T-Netix
I got a phone call from a caller ID-blocked number yesterday. When I picked up, it was a recorded message from T-Netix, telling me that an inmate (my younger brother) at Correctional Institution X wanted to get in touch with me, and in order to allow that to happen, I’d have to set up an account. The message gave me a toll-free number (1-888-221-5671, if you’re interested) at which I could set up an account. In the past, my brother has always been able to get in touch with me via AT&T or Verizon collect calls, which charged a special extortionate prison rate, something around ninety cents per minute, so I was initially hopeful: I thought that maybe the Maryland Division of Corrections had finally decided to treat prisoners’ families like human beings.
Upon calling the T-Netix number (”The nation’s largers provider of corrections industry related telecommunications services”), I discovered that I was sorely mistaken.
I spent a good forty minutes in voicemail hell, with poorly described menu options and nearly inaudible descriptions: apparently, T-Netix isn’t interested in making things easy. When I finally got a live person, there was no explanation of the company or its services given, no mention of how much calls might cost or how any of it worked. She just wanted my data: name, phone number, billing address, inmate’s name and facility. Then she dropped the bomb: she wanted my social security number, without which I could not set up an account. Mind you, she hadn’t identified herself or her company, and the voicemail system gave no contact information (like a physical address) for T-Netix. Far as I’m concerned, if you give your social security number out over the phone to someone you don’t know and have no contact information for, you’re a fool, and you’re setting yourself up for identity theft. Absolutely not, I told her. I mean, my phone company doesn’t even ask for my social security number. She was steadfast; the only way they can set up an account for an inmate to contact you is with a social security number, so they can run a credit check on you.
In other words, in the state of Maryland, which has contracted its prison communications to T-Netix, voice communication with an inmate requires a credit check.
There’s so much wrong with this, I don’t even know where to start. For one thing, Maryland — by giving a contract to T-Netix — has rhetorically criminalized anyone who even wants to talk to an inmate in the DOC system by placing them under surveillance. For another thing, this makes it much more difficult — or, more properly, practically impossible — for an inmate to call an outside law enforcement agency, a congressional representative, or a reporter. And Maryland (as well as many other states) have instigated this public evisceration of inmates’ and families’ rights for the sake of private profit: a private corporation (check out the heavy-duty shareholder orientation of the T-Netix website) makes profits and actually tries to move shares by boasting about how difficult they make things for inmates.
One possible response: why should we care about what happens to prisoners? They’ve been tried and convicted in a court of law; don’t they deserve whatever they get? So what if it’s a little harder for them to communicate? At least they’re not calling me. (Come to think of it, arguing over whether prisoners ought to have the right to make collect calls, and whether law-abiding citizens ought to be subjected to the possibility of having to refuse collect calls from prisoners, might in some rather interesting ways resemble the debate over the legality of spam.) To which I might reply: I think this letter stands as sufficient evidence of how important and inalienable everyone’s rights are in a democratic society.
I hope you might poke around the vultures’ site a bit, and check out the relations between profit, surveillance, and speech. (I think immediately, of course, of a recent C&W presentation.) I’m working on a letter to Maryland DOC, and maybe more, since I think that the practices T-Netix boasts about border on the unconstitutional.
And as always, if you’re interested, my brother — David — loves to get letters, and is a good correspondent. He’s a sweet, good-natured, and immensely sociable guy who’s graduating in July with an Associate’s degree earned entirely in prison. Pretty liberal in his politics, although the feminist in me sometimes groans at the stuff he gets from his intensely masculine environment. He also sits on the inmate advisory council, does a lot of work with AA, and helps tutor other inmates who are working towards their GEDs. Drop me an email if you’d like his address.
June 27th, 2004 at 12:15 am
You might want to post again that photo of the two of you the bench.
June 28th, 2004 at 7:07 am
Have you ever heard of “slamming,” which is when a phone company switches your services even without your permission? This was a problem in Michigan a few years ago and I was almost the victim of it. If I were you, I’d call your phone company just to make sure these T-nexic or whatever people didn’t go ahead and change your service without telling you about it…
July 14th, 2004 at 4:21 pm
I experienced the same situation. My son is a correctional facility and has been calling home for the past two years. Suddenly, he was blocked on June 15, 2004. I have called my local phone company, AT&T Customer Service, and T-netix.
No one could tell me anything. T-netix said I set up an account with them on 6-15-04 and presently owe them $85.00. It was news to me.
T-netix told me that they were a collection agency for AT&T. Yet they asked me to pay them the $85.00 over the telephone with a check. It seemed duplicate billing to me. I just paid my phone bill the same day. It is at a stand still right now. I miss my son’s calls**
July 14th, 2004 at 7:41 pm
My son was arrested this past Thursday and I also received a call from this T-Netix that I would have to set up an account for my son to be able to call me. I have called the number numerous times and waited, and waited, and waited. All I got was a recording that I could email my “request” or fax. I did both. I received an email back (two days later) telling me that I would have to call the phone number (that no one seems to answer). They said they could not do my request by email. Then why the hell do they say on the phone that you can do it by email??? What a rip-off this company is. There is no way to talk to your relative except for the visit. It’s really bad when the person in jail hasn’t been found guilty of the crime! I really need to talk to my son to inform him about what’s going on but T-Netix screws that up!
Susie
July 15th, 2004 at 12:21 am
Susie and Donna, I totally agree with your concerns. Susie, the voicemail system T-Netix has is absolutely lousy — terrible and unclear instructions, ridiculously long hold times, and sometimes inaudibly quiet messages. Donna, if you look at the plans T-Netix offers, if you don’t want to be subjected to the surveillance of a credit check (which you shouldn’t, seeing as how you haven’t been convicted of a crime, and how you at least have a right to talk to your loved ones), you have to pre-pay, and T-Netix collects whatever’s left of your unpaid balance at the end of six months. It looks like a scam all around, as should be obvious from their investor-oriented Web site. I hope both of you might contact your congressional representatives and raise some concerns about this, since many aspects of what T-Netix is doing for the sake of private profit seem to raise very significant civil liberties concerns. Let me know what you hear; I’ll certainly post any progress I make here on my weblog.
It’s a shame that this company seems so eager to prey on the families of folks in prison. One might wish for one of their family members to go to prison, and to see how much they enjoy their company’s predatory practices. Disgusting.
If you’re interested, there’s more on other profiteering scumbags like T-Netix in this article in The Atlantic. Take care, and my best wishes to both of you. And, please, keep in touch.
July 25th, 2004 at 10:22 pm
Oh my gosh. When I read this it was like reading my story about t-netix. I too received the same treatment. My husband is there and I have received his calls everynight. Then all of a sudden, I have a block on my phone. It took me over two weeks of telephone hell to find out what was wrong. I kept thinking they were saying connectics. I couldn’t understand what they were saying because you couldn’t understand. Now, I am only 51 and have good hearing. I finally found out they were saying t-netix. They I find out they put a limit on my phone. With AT&T I too had a correction plan, changed, no warning not told a single thing. I just couldn’t talk to my husband. My phone bill with AT&T was 200-250 a month and always paid on time. t-netix put a $75 limit on my phone then blocked all of my calls. I am sorry but this has got to be the worst of the worst of phone companies. This is definately the phone company from hell.
July 26th, 2004 at 12:14 am
Cindy, and anyone else who’s struggling with the vultures at T-Netix — you might check out this site, which details a Pennsylvania woman’s struggle with them. When I get more information, I’ll post it here. Good luck.
August 4th, 2004 at 6:37 pm
Reading these other comments sounds very familiar. Our son is in a jail in Oregon, and at first we were receiving regular calls from him, and then they suddenly stopped. We learned through other family members and his letters that every time he tried to call us he got a message that this number was not receiving collect calls. I called our local phone company and learned that they had no block on our phone, so I called the billing company, and then T-NETIX, and was informed that they had changed their billing system and blocked our phone until we set up an account with them. Because we need to hear from our son, and he needs to hear us, I went ahead and gave them my SS number, but somebody ought to close that crooked outfit down permanently.
August 6th, 2004 at 2:11 pm
Absolutely. What terrible vultures the folks at T-Netix are, preying on the families of inmates. It’s almost like a protection racket, extorting money from inmates’ loved ones if they ever want to talk to the inmate again. And of course, our country’s rabid get-tough-on-crime political climate lets the vultures get away with it.
August 30th, 2004 at 10:43 am
I came to this site by way of searching the internet in an attempt to find the proper name of the telephone company, who I feel is holding me hostage weekly by governing the intake of collect calls at my home number without any warning of going over time limits or dollar amount limits. My fiance has recently been incarcerated in Maryland and it is very important for us to stay in touch beings how I am the only outside contact he has. It is scarey to see so many others having the exact same problem. Please tell me if there is someone I can write and/or contact in anyway in order to fix this problem. What can we do?
August 30th, 2004 at 11:39 am
Christina, I would first call your congressional representatives — in Maryland, that’s going to be Senators Barbara Mikulski and Paul Sarbanes, plus whoever your representative in the House is (if you’re in Charles, Calvert, or St. Mary’s county, you’re in luck, because Steny Hoyer is the second ranking Democrat in the House) — and tell members of their staff what’s going on. (If they need more info, feel free to send ‘em this way.) They have case workers who can help. Then I’d call the prison administration — the warden or director, but you’ll often find the prison chaplain to be easier to talk to — and tell them what’s going on, and also tell them that you’ve also told your congressional representatives about the problem. Maybe the phrase “cruel and unusual punishment” might be helpful. Finally, I’d call T-Netix themselves (800 559 1535 or 972 241 1535), ask to talk to a manager (not one of the operators — you can usually get by the operators by telling them that “cruel and unusual punishment” is illegal in the U.S.), and tell the manager that you’ve told your congressional representatives and the prison administration about their disgusting practices, and ask them what they intend to do. Raise hell.
