Global Tel Link
Reviews and Complaints

After reading some informatin about this company I wanted to speak to customer service and pay my bill so I can have a credit on my phone I spent over a hour on the phone which a recorder states someone will call me back. I left a number and never received a call back. I called back and was still on hold for another hour. I feel like I'm in a bad place if I don't take a chance and pay them some money I cant receive calls and if I do and the credit don't get credited to the accout I still won't be able to receive calls. This company sucks.

I agree completely I check my balance daily and it goes up daily even if I havent received a call in 3 days! How the heck can that happen? This is the worst compny the worls. Everytime i call to inquire about this i first have to wait 2 hours for a call bak just to be told that they will have to call me back after reviewing my accout and i never get a call back. there really should be something done about this company

I think Global Tel Link is a scam.I can give you several reasons why:1. They keep you on hold forever, then the phone hangs up:2 When you pay your bill the block still don't be lifted:3 Just plain rude. I think we need to get a class action Law Suit against GTL!This company just want us to keep paying, when in reality were not getting all the calls were paying for.I'm really disgusted with GTL, ugghh

They disconnect me from my son in the Lee County Jail without warning. They charge me for calls I have never received. They refer me to a supervisor and the supervisor never calls me back. They tell me they are going to credit me for the call and don't. They take as much as 2 hours to call back and can never resolve the problem. On Jul 14, I am going to call the Public Utilities Commission in Florida and complain. I hope they can take some action. Everyone that is complaining should do the same. Apparently they have a monopoly and they need to either be put out of business or investigated immediately. I am hoping that their would be some other service
available.

I have being trying to get intouch with a representative due to the fact that I have being showing in my later bills tha I owed $467. when I have being paying my bill monthly as it comes. So how come now I owed that amount? What happen with my payments. I will like to received prove with a statement that shows which calls I did not pay. I don't want a statement with the amount ony. I will appreciate if you take care of this matter soon since I want to continue receiving calls.

Diana

What a racket - as a manager of my business I can authorize incoming collect calls from anyone at anytime - after so many calls Global blocks calls citing "too many calls to one number" and that my phone carrier is blocking calls - rubbish and lies lies lies! I told Global they are forcing these prepay accounts so that everytime we have to reload we get hit the $10 fee, to their benefit - no comment from the supervisor over there, by the way

This company is the worst company i have ever encountered. Difficult to speak to someone about their service and how to set it up. They monopolize collect calls from inmates to family and loved ones. When you finally set up an account they block your calls and tell you you cant to speak to the inmate because they changed the way they are billing you. They tell you you need to fax a recent telephone with your name address and telephone number and after they receive it will take 3 to 5 days before you caqn receive phone callls again. Who are they to tell you you cant speak to your lved one afe=ter you ve had communication for a month and since they are changing billing you are unable to speak until they say you again. It s absurd! Its like legalized extortion but since the dept of corrections receives revenue from inmate phone calls it will continue to happen!

I have had calls that dropped after 4 minutes. I was told that they would research my problem ans someone would get back with me. Know one ever did. This was three weeks ago. I called again and they still haven't done anything. I was also told that I might not get a refund! They charged me twice for one call and it's already bad enough they take out money when you put it on the account. This has happened numerous times. I am really disgusted and I would like to know if there is an alternative to using Global Tel Link.

my purse was stolen with my cell phone and my credit card. I was very uset to see that my credit card had been used with this company. i called my credit card to advise them of the fraud and they advised me to contact the comapany directly for a faster refund. I called the first time waited on hold for 45 mins. i called again and waited for 30 mins to get a rep that advised i would need to speak to a supervisor. she transfered me to a supervisor, i waited on hold for another 27 mins. i could not wait any more so i called the next day. I was hung up on 8 times each time the rep would pick up with out saying a word they hung up on me. Then i finally got through to a rep who advised she would take care of it and that i would be credited in 7 to 10 business days. i was on the phone with her for only about 10 mins. then 15 mins later i get a call from the same company and same rep advising me that i will not be credited per her team lead. I was so upset at this point. not only had fraud been cometed but i was being treated like a criminal. The sup got on the line she MRS BECK would not give her frist name advised me that i would have to basically jump through hoops to get my $25 back. i mean come on its $25. Previously i was advised that only a partial amount had been used, so i told BECK that i will just take what ever the balanace that remains on the account. WOW, i could not beleive how rude and dumb she was. I was told 8.19 was the amount used lol this includes there fee. i was willing to take my losses and get a refund of 16.81 but BECK told me that this is impossiable "because of the fraud that i claim, the account is now negitive $8.19. " i just dont know what to say at this point. I can not believe i have to do all of this and still may not get my $25 or my $16.81 back. this company needs to revoluate there service on all levels

