The ADOC has just recently changed phone providers from Correctional Billing Services to Global Tel Link....

Global Tel Link's website: www.gtl.net

Questions on billing, the number to call is 877-650-4249

For the Advance Pay (prepay) cusotmers is 866-230-7761 to reach a representative 800-483-8314, also for the advance pay customers you can go to globel tel's website and add money to your account thru there website.

ok,now does anyone have a number we can call to complain about the realy rotten guality of the service?

Global Tel Link....I was able to set up an account using my credit/debit card for your choice of either $25 or $50 prepaid. They take out $4 for a fee and the rest is there for him to call you. It took me less than five minutes, fully automated system. Okay so that was over a week ago. I sent a letter to W and told him to try it when he got a chance. Well, during the past week, he was moved to Kilby, then to Limestone. The GTL account I set up has followed him. It doesn't matter what ADOC facility he calls you from -- the GTL account registers your telephone number and works within 24 hours. I'll post a thread about this for everybody else, because this one thing worried me to death. Only thing I don't like about are the calls have had static coming in and out about five times during the call, never lost the call, but sounded like a fuzzy radio station for two seconds, or ten seconds. Rest of the call was great and best part -- I won't be getting a bill in the mail. Let me know if you need help!

i'm not on prepay or anything,just regular phone service.but every time my son calls we have to put up with static and dead spots.we spend so much of our precious 15 minutes saying "WHAT!" and having to repeat ourselves.this just seems like plain robbery!

I renewed my GTL prepaid account a few weeks ago. We used it when R was in county...but, haven't used it over the past 14 months since he's been at Easterling. So far, we've only used it a couple of times. BTW...if you add $50...it charges like $9.75 for an activation fee. It's 4-something if you add $25. That's where they REALLY get money from you. Every single time you add money they deduct the "activation fee".

My husband is in Fountain and i hate the phone system.:angry: it is also Globe Tec. but it beeps and then it is like no one is there. We spend more time repeating our sentences then we do talking. Also every time i add money to prepaid account i have to call cause the automated phone will not work with my card. It always has a problem. when i add money they dont seem to be adding what i had left over to what i put on it. :angry: I had no problem with Nexttel.

Oh yeah...the calls from my love are crappy, as well!! I don't know if it's the phones (themselves) or if it's the phone service...but, either way...IT'S CRAP!! We're the same way...spend majority of the time repeating ourselves and saying "huh"? "What did you say"?!?! It's rediculous!!!:angry:

BTW...if you add $50...it charges like $9.75 for an activation fee. It's 4-something if you add $25. That's where they REALLY get money from you. Every single time you add money they deduct the "activation fee".

I started making my payments using MoneyGram. You can send any amount (not just the $25 or $50 offered by phone). I usually go ahead & put $200 on our account...the fee for the wireless transfer is $9...getting more money on my account for even less the fee. Had I paid $200 in $50 incriments by phone...the fees would have totalled over $36. So getting more bang for the buck this way. You can also use Western Union (I think their fee is a little higher...like $11-$13). With either one, you can set up an account online. No need to have to go to a store to pay for/make the transfer. Every little bit helps! :thumbsup:

THANKS for that!! That'll definitely help!!!:thumbsup:

Is Global able to handle calls from anywhere? I am in Texas and CBS is killing me!

That static and dead spot stuff SUCKS. We thought it was my cordless phone. I'm glad you guys clarified the fees. I'm definitely going to go the route of sending the money through a transfer. Are you sure they don't charge an activation fee? I'm up for anything to avoid another "fee".

Can I sit an account of for my sister in Tutlwiler? If so what is the best route to go??

I just checked my master card and I paid 150 dollars for four 15 minute calls last month

i hear you. everytime my old man calls me it's 9 dollars for fifteen minutes. its crazy, right?

I do not like Global Tel Link, although the calls are inexpensive for me the service is lousy. I had money on my prepaid account and the prison raggedy phone disconnected and next thing I know my account balance is 0.74. I was pissed I called and after waiting 45 minutes to be connected to a live person the lady said since I had a cell phone that they couldn't do anything. After giving her a few choice words I hung up. I am still mad about that. Any advice on any other phone companies I can use?

If you're getting calls from an Alabama state prison, you don't have any choice of another phone company. Unfortunately Global Tel Link is the company currently contracted with the Alabama Department of Corrections and if you want to receive calls from an Alabama state inmate, the calls only come thru Global Tel Link.