Good luck, and let us know if you get any results!
September 4th, 2004 at 5:13 am
T-Netix is the phone company from Hell! With AT&T right next door. They along with the “system” enjoy destroying families. It’s not bad enough that our loved ones are wrongfully incarcerated, that they make communicating with them even more difficult. I would love to see them put behind bars and have them go through the pain and frustration of trying to contact someone only to hear that the number they are trying has been collect call restricted. It is the worst feeling of helplessness. Then they charge you outrageous fees for your calls, I pay $4.82 for the 1st minute and .40 cents each additional minute which have 10 different kinds of tax on them, not to mention that I have to pay a $3.99 fee just to add money on my account. You have to have 2 jobs just to pay the phone bill. You don’t get a bill, because you have to pre-pay. Isn’t that convenient for them, they can charge you whatever they feel like that day. Funny when I asked them to send me an itemized bill and I hadn’t received it and asked them why, they said “because they only had part of my street address” but that didn’t stop them from blocking my phone or taking money out of my account though. T-Netix should be the ones incarcerated for “Robbing” us blind. They are the real criminals!
September 24th, 2004 at 9:37 pm
WELL, I AM SOME WHAT FEELING BETTER, I SPENT THE DAY IN PHONE HELL TODAY, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHY MY CALL HAD BEEN BLOCKED, THESE PEOPLE ARE THE CRIMINALS, T-NETIX, IS TAKEING ADVANTAGE OF A SAD SITUATION, THEY KNOW YOU NEED TO SPEAK WITH A LOVED ONE IN PRISON, THEY KNOW YOU HAVE NO CHOICE, YOU HAVE TO USE THEM, SO THEY ROB YOU.OR SHOULD I SAY EXPLOIT YOU.I TO WAS NEVER INFORMED OF THE SWITCH TO T-NETIX, JUST HAD MY PHONE BLOCKED ONE DAY, WHILE I WAS WAITING FOR A LIFE AND DEATH CALL LITERALLY FROM A INMATE ON DEATH ROW.I PAID MY BILL ON TIME, BUT STILL WAS BLOCKED, SEEMS YOU HAVE TO PAY, BEFORE THEY EVEN GIVE YOU A BILL.I THANK EVERYONE FOR SHAREING THEIR COMMENTS, I THOUGHT I WAS GOING CRAZY.WHEN YOU TALK TO T-NETIX THEY MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE A CRIMINAL, (WELL LETS, RUN A CREDIT CHECK AND SEE IF YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH TO USE OUR SERVICES) ATTITUDE.AND THEN ACT LIKE THEY ARE DOING ME A FAVOR BY CHARGEING ME A $1.40 A MINUTE, AND THATS WITH THE SO CALLED CORRECTIONAL VALUE PLAN DISCOUNT, FROM AT&T.WHAT A JOKE, LETS HOPE THE WHIP GETS CRACKED AND THEY HAVE TO REIMBURSE CUSTOMERS FOR THEIR OUT RIGHT ROBBERY.
September 30th, 2004 at 5:52 pm
One other problem with T-Netix, I firmly believe lost or dropped calls, are no mere accident threw T-Netix, I believe its a ploy, to get the inmate to call back, therefore chargeing the acceptor, another connect fee.Whats really sad, is in my case the inmate calling me is allowed 2 ten minute calls weekly, once the call is accepted, it counts. So if I accept, we speak for a minute, and the call disconnects, thats it. He can wait another 7 days to call again.If thats not bad enough, we have to pray each week that T-Netix didnt put a block on my line, for what ever excuse they have for that week.
October 3rd, 2004 at 1:02 am
I thought I was the only being put thru hell by t-netix. I was also having my calls blocked for no reason and then when I asked they said, they didnt know why the calls were being blocked. WE need to do something.
October 4th, 2004 at 2:19 am
Kristol, anonymous, and Patti, I really agree with you — something needs to be done to make people realize how terrible T-Netix is, and how their cashing in on the suffering of inmates’ families violates the Constitution’s Eighth Amendment. Suing T-Netix and/or the prison system might be one way to do it; so might getting in touch with your congressional representatives. Tell you what: let’s all do some research on how we might go about doing that, since it’ll help other inmates’ families, too. One place I’m going to start with: the American Civil Liberties Union, since they have a great history of helping people who can’t afford lawyers. I hope you might contact them, too, and feel free to refer them to this Web site.
Let’s bankrupt the T-Netix vultures.
October 4th, 2004 at 12:20 pm
One other thing with T-Netix, keep a eye on your phone calls you accept.Time them your self. I just caught another rip off from T-netix. I receive 2 ten minute calls from someone on death row. (Prison rule)the prison starts a stop watch the minute the call is accepted, when ten minutes are up they disconnect us.Well when I received my bill its charged at 11 minutes a call. I contacted T-netix and explained the impossibility of a 11 minute call, they told me I will be reimbursed the extra minute on EVERY CALL they overcharged.Its, about $4.90 extra a month in overbilling. May not seem like a lot hey? well add that up with every customer that uses t-netix a extra minute on every call is alot of money!! I do not believe its a accident, I think its their wish full thinking that the customer will not catch it. Literaly keep a stop watch going when you accept calls, and log every call you receive and cross check it to your actualy bill, you will find numerous discreptencys in timeing and actualy calls.You have to make your own bill each month, and check it against theirs, to ensure they are not ripping you off.Please everyone pull together, and do not let one thing slide with T-netix, call them on it every time.They are getting wealthy on ripping us off.
October 4th, 2004 at 12:26 pm
Hi Patti, thank you for responding, I am going threw enough hell, with a death sentence, and a loved one, T-netix just has to add to they greif and misery I already go threw. I spent last week in e-mail purgatory, sending complaints about T-netix to any and every one involved in this racket. Lets hope the system will step in and not allow this to go on.I will follow your advice, and thank you for your support. Kristol
October 14th, 2004 at 8:52 am
I went through the same thing when my son was incarcerated in Pennsylvania. One day my phone was just blocked. I had been paying $300.00/mo. phone bills from my son calling collect and being billed $5.00 for the first min. and $.90/min. thereafter. I was billed directly on my phone bill. He had a 15-min. limit, but could call as often as he liked. I assumed it was the prison that did it for some reason and never really checked into it since we visited him often anyway. To start with, the phone is in my daughter’s name - not mine. I never heard of T-Netix until I started getting bills in my name from them starting in June of 2004. His calls have been blocked for the past year. These bills do not indicate where the calls are from. They say intrastate/interLATA, whatever that means. I live in Virginia. When I called them to inquire about it, I told the rep that it had to be a mistake because I didn’t have a phone (it’s in my daughter’s name, not mine) She was very rude and repeatedly demanded to know what my phone no. was. I ended up having to hang up on her because she couldn’t seem to understand what I was saying (even though it was pretty cut and dry that I had no phone in my name) and she wasn’t making any sense. She wa practically screaming at me. There are companies that bill individuals as well as businesses with bogus bills in hopes that they’ll just pay without questioning. I believe T-Netix follows this practice. If they send an invoice for just $20 or $30 to thousands of people, the ones who are likely to pay add up to a whole lot of revenue. The same with the paying in advance. I’ve never heard of such an outrageous thing. People incarcerated for whatever reason in this country are treated much worse than the poor detained terrorists are treated, who by the way, are treated very well, in my opinion. My son had absolutely no rights while he was incarcerated. He was denied any human rights or dignity, and we as visitors were treated the same. That was bad enough, but then T-Netix comes along and blocks their calls and extorts money from the families in order to communicate with the prisoners. I agree with everyone on this website and if there was a class action suit, I would absolutely join it. We should begin by making a complaint to the Attorney General of the state they’re incorporated in. I’m going to look into it. Thank you for providing me a place to vent.
October 26th, 2004 at 3:57 pm
I thought I was the only one that they put through hell, not just because of the system but also because of the stupidity of just about all of the employees that do (finally) answer the phone when you call. None of them can tell you the correct answer to a simple question and everytime that you do call I can guarantee that you will get a different answer from each different perosn and 99% of them will be incorrect. This company is putting our lives through even more hell then we are already going through and they do not care, because they know we have to go throught them in order to talk to our loved ones. To make it so bad the supervisors are just as bad as the ones who answer the phones. Something really needs to be done about these people. After what I have went through to set up the account I am scared to see what these calls are going to be like and what they are going to cost.
October 27th, 2004 at 6:10 pm
T-Netix corporate headquarters is in Dallas. The CEO is Rick Cree. Searching Anywho for results yields a Richard Cree in Dallas at 214 827 4311 and a Rick Cree in nearby Fort Worth at 827 847 9017. The CFO is Hank Schopfer, who can be reached at 972 250 2684. Executive VP Tom Meriam lives a few miles outside of Dallas, in McKinney; his phone number is 214 726 1999. And Chief Operating Officer John Poss can be reached at 214 327 2356.
Isn’t it great how much information is freely and publicly available on the Web?
November 9th, 2004 at 4:37 pm
The VULTURES are at it again. Not only have they charged me a small fortune for the calls from my husband, they have decided to recharge me for a check AND re-run it through my checking account, in essence TAKING, nay, STEALING $350.00 from me.
November 10th, 2004 at 10:44 am
You know, I didn’t have to set up an account. No one ever called me to ask for credit card information, SSN, or anything. Reckon why?
November 15th, 2004 at 1:15 am
The person calling you probably had a pre-paid account, where they paid on their end. If it’s a collect call and the recipient has to pay for it, that’s when they want you to set up the account.