This is the worst company I have every dealt with. I have, just like everyone else, many bills. However, this company has got to be the most poorly ran company in the U.S> Their website isn't helpful, you can't pay your bill without paying a 10.00 Western Union fee. There is no way to view your bill online. I also see no reason to have a cap payment amount for a bill. I feel we should be billed once a month like every other bill I recieve and then if your bill is 300.00 then that is what you pay. This is ridiculous that I have to be without service everytime my bill exceeds 100.00. I am actually waiting right now for a return call from this company. 10 minutes later, I'm still waiting.

GTL has blocked my private phone number from receiving calls from my son who is incarcerated in an Alabama Prison. They said there was a limit on the number of calls he could make, regardless if I was willing to accept the calls or not. They want me to pre-pay, I do, my phone gets charged for every call. Obviously this is some kind of scam to charge more for the calls.

This company was handling calls from prisoners at Monroe Correction Facility in Monroe, WA.
They either lost the contract or opted out but no notification was given and they continued to
take prepay money from me. Calls placed to their 800 number or their billing number get
answered with " cannot answer...too many calls...call back later..." this for all the month of
March so far. No way to even leave a number for call back. I am entitled to a refund back to
my credit card and do not intend to let them scam me out of it. I will go to state attorney general
for relief if neccessary. J in Hawaii

I set up an account with this company in January 2017. I was told that I had $100 credit line. I tried to make a credit card payment and the agent wouldn't do it. I received the first bill and paid immediately. I left the country on January 18 and did not return until March 2. Prior to leaving, I called the company twice to find out my outstanding balance. No one ever answers the phone when calling the company. One is routed to an automated answering system and told they are extremely busy and will return the phone call within two hours. I never received a response. Upon returning to the country, I found a bill that was due on Feb. 24. Of course, it wasn't paid on time because I had left the country. I immediately made payment; however, they put a block on my account for non-payment. It took 10 days for my first check to clear after I mailed it. I phoned the company and left another message so I could explain the situation. An hour and a half later, a woman returned my call. Her English was so bad I had a hard time understanding her. She kept saying the same thing over and over again. I finally asked her to transfer me to someone who was proficient in English so that I could discuss the matter. She hung up on me forcing me to phone again and start the process over. This is horrible customer service. The whole matter could have been avoided if they would have let me to pay on my credit card when I set up the account. I take pride that my bills are all paid on time. I go out of my way so that I don't have to deal with customer service departments because I would rather pull all my own teeth with pliers and no pain killers than to deal with inept people.

I used globaltelink and they took a $25.00 payment from me and let me use that money once I had a balance of $14.00 left on the prepaid account when the next call came in and they did not give me an option to accept the call only to add more money to the account. I either want my phone call or my $14.00

Global Tel*Link has been nothing but problems since day one. I have an account with them and its consistantly misplaced. I send them money via Western Union and they still seem to misplace my account. Their customer service SUCKS you can rarely get through to them when in need. I think its about time they get some technical help because it seems to me like they cant run this company with out it!

I just opened an account with global inmate phone services and paid 50.00 and was only able to talk one time! This company s a rip off they charge outrages prices.. 4.95 for service fees and 3.00 for taxes on every 25.00 you spend. They kept me on hold for 45 min waiting to talk to a supervisor. They practice unfair business laws and you are at their mercy wanting to talk to your love one. Please follow up with the better business bureau and even write Congress about their unfair business acts, The FCAA need's to know what they do to the innocent people on the outside. Horrible Horrible company God forbid you are not there to answer your call you will be charged for the call whether you talk or nor not DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT USE THIS SERVICE IT WILL RIPPPPPPPPPPPP YOU OFF SEND YOUR LOVE ONE MONEY ON HIS BOOKS THAT YOU WOULD GIVE GLOBAL AND HE CAN BUY A CALLIN CARD! GOD BLESS THE PERSON READING THIS AND GOOD LUCK TO YOU!

i usesed globel tel link for the past 90 days to talk to a love one houses at the duval county detention center and on a number of occasions they called and i didn't answer the call for what ever reason and was CHARGED AS IF THE CALL WAS ANSWERED. i don't have money to give away and i think it a shame to have gone true this and not be credited, when i dont have time on the phone they don't just let me anwers as if i had money so i don't think it's fair to take MONEY IF I DON'T ANSWER IN THE FIRST PLACE...

