I received information and a phone number about this company last night and I spent a long time talking to the founder of this business...the website is:
www.telenetinc.net
and the phone number is 1 888-925-7800. The man's name was John Chu and the research I've completed so far shows it to be a pretty good service and company. These are a couple of the testimonials and what caught my attention is the representation from states across the country. I received my quote by email and I will be paying approx. $3.25 for a 15 minute call instead of the 10.11 that I'm paying now. I will also be paying 18.00 a month for the land number and 4 to telenet. All in all I'll save hundreds of $$ a month! I'm definitly doing this and I'll continue updating everyone to share how it is going. I just wanted to share it with the members so you can decide if it will work for you! If there is anyone using this service please post and let us know!

----------------------
Testimonials

What they're saying about Tele-Net
“I am extremely grateful for the inmate program and tell everyone about it.”
—T. Masaniai, WA
“Tele-Net is an exceptional company, not only in the service it provides, but also in the personnel. Finding the answers to any of my questions or concerns has only been a phone call away. Since the time we signed up with Tele-Net we have saved roughly $300 a month on telephone bills. Having this service has elevated some of the financial burdens brought to the “outside family” of an inmate. My family and I thank Tele-Net for making it possible to keep in touch with each other during our time of separation.”

—J. Sax, KS

“When I called Tele-Net I spoke to a real person... then when I had questions on my bill they were there to answer my questions.”
—B. Jones, WA

“I am sure I can thank you for the service you offer, on behalf of so many families that have prison as part of their life.”
—F. Holbrook, OH
“Thank you for the great service you provide. I truly appreciate your help in keeping our communication line open.”
—J. Manzer, CO
“I called and received my quotation in 3 days… my service was working within a week.”
—N. Ferris, OH

“I’m thrilled with the saving… now I can talk more to my son”
—N. Rigby, MA

Hi Pamela

Thank you very much for your information, you posted it yesterday too in the "Europe" forum in response to one of my post. I've just visited the website you give us and try to complete the application and aarrrrgggghhhhh !!!!! It doesn't work if your address is not in the US !!!! As I don't give up easily, I sent them an e-mail to explain exactly my situation, and we'll see if they have a solution !!
Anyway thank you again for this link, and keep your fingers crossed :)
Philippe

Philippe! Do keep us Europeans posted, ok? I getting more and more desperate not hearing my b/f voice :(
And I dont have much luck in finding the solution...

Kristin

Pamela,

Thanks for the info. I'm going to post it at my other group site. It's great.

Thanks for this information...

I am going to follow this up too!

Phil and anyone outside of the USA - there must be a way that you can get a US Post Office Box? Would this work? I know that this would cost additional money, or could you use an address of a family member in the USA?

I called this service today and they are sending me an application. The Lady said that it costs 29.00 to set this up and my phone company would probably charge around 36.oo to connect with them...and a 30 min. call that costs me 30.00 now would cost me 6.50...Also you have to pay a montly fee of 19.00.

I am wondering? Beings I am STUCk in the system with "correctional billing" or whatever there name is can I use Tel Net also? NOT that my brother will speak with me yet, Due to his so called devoted wife that was in bed with "another" man the day of his sentencing, I STILL will NOT tell my brother WHY she really has caused havoc and adultry but she has used the way of saying I caused pain to his kids, GOD they ( those babies of his) are like my OWN kids I had them in another State ALL summer and spend a GREAT deal ( well I did) with them, He and I are close we have been thru hell and back as siblings out of 6 of us 3 of us are CLOSE and this BITC* of a cheating wife has made sure that she LIED thru her teeth even went as far as telling my brother that I CALLED his PO and told about his past character. GOD I AM LOST AND SAD and I DONT know what to do. He was moved to the 2nd WORSE State Pen in Louisiana and I have cried and been beside myself since I have not spoken with him, My parents had a phone call from a CELL MATE tellling my parents my brother was moved at 4 am that morning and a week later he was able to call for ONE min to say he was moved and that was IT, ANyways sorry but I needed to "vent". Thanks to correctional billing that SHUT off my calls from him they stated he called TOO MUCH in a 24 hour period and ran MY bill up to $106.00 they cut my calls OFF BEFORE I even received a bill, YES I have paid the bill but he has been moved and still hasnt called. Anyways THANKS for letting me VENT. Anyone wanting to just vent to me so that I can also be an "ear" per se just email me, Sure would feel good hearing from others in any situation that I am in... HELL, A LOVED ONE SENT AWAY is ENOUGH to say we are all in the "same boat" :(( I wanted CNN on The Beasely execution in Texas and thought GOD HELP ALL INVOLVED IN THAT CASE, I went to the Beasley webpage and read all about him and his life and his family and I will forever have them in my prayers. Again anyone write if you want or need :))

