Hi could somebody explain phone usage to me. My pen pal and I want to start talking on the phone but he has never used it before. He told me I'd had to make his account or something. How much does it usually cost. I only want to put in an amount that he's only able to call me. Is there a minimum amount of money I have to spend?
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you call the number provided and yes you can set it up so they can only call you and you can put how ever much you want. The inmate has to call you though. A landline is better than a cell phone.
Hey there Nmc2016!
For starters, I’d check out GTL/ConnectNetwork. Their website is here. If they do business with the jurisdiction your pen pal is in (which varies by state, though GTL also does the phone thing for federal), you’ll want to sign up and make an account. What you’d be looking for is called “Advance Pay”. It’s a way for you to put money on your pen pal’s phone account AND he can call only you* with those funds.
*For federal it works system wide, e.g. Prisoners X, and Y, and Z can call your number if they have it, and if you are on their contact list, no matter where they are.
To your how much does it cost question, if you dig around you can find the call cost per minute which varies by facility/jurisdiction. It isn’t crazy expensive unless you’re on the phone a lot, e.g. a fifteen-minute call is usually just a few bucks.
To your minimum amount question, whatever you’re comfortable with… BUT, keep in mind that GTL takes a three-dollar service charge right off the top, so if you put, say, five bucks on your Advance Pay account, that would leave only two for talk time – which might not get you through one fifteen-minute call.
Good luck! Phone calls are AWESOME!!!