Hi I had a question about getting calls from someone is Harris County Jail do I need to sigh up for a pre-paid account before I can get calls from my husband. My telephone provider is AT&T and I dont want to sign up for a pre-paid account if I don't have to


Mrs. Carroll

Hi I had a question about getting calls from someone is Harris County Jail do I need to sigh up for a pre-paid account before I can get calls from my husband. My telephone provider is AT&T and I dont want to sign up for a pre-paid account if I don't have to


Mrs. Carroll

Yes, unfortunately you do. It is through T-Netix and Correctional Billing Services and the jail can give you the information and 800 number you call to set it up.

Really? When my husband was @ Harris CO. jail in Feb. he always just called me collect. I never set up any kind of account...

Did something change b/c I have a friend who may be there for the next 30 days or so and I want her to be able to call me too...



Yes, unfortunately you do. It is through T-Netix and Correctional Billing Services and the jail can give you the information and 800 number you call to set it up.

Back inmy day, we would just call collect and the receiver had the option to accept or decline the call. there are so many guys who pass through county jails on a short-term basis (a few days, a couple of weeks, etc.) that I can't fathom it being logistically possible for everyone to set up an account.

County jails are, as a rule, short-term facilities, whereas state prisons are long-term facilities.

It's been my experience that you only have to set up an account when there is some sort of block on the line or your provider doesn't allow the calls from Harris County. I had a block on my land line and then had to set up the calls thru my cell phone a few years back to be able to accept calls from my brother.

How do you find out if you have any blocks on your line?

Just call your provider and see. If the line is in your name and it does have a block, you should be able to remove it yourself. Just ask AT&T.

How do you find out if you have any blocks on your line?

As long as it's a land line you should not have to set up an additional service. If you would like to receive the calls to your cell phone contact the company Dru suggested (Correctional Billing Svcs.) If you need the telephone number please let me know.

Best of luck.

My daughter has been at harris county since may 5th, 2009 and she just calls me, it goes thtu a line of how much the call is and so forth and than you accept or not .hope this helps

you have to set up an account if you don't have a land line.

If your house phone is able to accept collect calls, then that's all you need from my understanding. I choose to do it prepaid on my cell phone so he can call me anytime, anywhere and I'll be able to pick up the phone. And it is also better because you won't be looking at an outrageous phone bill at the end of the month. You get what you pay for :)

If your phone is blocked you can set up a pre-paid account on cellphones, home phones ect by calling 1800-844-6591 or going to correctionalbillingservices online. I set up the account online so my hubby can call on my cellphone. It costs, 3.60 for 20 mins. The only thing is that they ask for a $50 min amount to be set for collect calls.