Pamela and everyone!
I signed up for this phone service. I mailed in the application friday 10/11...I can hardly wait. I'm in Dallas and my boyfriend is in Oklahoma. I pay 17.50 for ONE collect call and we only get 15 mins...like most at 2 mins we get the warning and at 30 seconds. We usually say I love you a 100 times and try and hang up BEFORE they hang up on us. I know my phone bill is going to be just terrible this month. He has been calling me 3 times a week. I will keep in touch and let you all know if this phone company is what we have been waiting for.

Who handles your phone calls right now?? Mci, AT& T? just curious... I sent in my information and money order too. Can you post what they quoted you for prices? I'd like to keep track of this! Thank you and good luck with this too!

Pamela

THANKS I AM GOING TO CHECK THE WEBSITE AND SEE WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT. I COULD USE THAT BUT RIGHT NOW MY CALLS ARE ONLY ABOUT $5 A CALL FOR 20 MINUTES. BUT STILL IT ADDS UP......

I emailed a while back but still have not heard anything directly from them.

they told me it could work for overseas people, but we must send a 500 USD deposit ! :(

Thank you for the information. 38 Special

I am paying around $25 - 30 per phone call from Wayne. This is what this service has promised: $4-5 per call. There is a one time installation fee of $35 and another one time fee of $39 to tele-net. There is also a $20 per month charge besides the phone calls. Currently my husband calls about 8 times per month. That would make the bill (after initial fees are paid) around $60 instead of the usual $300-400 dollars I have been paying per month. They are sending me an application (I just got off of the phone with them) and I am signing up for this.

Thank you Pamela!!

Pamela,
I will get the letter when I get home and post it to you :)
I'm calling them Friday..Tony can only add phone numbers to his list every 4 months and if I don't get it on there by Nov 1st I have to wait another 4 months :(

Pamela,
The letter I got from Tele-Net says I will pay 26.50 installation fee, 16 dollars a month fee, collect call charge of 2.00 per call all this to SWBell, monthly service fee to Tele-Net of 3.95 an average collect call to me from Oklahoma should be 4.25 compaired to 17.50 I pay now.

I talked to them today and begged them to get me a number before Nov 1st ..my guy can not add a number to his list for 4 months after Nov 1st :( They promised me they would.. The man I talked to (forgot his name I'm blonde :) )
was really really nice.

Hope this all works out for us I can hardly wait to get to talk to Tony more then 1 time a week.

Renee

This is great Renee. From what I'm hearing I'm pretty sure that this is going to be the company we are going to put a lot of support in.

For any of the other members who want to try this out...when you call make sure that you let them know you had heard about their service from PTO!!!

I'm so scared of the unkown....as much as I hate paying an arm and a leg for my bill-I'm the eternal cynic and don't trust these sort of things til I hear a firsthand testimonial!hahaha
I'm terrible aren't I?
Anyway...can you let this cynic know how it really turned out after your first phone bill w/them? I appreciate it. I need you pioneers to test the water for me first-I'm too cowardly:)

This is what they quoted me and it sounds good but that is tooooo much money for me to be forking out at one time and not knowing anything about them really. So I would like to know what anyone else has to say about them after they get their first bill also.

You will incur a one-time installation charge of approximately $52.15, in addition, there will be a monthly fee of $20 for this number. Each accepted collect call will incur a collect call charge of approximately $2 per call. All of the above charges will be billed to you by VERIZON.

Our network carrier, Power Net Global (PNG), will send you a second bill each month for the minutes that you talk on this line at 14.9 cents per minute, subject to a monthly service fee of $3.95. These prices do not include regulatory taxes or fees.

A typical 15 minutes collect phone call from Dillwyn CC, Dillwyn, VA. will be approx. $4.25.

We require a nonrefundable processing fee of $39.00. This must be payable by money order to Tele-Net, Inc. Enclosed are two forms. Make sure all questions are completed. Please sign both forms and return them with your $39.00 money order in the self-addressed envelope provided. Upon receipt of your application, please allow 10 to 15 working days for us to complete your order.