November 24th, 2004 at 4:27 pm
I called t-netix this morning to actually add more money to my account and of course, as always was on hold for a long time,I went through the process of paying more money and the automated voice said to hold for a moment and I would get a confirmation # and to not hang up or try to add money again because I would be double billed, after putting in my cc # and waiting for the confirmation # I was disconnected, I finally called the HQ in Dallas, a woman answered the phone and told me she couldn’t help me, I told her that the company she works for sucks and she needs to take another look at the type of people she works for, I asked her name and she said “receptionist” I asked what her name was not her job title, she said she wasn’t going to give it! My mother in law had called the prison a few months ago and was told that the only people that were “required” to set up an account with t-netix were people that had a pre-paid home phone, we do not have that, t-netix said our phone company requested it but later on said we had to set it up because southwestern bell hasn’t been paying them, that is not my fault, I pay my bill!
December 9th, 2004 at 7:59 pm
I too, recieved the automated message on 12-6-04, stating that a Multnomah County corrections inmate had tried to call me, and that I need to call the T-Net number to set up a direct billing account. Upon calling the number, after wading through a very garbled automated system, the customer service was rude, would not answer my questions, interupted me each time I attempted to speak. I asked her to stop interupting me and please answer my questions; she said one moment and the phone went silent. This silence lasted for ten minutes before I finally hung up, and I’m pretty sure she had her headset muted and was listening to me. I called back and got another rep. Between the two of them, all they could tell me is that I could not have had collect calls coming through because their system has been in place for four years. I refuse to set up an account with a company who is so obviously shady that they will not even answer your questions. I never revealed my phone number or personal info, and am waiting to see my next bill. I’m in Portland, Oregon.
January 5th, 2005 at 2:37 pm
Well, everyone, I feel as though I am reading my problems with T-NETIX over and overagain. I am in Indiana and daughter is incarcerated in Indiana. The same thing happened with me,no notification of the change to T-NETIX, I owed X amount of dollars, “pay now for only an additional $4.00 charge to process the payment”. I did that, gave my SS# for a credit check, was told I had $100.00 credit each month. The next thing I know, another “BLOCK” is on my line and they tell me I only have $1.00 credit and I have to contact the supervisor “Derek”. That was about a month ago and I still can’t receive calls from her. No one seems to know who “Derek” is and in the mean time I cannot talk to my daughter..T-NETIX better get a clue, I can see a Class Action law suit coming!
January 8th, 2005 at 1:06 pm
I have to tell you this, try to make a complaint with the better buisness bureau, against T-Netix, when it comes time to get a response from T-Netix, the send you a e mail that they tried to call you but never got a answer, they leave a number to call them back, when you do, they take a message, and state they will call you back, which they do not. Then they send you a e mail that they tried to call you back, but you couldnt be reached. its a game, they have no intentions of speaking with you regarding the complaint, they play a fake game of phone tag, then report to the better buisness bureau, they tried hard to contact you, but couldnt. That gets them off the hook with the BBB.
February 24th, 2005 at 3:05 pm
my ex was calling me (i have sbc) with no problem, but his mom has att and he couldn’t call her. she was told to buy the prepaid phone card, which she did, and that her number would be the only number he could call. he cannot get through to her and now he can’t call me either. i think her best bet is to switch phone service to sbc or cancel her account with t-netix. has anyone had any luck canceling their account? help appreciated.
April 6th, 2005 at 8:41 am
My telephone was blocked from my son”s correctional facility here in Maryland. My son informed me of this in his letters to me starting in the month of October 2004. I suspected that it was for a credit that I asked verizon , I was given the credit, I was told that they would send it back to T-NETIX and that they would probaly bill me directly, they never did.(check out the BBB reliability report on T-NETIX at http://www.dallas.bbb.org/commonreport.html?compid=21003108, which now explains a lot people situation. I wrote a letter of complaint to Verizon in Nov. 2004 it was not getting to their customer relations, on my third attempt to then I sent it certified return receipt, I got a response by telephone from them yesterday,4-5-05. I also sent a complaint to the Maryland Public Service Commision in Nov. 2004 after 16 weeks I called to check on the status of my complaint only to be told that the PSC does not have any jurisdiction over them because of the uniqueness of their contract with the state of maryland. I in turn sent my complaint to Governor Ehrlich. Two days later T-Netix called me to tell me that they had unblocked the telephone. They stated that it is their policy that whenever a bill comes back to billing unpaid that a block is automatically put on the call. This is totally unacceptable to me. I intend to file a lawsuit against them.
I e-mailed the FCC on Monday and am awaiting a response, I want to know what agency is responsible for Jurisdiction over them. It is very confusing for the average person. I have been researching a lot of sites on the internet about this company. They appear to be in violation of the ECOA as well as the FCRA based on the tactics that they have done to some of the people’s comments on this website. I would appreciate if everyone that have been affected here in Maryland let Governor Ehrlich know about this.
I would like to share other things that I find out as I discover them. Hope that this helps. It has been a very depressing and painful 5 months not talking to my son.
P.S. I think that T-NETIX doesn’t want to be bother with billing period is the reason that they want everyone shifted to prepaid, in this manner it will have total control over inmate families lives and they get a larger profit and also the state. This prepaid will generate 60% profit for the state when they go to all prepaid. Presently it is 57.5. I cant’t find it now but if you like I can give the website for MD General Assembly that acted on this bill. It is also phasing out all commisions for the state in a few years.
April 24th, 2005 at 10:45 am
Ditto here…….Now the T-Netix website does not seem to exist and the 800 number says it’s ‘disconneted’. I’m notifying SBC. My son and I write letters, but he misses talking with family for support and encouragement.
Is someone investigating this so called ’service’? I hope they get what they deserve.
This is happening to prisoners in county facilities who haven’t even been convicted of anything yet!
pj
April 28th, 2005 at 11:59 am
I am writing to an inmate in Alabama. I gave him my home phone number so he could call me but was told there was a “collect call block” on my phone. I have never requested this block. In fact, last year a friend called me from the county jail collect and was put through to me. The inmate in Alabama wrote me and included a number for T-Netix which is different from any of the previously listed ones. But when I called it a real live person answered on the second ring and was very courteous when I asked what I needed to do to get the block off my phone. She told me it was my local phone company and that I needed to contact them to have it removed. Now that I have researched and found this web site I am really leery of having the inmate call me. I live on a fixed income and cannot afford any outrageous phone bills. The woman on the phone didn’t say that I had to set up an account with T-Netix. This inmate has been calling his parents who live near me and have had no problem receiving his calls. I hope to be able to receive his calls as easily. Will keep you informed of the situation. If any one wants to talk to a live person at T-Netix, this is the number to call: 888-610-7079.
May 5th, 2005 at 12:26 am
I read this whole list and it seems to be a repeat to what is happening to me. My fiance is incarcerated in Maryland and I got a second job to pay the phone bill ( we used to talk twice a day for thirty minutes at about 12 dollars a call). Then I got a phone call telling me my local telephone company would no longer allow me to accept collect calls, to please call this number. So I called and a person answered the phone and without identifing himself, he asked my phone number, name, and the last four digits of my social security number. I gave this to him figuring the phone wasnt in my name so what could he do. While I was discussing the “prepaid” option with him - something like $8.00 to replenish account, $25.00 to open account and how I should put a lot of money on the account so that I could continue talking without replenishing it- my fiance calls, and the call goes through. So I just assumed that was the end of it. When ever he calls, the connections says, “Thank you for using Verizon”. The last two times he was able to get through it said, “Thank you for using T-Netix”. And on the third time it said that my line had been blocked from collect calls. I live about 2.5 hours from the prison, visits are a hardship, but now its all we have. I can’t seem to get an answer from t-netix and everytime I try to visit the website it isnt there anymore apparently. I have not recieved a bill for the last month of calls, until now I have paid it in full each month. I can still recieve collect calls, but not from the prison. Why? I have no idea, but I can’t seem to find an answer anywhere. My local phone company didnt block it, and when I finally go through the automated system of T-Netix, they say my line is clear. Who knows what is going on, any help would be appreciated. Also, is it worth the hassle to send money for him to buy the prepaid cards at commissary, or does the same thing happen then?
May 9th, 2005 at 3:58 pm
Seems we all have the same story.
I was forced to sign up with T-Netix in order to speak to my son months ago while he was in the Brownsville jail and our phone service was with Sprint (they do not support collect calls of any kind). Since then, we have changed to SBC and were able to receive collect calls. By that time, my son was moved to Nueces County and called three times before being blocked. To their credit, SBC was wonderful in their attempts to find out why my son couldn’t get through. Finally, SBC referred us to T-Netix. I was told by their representative that I owed them $31+ and that I couldn’t cancel my account with them and switch to SBC because my contract with them was “permanent”.
I asked the representative how it is that I could be in an irrevocable contract that I had not signed and had never seen. He referred me to the mythical Complaints Department. My sister - a research librarian - tried to find information on the company but was unable to find any way to contact a human being.
In frustration, I called Ray Hill, who is famous in Texas as the host of the weekly “Prison Show” on a local Pacifica radio station. According to Ray the contracts for these phone services are negotiated with kick-backs to the various county and city facilities. The Texas Legislature has just passed a law that will allow state inmates to purchase phone cards through their commissary privileges and make calls on SBC phones at regular SBC rates. Kudos to the Texas State Legislature!
As for those facilities outside of the state system, I am at a loss and completely enraged that the families of county and city inmates are being victimized by T-Netix. At the very least, we should have the option of choosing the phone service we wish to use.
The only thing I can think of to do is to mobilize all the famillies of inmates - in Texas that’s quite a large group - to flood the county commissioners, the sherrifs, the state representatives, the local judges, etc. Clearly, T-Netix (now merging to become Securus) is comforatble with the deal they have and unlikely to respond unless they are placed under considerable scrutiny. I guess it’s up to us to make lots of other people uncomfortable.
