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CORRECTIONS Telephone Calls with Prisoners The Complete Guide
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Telephone Calls with Prisoners The Complete
Guide
NOTICE TO PRISONERS, FAMILY MEMBERS AND
FRIENDS
WARNING: Regarding Telephone Service Providers
The Michigan Department of Corrections' vendor for prisoner telephone
service is Public Communications Services (PCS), Inc. Please be
aware that there are telephone service providers who claim to be able to
save customers money for inmate calls. One such company even uses
the acronym "PCS" (Prison Call Solutions). Some of the websites for
these telephone service providers advertise that they can "service all
Global Tel*Link Corporation and PCS customers."
Please note the following statement from the Department's vendor
Public Communications Services, regarding these providers:
"There have been reports of vendors contacting inmate family and
friends and claiming they can reduce your cost for inmate telephone
calls. These vendors are in no way affiliated with the Department of
Corrections or the inmate telephone services provider, Public
Communications Services, Inc. Furthermore, these vendors cannot bind
Public Communications Services to any obligation, and may cause you
to incur more costs through various subscriptions and commitments.
Public Communications Services does not receive, and is not
responsible, for any payments you make to these vendors, and will not
reimburse you for any such payments."
*************************************************************
**NOTICE**
IMPORTANT CHANGES TO PREPAID TELEPHONE
SERVICES PROVIDED BY PCS
For anyone who uses prepaid telephone service provided by DailyDial®,
please note:
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Beginning April 10, 2013, the DailyDial® prepaid phone service will
upgrade to the Global Tel*Link AdvancePay® prepaid telephone
service.
Any available funds in a DailyDial® prepaid account will be
automatically transferred during this process to a new Global Tel*Link
AdvancePay® account. Calling rates will remain the same. This
change will allow individuals with an AdvancePay® account to make
deposits, check balances, and get other payment instructions, both by
phone and online.
No action is required by current DailyDial® account holders. They will
be informed that the change has taken effect when they receive their
next phone call from a prisoner after the transition.
The below information describes specifically what changes will occur
with this transition:
There will be a change in how credit cards are processed. Right now, if
you deposit $20.00, you are charged the processing fee of $3.95, thus
making your final charge $23.95.
After the conversion, the fee rather than being added, it will be
deducted. So in the same scenario, if you deposit $20.00, your final total
will be $16.05. Now the total deposited can be raised or lowered in
$1.00 increments.
In addition, the minimum deposit will be $5 as anything lower the end
user would not be able to accept a phone call (for instance, if the
deposit was only $4.00 it would leave only a .05 balance). If someone
were to deposit $5, they will be left with a balance of $1.05 thus being
allowed to accept several calls.
After the transition, you can access the AdvancePay® by phone, call: 1
8554662832 or online, at: www.offenderconnect.com
*************************************************************
Prisoner Telephone System Calling from a
Correctional Facility
The current vendor for prisoner telephone services is Public
Communications Services. As part of PCS telephone services,
prisoners are able to call 20 personal telephone numbers which
becomes his/her Personal Allowed Numbers (PAN) list. PAN's will
automatically reset each quarter (1/1, 4/1, 7/1, 10/1), which allows each
prisoner an opportunity to update his/her calling list. Prisoners are
allowed to make telephone calls using the following options:
COLLECT: Prisoners can call certain approved numbers and the call
charges will appear on the called party's monthly phone bill. However,
note that collect calls cannot be made to cell phones, office phones, or
hospital numbers.
PREPAID COLLECT: PCS's prepaid collect option has been migrated
from Daily Dial™ to AdvancePay®. This option allows friends
and family members to set up a calling account to their personal phone
number(s). Every time a prisoner calls one of these numbers, the
charges will be deducted from the called party's account. Please
visit www.offenderconnect.com or call 8554662832 to set up an
AdvancePay® account today! (See above notice regarding
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AdvancePay®.)
DEBIT: Debit calling puts prisoners in control of their personal phone
account. Prisoners are able to purchase debit minutes through
the institutional disbursement process, which they can then use to
call friends and family members. Prisoners can call many phone
numbers, including cell phones, with their debit account.