Even if you signed up with a discount prison phone service such as Prison Calls Online, the calls would still come through Global Tel Link. All the discount phone companies do is give you a local number to the prison so you can receive local collect calls (instead of long distance collect calls), or calls to a cell phone number. And then you would be charged a fee by the discount company and another fee by Global Tel Link, and the quality of calls would be no different because they're still ultimately originating through Global Tel Link.

There's simply no choice. Whoever the Alabama Department of Corrections is contracted with is who we have to deal with, which is now Global Tel Link. Before that it was Correctional Billing, before that it was T-Netix.

I'm sorry for your frustrations and believe me, I sympathize. The quality of the calls is the worst it's ever been in the last eight years and like many others have said, my loved one and I spend a good bit of our calls going "Huh?" or asking the other to repeat themselves because you can't hear half the time, or getting disconnected repeatedly. I am convinced that Global Tel Link bid a super cheap rate to the ADOC and we're now getting what (little) they paid for in horrific phone call quality.

Trying to update some info. Can you still receive calls on your cell phone?

You can if you set up an account with Prison Calls Online (and probably any of the other discount prison call companies).

With the prison's contracted company, Global Tel Link, apparently not from what I'm hearing (but I think that's an ADOC rule anyway, no matter which company they've contracted with at the time).

Okay, I had my first call last night and of course GTL couldn't get the info from my Credit Card right via automated voice thing. So now my credit card has a $25 and a $50 charge, we only had the $20 (after fees) available to us last night, called today and the $50 is not on there. What happens if I have my credit card decline the charges? Does that mess me up with GTL or should I try and get ahold of them? What would all of you pro's do? I can have my bank refuse the charge to GTL, but I think they might cut me off, or at least my credit card after that??

I would contact GTL first rather than having your credit card company decline the charge, 'cos knowing how screwed up all those companies are, that's liable to throw your account with GTL out of whack. I don't know that they'd cut you off by doing it, but just to be on the safe side I'd try to contact GTL first and find out what they did with that $50 (and hopefully they will be able to locate it and either credit it to your account or refund you).

Either way, it shouldn't affect using that same credit card at a later date tho.

Hi All, I am moving and I was wondering if I move my number to my new apartment... would that screw anything up with GTL? I know I'd have to change the address on it but I was wondering if it's going to be a big mess. I call but they keep telling me to either call back at another time or to leave my number and they call me back when my turn is up and they never do!!! ugh. I need to get internet and it's more expensive if I don't have a landline and since I already do, i didn't want to set up another one. I don't have to move this specific number that's set up with GTL because he's coming home in 4 months and it's at my parents' house and I can leave it call forwarded to my cellphone. It just means that I'll be paying for 2 lines. What do you guys recommend?

Hi All, I am moving and I was wondering if I move my number to my new apartment... would that screw anything up with GTL? I know I'd have to change the address on it but I was wondering if it's going to be a big mess. I call but they keep telling me to either call back at another time or to leave my number and they call me back when my turn is up and they never do!!! ugh. I need to get internet and it's more expensive if I don't have a landline and since I already do, i didn't want to set up another one. I don't have to move this specific number that's set up with GTL because he's coming home in 4 months and it's at my parents' house and I can leave it call forwarded to my cellphone. It just means that I'll be paying for 2 lines. What do you guys recommend?


Well, if you don't have to move the number, I don't know that I would. It wouldn't necessarily mess up anything with GTL - I mean, you can always set up a new prepaid account at any time with them - BUT depending on when the last time he made any changes to his phone list was...? They can only change their list every six months.

If he hasn't made any changes in a long time and you want to set up a new number, all you have to do is set up a new prepaid account with GTL. I guess if you still have a balance on another number, you might want to call them and have them transfer the balance to the new number. But if you don't have much of a balance.... you don't even have to talk to them, all you have to do is set up a new account. If you have the regular prepaid account?

Would t-mobile home phone service be considered as a landline?

Not if it's a cell phone.

Landline = phone service you have that's plugged into a wall phone jack.

I currently have mediacom, could i use the global-tel advance prepaid service with that instead of having them bill me monthly?

another question is when the inmate puts your number on their phone list, can they put down your name even if the number is in someone elses name? ex: put the number down with my name even though my dad is the name on the account???

Yes you can put your name with that number. Before I went to the prepaid thing my home phone service was in my mothers name, but when he had that number on his list he listed my name and that number.

Trying to update some info. Can you still receive calls on your cell phone?

yes you can as long as you have the pre pay service thru global tel, that is the way i get my calls.