I have been taking collect calls from my love one in RiverBend Prison. Suddenley Global Tel Link stop the calls and advise me that the only way I can get his calls now is to pre pay. I have always paid my bill on time and in full every month through my phone company. Now they state that all inmate calls will be set up on pre paid accounts only taking 19% off the top of what you send. Mimum being 25.00 and maxium 110.00. That is flat a rip off. Families are not going to stand for this.

My husband just tried calling me and the phone call was disconnected after the initial greeting came on. Why the hell is that? I have quite a bit of credit. I pay on time all the time. I haven't even used the credit the company gave me. I am very pissed off right now and would like an answer. This is ###. They got my money and now they disconnect my call from my husband. Thank God My V Connect is taking over. What a worthless fckn company! Come on ignorant NYS prison system for using Global Tel!

Very pissed off NEW YORKER!

I have also had problems with calls being disconnected at the 3 min mark. everytime for the past few days. When I finally was able to talk with a GTL rep( after 3 attempts) first time told to hang on and got hung up on. 2nd call back phone rang twice and I missed the call(i guess as long as they attempt to call good enough for them) and the 3rd time I spoke to someone who was suprisingly friendly...BUT! said the problem wasnt GTL it was my phone provider which I called and everything was fine. or she said it could be the prison. As the person calling me if anyone else was being disconnected with the reply NO. so that leaves one problem GTL! but what can we do? I thought monopolies were illlegal? why isnt there another provider that can cause compitition? its not right! are hands are tied and we are at the mercy of this company..not talking is not a choice

Global Tel Link is an awful business. There company customer service is terrible, they are very rude and they do not credit ANY dropped calls I paid ten dollars for a 3 minute call to my boyfriend in Duval County, this company is an awful company to use to talk to your loved ones in jail or prison.

JaxPrincess777@aol.com
Andria Bammer
Jacksonville, Florida

Should have went with ColdCrib.com they would have treated you better and with respect

a scam

Yes, they just hooked me into their prepaid service by blocking my son's calls, stating a non-pre existing rule that I can't accept more than $50 in calls in a 90 day period. They blocked my number permanantly because I broke their rule. I have years of phone bills showing that that rule is baloney. This is a new greedy marketing ploy. They are basically pirates holding our loved ones for ransom. GTL charged me a 19% interest fee to add money to MY account. So not only do we pay collect call fees, but an additional 19%! When is it time to arrest these folks?

REPEATED DROPPED CALLS FOR 3RD PARTY CALLING WHICH IS NEVER THE CASE, HORRIBLE CUSTOMERT SERVICE! I WANT MY GOD DAM MONEY BACK! ANYONE KNOW OF WHAT WE CAN DO TO GET IT BACK? ILL GO STAND IN FRONT OF THE JAIL AND HAVE THE DAM PETITION SIGNED THIS IS SUCH A SCAM FOR THE COUNTY TO MAKE MONEY! IT MAKES ME TOTALLY SICK! ITS NOT RIGHT AND IT SHOULDN'T BE LEGAL AT ALL!

Whatever happened to the days when an inmate called you, a recorded voice asked you to accept or reject the collect call, and the call was simply added to your phone bill? Leave it to the ###s of the DOC to find a way to make money off of the loved ones of inmates.

I can no longer deal with the deceit and trickery of this company!Each of us needing the services offered by this ONE AND ONLY company are already enduring trials and tribulations. We are dealing with too much already, both emotionally and financially, to be subjected to this unbearable and unreasonably thieving company! Last time I checked monopolies were against the law. We have no choice but to deal with this company and so they get away with there bad business dealings!

The rates are to high, when you have a problem you talk to a machine not a person. Iguess they know they have a lousey company.Istill have money on the phone they won't let me talk to my son.

Before I make my complaint known. I would like to suggest to everyone who HAS to use GTL, to get together and form your own communication provider "company". I'm not sure what the process is, but it looks like anyone can start up a communication provider service.
Instead of putting out money to RIPOFF companies such as GTL, we should form our own and instead of charging "an arm and a leg" for the service provide, a low rate would be charged with an option to buy stock in the company.
So, if someone knows anyone who would know how to get the thing started, let it be known.
Now for my COMPLAINT.
My fiance called me and I had to set up an account of $25.00 in which I was only able to talk to her for a total of 8 1/2 minutes. Can you believe that!
IT COST ME $25.00 for 8 1/2 MINUTES ! WHAT A RIPOFF !
There has to be a better and cheaper way for people to call and talk to those who are incarcerated.