May 11th, 2005 at 11:49 am
Hi. I live in Brooklyn, NY and have two sons currently incarcerated in the Baltimore County Detention Center. To communicate with them, I have been forced to deal with T-Netix. I’d like to share my story.
Just getting it connected was a hassle. I called my phone company, Verizon, and they referred me to T-Netix. T-Netix said they couldn’t do anything for me unless Verizon called them to verify ownership of the phone. I called Verizon back and they said they do not call outside vendors back. I recalled T-Netix and they refused to call Verizon. So, I called Verizon back in tears now (had not had contact with my sons in two weeks) and this time the woman felt bad and promised to call T-Netix for me. I call T-Netix back a half hour later and am told that yes, my phone is on, and I have been allowed a $300 credit. If that credit is up before the month is over, I have to wait til the next month even if I pay it. So, the month goes on and my sons are calling on a regular basis. No bill from T-Netix. They never explained it would be on my Verizon bill. I’m thinking that I hadn’t gone past the $300. Then, my Verizon bill becomes available. I pay online. So, you can imagine my shock when I saw I owed T-Netix $583. Thankfully I had some money in the bank at that time, not much but it took care of that bill which I was not expecting. I spoke to my sons and told them we had to cut down on the calls.
The first month afterwards my bill was $186. A big differences. My Verizon bill is usually posted around the 3rd or 4th of the month, but I know it is available on the 27th or 28th, so I always go in on it early and pay in full–before the bill is even due. Next thing I know, the phone calls stop. T-Netix has a block on my phone. After a 30 minute wait, I finally get that straightened out. What really annoyed me was that the block was on the night before my sons were to go to their preliminary hearing. I know how badly they needed to talk to their mother and they couldnt.
This month my bill was $194. Again it was paid in full before it was even due. Again a block was put on my phone. This time, I could not receive a call from my sons on Mother’s Day. That was the last straw. I called T-Netix and let them have it. What did they do? They put the blame on Verizon who, in turn, put the blame on T-Netix. It’s a no win situation.
I almost feel as if I am being penalized for cutting the phone bill down. Let’s face it, when it was close to $600 they never put a block on. Now that it’s been drastically reduced, I have a block on every month despite paying in full. What do you think?
May 11th, 2005 at 9:08 pm
Mary, and everybody else who’s responded so helpfully above, I think the stories that people have shared clearly indicate that T-Netix is out to rip us off and abuse our families and loved ones in search of profits. As PJ points out, they’re preying on inmates in county facilities who are waiting to stand trial — people who’ve not yet been convicted guilty of any crime — as well as inmates who are serving their sentences, attempting to be rehabilitated and pay their debt to society. And as we all know, and parole officers and sociologists know as well, there’s a much stronger possibility of genuine rehabilitation when inmates are able to stay in touch with support networks of families and friends. In effect, by making it difficult for inmates to maintain such contacts, T-Netix is contributing to a greater likelihood of repeat offenders.
I think the kind of research Elvera is doing is important, and Elvera, I hope you’ll let us know about the results of your inquiries about the ECOA and FCRA laws. What can the rest of us do? Two things:
One more thing: I don’t know what anyone would do with such information, but — as pointed out above — the T-Netix site does have biographical information about their executive officers.
May 12th, 2005 at 10:45 am
This is to inform everyone that I have been doing a lot of research, I contacted the ACLU oveer 3 weks ago but have not gotten any response. I am awaiting the decision from the PSC commission. I have researched and it appears to be that T-NETIX has to have a tariff on file with the PSC that would encompass them stating how they handle billings and disputes. I have not read theirs as yet, but I can also tell you that I sent Governor Ehrlich a copy of the BBB reliability report along with a cc to the office of procurement that awarded them that contract. T-Netix has to comply with the COMAR regulations. Also, according to what I am reading they are supposed to give telephone consumer 5 days written notice before terminating service(thats the same as blocking) You also need to complaint to the DBM so that they can put pressure on T-Netix to stop their bad consumer practices. You can also contact them and request a copy of the RFP that they used to solict this contract. When you read Maryland’s RFP and compare it to the state of Tennessee you will clearly see that the Maryland one is only interested in the revenue. The state of Tennessee does take into consideration the consumer.
May 14th, 2005 at 9:25 pm
Hello everyone. I currently have a loved one in the DOC system in Maryland. So far he can call me (his call list was just approved yesterday so we’ll see how long it lasts) and though the recording does say it’s through T-Netix it says the call will cost $0.85. Perhaps it’s because it’s not a long distance call. He cannot call his mother at his home address which is in another county and is long distance, T-Netix has a block on her phone and is trying to get her to set up an account. He has tried to call his friend who has the same exchange as his mother and though he hasn’t reached him he says it seems the answering machine is picking up. If this is true (I’ll let you know as soon as we find out) that would mean T-Netix is targeting the HOME address of the inmate, not just everybody. I was wondering if anyone has had to pay T-Netix to remove a block even if they are not long distance. I’m wondering if they’ll be blocking me as soon as they realize I’m being called regularly.
Elvera, I’d like to join the fight. Could you please share some of your contact info for who all I should contact? Also, so that I know what I’m writing/talking about, what do COMAR, RFP and PSC stand for? Can you provide addresses or links to the websites that contain the information you’re speaking of? I’m so angry at this horrible situation. I read the “Wood” article before I found this site and I see Maryland is the only state that was listed that would not tell how many millions of $$$ it makes on it’s prison phone service kickbacks. Not only do I want to write to everyone you advise me to, I’d love to get this story covered by an investigative reporter or journalist in Baltimore, so it would reach most of the state. This is truly an outrage!
Thanks, Cathy
May 14th, 2005 at 10:23 pm
I just clicked on the link Elvera provided for the BBB report on T-Netix and it comes up “Company ID does not exist”.
These people are impossible to keep tabs on.
Surely there is something we can accomplish if we band together.
May 15th, 2005 at 10:19 pm
hi,
hope that this will be of some help, to view the maryland general assembly hb 873 that tells when T-NETIX started contract, please key in your search engine md gen assembly hb873 2004 and it will come up with fiscal and policy note and you can know how much the state is to get thru fiscal 2008.
RFP stands for request for proposal, The DMB (dept of management and budget) located at 45 Calvert St., Annapolis MD 21401-1907 is responsible for contracting and awarding inmate telephone services. The present contract NO is 050R2800336. You can submit written request for it. You don’t really need the whole packet because there is a lot of stuff that you may not understand. You can request for certain pages of it under the PIA (that is known as the public information act). Please ask for pages 17,18,25,30,31,38,39,41,and 42. If you have a problem with getting it please call the procurement officer at 410-260-7191, her name is Susan S. Woomer.
PSC is Public Service Commision, it regulates the utilities. You can go to Gov. Ehrlich website for the state of Md and find the PSC on their website under agency’s in the drop down box.
The BBB can be found by typing in this web address:
http://www.dallas.bbb.org/commonreport.html?compid=21003108
I hope that this is helpful. Let me know if it does. You are absolutely right we must all fight this together.
May 16th, 2005 at 4:10 am
Thank you Elvera.
I confirmed this evening that my loved one WAS able to call his friend, in the same town as his mom, with the SAME EXCHANGE as his mom, both are long distance from where he is incarerated, and though T-Netix has a block on his mom, they are letting him call his friend with NO block.
I can only assume they are targeting his home address. There seems no other logical reason to me. Any thoughts on this? ARE they TARGETING the inmates home, and possibly target other frequently called numbers? Is this part of the “call list approval” and “call monitering”? They choose who to block?
May 16th, 2005 at 4:16 am
Oh, Elvera, who is the DBM I need to complain to?
Where can I quote that part about them legally being required to give five days notice in writing before blocking the service?
Thanks, Cathy
May 16th, 2005 at 9:15 am
Cathy,
I listed the information for the DMB(department of management and budget above. Call the procurement officer. The lady by the name of Susan Woomer.
The address you need to key in is http://www.psc.state.md.us/psc/info/brochures/billingrights.htm
Everyone please call Ms. Woomer to complain.410-260-7191
May 16th, 2005 at 9:24 am
Cathy,
Type in these addresses, http://www.t-netix.com/support/default.asp?a=1 this is one page, then you have to go and type in http://www.t-netix.com/support/default.asp?a=2 after that type in http://www.t-netix.com/support/default.asp?a=3 this will help you understand the tricks that they play. They have what is called a billing system that automatically blocks calls. This is unfair because there could be some wrong information on a person from the so called credit source.
May 16th, 2005 at 11:05 pm
First, let me say I changed my name from Cathy to Danielle Cathleen when I realized another Cathy posted Jaunuary 5th. I’m the Cathy that posted May 14 and May 16.