If you have any phone bills placed for collection due to non-payment or you have a highly negative credit report, your credit will be denied and your processing fee will not be refunded.

I feel that it would be about a 100.00 fee to get this going for most of us. Again, I think that this service is going to get very active with PTO in the near future...so I'm going to be game for the 'unknown' and I PLAN on having good news for you all.

To get this service, do you have to terminate your existing service? Is this an added feature or what? PEACE!!

someone here mentioneed SWbell or something, what does sw stand for

No you do not have to terminate your existing service. They will establish a # outside the prison and when the inmate calls collect...it will be like he's calling right next to the prison, but it will be forwarded to your number. You pay the charges of a LOCAL collect call and the few pennies per minute for forwarding the call to your number!

I hate to send like I am raining on anyone's parade but geez....$100 to get set up with a phone company that is still unproven not to mention having to pay $20 a month just to have the service....that sounds like something for rich folks..not someone like me. No way can I get up $100 at a time living on Disability :(

Elle,
I understand your hesitation but I am not so sure they are "unproven" considering they have been around since 1996.
I am going to invite Mr. Owen from Tele-Net Inc. over here and maybe he can answer some of your questions directly since I am not very well versed in all of this.
I can say I have heard nothing negative about them and when I spoke to them researching this option for inmate's families, they were very helpful. Mr. Owen actually spent the better part of an hour on the phone with me describing the service.

David

Well, I just sent in my application cause my last months bill was $290. and that's on the low side. If I can save even $100. a month it will be well worth the initial investment. I'll let you all know what they quote me as soon as I get it.

I would have to agree with Bonnie on this....I, too, have sent in my application to TeleNet, and should hear from them in 1-2 weeks.

I am in Providence, Rhode Island, and Shawn is in El Dorado, Kansas. Up until recently, I had been using AT&T for correctional collect calls--but the bill got out of control very quickly (to the tune of $800+!!!) I knew I couldn't afford it, and so did he...but I couldn't "not" accept the calls. There was a $5 connection/first minute fee, and it was .89 per minute after that....outrageous, but the only option at the time. Also, the calls could be no longer than an hour. He could hang up at the one-hour warning, and then call me back...with another "connection fee" tacked on. So, each hour we spoke was $60. That's almost an entire day's pay for me, lowly retail slave that I am (LOL)!

TeleNet offered me the same as what I've read here...$3.25 connection fee, 14.9 cents per minute, and roughly $20 per month to have the service. If Shawn and I talk on the phone for an hour each Saturday and Sunday, the old AT&T cost would have been $480.00 a month....but the TeleNet cost will be substantially less...about $120.00 per month. That's a QUARTER of what AT&T would charge---someone really needs to investigate those bastards at the helm of the phone service programs---THEY are the criminals *(&%^%^

To me, that kind of savings is worth taking a chance on an untested (to us here at PTO, anyway) service...I miss the sound of my man's voice enough to try just about anything at this point!!!!!

And David is right, TeleNet has been around for a little while...I found them to be helpful and courteous.

Will keep you all posted!

Susan in Providence

My phone bills are outrageous and the connection fee that goes to tele-net is almost the same as one phone call from my husband. It is worth it to me!

OK, here's my quote:

PacBell will provide the local service up north in Salinas -
$17.10 per month with a $2.71 collect charge per call

Their network carrier Power Net Global will bill at 9.9 cents per minute with a $3.95 per month service fee.

I calculated the cost for twenty 15 minute calls per month to average out at $5.25 per call.

Thirty 15 minute calls per month would average out at $4.90 per call.

I love it cause the more he calls, the cheaper it will be for every 15 minute call on the average. That's due to the constant charges of $17.10 per month from Pac Bell for the line and $3.95 for Power Net Globals service fee.

I am now paying $6.20 for evey 15 minutes and if we get cut off after a few minutes, the charge for the first minute is over $2.00. Only down side is if they are on lockdown and can't call for a month or more (like this month, my bill coming in should be a dream cause he's been on lockdown for almost a month :( ) . I would still need to pay about $21. in service fees with the new service. Thank God he's off of lock down more that on though!! So, overall this is well worth it to me. I will be requesting my line next week.

I just signed up with TELE-NET, It sounds to good to be true, but I am hoping that it's not!