I JUST WROTE A COMPLAINT ON HERE AS WELL UNDER GTL. THEY CASHED A CHECK BEFORE BILL EVEN CAME OUT. PHONE IS DISCONNECTED. BEEN CALLING THE LST FEW WEEKS. WENT TO BANK GOT RECORD OF THEM CASHING. SPOKE TO A REP THAT HAD ME ON HOLD FOR OVER 20 MINUTES. AND NEVER CAME BACK ON LINE. THEY TOLD ME THEY HAVE NO RECORD OF THEM CASHING IT... WTF MY BANK DOES.. THEY DONT KNOW WHOS CHECKS THEY CASH..UNREAL. SO NOW THEY WANT ME TO RUN AROUND AND FIGURE THIS OUT. I FILED A COMPLAINT WITH THE FCC. I WILL BE TAKING YOUR ADVICE AAND FILE WITH THE BBB AS WELL... THANKS...HEATHER-OHIO

The money seems like the least of the complaints, it has taken over two weeks to take a "hold" off my account after calling several times a week. Actually I still haven't got it taken off, so it may take another two weeks?

I agree whole heartedly! I recently signed up for gtl corrections billing. I was allowed to set up the account eventhough the phone is in my daughter's name... This company even charged my credit card which is in my name. A week later, I was informed that I can't set up an account because the phone was in my daughter's name, therefore, she would have to do it. I told them I understood and I would like to be issued a refund.

This has been two weeks and the initial fee of $25.00 has not been refunded to my account. My daughter was required to fax a copy of the phone bill, which she did. A week later they could not verify the fax. We played phone tag... with a hit and miss here... and a hang up or insult there. Finally, I get four calls in one day. One said we owe $25.00 more . My daughter tried the phone, to no avail and the website to add money is always having technical difficulty. I want them to be shut down!

Because they are the only game in town, they feel they can treat their customers any kind of way. There's a class action lawsuit forming against gtl, I signed and I suggest you guys do the same.
http://www.sueeasy.com/class_action_detail.php?case_id=331

I feel that globel telink over charges people who have loved ones incarcerated. We already have to make sure that they are tooken care of while in prison and that's alot! Now in order for us to able to talk to our loved ones we have to kick out an arm and a leg. Globel telink is a rip-off! Some thing really needs to be done about them. And I never even heard of a globel until my man got locked up. Are they even liget?!

MONOPOLY is the correct word in fact. as this other person, "Tiffany" comments, there are other companies that offer the same types of service, BUT, you don't get to pick and choose! You are not given an option of which company you would like to go thru. It's either GTL or nothing! That's not right at all. So I think it's fair to say that GTL is monopolizing the industry and SOMEONE is obviously getting the kickbacks from it too. I think we all know who that is!

Oh whatever! GTL doesn't have a as you state "monopoly" on this industry. They just happen to be the company that services the facility that your loved one is in. There ARE SEVERAL OTHER COMPANIES that exist that also provide this service:

Correctional Billing Service(CBS), T-Netix, Securus, just to name a few.

So your claim is this being "UN-American" is a complete fabrication.

Sounds like this person is pissed a bit. Maybe not so much at GTL but at the "loved one" who can't seem to get/stay out of jail. I have delt with GTL on several occasions and have seen about 60 to 80 percent refunds come from inmates that have submitted for refunds due to dropped or disconnected calls. GTL has a standing policy not to refund on calls made to cell phones because they can not be responsible for bad reception and dead zones. The inmates are made aware of this fact inside the facilities and yet attempt over and over again after the first disconnect. In fairness to GTL there are several inmates that attempt to call numbers without collect call access or billing issues due to VoIP issues with the new companies (Comcast, MagicJack etc).

It is often connected to the type of folks that are in the lockups today. Call it Karma or whatever but judging by the remarks make by the person above, your success in life seems to be directly connected to your method in living. This person seems to receive the same profits they project. I would guess with some certainty that this reaches far past the boundaries of just dealing with GTL.

So let's assume that everyone is. "ghetto ### hoes and punk ### dudes " just because this is most likely the only type of people you have been raised to admire!