Second, someone told me we can report it to the Consumer Protection Division of the Maryland Attorney General’s office. He say’s they ususally do a good job of really fighting for people. I worry though that NO state agency will do anything that would cut down on the millions of $$$ being made for the state by T-Netix no matter how shady or downright illegal their practices (if it turns out that they are illegal) Here’s the info for contact:
Consumer Protection Division Offices
http://www.oag.state.md.us/Consumer/offices.htm
Baltimore
200 St. Paul Place
Baltimore, MD 21202
(410) 576-6550
(410) 528-8662 Consumer Mediation Unit hotline
(410) 528-1840 Medical billing complaints hotline
1-877-261-8807 Health plan decision appeals hotline (toll-free)
1-888-743-0023 Attorney General’s main switchboard (toll-free)
E-mail: consumer@oag.state.md.us
The Attorney General’s Office is located in downtown Baltimore at the corner of St. Paul & Lexington Streets. The Office has a Community Help Center on the ground floor that is staffed during business hours to assist citizens with conflicts and/or questions of a consumer nature. While the Office is prohibited from offering legal advice to citizens, it can mediate problems related to consumer transactions and can refer citizens to the appropriate agency for further assistance. Call toll-free (888) 743-0023 for the Community Help Center or visit the ground floor office during business hours. Directions to the Office
Eastern Shore Office
201 Baptist Street
Salisbury, MD 21801
410-543-6620
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday
Western Maryland Office
44 North Potomac Street, Suite 104
Hagerstown, MD 21740
(301) 791-4780
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday
Southern Maryland Office
15045 Burnt Store Road
Hughesville, MD 20637
Mailing address:
P.O. Box 745
Hughesville, MD 20637
301-274-4620 or toll-free 1-866-366-8343
9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.,Tuesdays
Cumberland Telephone Assistance
(301) 722-2000
9 a.m. to 12 p.m., 3rd Tuesday of the month
Frederick Telephone Assistance
(301) 694-1071
9 a.m. to 1 p.m., 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month
——————————————————————————–
Attorney General of Maryland 1 (888) 743-0023 toll-free / TDD: (410) 576-6372
May 17th, 2005 at 7:16 am
Good Morning,
Mike this is to say thank you for this website. Before I found this website I did not know where to turn. Just knowing that it is others out there suffering the same fate gives me the courage and strenght to fight on. Thanks again.
May 17th, 2005 at 7:25 am
This is for Cathy, to finish answering your question. (COMAR) is the code of Maryland regulations. It is the regulations for every agency in the state. It guides them in the manner in which things are handle. This is the page for the PSC(public service commission)in handling utility disputes. http://www.dsd.state.md.us/comar/20/20.32.01.04.htm Also if you want to see what a RFP (request for proposal ) looks like, in your search engine type in RFP NO 329.01-143 and it will bring up the RFP for the state of Tennessee. Don’t be discouraged, there will be a lot you will not be able to understand but there you will see some things that you do understand.
May 17th, 2005 at 5:08 pm
Elvera, as I say here, the thanks are due to you and your research skills and persistence far more than they are to me. You and Danielle Cathleen are doing so much for so many people, and the best I can do is provide the Web space and try to follow in your footsteps.
If it’s too personal, please don’t feel like you have to answer, but can I ask: where is your son? My brother is at Jessup, but he spent some time at Hagerstown, too.
May 17th, 2005 at 7:37 pm
I want to say thanks to Elvera for all the info, and Mike for the website, and to everyone else for sharing. I encourage anyone who visits and reads our posts to leave one. It doesn’t need to be long or specific if you don’t wish it to be, but it really DOES help knowing other people are going through this horrible process. IMO it’s extortion. I also encourage everyone to contact all the contacts on this page and share any others you have. If enough people keep fighting, eventually something will have to be done.
So far I’m still getting calls. His mom has given up, she cannot and will not deal with T-Netix, she can’t afford to. She is receiving calls at her daughter’s house which so far is not blocked.
From all I’ve learned so far, I am afraid that even though my calls are not long distance (they’re $0.85 each according to the recording and they’re limited to five minutes) that when the $50.00 mark is reached they’ll block my phone. I have a huge amount of medical bills I’m paying bit by bit out of pocket, so I know my credit report must be awful. I’m afraid they’ll expect me to start an “account” and put in a huge deposit and then charge me the connection fee and per minute fee for every five minute call. He will be there at least another 4 to 6 weeks before being sent where ever they’re going to send him. When they do send him somewhere, anywhere that he goes will be long distance so they will almost surely block it then. If they block my phone, I don’t know how I’ll deal with it. It’s hard enough now as it is.
Thanks again to all.
May 17th, 2005 at 10:35 pm
My son is at Hagerstown
May 20th, 2005 at 6:54 pm
Just checking in and giving an update:
My friend’s mother can no longer receive call’s at her daughter’s house, It is now blocked as well.
I’m fast approaching the dreaded $50.00 point that I’m betting will get my line blocked, even though I’m not long distance from the detention center, and my phone bills, both local and long distance, are paid.
I’ll keep in touch.
May 22nd, 2005 at 12:49 am
Danielle (and others),
If you’re so inclined, I hope you might send me an e-mail at mike at thisdomain dot org (replace thisdomain with the thing before org that starts with a v and ends with an a).
Take care,
Mike
May 26th, 2005 at 9:09 pm
Hi everyone, just wanted everyone to know that I received a response from the ACLU yesterday. They will not be able to assist in a lawsuit against T-NETIX. However they gave me some very valuable information and contacts. I contacted one of the people today and they said that they will get back to me. Also I did not know that their is litigation going on in the Appellate Court against the State about this contract.
If I learn more I will keep you informed.
May 30th, 2005 at 8:57 am
Hello everyone,
This is a question for Marylander’s, has anyone out there heard of a case manager at the facility your loved one is at? Well I got a correspondence from Secretary Saar’s office and this is what it says.
With this phone system, inmates must provide their case manager with a list of individuals that they may wish to call. At that time, the assigned case manager will contact the listed individuals and verify that they wish to receive calls from that inmate. Once that information has been confirmed, the case manager will provide the appropriate information to T-NETIX. If you wish to have your telephone number unblocked, it will be necessary for the inmate to make the request.
Please take note of this, no case manager has ever called my home since my Son has been in the correctional. Second, an inmate may not put your name on their list so therefore you will not be called.
The sad part of this letter is that the Correctionals do not understand that T-Netix is doing the blocking based on a person’s creditworthiness.
May 30th, 2005 at 4:46 pm
Elvera, I’ve heard of “case managers,” but only as mental health professionals in special rehabilitative programs that some inmates are allowed to place themselves into — I’ve never heard the term used in relation to general population prisoners. Who is Secretary Saar, and which office is she with? I would ask Secretary Saar for a complete list of steps that the inmate has to go through in order to call a loved one via T-Netix (in writing), and then ask whether the inmates themselves are being provided with that same complete list of steps (in writing). The next time I visit my brother at Jessup, I’ll check to see whether any of the DoC’s posted memos about T-Netix mention anything about credit-worthiness.
With everything they make me go through — and I imagine other people probably feel the same way — I feel like the government’s punishing me for loving my brother.
May 30th, 2005 at 10:29 pm
Mike, Secretary Mary Ann Saar is the head of the dept of public safety and correctional services. They are located at 300 E. Joppa Rd. in Towson Md. She can be reached toll free at 877-379-8636.
I don’t think that that office understands anything about how the phone system works anytime she wrote that statement to me.
Have you had a chance to check your e-mail? I sent you info to go to T-NETIX website. There you will find their tariffs for Texas. Last week I requested a copy of their tariff for Maryland PSC. It is almost the same as the one on their webpage with the exception that it list the Office of External Affairs as the place to file a complaint about them in Maryland.
The tariff is available from PSC but you have to pay for copying. I paid $14.50 for 29 pages. It was well worth it.
In their tariff it says for the prepaid account that the inmate has to contact the family member and then in turn the family member contacts them to set up an account. It seems in your case they called you and that is not what they state in their tariff.
May 30th, 2005 at 10:50 pm
I’m in Maryland as is my incarcerated loved one, and I have never been contacted by T-Netix. They did not contact anyone on his call list except his mother, and then his sister. He can still speak to his friend who is in the same little town with the same phone exchange, who has not been contacted my T-Netix or had a block put on. I really think T-Netix targets the families first. My friend sent me a blank call list sheet and it requires you to include your “relation” to the person being called on the form. I think they just automatically block and then contact the family members. Just my opinion from what’s happened in our situation, but I think it’s a good bet.
As for what Ms. Saar said about how the system works, I think that is just another misconception or a lie on T-Netix’s part. It wouldn’t surprise me if T-Netix purposely misleads the State Agencies, (such as the Dept. of Public Safety and Correctional Services where Ms. Saar is) as to how they actually operate. They seem to be totally disreputable. I know what the inmates are told is totally inaccurate. I also wouldn’t be surprised if no state agency is really interested in helping crack down on T-Netix and it’s extortionist policies, as the state of Maryland is making millions of dollars off of this.
June 2nd, 2005 at 3:39 pm
Elvera, I’m afraid I didn’t get your e-mail — did you send it to my name at the vitia.org address?
June 7th, 2005 at 8:37 am
Mike, I sent the first e-mail on May 23 and after that I sent another one last week. I will attempt to send the same one this morning.
June 8th, 2005 at 1:39 pm
Elvera, for some reason, I still didn’t get it. If you post a comment here and include your e-mail address in the comment form, I can try sending you an e-mail, and if you’re concerned about having your e-mail address public, I can edit the comment to remove your e-mail address.
June 9th, 2005 at 9:47 pm
Mike,
Send me an e-mail and I will send the original message. Please edit my e-mail address so as not to publicize it.
Thanks,
Elvera
June 12th, 2005 at 4:17 am
I have been through hell with t-netix also. If you go to PTO (prison talk online) website you will see that we are just a few among thousands who are being ripped off by t-netix. I agree we need to get together to fight them and not let them make money off families of inmates.
July 6th, 2005 at 7:48 pm
I clearly understand what everyone is going thru with T-Netix. I too received a recorded message for me to call them after have accepted many calls from my husband before and I did set up an account and now I have a block on my phone but have not reached my limit. I called them and they said there was no block on my phone line and so I then called SBC and they said to call the line for inmate calls that they didn’t have a block on my phone either so I then called the number sbc gave me and they too said they didn’t have a block on my phone. So where is it? T-Netix said they would get a technition to find the problem but I haven’t heard from them yet and I still haven’t received a call from my husband for 1 1/2 weeks so far. I am wondering if I ever will after reading every one else’s stories. SBC said they do work with T-Netix and don’t know why they would have told me that they went to a different billing system. There are a few out of state correctional facilities that call me and they also have blocks on them but I don’t know if T-Netix has anything to do with that also. I assume they do. I have called everyone I can think of to find the block on my phone and no one has it.??? Imagine that!!!!!!!!! If anyone know of any thing or any one else I can contact I would appreciate any help in the matter.
