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Must read Terms of Service & Privacy Policy and be at least 18

Must read Terms of Service & Privacy Policy and be at least 18

 
Siannyy1992

Im new to this site and I want to write to some prisoners and be their pen pal, I have used the initial first free email on wap but im unsure how to work the corrslink and jpay some of the prisons says they have corrslink but due to them being in federal it says they have to invite me first but how will they see my details? I have followed the prisoners id like to write to so will they see ive followed them? I'd rather use corrslink or jpay so that we can get replies quicker as post will take a long time please can someone help explain to me how this all works. Thank you.
Also do I have to pay to send mail on jpay and corrslink?

 
VioletGrey

My place in NZ for Christmas and BBQ pineapple and then fit to Scotland for a tour from you Freebird. I've made it as far North as Manchester when I was a teenager but would have loved to see Scotland. 

 
freebird1

Oh ST4s.... how I wish you could spend longer than a week and make that outside of the 'Big Smoke' lol.  Clotted cream scones are a reknowned delicacy of Cornwall, but every county or shire will have its own traditional  food speciality. You really need to come to Scotland tho' to appreciate the wide variety of different locale edible goodies. Far too numerous to mention. Plus the scenery, the geographical landscape and not forgetting the all important history of decades. Plus some of the best biking roads and routes you could imagine! If ever you get the opportunity let me know, always a welcome doormat here.. oh and you will need to brush up on local dialects and specific translations. Best get google on permanent standby.... lmao ;-)

 
ST4s

HA! Well, I’m glad I did my UK research first-hand! One week in London wasn’t nearly enough! One thing I’ll never forget – the scones on the flight over (British Airways) were served with clotted cream. I’d never had that before, and there above the clouds, I truly thought I was in heaven :-)

 
freebird1

ST4s your explanation should be a pinned post!!  It's spot on. And as an aside your comment re scones and bangers and mash made me smile. You been doing your uk research again? lol Top notch mate!! ;-) ;-)

 
ST4s

They sure don’t make it easy, right?

Yes, snail mail is the colloquial term for postal mail here in the U.S. (in the context of email).

Yes, you need to provide your email address to a potential CorrLinks correspondent – at least for federal prisoners. I’m aware that CorrLinks works for some other (non-federal) jurisdictions, though I’m not sure how they do it – if it’s the same flowchart or something different for setting it up.

Yes, if your correspondent has two-way JPay service, you can jump right in straight away. Note, two-way JPay messaging does not work for Texas, Colorado, and some facilities in California.

I’m not sure what you mean by “change your time.” Maybe re: composing your outgoing message ahead of time? If so, here’s why: the moment you add a two-way correspondent on JPay, they’ll see your name on their contact list and wonder who this mystery gal is. If they have a message in their inbox, mystery solved!

I should add that long JPay messages take longer to process. It’s not instant like traditional email. A real person in the facility’s mail room must review your message first and hit the “approve” button before it goes through. Short messages tend to go through quickly. I’ll bet you a scone or some bangers and mash if you write a long first message first, you’ll get a “who is this?” before your correspondent even sees your wonderfully verbose message.

Yes, when you add someone on JPay, if they have two-way messaging, they will know you’ve added them.

No, you don’t need to send the first message on JPay (or CorrLinks) to start the ball rolling. Once you’re on each other’s contact lists, it’s messages away, whomever wants to begin (though it’s kind of common courtesy for the outmate to begin).

Re: the whole international currency thing, I’m not quite sure. (Yankee here ;-) I’ve seen all kinds of international angst on the forum about that, and I’d bet someone has figured out a work-around.

Good luck!

 
Siannyy1992

Sorry i also forgot to ask, when i add a prisoner onto jpay will they be told ive added them? Do I have to send them a message first to start off the contact? Also I live in the UK is there a way I can buy the stamps paying by UK currency as otherwise I think I will be charged to pay in US currency

 
Siannyy1992

Thanks so much for that information that has helped so much, what is snail mail? Do you mean postal mail?
So with corrslink I have to give the prisoners my email address and then they add me is that correct?
And with Jpay they will get my add straight away no messing around waiting for them to send me a code? If thats the case jpay sounds alot easier lol.
When you say change my time so the mail goes through straight away what do you mean by this ?
Sorry for so many questions i am so confused

 
ST4s

Hi Siannyy, Good on you for reaching out to folks looking for some outside world in their lives!

No, prisoners do not have direct access to the WAP website (legally, anyway) and the only people who can see which inmates you “follow” on this site are the folks at WAP headquarters.

 

For CorrLinks to federal:

Step 1: Create an account at corrlinks.com.

Step 2: Provide the inmate with your email address, the one you used to create an account in step 1. Since you’ve already sent the initial WAP email, you will need to snail-mail this information to the inmate.

Step 3: The inmate adds you as a contact on their end.

Step 4: CorrLinks will send you an email, saying so and so would like to contact you via CorrLinks. In this email you’ll find a string of numbers that you’ll need for step 5.

Step 5: Log into your CorrLinks account. Usually it will take you immediately to the place where you have to enter this code. Do so. If it doesn’t, go to Account Management > Manage My Inmate List and enter the code there. Your inmate will then show as “pending”.

Step 6: Wait. It usually takes at least a few hours for the “pending” notice to disappear. After it does, you may send and receive messages on the CorrLinks platform.

Easy, no? (why do they have to make this so opaque, he wondered out loud) FYI, CorrLinks is zero-cost for folks on the outside, unless you sign up for the premium account. The inmate pays a per-minute charge to compose and read CorrLinks “emails” at a kiosk – five cents a minute at last check, but it adds up, so keep this in mind.

Pro tip: if it looks like your CorrLinks correspondence is going somewhere, get the app for your phone and sign up for the “Premium Account” on the CorrLinks website. It’s only a few bucks and will save you tons of frustration – e.g. you won’t have to log-into the website and go through the “I’m not a robot” thing with every incoming message.

 

For JPay:

Step 1: Create an account at JPay.com

Step 2: Go to the Inmate/Offender drop-down bar and select “Add/Edit”. Add the inmate details there.

Note that JPay’s availability/menu of services varies widely by jurisdiction. For example, inmates in Texas, Colorado, and some facilities in California can only RECEIVE incoming JPay messages. They can’t send any out. In such cases you’ll have to include your postal address to get a reply (which I realize is not what you’re looking for). For most other jurisdictions, the moment you add someone to your JPay contact list, they will see this on their end and know you’ve added them. It might not hurt to have your outgoing message composed ahead of time, and then copy/paste it into JPay so it goes out right away. Another thing with JPay is you have to purchase “stamps” on the JPay platform to send messages and/or attachments.

Good luck, and happy writing!