DON'T FEEL SO BAD I DID THE $25 AND STILL DIDN'T GET A CALL FROM THE INMATE IT SAYS THAT I DON'T HAVE MONEY FOR THE CALL. SO NOW I'AM TRYING TO GET MY MONEY BACK AND THAT IS HARD TO DO.. THEY DON'T LIKE TO GIVE BACK THE MONEY THEY TAKE SO FAST..THIS IS NOT THE FIRST PLACE THAT GAVE ME WRONG INFO SO I GUESS WE HAVE TO TAKE THIS TO SMALL CLAMS COURT FOR THE MONEY AND WRONG INFO...GOOD LOCK TO YOU GETTING THE INFO YOU NEED...

GTL should never be allowed to provide phone service to anyone. Whenever I try to add money to my prepay account, I have to go through a customer service rep. The automated service always says my card was declined, no matter how much money I have on it. Once I get through and get money on my account, the system says my inmate hasn't called me in 6 months, although he tried to call yesterday and the day before. They tell me I have to have the prisoner make out a complaint ticket, I can't do that myself. So, I'm stuck waiting until he receives my letter, fills out the complaint ticket and they decide to work on the problem. On top of that, the prison says they can't do anything -- this is GTL's problem, not theirs.

I asked to talk with a supervisor. I was placed on hold for 30 minutes, and then hung up on.

my husband has been trying to contact me for weeks, my balance is fine, i even opened a second account account on my cell phone in case it was my service. they are willing to keep accepting money, but not to let mr accept phone calls. customer service is nonexistant, actually i think its a scam. and you cant use a third party because global tel. has the facilitties monopolized. we have childen who need to communicate with their father, theres no way to make this happen, at the cost of $2 a min. i believe the county should step-up and stop ripping off innocent victims

they didnt have a problem charging my credit card but i havent had any service an inmate tries to call but the call never goes thru my cell phone carrier says there is no problem the jail says they have no problems with their phone system trying to get someone on the phone at globaltellink is impossible evry phone number [protected], [protected], [protected], [protected], [protected], are all a recording and always say they have too many calls and to call back its the same at any time you call its ### poor cust. service a ###in ripoff and im ###in getting pissed off

The prices GlobalTelLink charges are ridiculous. They should not be given any contract (state or federal).

this is the biggset rip off since pay day advances. The government and state agenices should be investigating these people.

Their service is the absolute worst! They are the real criminals and the ones who should be behind bars! They have numerous hidden fees, and are liars.
If you can get around not using their services, than do so.

Something does need to be done about GTL! I've always kept enough money in my account so that my son would always be able to call. The last time he called GTL said that he only had 13 minutes left. That was a lie! I still had $179+ on my account. When I tried to contact them, they have a voice that indicates that Monday and Tuesdays are their high volume call days and to call back at a later time. I did! I'm at work and was on hold for approximately 1/2 an hour waiting for the manager to speak with me because he/she was the only person that could straighten out my account. The CSR that answered my call was very polite and tried in every way to assist me. She apologized for me being on hold for so long. My son still hasn't called and I truly believe that they did not correct this matter. When I tried to call today, 9/14/09, I was told about the high volume of calls and to try later.

What can be done to get better respect from GTL? Where I work the customer is always right. The customer is the reason why they're in business. What would happen if everyone cut off the service that they provide? Do you think that they'll treat us better.

What GTL does not realize is that we aren't inmates, yet they treat us like we are? Somebody think of something that we can do. They are not going to cheat me out of $178+.

Connie Marshall
Dayton, Ohio

I CAN'T EVEN CONNECT THIS STUPED
PHONE

I am appalled with gtl. They have just frustrated and gouged me out of money- for what!? NOTHING! This company is out to abuse and use the paying customer. I am sure that what they are doing is criminal. No other American business would ever be able to get away with what they do. I plan to contact the Better Business Bureau as well as the Attorney General.

gtl has blocked my loved one from calling we have no idea why. His calls were coming through fine on monday, on tuesday he wasn't able to call. I tried adding money to the account but it continues to decline me cards. I have been calling the company for two days without a response, just placed on hold and then told my time is important so my number will be added to the kiosk and answered in the order received...still waiting for them to call while typing this. Something must be done.

got a new phone number called to have the balance transferred to my new number and rep procesed it and said a manager would call me back and that was 2 months ago and still have not received that call or my balance has not been transferred to my newc phone number. Now that is what you call bad service!