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The phone company Global Tel*Link Corp. (GTL), which provides service to 1.1 million inmates in jails across the United States, was hit with a proposed class action lawsuit June 12. Lead plaintiffs Jacqueline Mills Jacobs, Gregory William Jacobs and Arron Jacobs allege GTL has participated in unlawful conduct for years, including unfair rates for phone services and providing correctional facilities with kickbacks for contracting through them. They are seeking more than $5 million in damages on behalf of themselves and all potential Class Members.
The plaintiffs claim that without a competitive market to constrain prices, “[i]nmates are literally a captive market for GTL.” The Jacobs Family claims GTL charged up to 100 times the normal market rate for inmates to make intrastate telephone calls. The GTL lawsuit states that “families of incarcerated individuals often pay significantly more to receive a single 15 minute call from prison than for their basic monthly phone service.”
GTL is currently the phone system provided in 2,200 correctional facilities across 48 states. The lead plaintiffs allege that GTL is in violation of the Federal Communications Act by exploiting their position to charge unreasonably high prices. They also claim that the prison phone provider gives 45 percent kickbacks to contracting facilities in the form of “site commissions.” The plaintiffs estimate that the kickbacks exceed $124 million per year.
In addition to the unlawful conduct charges, the proposed GTL class action lawsuit seeks to represent a subclass that alleges GTL was also in violation of Arkansas deceptive trade practices. According to the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Act, it prohibits taking advantage of consumers who are unable to protect his/her interests for various reasons including: Physical infirmity, ignorance, illiteracy, and the inability to understand the language of the agreement.
The Arkansas subclass portion of the class action lawsuit alleges that due to the deceptive trade practice violations of GTL, potential Class Members have “suffered as a result of unwittingly being charged to fund the secret kickback payments and pay for exploitive fees and charges.” The lead plaintiffs seek to recover financial compensation for damages due to the amount of the unjust and unreasonable charges imposed as a result of kickbacks.
If approved, the GTL prison phone provider class action lawsuit would be open to all Class Members who paid to use the telephone systems provided by GTL or its subsidiaries in order to make or receive an intrastate telephone call involving an incarcerated person in all U.S. states, except for the state of New Jersey, anytime between Feb. 16, 2000 to the current day. The Jacobs family expects thousands to join once the class action lawsuit is approved.
The Jacobs family is represented by Amy C. Martin of Everett Wales & Comstock and Peter A. Muhic, Edward W. Ciolko, Donna Siegel Moffa and Monique Galloway of Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check LLP.
The GTL Prison Phone Provider Class Action Lawsuit is Jacobs, et al v. Global Tel*Link Corporation, Case No. 15-cv-05136, in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas.
UPDATE: The GTL Prison Phone Provider Class Action Lawsuit was dismissed on August 27, 2018. Top Class Actions will let our viewers know if a similar case is filed.
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82 thoughts onGlobal Tel*Link Class Action Alleges Unfair Rates for Inmates
By the way this sounds people in every state BUT New Jersey can jump on this lawsuit if approved. Am I reading this correctly? Bc I live in New Jersey and GTL has taken advantage of me for 15 years!! Thousands and thousands of dollars I have spent! I had money on the prepaid account 2 months ago and now I don’t! Where did it go? I will say tho it only costs $.66 cents for a 15 minute phone call right now and they stopped taking the processing fee. But I want compensation for the years and years of wasted money!
Still waiting on answers if this is still active over $3K a year and counting….
How can i get on this as well? My balance dont be adding up. I need answers
How can I get in on this? My fiancee is incarcerated in Virginia, and this predatory company has a monopoly on services. The latest thing with them is their automated system does not allow calls from her to connect and comes on with an automated message stating “Your call has not been accepted” every time she calls me. Then when I call in to have my account reset so I can receive calls, they tell me that because I have a cell phone, that I don;t have a leg to stand on. Well why is it I can do business on the phone with my electric company, my mortgage company, my cable company, and my bank all with automated systems with no issue? They then tell me I need to install a land line just to speak with my loved one. Why should I have to incur those costs on top of the ridiculous fees they charge? Many of their CS reps have told me that I’m not the only one complaining about this. These crooks need shut down! Why is it that this piece of crap company gets to monopolize the phone system and punish the loved ones of incarcerated people?
Is this still current can I get in this lawsuit in I’m California and it’s so expensive to talk for 15 minutes the times seems to fly by its an unbelievable amount of money I’ve already spent in the last 3 months between putting money in the phone money on his books and packages here and there and simply for transportation to visit the inmate it’s crazy I can’t afford that and afford to do anything for myself nothing is free in this world and I’m already working all the time and still in the same place please tell me how to get in this lawsuit they need to pay for ripping us off and I’ve charging 7-10 dollars for a call it’s insane
Is this still current?
Please let us know how to join this lawsuit. I have been fed up with gtl. They Rob us blind just so we can talk to our loved ones. They punish the families. I have spent so much money for dropped calls, hidden fees. I have tried numerous times to get the exact rate and come up empty. Can’t reach customer service for nothing. And they owe me money. I want in. They deserve to rot.
How can I join this class action suit, I have been paying for 2 years to GTL at 4.25 a call
How can I join this class action lawsuit. I have spent thousands of dollars over the past 4 years just to be able to talk to my husband. One call I would notice the charge $3.40 then the next call would be $3.18. This company is a complete ripoff. I had to choose do I put money on his books so he can eat or do I put money on the phone to talk to him. I’m glad there is finally a lawsuit against GTL.
They just did me the same way! They charge tax. Smh
Is this lawsuit current or has GTL somehow snaked out of owning up to stealing millions from inmates and family?
Knowing this slimy company, they got out of it somehow.