Correctional Billing Services Complaint - Correctional Billing/Embarq payphone service - Correctional facility phone billing

Correctional facility phone billing - Complaint

Review by nena2 on 2010-04-22

DALLAS, TEXAS -- Whoever owns Correctional Billing Service should be thrown in jail right along side our loved ones who have committed crimes! They are criminals. I have dealt twice with these people, ALL of whom can not speak English very well and you have to strain to understand. My husband is incarcerated. Yes, He did wrong and is now paying for it. I am not upset so much for me as for my mother-in-law. First, for myself, like I said I have dealt twice with them. First about a month ago. My husband could not get through to me, but could call his mother. His calls to me were blocked. I called my phone company-Verizon who said they did not put a block on my husband's calls to me. I then called CBS/Embarq who said that they were having a system error and it would be resolved within 24 hours and was. My mother-in-law then had a block put on by CBS, saying her phone company won't be handling CBS billing anymore and she HAD to pay with a prepaid account-after 5 months of the bill going through her phone company. Her, being older and not well, can not go down to the prison very often as she has health problems. She did prepay with a credit card as she was Ordered (and not nicely) by CBS and the block was lifted. She then found out that CBS charged her credit card for phone calls and submitted the same phone calls to her phone company-Verizon also!! Double billing I am sure is illegal in all 50 states!! She contacted her credit card and the credit card fraud department is now involved. As for me, I have just been informed by CBS that a block has once again been put on my calls from my husband, because they said charges incurred on April 17Th and 18Th were rejected from my phone company and sent back to CBS so I MUST open a prepaid account-all because of $3.05! I called my phone company and they said they NEVER sent back ANY Charges, They haven't gotten CBS's Billing yet, so how would CBS know that Verizon rejected those charges anyways-this being only the 22ND of April? Also, my phone bill is current and they Absolutely did NOT send back the charges. I have been told from my phone co. that CBS has been doing this a lot so they can get you to set up a prepaid account and collect their $6.95 charges every time you put money into your account. I have been paying their bill through my phone company for 5 months now and am always current. I have talked to 5 separate people within a 24 hour period over at CBS as to why a block was put on and everyone gives me a different answer. Someone told me just like my mother-in-law that Verizon isn't handling the billing for CBS anymore (Verizon Vehemently denied this). One guy told me I had already opened a prepaid account, which I didn't. He couldn't tell me who authorized it. Another said I opened it and then closed it out on the same day???? Wierd! This one takes the cake-The COMPUTER opened up a prepaid account for me automatically on APRIL 3RD because of charges returned from my phone company for APRIL 17TH & APRIL 18TH!!!! HUH????? I didn't know the 17Th & 18Th came before the 3rd!! The problem is They have a MONOPOLY and think they can do whatever they wish. And why is it that they charge Larger sums a minute for a phone call in some states than others? Here in Michigan, we pay $1.80 for 15 minutes or 12 cents a minute. I have heard of $1.00 a minute in other states. I absolutely refused to pay the $3.05 until I see my phone bill and make sure they are not going to "double-dip" on me like they did on my mother-in-law. I am being blackmailed because they refuse to take the block off until I pay. Well, they can keep the block on and until it's taken off I will do things the old fashioned way and write letters. And I will also call The Michigan Public Service Commission, The Federal Communications Commission and the Michigan Department of Corrections-just to let them know that this great system they employ to allow prisoners to call out is a scam. I do believe some sort of class action suit may be the only way to break up their Monopoly. And to all of you SINLESS people who boo-hoo those of us who have Loved ones in prison-It is nothing to you Now. But when you Suddenly have someone you love do something wrong that YOU have NO control over, and all you want is just to hear their voice for a few minutes a week. To let your children hear their daddy's voice-it's not their fault. Then it will become a big deal. These men and women of ours are paying for their crime and so are we, in more ways than one. We don't need your insults on top of our suffering. Jesus Forgives!