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Tuesday, October 27, 2015
FCC Puts Caps On The Sky-High Rates Prisoners Pay To Call Home
Long-distance and collect calling aren’t something most of us have to think about all that often, anymore. But for the families of the 2.2 million Americans living behind bars, the monopoly contracts that exist on phone companies behind bars, and the exorbitant, sky-high rates that spring from them, are a huge problem — one that the FCC has just taken action to mitigate.
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5 comments:
This is wonderful news. My brother was recently sentence to a year in Worcester county jail. Each time he called me I had to pay $15 per call no matter if we talked for 1 minute or 15 minutes. On my bill its something like $1.50 for the call and a $13.50 service fee that has to be charged to my credit card.
I can also take a $10.00 call to be billed directly to my cell phone bill but once again its for 10 minutes max and I pay the full price weather I talk for a minute or for the full 10.
They also charge close to $8.00 to put $50 in the commissary.
Now I understand he is in Jail but its our tax payer money that is funding these private prison services that rob us blind. I should not have to pay that much money to help my brother with his legal issues.
Really with such insane profits to be made by over charging everything its no wonder so many people end up doing time for non drug or violent related crimes.
There should be no profit involved with Prison. Once you put profit in then you build the incentive to build up your "Client" base which basically means more people in jail that are absolutely no danger to society.
It also gives incentives to keep people in Jail who might normally be able to get out on good behavior or parole. After all if they are let free then that is one person less to make all that money off of.
What is the problem for criminals who are incarcerated and who should be doing their time? All is being created is more hardship on the family.Stop taking the collect calls and maybe they would stay out of the Prison system . Become a Politician or police so you can break laws and still be held unaccountable.
I agree completely. The companies that have these fat monopoly telecom services contracts to prisons, are making outrageous money off people in unfortunate circumstances. And I am NOT referring to the prisoner; their incarceration is their problem. It's the family members who are stuck with the bill, not the inmate.
It's not like these prison phone companies are necessary to provide the pay phones, either. They are just a parasitic middleman, taking profit where none is earned. The same company that provides the phone service to the rest of the prison, can just as easily set up a system designed for prisoners calling home, as well, without going through a third-party company..."Prison Phones, Inc"
I am quite sure the prison gets a fat chunk of that outrageous fee, and that is why they do it. But it's wrong to charge the family and friends a mandatory fee to speak to their loved one.
I didn't know they charged 16% of the amount given for their "commissary account". That is outrageous as well.
I have little sympathy for criminals, and none at all for violent offenders and thieves. But making the family and friends pay extortionate fees like these, is just unethical, and contributes to the poverty endemic in this country. No prison should be "for profit", and no person, especially one who hasn't been convicted and is still waiting for their trial, should be subject to profiteering of this kind.
I've never been to jail, nor has any of my family or friends. But I know what is unreasonable, unfair and unethical when I see it.
You mean these people are in prison and they have a family? Why is that? You mean the justice system is breaking up families? Oh wait a minute, that only works for illegals. They cannot break up the illegals family but Americans committing crimes go to jail no matter what. Whether they have a family, a job or paying taxes, Americans go to jail. But not the illegals, they have to be protected. They are not subject to our laws.
They put themselves in there, so stop the crying. If they do not like how the system is, then do not commit crimes against society. They commit a crime, go to jail, and then everyone wants to cry about it.
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