminals, who dont deserve common curticy, and assistance. Do they not understand that the inmates have put us threw enough, and people on the outside are just trying to be suportive to there family and friend while they are being rehabed or possibley even in the prison system because they have been wrongly accused. Instead of being helpful to paying customers, they treat us like ### because they can. some prisons have no alternatives for phone call, leaving customers no alternatives to have contact with inmates. They know we have no choice but to use there service, so they know they are getting paid no matter how bad there company ethics are.

Call the numbers on this web site. I got right through to corporate offices, skipped thier cheesey chustomer Service

http://www.dc.bbb.org/report.html?national=Y&compid=132001633#Complaints

I agree with all of the complaints that I had read on here. They got really bad service, people that work there got such bad attitudes, and they are very very very rude. I feel like I got scam so many times.

The same thing happened to me on 4 occasions totaling $400.00. I am currently contacting the FCC and a lawyer to file suit for the money. I faxed my statement over to a supervisor named Mrs. Hendricks and never heard back. This was in april. I am sick of this ###. This company needs to be regulated!

I was charged double on my card and instread of the customer service rep telling me it was a sytem error she blamed it on me and while I was telling what I thought happened and that it may be a system error she put me on hold while I was talking and never came back! That is horrible and I will take this to the better business bureau!

I've been using this company for collect calls since they took over MCI, and I must say that the service that I've been receiveing is not commendable at all. From the day that I first opened the account I had difficulties. To open the account they wanted me to fax over a current phone bill, and allow 3-4 business days for processing. I waited, and called for an account status, and my fax was never recieved. After hours of talking to different representatives, I was informed that I was given the wrong fax number. So I had paid $6.00 to transmit this fax, and now my personal information was floating around somewhere. Nothing was done about the inconvenience that they incurred. I mean I could go on with the complaints of unsatisfactory service I've received with this company. Due to the fact that they are the only company that offers this service, they tend to ignore certain customer issues. As the consumer I can say that it is very unfair for us, to have to pay for a service that we are unhappy with, and not be able to put a stop to it.

I am a telamarketer and if we would allow people to sit on the phone for as long as I do when I try to reach a LIVE person at global tel link. Well needless to say I wouldn't have to worry about takeing the collect calls from the jail because I would be with out a job and would not be able to pay for them. Global tel link is a very poorly run business. But if you make millions off those of us that relie on those collect calls why worry if you are just adding to someone pain. I currently have two step-sons and a bother in a correctional faciliality and would like to know why my Collect calls have been blocked and I am unable to take collect calls it all must now be prepaid. -Rmetz

It irates me that I am somebody who was born in this country, have worked since the age of 14, graduated high school and even taken some further education courses, am working full-time and a grateful wife and mother, pay bills on time, yet live month to month in this struggling economy and suddenly out of the blue receive a voice recording telling me that I have reached my limit on collect calls for a 30day period!
Now I cannot receive a collect call from my brother, after having received collect calls uninterupted for more than 8yrs!
Devastated upon hearing this recording just 3days ago, I immediately contacted my residential phone service to see if there was anything they could do to rectify the situation, but was advised that I must contact Global Tel Link directly as it was this company that blocked my calls. So I tried, only to receive yet another recording saying that they were experiencing an extremely high call volume and could not accept my call at that time, that I would have to try again later. What? Yes. So, I tried again, getting the same message for 3days continuously! Finally, this morning, I decided to start as early as I possibly could calling this number, [protected], and reached a different recording. This time I selected English as the language, and held for 45mins. until reaching a man named "John", who really couldn't help me and patched me over to "Tiffany", his supervisor, who really couldn't help me, either.
I didn't want to complain in the first place, just have my phone unblocked so that I could receive a collect call from my brother.
But John told me that I had received more than $50 in collect charges within a 30day period, the procedure was that a block be placed on my phone, and my only option now was to prepay. To understand this fully, you see, I am now being informed that I will receive a bill containing more than $50 in collect charges for this past month, and Global Tel Link wants me to prepay now, right now, in order to continue to receive collect calls from my brother. I don't have money to prepay. It's not in the budget. But if they would unblock my phone then I could continue paying my bills as I always do.
After reading some complaints upon arriving to this webpage, I see that some have experienced no refunds for prepays not used. And I noticed somebody else being forced to prepay and be billed again on their regular phone bill! Now I am outraged as we, myself and my fellow Americans, are being bullied, taken advantage of, and blindsided by some company put in a place in which to do so by our own government!
What should be done?