July 6th, 2005 at 7:52 pm
Sorry I wanted to clarify with the other Cathy’s listed. I just posted one with Cathy but it is Cathy W. Sorry about that.
July 15th, 2005 at 3:32 pm
My loved one has now been moved to where he will serve the rest of his time. His calls are now long distance. The calls are still through T-Netix, who is charging something like $2.85 for the connection and then $.30 per minute after that. I’ve only taken two calls so far. I have not been contacted by T-Netix yet. We shall see what happens when my phone use reaches that seemingly critical $50.00 limit. Will they block me then, even though my Verizon and AT&T bills are paid up? I’ll keep in touch. Best wishes to everyone.
July 15th, 2005 at 7:56 pm
Our son is incarcerated at the Indiana Prison at Michigan City, Indiana. At first we were billed through AT&T on our monthly bill. Then we were “switched” to T-Netix. We also had to “open an account” and all the usual things they make everyone go through. We have had our phone blocked several times - not for anything on our part but most often these blocks resulted because we did not get our payment in on time. Here is the rub. We got our newest T-netix bill today (8:30 AM). The billing date was 6/30/2005. Today is 07/15/2005. It took 15 days to get here. The due date on this bill is 7/20/2005. We had 5 days to get the payment to them. The best thing for all of us is to document all these attempts to make us prisoners also and forward them all to our Representatives or Senator in Washington and demand that they do what is necessary.
July 20th, 2005 at 10:18 pm
i to have a account with t netix its funny how i be talking to my love one in prison all the sudden it say coustom calling is not allow and hangs up.well that pretty annoying and exspensive.
July 25th, 2005 at 8:19 pm
On 07/20/2005 at 1505 my wife and I were receiving a call from our son who is incarcerated at Indiana State Prison, Michigan City, IN. T-Netix broke the connection with a recording saying that custom calling features were not permitted. No custom calling was in use. My wife was on one phone and I was on another phone on the same phone line. Our son called back but that cost us another “connection fee”.
August 4th, 2005 at 1:02 pm
Hi,
Just need to update everyone for the Maryland area. I got a response to a letter I had written to Secretary Saar and Governor Ehrlich.
Mrs. Saar informs me that T-NETIX is now SECURUS. I went online and found out that T-NETIX and Evercom merged to form SECURUS Technologies. She gave a customer service number of 1-800-844-6591.
She also states that third parties like Verizon and AT&T will not bill for SECURUS and that calls will not go through in this case.
August 6th, 2005 at 10:10 am
Just read Elvera’s update. (Thanks Elvera!)
Well this is just great. So they went from “tenetics” to “T-Netix” to “Securus”. Will they ever cease changing their name? I doubt it, as every time they do it knocks them off of the Better Business Bureau list and BBB has to “compile information” on the company under it’s new name before posting a report about said company.
If Securus will not bill through Verizon or AT&T then I will no longer be getting phone calls, as those are my two phone providers. It seems these people now really have total control, a complete monopoly on phone service for tens of thousands of people. I didn’t think that was legal.
I received my last call on Thursday evening. Sadly I was not here to answer, but I heard the recording on my voicemail. The recording still said “T-Netix”. I guess it won’t last much longer.
I can’t believe this. What can be done?
August 7th, 2005 at 9:32 pm
Danielle Cathleen I am in the same boat as you, my calls are billed through Verizon.
I contacted the Brennan Law Center in New York asking for assistance in filing my lawsuit against T-NETIX. I asked them because they have knowledge of these extortionist. They told me that they are reviewing the materials I have sent them.
Please everyone send an e-mail to this lady. Kirsten.Levingston@NYU.edu so that they will have a record of our complaints.
Please visit this website so that you can read their comments to the FCC.
http://www.brennancenter.org/programs/cj/coalition_fcc_comments.pdf. this will take a while to download. It is important to read this document.
August 7th, 2005 at 11:54 pm
Will do Elvera. Much thanks.
Please, everyone, take a moment to click on the link Elvera provided above and voice your complaint. We cannot fight this company alone, but if we band together and make enough (intelligent) noise perhaps we can actually accomplish changes for the better, not just for ourselves, but many thousands of people.
I know that I feel sick knowing I may have heard my loved one’s voice for the last time for a long time.
August 8th, 2005 at 12:00 pm
“Securus” is Latin for (of course) “secure” or “safe.” But most people who hear the Latin word today hear it in the context of the Catholic hymn Dies Irae, or in the symphonic Requiem masses of Berlioz, Verdi, and Mozart. “Securus” is the final word in the seventh stanza:
As this page points out, “Cum vix Justus sit securus reminds us that even the best among us have committed sin” — a point Rick Cree seems to entirely have missed. It seems unfortunately un-Christian of Mr. Cree, particularly given his degree from Southern Methodist University — but perhaps Mr. Cree, if he does in fact go to church, subscribes to a faith that privileges profit above all else, and ignores Christ’s commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself.”
August 14th, 2005 at 4:51 pm
I got a call from my son last week through T-Netix. A few days later I got a call with a recording to call a 1-888 something. It said that I had recently got a collect from an inmate at a correctional facility. It was saying something to the effect about prepaid and debit. When I finally got someone on the line that never said anything about prepaid and debit. They wanted to know who was my carrier that I paid for the collect calls. I told her Verizon. (I forget to say that the call was from Correctional Billing Services). This also a part of T-Netix. I told her that she should already know this information. She said that Verizon would no longer tell T-Netix when a customer has paid their bill because of privacy concerns.
She also told me that the line that the call came in on had a $20 limit per month and would be blocked after reaching that amount. She asked whose name was the phone in. I told her my husband’s name. She had my daughters name in the computer. I informed her that the information was wrong. I asked her about the other line that my son’s calls normally come one. She said that this line had a $240 limit on it. She gave me the number to call T-Netix because they had the information for this phone on their computer.
After this happened I became very angry and I filed a complaint with the FTC online. FTC sent me the acknowledgement and also an attachment to the e-mail.
As families of inmates we are in a very peculiar situation in terms of our rights. The FCRA(fair credit reporting act) in this information that was sent to me speaks of you having applied for credit from creditors. None of us ever applied to T-Netix. We are the victims of practices that affect us adversely by virtue of this contract the State of Maryland has entered with T-Netix. Also I was on the do not calls list. These people don’t having any business contacting any of us. The used the name of Correctional Billing Services in my case.
Please everyone take the time an file a complaint to the FTC on line.
Also go online to http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/09/sprintatt.htm these companies were doing the same things that T-Netix are doing to us. Click on the right at the top of this document to read the document. It will say related documents.
August 29th, 2005 at 8:28 pm
t-netix will providw you with any questions you have if you want rating info or have questions about the company you just ask aswell as the reps give there name when they answer the call
September 28th, 2005 at 4:39 pm
Hi Everyone,
Today I obtained a brochure from a Maryland Correctional Facility titled Friends & Family Telephone Service Guide published by Correctional Billing Services(part of the Securus Family). It contain general instructions and credit policy.
I would advise everyone out there to obtain a copy of this brochure.
It states that if the established call limit is exceeded, the system automatically restricts the line.(i.e. no collect calls from a correctional facility are processed). The customer receives an automated call advising of the restriction.
Can anyone out there tell me if they have received such an automated call?
Secondly on their credit policy, they state that the amount of credit you are eligible for is determined solely by CBS.
My concern here is what gives them the right to do this ? As consumers we have the right to question this practice.
Please everyone obtain a copy of this brochure from your loved ones in the correctional facility.
Please respond.
October 7th, 2005 at 11:07 pm
Thanks for the information on T-Netix.
The company is a scam and I plan on filing a complaint with
Maryland Public Service Commission.
My loved one and I are getting ripped off with every call. We are currently using the prepaid system with T-Netix and we are constantly being disconnected and each call added up to, too much money. DOC and T-Netix
are the true criminals here when it comes to the families on the outside.
Everybody’s posting was insightful
Thanks
November 8th, 2005 at 10:24 pm
woa woa seems like no one from goverment care about some companies working for them or perhaps with them are stealing money from people that some times or most of the times even the same justice don’t know if they are giltty or not ,i just can’t believe that ,OK,some companies are workin for govermet are selling pre paid phone cards foR $25.00 TO TALK 15 MINUTES domestic calls is this fair here on USA,,,,,, WOA
November 21st, 2005 at 11:14 am
I hate t-Netix too. Every time you turn around your phone is blocked. I have a friend that is in a correctional facility that has a waiting line to use the phone and it’s irretating to not be able to answer the phone because there is a block. I also hate the fact that you can’t go threw your long distant carrier for inmate phone usage. It takes t-netix a long time to give back a refund for calls that were disconnected for no reason. They always tell you that they have to send in a trouble ticket that might take up to several weeks for it to be investigated and refunded. Every time you need to speak to a manager thier is noone available. I hate t-netix.
December 9th, 2005 at 5:16 pm
Ladies and Gentlemen,
My name is Tara Andrews and I am Director of Justice Maryland, http://www.justicemaryland.org, a statewide coalition that advocates for systemic changes to Maryland’s criminal justice system. I was directed to this blog by a concerned family member and would like to offer the assistance of the Coalition in helping families address these issues in a unified and strategic manner.