Tele-net is e-mailing me an application. I need to find out when my husband can change his numbers. They quoted me an installation fee of $45.25 and a monthly fee of $19 for the number and each collect call has a $2. service charge and this bill comes from VERIZON. Then I get a bill from Power Net Global at 14.9 cents per minute and a monthly service fee of $3.95.

They go on to say that each call will be approximately $4.25 and they require a processing fee of $39. when I send in my application.

They lady I talked to at Tele-net did not want to answer my questions and told me I had to trust them or not to do this. She didn't answer anything for me. Just send the $ and they'll walk me thru it she said or don't do it.

My fear is that the prison employees will pick up on that I have a local phone number and still live 6 hours away. I stand out to them because of the distance I travel etc.. They always ask me how the drive down was, how our weather is up here, etc... etc.... When I told the lady at Tele-net that she started talking about 1st amendment rights and that we're outside the prison and that my husband can call me in Israel or whereever. She also said something about giving me a local address down there---HELP. I'm scared, but I AM SO SICK OF CORRECTIONAL BILLING SERVICE. I already posted under their thread tonight and rambled. Comments and feedback are welcome. Has anyone in Michigan done this?????

Deb

Deb, will you call them back and ask for John Chu or Richard Owens.

Just tell them that you called once before, but that you don't think that all your questions were answered.

Let me know if this helped or not!!

I'm keeping track, or trying to, of the members who are accessing this service, so I appreciate any feedback that I get!

Thanks,

pamela

Pamela,

I will call and ask for one of them this weekend. You had said in the beginning of this that you were going to do this. Did you? Is it working? I e-mailed Kay Perry from MI-CURE and she said she would not recommend it. She said she's heard from people around the U.S. that have lost phone privileges and others who swear by it. She said we could be charged with fraud. She also said IF she were going to do it she would want something in writing saying that if need be the company's lawyers would represent her if she did this.....

Deb

wow, this is getting kind of scary...

I just got off the phone from The Public Service Commission in Lansing. IT IS NOT FRAUDULENT TO DO THIS. However, he is unsure if it will violate the contract that Michigan Dept of Corrections has with Sprint (who sub-contracts with Correctional Billing Service). I am to call Penny Ryder back at American Friends Service Committee and have her check the contract and see if they'll make this their issue as well---as it would benefit many families in Michigan plus Ron at the PSC gave me the name and # of the lady at MDOC who is the Contract Administrator and to call and ask for clarification of the contract that MDOC has with Sprint and if I can do RCF myself or with Tele-net. (scary talk to someone from MDOC who would be helpful in me saving $ etc...).

I was on the phone with Ron for about 45 minutes. Very nice and friendly and very upset over the whole thing with CBS and the kickbacks that MDOC gets---he said over a million $ per MONTH goes back to MDOC from our phone calls in Michigan. Hello----are you guys reading this????? That's us allowing MDOC to get kickbacks from our phone calls. We pay this on each and every phone call. Anyway, I have a call in to Penny and will talk to her prior to calling anyone at MDOC. He said the only way to change this in any state is to talk about the KICKBACKS----JQ Public doesn't care about inmates or their families----they HATE kickbacks anywhere and especially going to the government which MDOC is a part of state government.

Deb

Deb, I'd be real hesitant to talk to anyone at the DOC about the phone calls. This might make a 'red flag' go up and your conversations could be tagged. I think the information Penny Ryder would provide will be very helpful.

Let us know!

Pam

Pam,

I'm agreeing 100% with you. The guy at PSC couldn't understand why I didn't want to call MDOC or if I did why I didn't want to give my name. Part of me sometimes wonders if it's just us being paranoid because of everything we've gone thru with the courts and prisons and the other part of me says no----we do have to be paranoid and others like the guy at PSC just don't understand cause they're not living this nightmare and aren't treated like this. I'm waiting for Penny to call me prior to calling the prison and if by chance I did call the prison I would not give out any identifying information about me.

Deb

fyi, when i spoke with the gentleman at telenet today he let me know that this particular service wouldn't be of much use to me since my calls are relatively inexpensive. i thought that it was great that he wasn't trying to take advantage in any way.

Penny Ryder left me a message and I'm waiting to connect in person with her. RCF and/or Telenet would violate the contract that Michigan DOC has with Sprint. It's a "safety concern" and inmates should "not try to save $ by not doing long distance." Along with other comments from Penny. She called Ron at the PSC too. I'll try and connect with her tomorrow. I have NOT moved forward on anything as she said not to til we talk. Must be important she called from Alabama as her and Kay Perry from MI-CURE are on the road. I missed her at her motel # she left.