Lana I am going through the same situation, they told me the same thing they don't accept vonage and I told them my friend has vonage and she gets calls through gtl. I went out and got a land line phone then they told me I had to fax my phone bill did that then someone else there told me that I can use vonage I faxed that and I am still waiting for my service to get started. Seems like they will never start it.

my phone line is blocked by global tel link, I can recieve calls from son nor can I get through to speak with
global tel. why don, t someone do something about this rogue company? this is America, this i type of
company is not alowded to operate in a free society! is it?

I am being charged on my verizon phone bill for the exact paymenys i am on account with global tel link i need this matter taken care of immediatly .please respond sincerly william garlock [protected]

i hear you man iam a prof fundraiser in ct for a co in nj .if i was like these ### id be in jail

I totally agree with you Latoya. They are ridiculously rude. They gave me the wrong information stating that you had to have a land line telephone (from the pole) in order to recieve inmate calls-no cell phone or digital phone service (vonage, etc). So I went out and had AT&T installed into my home. They would not approve the land line because the inmates name was on the bill. Come to find out that 3 months that some stupid customer service person gave me the wrong information. Globel tel does accept vonage, you just have to fax over the bill to register the line-which I still have not heard back from customer service. How can they be so rude and give out false info like this and get away with it? Now I have 3 telephone lines(digital, land, cell) and still am not getting any calls from my brother. Maybe it is just better to write, I know its cheaper and less frustrating!

I agree totally. I have been trying to get in touch with customer service and it is the worst service ever.

When my father contacted me this afternoon, the recording stated that I did not have enough funds meanwhile when he contacted me this morning I had $16.00 left. Now whe attempted to communicate with me this evening, he was able to get through.

I plan to complain to both the attorney general's office as well as my congressman about this co. I feel they overcharging taking advantage of the situation.

THIS COMPANY IS IMPOSSIBLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH . I SPENT MANY HOURS TRYING TO SPEAK WITH SOMEONE AS THE AUTOMATED SYSTEM CONTINUOUSLY RE-ROUTED MY CALLS TO A SERVICE THAT PROMISES TO RETURN YOUR CALLS AND NEVER DOES. THERE IS NO SUPERVISORS AVAILABLE TO SPEAK TO OR AN ALTERNATE SUPERIOR TO HELP RESOLVE ISSUES. I PAID MY BILL WITH A FRIEND'S CREDIT CARD. THEY WOULD NOT ACCEPT THE CREDIT CARD PAYMENT BUT, WITHDREW THE MONEY 3 TIMES FROM MY FRIENDS ACCOUNT CAUSING HIM A FINANCIAL HARDSHIP AS WELL AS BOUNCED CHECK FEE'S TOTALLING OVER $300.00. I WAS TRYING TO MAKE A $95.00 PYMNT. THE BANK SHOWS GLOBAL TEL LINK HAS WITHDRAWN THE MONEY. GTL SAYS THEY DO NOT HAVE THE MONEY AND THE BANK DOES NOT HAVE THE MONEY THAT THE MONEY IS IN THE "AIR". IT IS AGAINST GTL'S POLICY TO USE SOMEONE ELSES CREDIT CARD BUT YET THEY STILL TOOK THE MONEY. THEY SAID IT COULD TAKE 7-10 DAYS TO GET THE MONEY RESTORED TO THE BANK. MY GTL PHONE ACCOUNT IS STILL SHOWING A NEGATIVE BALANCE AND HAS A BLOCK ON MY PHONE AND WE ARE OUT OF $300.00. I SEE A "CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT" IN GTL'S FUTURE. ATTORNEY'S FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME. I AM IRATE!

I do agree with you. The cost of the calls are more than calling overseas. There are 2 calls with a
60 min total, the charges are $6.24. Where did they get payment of $132.60 and the bill is
paid in full every month. This company is a complete rip off.

