Complaint Review: Global Tel Link

I am beyond furious with this company. I may as well have titled this "All of the Above and More!" I think it's safe to say, this isn't the opinion of a couple of disgruntled customers. The general consensus here is that this company is ripping us all off!

As someone else mentioned, and I've been saying this for a long time now, people seem to forget that the loved ones of an inmate aren't necessarily criminals and should stop being treated as such! I've never been in any legal trouble, this is the first time I've EVER had to deal with anything like this. So to treat me like a low-life for loving an inmate is outrageous!

Not being able to see each other is hard enough on my boyfriend and me. He's 7 hours away. Writing isn't always feasible, and I can't always send him money for the envelopes, stamps, paper, and pen he has to BUY to write me. Talking on the phone is all we have to look forward to anymore and GTL is destroying that for us.

Number One: MIN PMT: $25??? I've seen other companies (obviously not used nearly enough by correctional facilities) charge WAY less than that for a minimum. $25 is a joke. They only give you 25 min to talk and if the call is dropped or you don't use the full 25 min, you STILL get charged the full amount of the phone call! Not to mention, this minimum amount is NOT what I actually get in my account! Which brings me to:

Number Two: FEES. Do I really need to pay 7.95 EVERY time I put money on the account? So I'm spending $25 to only get $17.05 worth of calls! It's absurd! I get sick to the stomach every time I see that number! And it is SO easy to spend the full $17 in a day when you only get 25 min at a time. Oh and then there's your option to use Western Union.... yeah they charge outrageous fees too so I'd be spending $36 (or more, depending on the method for sending $) for about three phone calls if that, while WU enjoys $10.95 (or more) and GTL gets $7.95. No thank you!

Number THREE: There is NO consideration here for special circumstances. I get policies and procedures. Believe me I get it. But It makes no sense to me that you can only transfer funds once. As a "courtesy." So I funded my phone number (A) for him to call me and a second number (B) for him to reach his dad.

When (A) got DISCONNECTED because I lost my job, I had to separately fund a third number (C) because when I called requesting a transfer of funds, the rep lied about actually processing the transfer. I called a week later and finally got it done. Now, his dad (forgetting I'd already funded an account for him) opened his own account for his home number. 

So number (B) has been sitting there with $17.05 for FOUR months... I've gone through my savings, still no luck finding a new job and I can't get GTL to transfer this $17.05 from an UNUSED number to MY number (C)???? Seriously??? They don't care that all I have in my bank account is $24.95 (I WISH I was making that up) and therefore can't add money to my number (C)? 

They don't care that I went through the trouble of getting another card to pay the difference either! They refused to let me pay with two cards. Only one card allowed! So here I sat, staying at my mother's because I can't afford rent, no vehicle, no job, watching my phone as my boyfriend called over and over between 630pm-10pm likely worried something happened to me because I always pick up and all this because I'm FIVE CENTS short of their ridiculous minimum payment!

Here's where I'm REALLY confused. For a company that charges so much and rips people off left and right, you'd think they'd wanna take my money! They won't transfer that $17.05 but they will REFUND it?!?!? NO sense! I need it on my phone account! Oh but here's the kicker! The refund will take 30-60 BUSINESS DAYS to be processed. In 2015? Are you kidding me??? 

GTL is a company of thieves and liars. If I could shut them down myself, I wouldn't hesitate in the slightest!