Paytell Complaint - Getting ripped off by Paytell's services

Complaint

Review by jipped on 2008-02-16

I was wondering if the answering machine is an instant billing for Paytell from inmates if the person being tried to reach does NOT answer.

If so then they should warn us about this, that is cruel and may be filed against. I cannot reach the office for Paytell... please anybody that knows any information.

The number I have been trying is: 1-800-729-8355

Company Response:
We apologize for the confusion you have experienced with receiving calls from our company. We just starting monitoring this website and received your complaint. In the future we will be monitoring these complaints daily. PAY-TEL only bills calls that have been "positively accepted" by the called party. This means that when you receive a call from a confinement facility, you will first hear a recorded announcement explaining that the call is from a confinement facility and the caller's name. If you wish to speak to the caller you must "positively accept" the call by pressing the number three (3) on the keypad of your touch-tone phone. When you accept a collect call you are agreeing to pay the charges for the call. Under no circumstances will a bill be generated by a call to an answering machine. In the future, if you have concerns, you can email a CSR supervisor at CSR@paytel.com and you will get a response the same day. Thank you.

Comments (8)

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Comments:

Posted by Ponie on 2008-02-16:

Reaching an answering machine signifies a completed call by all other services, so I imagine it would by Paytell also. If a connection is made I don't believe there's any way to determine if it's by machine or a live person.

'...that is cruel and may be filed against.' Don't quite understand what you mean by this. Please explain.

Posted by jktshff1 on 2008-02-16:

here ya go, but it's easier to write letters
Pay-Tel Communications, Inc
P.O. Box 8179
Greensboro, NC 27419
Fax:
1-336-346-1127
and more
Pay-Tel Communications, Inc
P.O. Box 19290
Greensboro, NC 27419
Fax:
1-800-776-8423
1-336-854-0496

Phone:
1-866-729-8352
1-336-346-1678

Posted by Slimjim on 2008-02-16:

Isn't titling a complaint Getting Ripped off by Paytell a little premature if you don't even know whether you were even charged for a call or not? I assume you know who called you and want to take calls from them. Should you not pay for the privilege of them being able to leave you a message? You should be charged for it.

Posted by jktshff1 on 2008-02-16:

Actually I just read something good about these services.
Seems that they pay a kickback to the local government.
I read a pdf of the minutes of Carteret County Board of commissioners, (where ever that is) that said that Pay Tel was to provide all the equipment and they would pay the county 30% of the proceeds.
Taxpayers getting something back on the deal..good.

Posted by jipped on 2008-02-17:

No it is from an inmate from another jail which I do not have interest in talking with, due to the fact that i cannot help him so it is just useless money being added. The one i want to talk to is with another communication service. All i am saying is that when you do not answer the phone when they call , the answering machine just goes right to it then is that a way to signal the billing... instead of picking it up and pressing a digit to accept..?

Posted by willy7489 on 2009-06-20:

jipped, the answering machine is, in fact, an instant billing for Paytel if the person does not answer. Paytel's response to your complaint is wrong concerning "positive acceptance" (pressing the number 3 on the keypad). I recieved a call on my answering machine stating to press 3 to accept the collect call from the inmate. I wasn't home, so I could not possibly press 3 to accept the call. I later recieved a third-party billing on my phone bill from Paytel for one minute, just after noon. The call was made from a jail located within my local calling area and just 8 miles from my house. The call cost $1.71 for that one minute, plus a $1.90 monthly processing fee. After taxes were added, this call cost me a whopping $3.84 for a one minute call that I did not accept, nor participate in. This is, indeed, a ripoff and should give anyone who has dealt with Paytel an idea of their exhorbitant costs. As a comparison, my local telephone company charges 7-10 cents a minute with up to a $5.95 monthly fee for long distance service, depending on the calling plan you choose.

Posted by willy7489 on 2009-08-23:

As an update, Paytel has since refunded me in full, after sending them COMPLETE documentation. Also, there was no further comment from the company.

Posted by BokiBean on 2009-08-24:

Go willy!!!