Global Tel Link is a service enforced by a system ran on money. If you have poor credit or no credit established at all, this company will easily scam you. Needless to say, it has it perks of cheaper calls but with cheaper calls come bad service. It is a way that a company can easily take your money without jails having to deal with collect call charges and limits to airtime themselves. If your state has a pdf file online, you can probably see the rates and information if you google "Global Tel Link (Your State)". That is really the best you can do since there is no other way of contacting your love ones from jail. I am going through the same hassle now.

I AGREE WITH EVERY COMMENT THAT WAS POSTED. GLOBAL TEL LINK DOES HAVE ONE OF THE WORST REPUTATION IN CUSTOMER SERVICE. THEY OVERCHARGE ON THE CONNECTION FEE INLCUDING TAXES AND THE COST PER MINUTE FOR A CALL. IF THERE IS NO FUND IN THE ACCOUNT, THE CALL WILL NOT CONNECT UNLESS YOU ADD MONEY TO THE ACCOUNT. HOWEVER, THEY WILL ARGUE WITH THE CUSTOMER (MYSELF) AND TELL ME THAT I OWE THEM MONEY FROOM A PREVIOUS CALL OR SEVERAL OTHER CALLS. HOW DOES THAT MAKE SENSE AT ALL? THEY DON'T CONNECT YOU AT ALL IF THERE'S NO FUND BUT YET I DO THEM MONEY. THE CALL DISCONNECTS WHEN THERE'S NO MORE FUNDS LEFT IN THE ACCOUNT SO HOW CAN I GO OVER MY MINUTES. AND THEY DO HANG UP ON YOU IF YOU TRY TO EXPLAIN ANYTHING TO THEM AND WILL HAND OVER THE CALL TO THEIR NEIGHBORING REP WHO WILL TELL YOU THE SAME EXACT THING, AND WORST OF ALL TO TELL YOU THAT HE/SHE IS A SUPERVISOR. THEY ARE A PACK OF UNEDUCATED ###S WORKING IN THERE. i WILL REPORT THEM TO THE BBB. THANKS.

Global Tel Link is one of the worst third party phone companies I have ever had to deal with. The customer service department is terrible. They love to say "I don't know. Duh, I am a Global Tel Link customer service rep and I am stupid".
We were just billed for four months of telephone calls from our daughter at a correctional facility. Before that we were billed monthly and now we have a HUGH telephone bill to deal with. I cannot find a job but now I want to be a supid customer service rep for Global Tel Link so I can get paid to be able to pay this bill.
It took 2 hours and 45 minutes to "discuss" this issue with them and I was told by Zack Oper. #0011 that I am the only person that this has happened to. I'm going to play the lottery today with those odds. How can I get rid of these idiots?

I have to agree with others. I have been recieving $300 to $400 phone bills for 3 years with MCI and when they switched to Global Tel-Link, my bill was $50 and they blocked my number. They said I didn't pay the bill and I hadn't even recieved a bill and when I asked for my bill, it took them another 2 months before they finally sent it and then wanted a deposit to unblock my number. That was there error and I think they were to high and also charged the entire 15 mins. reguardless of how long you talk to the inmate. I think that it shouldn't cost this much to talk to your loved one's in a correctional facility.

I agree with all the complaints that I have read to date. It has been my unfortunate experience to have had only 2 dealings with this company to date. My 4 year old grandson is suffering in all of this. I have had my phone blocked 2 times now so that my son could not call me from prison. I was not even told that the block was placed. Another inmates family called to tell me what was going on. Needless to say my son was very upset that he could not get his calls through to his son. I was told by this company that I had to use their billing service or I would not recieve any calls from my son period. The company also told me that my calls are limited to 100.00 per month and then the phone is blocked until I pay the bill. If I want to go over that amount I have to place a 50.00 deposit. I had another outside phone carrier and have been paying my bill with unlimited amounts of calls. Like other complaints I have too have experienced interruptions in service by the automated messages. It causes a lose of about 2 or more minutes of our conversation from the limited 15 minute call. You are unable to talk to your loved one during these extra messages. I ask why did I accept the charges with the same message at the very beginning of the call just to be interrupted 2 more times. I'm sure that my bill includes those loses of minutes. I too have experienced the rudeness of the employees they take it personal when you question the company practice. In my opinion this company has a monoply on the prison phone systems and something needs to be done. I have notified the Attoney General's Office in Ohio to investigate this company. If there is any justice in the world I know that the Attorney Generals Office can do something.