Deb

I believe in chat the other nite, TxRenee said that the number she was given by telnet is not working for her loved one but works for others. This could be the start of telnets downward spiral.

What pisses me off----is when she said "it violates the contract that MDOC has with Sprint." I NEVER signed a contract. Why do we have to abide by this? And the inmate can't try to get around long distance and save $--Is the inmate paying for the calls???????????????????????????

Deb

Oh good point there Deb!

TxRenee, I'd like to hear more about what happened and why your boyfriend could not put that phone number on his list. Did telenet help you out in anyway?

Thanks for letting us know!

Pam

Deb
I am in the same out of state type situation as you are. My man is in Arizona and I am in California. I am also concerned with the DOC questioning why I have an Arizona phone number and a California identification. The man at Telenet was very helpful and answered lots of my questions, but he told me it would not be wise at all to let the DOC know what I was doing. I don't think that anyone can assure us that we won't lose phone or visitation priviledges. I think the people who in the same state as the inmate should be able to slide by a little better than us out of state people.

Howdy Everyone!
Sorry I haven't posted about Tele-Net yet....I was kinda waiting.
I got the number from them...Tony added it to his list but as of TODAY over a week later he still can NOT call me on that number. Now.....SBC is supposed to have turned in a repair ticket on that number SOON but who knows. If its not working by this friday 11/15 I'm calling Tele-Net giving them some crap and telling them to get that number turned OFF.
Will keep you all posted.

TxRenee

Hey I know you don't know me, but I just though I'd tell you what I know. I have had remote-call forwarding for two years and it is awesome. My local phone # was in my name and the address on the account was my home address at first it got approved then they denied it because it was call-forwarding and they said that wasn't allowed and my husband was written up. Then I called the captain of his section and explained the situation that we aren't doing anything illegal that the # is only call-forwarded to my 1 #, also that they could verify both my local # and my home # because both are on my husbands list, that they can verify with the phone company exactly what it is and also that I wasn't getting anything for free I was still paying a high phone charge just not as high. Then when they had the meeting with the Warden my husband said that the Captain really went to "bat" for us, and we were approved again. And it has been fine since, my husband has both #' on his list because the local # gets "temporarily dis-connected" sometimes when I get a little behind (oops!!) so then he'll call alot less but on my home # till my account is cleared up again. This was alot of Drama and took forever but now it was all so very worth it. Now my husband also has alot of family locc'd up so when his brother who is at another prison in the same State put my local # on his list I just had him put in the # with a local address that I knew (from when another cousin of his went to school out that way a few years ago) anyways the # was approved with NO PROBLEMS, as long as the address matches the area code is what the "inmate phone operator" lady said. Now I know every State and every Institution is SO very different but that is what I know. And I have explained and hooked up the remote-call forwarding # for a lot of people cause my husband has called me a number of times to call so&so's wife/girlfriend and help her out. I don't really know if I've helped, but hey I tried !! Good-Luck and if I caan try and clear anythng else up for you please just let me know.
Thanx for everything!!

Whitney

P.S. my local # was with Sprint (the same company that is with the prison then my long-distance was with MCI) not any of the fly-by-night phone company's I'm just unsure about them. All it is, is a "virtual" phone # to the prison, a local # with the same prefix to the prison then it's permanently remote-call forwarded to my home #. So the cost is a one time local collect call $2-60 and my long distance for the call-forward is whatever plan I have signed up for (.05 for weekends and .07 for weekends as they are international rates I live in Canada) so It's about $2-40 for the long distance Sooooo,... $5-00 now for a call that was $18-80 a call.

I have a hard time explaining what is in my head so I hope it's not too confusing and you understand all right enough.

Yesterday I got my new local Kansas phone number from TeleNet. I also got a call from a man named John, who will be handling my account....It said, "And PLEASE, Susan---change your answering machine message!!!" I didn't know what he meant until I listened to it...LOL...It said "You have reached 351-XXXX" (a Rhode Island number), which would be very upsetting to the Kansas DOC if they were to call my new number to verify it! ACK! It's a good thing he called, or we might have gotten pinched. Whew!

