Global Tel*Link Class Action Says Prison Phone Rates Unreasonable

Global Tel*Link Corporation and DSI-ITI LLC have been hit with a class action lawsuit alleging they abuse their monopoly power for phone calls made by prisoners in Pennsylvania by charging them unreasonable rates.

Plaintiff Glenn Pollard filed the Global Tel*Link class action lawsuit last Thursday in Pennsylvania federal court.

In addition to charging inmates unreasonable rates to make phone calls, Pollard also asserts that the prisoners are only able to make calls to individuals who open credit or debit accounts and who make advance payments that are subject to “unnecessary and unconscionable fees and charges.”

The defendants also forfeit balances in accounts that are not used for 90 days, the Pennsylvania prison phone call class action lawsuit says.

Global Tel*Link and DSI-ITI have reportedly contracted exclusively with correctional facilities in Pennsylvania and provide telephone services to tens of thousands of inmates in the state, the Global Tel*Link class action lawsuit says.

“In return for this monopoly power, Defendants provided kickbacks, masqueraded as ‘site commissions,’ to the contracting correctional facilities located in Pennsylvania,” the Global Tel*Link class action lawsuit alleges.

Global Tel*Link and DSI-ITI also offer free maintenance and support services for software programs, including the Offender Management Systems, that they provide to Pennsylvania correctional facilities. 

“These incentives — the free maintenance and support services — result in huge annual savings to the Pennsylvania correctional facilities that participate in the scheme with the Defendants,” according to the Global Tel*Link class action lawsuit.

Pollard alleges the defendants purchase minutes for U.S. calls for less than three-tenths of a penny per minute, but that they resell the minutes for more than 100 times their cost to the putative Class Members.

“Because of the exclusive provider position and the literally captive market, Defendants are able to exploit customers by charging them unconscionably excessive rates for calls, as well as unconscionable fees and connection charges, without regard to what other providers of prepaid calling services are charging in the marketplace,” Pollard alleges in the Global Tel*Link class action lawsuit.

Pollard also says that customers are not provided any information on rates and charges until they set up an account.

According to the Pennsylvania prison phone rates class action lawsuit, customers are not provided with a written contract when they establish an advance pay account and are not provided with account statements in the ordinary course of business.

Instead, the customer is faced with a voice prompt when making or receiving a call, which informs them how much money is left in their account.

They are allegedly unable to receive an itemized statement of charges to the account and they allegedly cannot determine how much calling time they have available because the prompt does not inform them of the applicable rates and charges.

Pollard filed the Global Tel*Link class action lawsuit on behalf of himself and a proposed Class of individuals in Pennsylvania who have been incarcerated in a Pennsylvania corrections facility since 2002 and who used the phone system provided by the defendants or who established an advanced pay account with the defendants in order to receive calls from someone incarcerated in Pennsylvania.

A judge recently granted Class certification in a similar Global Tel*Link class action lawsuit pending in New Jersey federal court.

Pollard is represented by Jonathan Shub and Kevin Laukaitis of Kohn Swift & Graf PC and by Alan E. Denenberg of Abramson & Denenberg PC.

The Global Tel*Link Prison Phone Rates Class Action Lawsuit is Glenn Pollard v. Global Tel*Link Corporation, et al., Case No. 2:18-cv-03479-NIQA, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.