To that end, we offer to host a convening, a town hall meeting of sorts, after the first of the year to give families an opportunity to voice their concerns and frustrations in a public forum and towards the public officials who can and should do something about this.
As is appropriate, the blog does not reveal your e-mail addresses, but if you are interested in receiving an invitation to this town meeting please respond to tara@justicemaryland.org and we will make sure that you get the meeting notice. We will also post the notice to this blog once a date, time and location have been finalized.
In closing, I invite each of you to respond and let us know what public officials you think should be at this meeting. We cannot guarantee their attendance, but we pledge to work with you to invite them and “encourage” them to attend.
In solidarity,
Tara Andrews
December 9th, 2005 at 6:05 pm
Tara, thank you so much! As the 80 comments here indicate, there are concerns not only with the criminal justice system, but with the abusive and predatory practices of the commercial interests that make their profits from prison inmates and their families. I’ll definitely be getting in touch with you, and I’ll also pass along your message to others. Thank you again.
December 12th, 2005 at 4:04 am
My experience with T-Netix has been a nightmare. When our loved ones for some reason, whether tried and convicted or copped a plea and got sold down the river, became prisoners of the system, of the same system and the satellite money hungry vultures that want to pick our bones! It is a joke to hear someone say that the “inmates pay for calls…where would they get the money? My son makes 19 cents and hour. The calls cost $4.53 to connect and 59 cents for every minute thereafter. WE, the families of inmates are the ones who are being stripped of our Constitutional rights because Prisons get a kickback from using T-Netix.
It is nice to see that the State of Maryland really has some advocates fighting to change this gross Consitituional violation. It is bad enough that our loved ones are prisoners of circumstances, each one of us on the outside are also PRISONERS/VICTIMS of a system that is archaic and does not promote rehabilitation. One of the primary needs of every human being is contact and love from family and friends. My son is incarcerated 4-1/2 hours from our home in New Jersey. I am 70 years old and am severely handicapped so 4-1/2 hrs each way in a car is torture for me; I am sure I am not alone. My son has been in a PA prison for a year and a half and I have only seen him 4 times. That is why it is so important that family and friends are able to have contact with inmates without having phones blocked, calls being cut off, and enormous amounts of money to even speak for a few minutes once in awhile is so debilitating not only to the inmates but also to their family and friends.
If you know of any active group in Pennsylvania that is assisting families of inmates in that system who have experienced similar frustration and feelings of being victimized by T-Netix or some other scrufty phone company that is preying on the incarceration of many, please let me know by posting the information here.
Thank you and I do hope you all get to “speak” with your loved one during these special Holiday times.
January 5th, 2006 at 12:23 am
Hey all have you ever thought to yourselfs that do no wrong and you won’t have to deal with the B.S. I know all of us have our roads and we travel them. Although some are not all bad there are a few that actually are. It is most concerning that we in america view ourselves as civilized although corporate america doesn’t give a D$%n about wahat we set out to do.
In the inmate phone industry it is a comlpex system sometimes ran by those that make profits off of family members in correctional facilities.
Why is it that we think it is a right to communicate with loved ones when the people whom we love are in jail. If they cared at all about circumstances of what they are doing then there will be no problems with this thus stating responsibilty. What does that mean on a web site such as this. The way that I look at it we should be shipping these people over to IRAQ and see if they can call home. I bet you will see that many soldiers cannot make calls when they feel like it. Yes they signed up for it and are doing a heck of a job but as far as people making calls isn’t it a luxury?
January 6th, 2006 at 8:30 pm
“MAN,” your “IRAQ” example is particularly interesting to me, since I’m a veteran. I know how communications home work in the Army. And the predatory overpricing tactics exercised by T-Netix aren’t used by telcom contractors who serve the military: in point of fact, you’re mistaken, and you’ve missed the point.
Furthermore, when the second Iraq war began, my brother — who’s, yes, in prison, serving a sentence for armed robbery — told me that conspiracy theories ran rampant among prisoners: there were fears that they’d be sent off to Iraq as cannon fodder, or summarily executed under the provisions of what became the USA-PATRIOT act.
You think prisoners should be shipped to Iraq. Which prisoners? All of them? And what would they do there? Because, more than you know, you’re right in certain ways: economic inequality and the American class system spur some people to join the military (every single enlisted man I served with cited the GI Bill as one of the primary reasons why they signed up: they wanted to go to college but didn’t have the money), and spur other people to commit crimes. That certainly doesn’t make crime right, but if you’re going to gripe about “luxury,” why don’t you get the spine to sign up yourself — “MAN”? I did.
Of course, the holes in your argument are largely beside the point, which is this: the rapacious swine at T-Netix profit from the misery of inmates’ families. It’s guilt by association. And when one penalizes not only the convict but the convict’s loved ones as well, one turns the purpose of the prison system even further away from rehabilitation and towards punishment. And without rehabilitation, you’re encouraging more crime rather than less crime.
Rehabilitation works, and it’s been proven to work. Some criminals can and do recognize that they’ve done wrong and hurt people, and feel remorse for their actions, and want to better themselves and repay a debt to society. I see this every time I meet my brother’s prison friends, and I see it in the literacy, math, and GED tutoring work he does in the prison, and I see it in his friend Pumphrey who came into the prison system at age 19 and completely illiterate and learned to read at a 12th grade level within the space of five years, and I see it in the radically reduced recidivism rate of my brother’s program and others like it, and I see it in the huge numbers of inmates who commit themselves to social work when they come out of prison. How many people with that sense of altruism do you know in the outside world, “MAN”?
And, against altruism, we have T-Netix and its new embodiment, Securus, who are still stuffing their corporate coffers from the misery of inmates’ loved ones. You seem like you’re all for it, “MAN,” so you’d probably do well to invest in their parent corporation, H.I.G. Capital. The Prison-Industrial Complex is alive and well in the service of American big-money interests, and one can only suppose how happy you are that the United States incarcerates more of its citizens per capita than any other nation in the world.
January 7th, 2006 at 1:40 am
God, Mike, I love your anger-inspired posts. They make me all my muscles tense up while I”m reading and waiting to hear what you’ll say. It’s so truthful in a way that other writing isn’t. You don’t hold back and it comes across with edible words.
January 8th, 2006 at 10:57 am
My daughter is an inmate and their facility said I should buy prepaid calling time with T-Netix. After stumbling on your site and reading all about problems others have had with this company, I wonder if there is another company that can be used besides this one. The calls are tremendously expensive but I feel that we need to talk to her once a week to keep her on a positive note so we can have positive results when she gets out. Is there another answer?
January 9th, 2006 at 8:44 pm
I am a member of T-netix but recently my son was transferred to a diversion center where they don’t use T-netix but MCI. I cannot get his collect calls. I called T-netx and was told I owed them money which I didn’t since it was a prepaid acct but I eventually paid the $32.00 plus they said I had to have at least $15.00 in the account. I wanted to close the account but they wouldn’t let me..this is absurd! I paid it and now I still can’t get calls. I’m in SC and my local company says there is not problem but there is and I know it T-netix. I don’t know what to do about T-netix but we are getting ripped out and nobody cares.
January 9th, 2006 at 10:26 pm
Michelle — thanks.
Ruth, ususally states just use one telcom contractor for the whole prison system, so you don’t get a choice — which is why me and so many other people are so mad. Via these contracts, state governments are taking money away from the poor (statistically speaking, the overwhelming majority of prison inmates come from working-class families) to give to the rich (like the investors of H.I.G. Capital).
Mary, it sounds like you’re getting ripped off just like the rest of us. There’s lots of good information in the comments above about what you can do, but much of it is state-specific. Here’s one resource; another idea might be to contact your Senators or your Congressman. Good luck!
January 27th, 2006 at 2:34 pm
It amazes me how everyone that posts to this site has had simular experiences. I tried to report them to the Better Business Bureau, but that was very difficult. I recieved a respose from BBB and T-Netix, and they lied on there report. They blocked my sons calls 2 days before Mothers Day, I called them they said I had to pay the bill. I said I haven’t gotten a bill. They said you can pay it over the phone, with a 3.00 charge for paying over the phone. I argued why should I pay 3.00 to pay over the phone when I never recieved a bill in the first place. They told me they would take the block off in 3 to 5 days. My son was unable to reach me on Mothers Day. I was devisated. I contated the FCC too. To no avail they were of no help. It is a Monopoly of sort and because we have a loved one in the prison system, we are treated as if we are the criminals. Besides the lack of customer support, the cost of a phone call is unheard of. 3.85 to correct and .35 for each additional minute. 11.55 for 30 minute phone call. I’d love to know of a class action suit against T-Netix. I’d love to be involved!!!!!!
January 30th, 2006 at 11:14 am
Good Morning,
Please anyone out there that has obtained a flyer from any Maryland Correctional facility while visting that says Friends & Family Telephone Service Guide please leave a response on this site. If you didn’t please ask your Loved One’s in the Maryland Correctional Facility to mail you one.
Please let me know if the flyer states that T-NETIX will give you a credit for the $1.95 bill statement fee from Verizon if you will sign up to be a direct
bill customer for T-NETIX. The deadline was November 30th 2005.
This information is very important.
bill customer for T-NETIX.
January 30th, 2006 at 8:29 pm
Please distribute far and wide * Please distribute far and wide * Please distribute far and wide
Maryland’s Telephone Tax:
A Town Hall Meeting
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Sojourner Douglass Administration Building
500 N. Caroline Street
Baltimore, Maryland
This is a call to all prisoners’ families and concerned citizens
to discuss the continuing problems with Maryland’s telephone tax
and to lay out a plan of action for reform.