Also, he gave me an address in the (316) Kansas area code, as El Dorado requires a "matching" address for new phone numbers. It's the address of a hotel...go figure. He told me they don't "check" on anything, they just want to see that the address and the phone #'s area code match, and that they have many clients at El Dorado, Hutchison, Winfield, Larned, etc., and have never had a problem. Shawn had a deadline of this coming Friday to add new numbers to his list, so I overnighted a letter to him yesterday....I couldn't bear taking a chance of reaching him in time with the regular mail, and haveing to pay TeleNet when I couldn't use the service for another 4 months!

If the number works, I should hear from him by Thursday or Friday...I'll keep you all posted.

Susan in Providence

Something sounds really bad about this...

I ask you all who are using this to please be careful. I'm scared that one of you will have problems...I'm scared that telnet doesn't really know wtf they're doing.

Originally posted by Soul SLiver
Something sounds really bad about this...

I ask you all who are using this to please be careful. I'm scared that one of you will have problems...I'm scared that telnet doesn't really know wtf they're doing.

Soul, I know what you're saying...and I have asked all the questions I could think of. I'm sure most of you realize that while the legality of a company like TeleNet is gray area (I have not been able to confirm one way or the other if it breaks Kansas DOC rules to use an outside carrier), it is a risk some of us are willing to take.

If it makes anyone feel any better, John has been working with me since I applied last month, answering everything I asked, and walking me through the logistics of remote call forwarding....he has been very polite, and accomodating. I was very precise in my questioning, and he said he has never had a client experience any problems with using TeleNet for any Kansas institution (they have customers at all state facilities there). He was the one who told me I would need a local address (and that they would check to make sure it matches the area code), something I wouldn't have thought of.

And if nothing else, you have to figure that TeleNet doesn't want to get pinched, either---after all, this is a very lucrative business for them. Inmates' families are fed up with getting screwed by the major phone companies, and this is a way around it. Also, they have been around for over 5 years, so that is definitely a positive.

Like anything else, this is a leap of faith; until the calls go through and I get that first bill, nothing will be set in stone. For me, it's worth the risk to maintain contact with my guy.

Susan in Providence

Thanks Susan for your post. I, as other member's, really want to know what happens. I, too, think they are a legitimate service. With the members who have called and tele-net was upfront that their service would probably not save them much money, I thought this was pretty ethical on their part.

Anyway, I will be talking to Richard tomorrow and I'll follow up here with our conversation!

I GOT THE INFO ON TELENET AND I THINK IM GOING TO USE IT, MY QUOTE WAS $4.21 A CALL, THATS GOOD. I'LL SAVE MAYBE 1/2 THE COST, FROM WHAT THEY TOLD ME, WELL SEE HOW IT GOES

DE DE

Javier doesn't call me as much but i'm sure he would if it would be less for those calls i dont remember how much i pay i'm one of those who never looks at the phone bill and since Jack pays the bills I'm clueless but i'll see what telenet can do and as well forward it to Javiers friends that he does call often, thanx for the info, we'll keep you posted, hugs....JER

Hi is that for il are out side US because here in IL PAID 11.20 for 1 and 9.60 for other one PLUS TAX OF COURSE SHERRON DURMAN

wanted to tell all of you Iam so glad i found this site I thought i was the only 1 of very few that is going thro this...thank you all

Hey all my self and my husband live on disablite 2 it s ruff with 2 sons in prison so I know wher you are coming from when you talk disab/ Sherron D

DO THEY HAVE TELL ,,,.,.NET IN IL how do they get around the prison system could put in pay phones that onld takes collect callls then you would not have all this SHERRON

Sherron, Yes telenet should be available in Ill. Please click on the banner and you can find out more information about this service. We have several members already using Tele-net. Please post if you have anymore questions on the service!

And a BIG Welcome to PTO!

Pamela

I HAVE HAD THIS TELNET SERVICE FOR A YEAR AND IT IS THE BEST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED. iT SAVES ME AT LEAST 150.00 A MO.

i would just like to say that Tele-net declined my application due to credit. im very disapointed as i dont have any bankruptcies, i dont owe any phone company any money either. my credit isnt that bad, i was just approved for a car loan! who knows what theyre thinking. i am just going to set up a remote call forwarding line directly with the phone company which is basically what telenet charges you for them to do.

