- Report: #832981
Complaint Review: Securus Technologies - Internet Internet
Reported By:
Michael -
Twain Harte, California, United States of America
Submitted:
Updated:
-
Author Confirmed
Why?
Securus Technologies
Internet, Internet, United States of America
Phone:
1-800-844-6591
Web:
www.securustech.net
Categories:
Business Rating:
(0)
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Securus Technologies Securus technologies of Dallas, Texas... to help those in misery, or to create misery for those in need of help. Internet, Internet
I recieved a call from my son telling me my other son was in jail. I asked my son why my other son couldn`t call me instead of his brother and he said that he had tried, but couldn`t get through. So I decided to find out why by calling ATT. They said they don`t handle inmate calls, but Securus tech. did, and gave me thier number.
I called securus tech and asked why. Come to find out later I had a block on unlisted calls. (that was the real reason) They told me I needed to open an inmate account. I said how much?. They said a minimum of $25.00 and a $6.95 activation fee. Wow! So I paid. Now my son could call from jail.
I only got 4 short calls and the money was gone, all but .75 cents worth.
After some thinking I asked them why can`t he just call me collect? They said because I opened an account with them. I said OK, close the account. They said if I did that it could take up to 24 hours before I could recieve calls. I said "fine". 30 minutes later to my suprise I got a collect call from my son in jail. It cost $3.00 to connect and 7 cents per minute. I thought GREAT, that`s fair.
The next day he tried and could not get through once again. After calling Securus tech to ask what`s up they said I owed Securus tech $3.53 cents and could not talk to my son `till that was paid. I said for what. They said for the collect call I got. I thought that would go on my ATT bill I said. They said no it went back to the old account. I said but I closed that yesterday. They saiud yes, but, you accepted his call before 24 hours. I said so what? They said I needed to wait 24 hours. I told them you said "it could take up to 24 fours to work, not I need to wait 24 hours.
In order to recieve phone calls from my son I now had to send the minimum $25.00 amount plus another $6.95 activation fee just so they could get thier $3.53 cents I owed them. They would then close my account and refund $21.47 back to me. Opon waiting 24 hours and not accepting calls from my son before that I would then be able to talk to him after the 24 hour wait.
Why would they not accept payment from my debit card of the $3.53. They just wanted to make another $6.96 activation fee. Not to mention they say it will take 10 to 12 days for the $21= dollars to get back in my acount? Nothing like incurring a little interest huh? As I said in the beggining of this report, they could have found that my privacy manager ( a calling feature) was turned on and wouldn`t accept unpublished phone numbers, at which point I would have turned it off and would have never even needed Securus tech. Boy, I wonder how many people this company has monitarily raped?
RIPOFF, RIPOFF, RIPOFF
I am on disability. It`s costly enough accepting collect calls on $850.00 a month, but to have a company like Securus Tech. adding to the problem well... these people are lower than pond scum!
I called securus tech and asked why. Come to find out later I had a block on unlisted calls. (that was the real reason) They told me I needed to open an inmate account. I said how much?. They said a minimum of $25.00 and a $6.95 activation fee. Wow! So I paid. Now my son could call from jail.
I only got 4 short calls and the money was gone, all but .75 cents worth.
After some thinking I asked them why can`t he just call me collect? They said because I opened an account with them. I said OK, close the account. They said if I did that it could take up to 24 hours before I could recieve calls. I said "fine". 30 minutes later to my suprise I got a collect call from my son in jail. It cost $3.00 to connect and 7 cents per minute. I thought GREAT, that`s fair.
The next day he tried and could not get through once again. After calling Securus tech to ask what`s up they said I owed Securus tech $3.53 cents and could not talk to my son `till that was paid. I said for what. They said for the collect call I got. I thought that would go on my ATT bill I said. They said no it went back to the old account. I said but I closed that yesterday. They saiud yes, but, you accepted his call before 24 hours. I said so what? They said I needed to wait 24 hours. I told them you said "it could take up to 24 fours to work, not I need to wait 24 hours.
In order to recieve phone calls from my son I now had to send the minimum $25.00 amount plus another $6.95 activation fee just so they could get thier $3.53 cents I owed them. They would then close my account and refund $21.47 back to me. Opon waiting 24 hours and not accepting calls from my son before that I would then be able to talk to him after the 24 hour wait.
Why would they not accept payment from my debit card of the $3.53. They just wanted to make another $6.96 activation fee. Not to mention they say it will take 10 to 12 days for the $21= dollars to get back in my acount? Nothing like incurring a little interest huh? As I said in the beggining of this report, they could have found that my privacy manager ( a calling feature) was turned on and wouldn`t accept unpublished phone numbers, at which point I would have turned it off and would have never even needed Securus tech. Boy, I wonder how many people this company has monitarily raped?
RIPOFF, RIPOFF, RIPOFF
I am on disability. It`s costly enough accepting collect calls on $850.00 a month, but to have a company like Securus Tech. adding to the problem well... these people are lower than pond scum!
1 Updates & Rebuttals
mbee
California,Help File a Class Action Lawsuit Against Securus
#2Consumer Suggestion
Sun, December 01, 2013
I have experienced the same thing with Securus. They initially were charging me $27 for a 20-minute phone call, until I figured out how to get a local number, and now I pay just under $5 per call. In the past two weeks I have been REPEATEDLY disconnected by Securus for no reason, and each time they charge me for the total allotment of 20 minutes, even though I may have gotten cut off after 1 minute. Their policy is that they don't refund any $ for cell phone users - which of course most people are. They say that cell phone carriers sometimes have dropped calls, so they aren't responsible for that, and if you use a landline they will issue refunds. But the problem with that is that the calls are disconnected BY SECURUS, and you can tell this because you hear a short recording just before you are disconnected that says "this call is being terminated, no third party calls allowed." I asked them about that and they gave me the list of reasons that calls are terminated, but NONE of those things applied. She said that no matter what the reason for the disconnect is, if any interference is detected, that's the default recording that is used. Either way, it's Securus who is terminating the call, and they should not be able to charge for something they haven't provided. Even if one of us just hung up, they shouldn't be able to charge for minutes that were not used.
They are getting away with this because they can.
Securus pays a fee to the jail administrator in order to get the contract - up to 40%. Those fees are passed along to the consumer, which is why the prices are through the roof. They are only interested in profits - not quality of service, not keeping inmates in touch with their families, and certainly not customer service. Their reps are rude and totally unhelpful. When I do stay connected, often times the line is full of static and we can barely hear eachother.
The facility where my brother is recently did away with in person visits, and went to video visitation only. No surprise that Securus provides the equipment and video service. I scheduled two video visits in the past two days, neither one of which worked. I paid for two 25-minute video visits, and got nothing. They are saying there are no refunds.
Securus claims that their technology saves lives and that's why it's worth the money they charge. This is total nonsense. The "technology" is simply that they record all calls - which is a service you can get by downloading any one of dozens of free apps on your phone. Besides, if they are counting on the quality of their recordings to capture criminals who are planning crimes or making confessions - they really should ensure that they provide a clear and stable connection - i would really like to see the FACTS backing up their claims.
The FCC's ruling that caps the amount that can be charged for long distance fees goes into effect February 11th. Securus tried to appeal the ruling, but was unsuccessful. Unfortunately, the ruling does not address their refund policy, and also does not address what they can charge for local calls - but it's a start.
There are clearly hundreds of customers who have been ripped off by Securus, and the only way they are going to stop their aggressive tactics is if a class action lawsuit is filed. I am beginning a campaign to find other Securus customers who have been affected.
To be included, please email [email protected]