Organized by Justice Maryland
For more information call 410-244-6334
January 31st, 2006 at 11:13 am
I am new to this also and just as frustrated. i just paid a $360.00 bill to T-netix on 1/24/06 that took care of billing from 11/18/05 without ever having received a bill.
I spent hours calling around to find out why the phone was blocked. now that it has been paid they have blocked it again because of a $50 spending limit in 24hr time period. I found out that 1 call for approx 16 mins cost $9.75.
I found this site trying to find information on any class action lawsuit that might be going on involving this company or Securus who they are merging with. If anyone knows of a lawsuit please forward the info. I would be glad to join in.
I have already contacted my local chapter for the American Civil Liberties Union on this and other neglect and abuse situations going on in our local jail here in Sarasota, FL. Check their website, they have a section specifically for prison issues in our country. I am tired of being treated like I am less than human because I have a relative in jail.
February 1st, 2006 at 11:55 am
I REALLY FEEL THAT WHOEVER CAME UP WITH THE IDEA TO
ALLOW INMATE TO CALL ON A CELLPHONE IS SO STRAIGHT BECAUSE NO MATTER WHERE YOU AT.THEY CAN JUST CALL YOUR CELL PHONE UP AND JUST TALK BUT SOMETIMES THE CALLS MIGHT DROP BUT THAT WILL BE CREDITED BACK INTO YOUR ACCOUNT BUT YOU HAVE TO REPORT IT FIRST THAN THAT.THEN YOU KNOW ANOTHER THING IT HELPS OUT ALOTS SO THAT PEOPLE CAN TALK TO THEIR LOVE ONES OR LAWYER FOR INFORMATION LAST YEAR MY BOYFRIEND WAS IN JAIL FOR 30 DAYS AND YOU KNOW WHEN I HEARD THAT YOU CAN PUT COLLECT CALLS ON A CELL PHONE I WAS SO HAPPY I WENT TO WESTERN UNION AND PAID MY MONEY FOR THE CALLS. YOU KNOW I WAS SO GLAD THAT I PUT THE CALLS ON HIS CELL PHONE,MY CELL PHONE AND MY HOUSE PHONE I HAD ALOT OF TIME TO TALK TO HIM I MADE SURE HE WAS STRAIGHT AND HAD ME TO TALK TO.
February 10th, 2006 at 5:08 pm
There is a phone sevice for families of inmates called the Family connections. However, they do a credit chek and you pay 42.00 up front. It’s in connection with verizon. They have a web site just look it up. I didn’t get it because I thought my husband was coming home. My sister got it and the calls are >85.
February 18th, 2006 at 4:10 am
I am a former employee of T-netix in the state of Maryland. I quit my job 2 years ago because I could not stand to work for a company as decietful as T-netix. The managers within the company will tell bold faced lies to state officials in order to get contracts with the D.O.C. It is all about the almighty dollar. I received many calls each day from people with the same issues that you all have expressed here. My heart goes out to you all. I understand what a traumatic thing it is to have a loved one incarcerated. All I can ofer to you is this advice; Continue your complaints to the BBB and write all of your state representatives, I would even suggest writing to Governer Ehrlich, I don’t think he is aware how the State and his constituents are being robbed by this deceitful company.
February 19th, 2006 at 11:38 pm
I fully agree with Twibil73 about T-NETIX. They deliberately lie to the Maryland DOC. A while back I posted information that the Secretary of DPSCS gave me concerning T-NETIX name being changed to SECURUS. When I contacted Susan Woomer in procurement about this information she wrote back to me and said that she was never notified of any changes and that T-Netix was still the legal name. This is one example of how the company lies to the DOC.
After this I was sent a copy of the modification to the present contract. Please everyone request a copy of the modification under the Public Information Act.
This modification is on the part of T-NETIX, it is supposed to be offering us a choice of who we want to be billed through.
The interesting thing about this is that even though T-NETIX was awarded the contract Verizon still continued to be the subcontractor for the contract.
Now that Verizon is no longer the contractor T-NETIX is providing and billing the local and intraLata long distance services.
The $64,000 question is why did the DOC award T-NETIX the contract when it could not provide direct billing to the customer? In 2000 and 2001 T-NETIX protested the contract(go to your search engine and type in In the appeal of T-NETIX) under DBM-2001 & DBM-2002.
Please request the modification to contract 050R2800336 from Ms. Susan Woomer, DBM Procurement Unit, 45 Calvert St. Room 141, Annapolis, MD 21401.
Please ask for a copy of the flyer that they worked on together for Family & Friends.
Once you get a copy of the flyer from the DBM and compare it to a copy of the flyer from the correctional you will compare the two and realize that there has been a deception. I believe that one is for the state copy and the other has probally been placed by T-NETIX in the correctional facilities.
The flyer violates the PSC rules for blocking, and the credit policy part violates the rules of the Fair credit reporting Act.
Please check it out.
March 30th, 2006 at 7:25 pm
I just deleted a stupid and hostile comment from a mouth-breather with the IP address 208.241.6.12. Guess where that IP is? Irving, Texas; home of T-Netix / Securus operations — and from the sense of entitlement the mouth-breather displayed, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was someone with a management background. So I’ve banned the IP, and I encourage readers here to check out the management team at http://www.t-netix.com/staff_default.asp (the information there might be useful in conjunction with the information at http://www.anywho.com) and do whatever you think is appropriate. The commenter’s advice, by the way, was repeated twice: “Stop crying already.”
The area code for the Dallas/Irving area is 972.
April 3rd, 2006 at 4:37 pm
You and your crybaby readers should grow up and face the facts.
April 5th, 2006 at 8:35 pm
I’ll tell you what,
Knowledge is PowerAnonymous Coward. You’re welcome to post a comment here, as long as you (1) Put a real e-mail address on your post and (2) Say whether or not you’re involved with Securus/T-Netix, as your IP address indicates. Do that, and you’re welcome to share whatever “facts” you like.April 6th, 2006 at 12:45 pm
Knowledge,
Your pseudonym could not be more correct and poignant. Knowledge is indeed power and this thread is proof of that fact. However, those at T-Netix would have us believe that the only appropriate level of knowledge is the company line. Corporate America fears discussion threads such as this, as they empower those who have been slighted and ripped off by the constant corporate fleecing of America. The fact that a simple thread on a little blog (no offense, Mike) can get 99 heartfelt replies is amazing and once again proves your point that knowledge is power. However, I do offer you one suggestion on a possible name change. Admittedly it stings, but I feel it is much more appropriate. Next time maybe you should sign on with: Power Corrupts -
April 10th, 2006 at 8:29 pm
I had no idea this problem was so widespread. In CA T-Netix is the monster from hell. My only question is don’t we as the consumer have a legal right to receive an accounting of how our money is spent? I’ve had a prepaid account since Oct-05 and I have requested a statement of how my money is spent on three separate occasions and all I ever received was a print out from some operator’s computer one time in the beginning; again no information on the company, none of the information that a statement should contain. Has anyone attempted to contact their local PUC? That’s my next step. The newest thing is a recorded message at the start of each call that states calls billed by SBC may also be subject to a “pay phone usage” charge, but it doesn’t say if your call falls into this category or how much the charge is. So again I say, don’t I have a right to know how my money is being spent???
April 11th, 2006 at 2:56 pm
Carolyn,
You are absoblutely correct that you should be able to see where your money is going.
If “mike” had not “banned” my post, you would have seen exactly where much of the money for these overpriced calls, actually does go.
However, as is the case in most situations, one person (in this case “mike”) is given the job of filtering the info.
Hey mike, why don’t you go ahead and pull up a cache of my previous post so that Carolyn and the others can see where the money goes.
Thanks,
(Rob, you were right, I needed to change my name!)
I’ll keep checking in.
April 11th, 2006 at 10:58 pm
Mike I am glad that I found your site again.
I sent out several letters of complaints to the Governor and other individuals about Secretary Saar’s misinformation to me. It is a month now and I do not have a response.
Check out this website. http://www.sec.edgar-online.com/2005/11/15/0000950144-05-011841/section8.asp
Of particular interest is pages 5 and 6. This will help people to understand why they are blocked and have small amounts of credit extended to them.
These people count us for deadbeats.
April 12th, 2006 at 5:21 pm
I banned your Irving, Texas T-Netix/Securus IP address, Corrupts, because your post was rude, derogatory, and insulting to the people who have formed a network of mutual support in the 101 positive replies to this post. You still don’t have the guts to publicly own up to your association with T-Netix, or say who you are, though I and others (like Elvera, like Tara, like David, like Steven) identify ourselves by our full names here or elsewhere on this site.
But I’ll give you a second chance. Keep a civil tongue, state explicitly what your interest is and how it derives from your association with T-Netix/Securus, and you’re welcome to try to explain yourself. You might do well to understand that you won’t win anybody over by insulting them — and your stop.your.crying@gmail.com email address is insulting in and of itself, given the tenor of your comments, and I’ve no interest in being baited by such insults.
You got something to say to me, you can say it in the comments here.
April 13th, 2006 at 9:00 am
Good Morning,
There is a website http://www.etccampaign.com that allows everyone that comment here to be a part of a letter writing campaign in every state to participate.
When you go there you will see what the letter writing is all about. Letters are done for you and you can add your own comments. The best part is that they are sent to all of the right people that can make a difference.
There is a total of 10 letters. This is excellent because it lets the people that can make a difference know that we are united in this. It covers them all.
Please participate. they create the letter for you.
April 13th, 2006 at 2:10 pm
I have an error for edgar-online.
It is http://www.sec.edgar-online.com/2005/11/15/0000950144-05-011841/section8.asp
Sorry
April 13th, 2006 at 11:16 pm
Thanks, Elvera, and it’s good to hear from you again. I’ve fixed the html so the links work, and I’m (as