For any questions regarding these calling options, please call PCS at
8554662832.
PCS Prisoner Telephone Rates
Prisoner telephone rates are outlined in the table below (Effective
February 11, 2014):
Type of
Payment
Per
Minute
Rate
Calling Area
Collect
Collect
Local/IntraLata/InterLata/Intrastate
=
Collect Interstate
=
Prepaid
Local/IntraLata/InterLata/Intrastate
=
Prepaid Interstate
=
$0.21
Local/IntraLata/InterLata/Intrastate
=
$0.18
Interstate
=
$0.21
International
=
$0.75
Prepaid
Debit
$0.20
$0.23
$0.20
Receiving Prisoner Calls
As part of PCS telephone services, prisoners will be able to call only 20
personal telephone numbers but those numbers will be the first 20
personal numbers the prisoner chooses to call each quarter (i.e., Jan
Mar; AprJun; JulSep; OctDec) unless the number is blocked in
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accordance with the Prisoner Telephone Policy. The first 20 completed
calls each quarter will become the prisoner's "Personal Allowed
Numbers" (PAN). Prisoners also may call numbers on the universal list.
The prisoner has the option of placing collect calls to telephone numbers
on their PAN list. Collect calls are billed to the called party every month
through their phone carrier company.
Some local phone providers establish a maximum dollar amount limit for
collect calls. You will need to contact your local provider to determine
this amount. If you reach the maximum dollar amount limit allowed for
collect calls, you may be at a risk of being blocked from receiving future
collect calls from an inmate. In such instances, you can call PCS at
8554662832 to sign up for a prepaid calling account and begin
receiving calls again. You can also visit the website to sign up for
service:
http://Offenderconnect.com/portal?
action=FACILITYPAGES&siteID=484 (Click link or copy this link and
paste it into your browser to access the website)
You can sign up for a prepaid calling account today if you experience
any of the following:
You have a collect call restriction by your local phone provider
You have exceeded the collect call limit
Your local telephone company does not bill for inmate collect
calls
Your phone number is blocked from receiving inmate collect calls
You have a high collect call bill and want to manage your calling
budget
Collect calls cannot be made to cell phones, office phones, hospital
phones or other commercial phone numbers. Please note in order to
complete calls to cell phones, prisoners must call using their inmate
debit calling account or call to an established prepaid account.
If you are being billed for any charges that seem unreasonable or unfair,
or are experiencing any account related issues, please contact a PCS
representative immediately at 8554662832.
Setting Up an Account
To sign up for a Prepaid Calling Account, you can call PCS at 855466
2832 or you can visit their website at:
http://Offenderconnect.com/portal?
action=FACILITYPAGES&siteID=484
(Click link or copy this link and paste it into your browser to access the
website)
Here is some additional information regarding the setup and funding of
Prepaid Accounts:
PCS charges a $3.95 Credit Card Transaction Fee for each
funding transaction.
Customers receiving calls from MI DOC prisons may fund up to
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three prepaid accounts (phone number to be called) with
a single transaction and single fee charge when processed
through a customer service agent. Please contact PCS at 855
4662832 if you are interested in funding more than one prepaid
account with a single transaction.
There is no minimum deposit for transactions done via the web,
IVR or over the phone.
There is no fee to close an account.
You may also fund an account at no charge via a cashier's check or
money order. There is a $25 minimum payment amount for funding by
mail. Payments should be sent to: AdvancePay, PO Box 911722,
Denver, CO 802911722. Please include your name, the name of the
correctional facility where the prisoner is incarcerated and your phone
number. Note that it may take up to five (5) business days from when
PCS receives payment for the funds to be added to the Prepaid
Account.
Blocking Prisoner Calls
There are multiple ways to block calls from prisoners as needed.
Any incoming call can be refused at any time by either hanging
up or pressing "1" when prompted. The call will be disconnected
and the prisoner will be informed their call was not accepted.
Any incoming call from a correctional facility can be blocked
permanently by pressing "6" when prompted. You will be asked
to provide a 4 digit personal identification number (PIN) to confirm
the block. This PIN will be required to remove the block in the
future if needed.