you would think they would make it easyer on us to talk to are child, yes they have made a mistake, and they are paying for it, , we are all stuffering because of it, , iam a single mother and have had a hard time financially, but if my son didnt get to call home and talk to me and the family how would he act in there .it makes him deal with the prison life a little better just getting to talk to us, , you would think they would lower the price on the phone calls, but they are taking advantage of a poor loving mother, , jonda, , pedro ohio

I am angered by the business practices of Global-Tel Link. I am even more angered by the monopoly this company has on the prison system in the United States. I am researching legal action. My name is Arva Whittaker, . Something must be done; too many people are voicing the same complaints.

Global Tel Links billing cycle is from the 26th of one month until the 25th of another. So if you were calling about a call that was placed on May 5th, then it would NOT appear on whatever invoice that you were to have, it would appear on the next invoice. So the representative that you spoke with gave you the correct information. The billing cycle or billing period for all invoices that you recieve are visible on right at the top of the page!

It really is funny to me the ridiculousness of some of these complaints, this issue is VERY easily resolved by simply LOOKING AT THE INVOICE!

The due date is also visible on your invoice, which is the 24th of each month. It also clearly states because I am looking at MY invoice as I"m writing this: that payments sent by mail can take 7-10 BUSINESS DAYS to post to your account, if the payment is not recieved by the 24th your line can/will be blocked for non-payment. If you make your payment through Western Union, to allow 4-48 hours for the payment to process and post.

In my personal experience the quickest and most effective way to actually post a payment is by using a credit card.

So this complaint that you state your are going to file is an absurb waste of time! the PUC, the FCC and the BBB have legitimate complaints to actually follow up on and yours is NOT since all of the information is provided to you in writing.

There are enough frivolous lawsuits pending without you adding one to the mix.

GTL sucks

I agree with all your comments- I have had enough of Global Tel Link and their ignorance. I spoke to a n0n-english speaking "representative" today that told me the bill is sent out every month at the end of the month and payment is due on the 24th of the month- yet I was told today- May 5th -that the bill for this cycle has not yet been sent out- yet they still expect their payment on time. After 30 mins of round and round I asked to speak to a supervisor becuase they are telling me my payments are being received late( which is BS) and they have blocked my line AGAIN. I was told the administrative offices of GTL do not have a phone number- amazing! How do they conduct business without a phone? I am sending a comlaint to the Commissions of NYS Dept of Corrections and the ATT. General. These people are rip off artists and they need to be stopped! They treat people who have loved ones that are incarcerated like ###- this is the real world- good people make mistakes in life- we are all human-that does not mean they should be treated like dogs! Don't stay silent people- GTL needs to be shut DOWN!

This company really stinks. They have not invoiced me in three months and have cut off service. It's impossible to get through to them, either on line or by phone -- and their fax line doesn't work either. The last time my inmate friend tried to call they asked me to refresh the amounts in my account by credit card but rejected two perfectly good cards on four different tries. It is obvious that these people have a captive audience, otherwise they wouldn't treat their customers with such contempt. The DOC should definitely cut these bums off and find a new provider. Would I deal with people like this in a non-captive market? Not a chance!

They are liars and crooks! I have sent a formal complaint to the FCC and the BBB. Please keep complaing loudly to anyone and everyone who will listen!

We need to come together as a group united to end this treatment of paying customers. please if you know of others let get together and do something. There has to be something. Write your attorney general, your state legislators and your local phone company to complain abou the service and the better business buearu.

The onloy way we are going to make them listen to us and stop treating us like animals because are loved ones are in prison is to expose them and put them under investigation. This is racketerring at its finest if you ask me!

There seems to be an issue after 4pm, Nebraska time, on the inmates’ receiving end. In other words, they can’t hear my voice clearly as it cuts out. This, in turn, requires our conversations to be repeated resulting in inefficient phone time usage. Please fix this issue. Thank you.