You can also call the PCS customer service department at 855
4662832 and they will be able to help block future calls from a
prisoner.
If you are receiving unwanted correspondence or telephone calls from a
prisoner, you should contact the Warden at the facility where the
prisoner is currently being housed. A written correspondence and/or
telephone restriction may be placed on the prisoner after a fair and
impartial review of your request. We will make every effort to restrict
contact from the prisoner after your request is approved. However, if
you should receive any contact after the restriction, please contact the
Warden at the facility where the prisoner is being housed.
If you are being threatened by a Michigan prisoner, you should contact
the Warden at the facility where the prisoner is currently being housed.
Our office will also forward your email concerns to the Parole Board,
Crime Victims Notification, and the Warden.
Removing a Block
You can remove a block on your telephone number by calling the PCS
customer service department at 8554662832.
Please note there are other reasons why your phone number may be
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blocked from receiving collect calls from correctional facilities. These
include:
Your local telephone company does not offer billing on collect
calls
You have reached the maximum dollar amount limit allowed for
collect calls
You are trying to receive collect calls on a cell phone or work
phone
You can sign up for the easytouse and convenient prepaid calling
program offered by PCS, by visiting:
http://Offenderconnect.com/portal?
action=FACILITYPAGES&siteID=484
(Click link or copy this link and paste it into your browser to access the
website) or calling 8554662832.
Closing an Account
Similar to traditional prepaid calling card accounts, for accounting and
recordkeeping purposes, GTL's and its affiliates' prepaid accounts for
inmate calling services are subject to closure after 90 days of inactivity.
A prepaid account holder may request a refund of any monies left in the
account any time during that 90day period. All prepaid account holders
are informed of this policy and of their right to request a refund.
Specifically, friends and family of inmates are notified of the terms and
conditions of the prepaid account when establishing their account by
phone. A detailed explanation of the inactivity policy is also contained
in the terms and conditions associated with the prepaid service, which
are posted on the OffenderConnect website and are provided to
customers when they establish an account. The Michigan DOC
website also provides detailed instructions on setting up a prepaid
account with PCS, and links to PCS's website, which provides
information on the inactivity policy. The Michigan DOC website
confirms there is no fee to close a prepaid account should a customer
choose to exercise that option. To ensure inmates have access to
information regarding PCS's services, PCS makes posters available to
each DOC facility for posting in each individual inmate calling location.
The posters provide instructions on how to place a call and contact
information for lodging complaints and other inquires. This information is
provided in both English and Spanish.
Scam and Fraud Protection Notification
Be wary of inmate calls that request you to dial *72 (or any digits)
followed by a new tendigit number. Completing this request can result
in the forwarding of your telephone number to a number of the inmate's
choosing, and all calls to your true telephone number can be
automatically forwarded to the new number without your knowledge. The
only way to reverse the forwarding of calls to a new number is to dial
*73 (or the digits corresponding to your phone provider). For Additional
Information,
visit http://www.gtl.net/familyandfriends/consumer_protection.shtml.
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Funding Prepaid Accounts via Lobby Kiosk at
the Detroit ReEntry Center and Women's Huron
Valley
PCS will be partnering with the Department of Corrections to conduct a
pilot program whereby we will be installing a kiosk in the lobby at the
Detroit ReEntry Center and the Women's Huron Valley facility for the
purpose of funding prepaid phone accounts. Currently, these kiosks will
only allow for funding of prepaid phone accounts and will not accept any
other type of deposit, such as deposits to inmate trust or commissary
accounts. However, any PCS prepaid phone account for a Michigan
Department of Corrections customer may be funded via these kiosks.
Funding is not limited to accounts that receive calls from these
facilities. Note that the fee for using the kiosk to fund a prepaid account
is the same $3.95 Credit Card Transaction Fee that is charged for
deposits made via the Web, IVR or over the phone.
For the pilot project, kiosks will be installed at the following locations:
One Kiosk Detroit ReEntry Center, 17600 Ryan Rd, Detroit, MI
48212
One Kiosk Women's Huron Valley, 3201 Bemis Rd, Ypsilanti,
MI 48197
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