The prison at its told me I could get a refund on the money left on my phone account at O.R.W I been home 6 weeks still nothing I even signed a paper at the prison to get my money. I still have received nothing from them and can't find a number to call them

Global tel link, a crooked company taken money from crooks and they became crooks.don't give your card number..they take it and run..charge you for service you didn't even want..take my word wright letters..they rob seniors

GlobalTelLink-------Not recording a customer's pay-
ment on their account and blocking my daughter's
phone calls, even when the payment is made "before"
the payment date. This has happened twice and I am
------ off. A sorry phone co. in my opinion---can't keep records better than they're doing.

I think the company is a joke and has a problem with white people and not wanting to hire people that worked there before but they hire everybody esle and i think they need to be invested and some one needs to file a complante i have been calling them for over 2 years and they keep telling me that they dont need anybody but they hire new people and i would not reckmend aynbody to work for them

I have been trying for two days to get through to this company which I thought was horrid until I read these messages and found out that's nothing compared to what other people have had to put up with.
I am not in prison, no one in my family is in prison. A former student of mine is in prison and has been calling me for three years - and now for some reason my phone number is blocked and I can't get through to them to find out why. I hate that woman with the awful British accent they have on their tape telling you not to call them back! How is this alright for a company to take your money and treat it's customers this way?

Somebody stole my credit card and this number and company showed up on my bank account. I have called 12 times and "left my place in line" and got calls back and nobody can ever help me. I've asked to speak to a manager 8 times and everytime I leave a message I never get a call returned.
Most of the times I called these people act like they have never done any type of problem solving in their lives.
They have VERY poor customer service!

they obviously don't give a damn about their customers, which is not the correctional facilities that are funding their company, but the people that are actually using the phone system! It is true..the automated system NEVER works properly and then when you call the so-called "customer service" it takes literally HOURS to get through to someone, and the person you finally speak to is most likely going to have an attitude! Its ridiculous!

Okay my friend apparently just got placed in the county jail on Saturday night 08/28/09. I received calls to my wireless phone 3 times on Sunday but of course we can't accept Collect Calls.

Today, I called the number that per the automated voice message system [protected] but this was for existing GTL prepay accounts. Then per another recorded message I dialed [protected] to set up my prepay account, entered my wireless 10 digit#, entered my credit card (Chase $5 Limit, only have $483 balance on it), entered the 3 digit code on the back, entered the expiration 09/10..Right? I got the message "Invalid Expiration Date"... I checked, double checked, triple checked. Even used my Target Visa Card, got the EXACT same message.

Had enough, called, only hold stated "Mondays have unusually high call volume" routed me into a message box for a call return, gave my# again at 9:57am today (08/31/09). Got a call back at 11:46am WITH NOTHING BUT HOLD MUSIC FOR 4 MINUTES, NOBODY EVER CAME ON THE LINE, I WAITED, and then the call automatically hangs up.

Called a 2nd time at 3:02pm cst, left a message for a call return AGAIN, got a call back at 4;07pm cst, AGAIN I answered expecting a live person, ONLY hold music, no one ever answered after 6 minutes, THEY disconnected the call automatically.

Called a 3rd time, this time gave them my home phone as a call return#, left msg at 4pm, got home at 4;30pm, it is 5:18pm cst. NO CALL return as of YET!

Called 4th time at 5:01pm cst, left yet another message, ...waiting to see what happens next.

Called 5th time, this time I heard hold music for 1 minute, a silent mute, then a hang-up. Which tells me the person that received my call had their phone ACD on mute and purposely disconnected my call!

PATHETIC... Filing a complaint on every board I can find. We need to put these people out of business.

I Hate to admit i work for this company and it is a total rip off. I would not even consider working for this place had it not been for the economy being terrible. I hate that I work for such a dispicable company and will not for long. They do rip you off. Every time You pay with a credit card you are charged a 19% processing fee and if you need to get a refund they charge you another $5 just to get your money back. Don't ever ask to speak to a supervisor. All that happens is you get transfered into a dialer system and it puts you on hold and never connects just ask you to leave a message and then calls you back in two hours and you are transfered into the same system you were in before and they transfer you to a supervisor and the same thing starts over again. I do ask that you try not to get so angry at the workers we just do what we are told and we all think the same way all of you do. I will comment more later and tell you about the other unethical things this company does