Hi Everyone,
My name is Meechie and I am a newcomer;) My Fiance is in a va prison. I miss him so much with all of my strength. I hate MCI!! I am excited and hope to see savings so that I can soon talk to my baby! I just spoke to someone today will be sending a package. I cant wait to talk to my honey! Please keep me posted if u have tried tele-net..thanks so much and god bless

Quick welcome to the community Meechie! You can do a search on Tele-Net and pull up lots of feedback about them..

meechie id go directly to the local company where the prison is and set up a remote call forwarding line... its the same thing as telenet but you wont be paying for a third party's legwork you can do yourself

Thanks a bunch Cember! Would I have to give them a local address?

yeah but i gave them the actual address of the prison and that was fine... it's only to determine what area the phone will be set up in. they also ask for a billing address to send the actual bills to which is where you're at

Thank you so so much Cember its been days without talking to my love and it is killing me. I hope the local phone company can set this up fast;) I will call them tomorrow and ask them about the remote call fowarding line. thanks you dont know u made my night.

Meechie..I use Tele-Net and to me its worth the few dollars extra...to NOT have to do the footwork!!
Good Luck and Welcome to PTO :)

Cember I got with the local line and it is about to be set up now they want me get a long distance provider i am assuming to connect the call. what i wanted to ask you is will my calls still have to go through mci, since mci handles the va prison call? i hope not or will it just be a collect call from my new local provider or the long distance provider. i didnt want to ask the local line company because i didnt want them in the business;) thanks all of your help is greatly appreciated!

TxRenee I was starting to go with telenet but then they pull a credit report and i didnt want to lose my money and not get approved..lol you know with my man inside and me working i have to budget and make it.

i just picked mci when she asked me cause thats the one i have on my home phone also..and im guessing you can always change that later on if you have to! all i have to do is send the phone co the connection charges which arent too bad, but thatll probably be next pay friday for me. its cool to be going through this process with someone else! hehe

Cember I am just tripping about people saying that these remote lines are illegal in va..wouldnt want to do anything illegal:( but then i am wondering i had mci before and they have a block on my home line will this affect my remote line and the calls coming in? i am so confused and just want for this to work. and if i pick at&t lets say as an example and the prison is using mci would the collect call be from mci..Cember I hope i am not confusing you.

Hi meechie2177

My name is Pamela and I'm the moderator of this forum at PTO. I will tell you I have done a lot of research on the Virginia phone system and you can only go through MCI. But I will add my STRONG FEELINGS, that I would NOT go with a remote forwarding on my own, with a prison in VA. I had someone in the Virginia system and that is the last thing I would do, after my own findings.

I would go with tele-net or if you find another 3rd party you feel comfortable with. I feel very comfortable in recommending tele-net and their service though. I know that you are thinking about your budget, but for the 29 or 39 dollars that you might lose on a credit check is well worth, vs. the complete blocking of any calls, if the DOC in Virginia discovers what you are doing.

Please call tele-net and ask to speak to Richard Owen, maybe he can work out something for you, perhaps a deposit even? Trust me, I know how expense those calls out of Virginia can be and I'd rather go this route than pay those bills again.

Good luck and please let me know if there is anything I can do to help you out with this.

Pamela

About the block being on your line with MCI...I do not believe that will affect your billing with tele-net. Not quite sure, but I do not believe that to be the case!

PS Richard @ Tele-Net will also be glad to run the credit check beforehand so you're not out the application fee if your credit is denied...

well thanks for that everyone..gosh i feel the love ..there is so much support in here..thanks a bunch!!is that his email address? or how can i get in contact with Richard..thanks again!!! Much love

Meechie, Richard is here on PTO as golf_buddy but your best bet is probably to just call him - 1-888-925-1400. Good luck!

Oh by the way and FYI - I see Pamela mentioned maybe a deposit for TeleNet - when I was setting up my service Richard did tell me they were working on the possibility of being able to offer a prepaid-deposit-type service for those who can't pass the credit check. They're probably still working on it but they are looking at that and hoping to be able to offer something like that in the near future...

Thanks Lysbeth for the information!!:wave:

Pamela:)

Do they send you a separate bill for service, because that's what I need! Reading some of the prices that the rest of you have been charged for service, its incredible! Our calls only cost 5.35 for 15 minutes. My whole problem is that I need a separate bill for the calls because the phone isnt in my name.

No clue if it's a separate list.....I do know there are separate bills....Haven't gotten my first ones yet.....Looking forward to it though!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Deb

Hey Sarah, give Richard @ Tele-Net a call (1-888-925-1400) or PM him here on PTO, he can answer all your questions. I'm paying about $4.24 for 15 minutes now w/ them, with two bills - one from the phone company and one from the calls provider for Tele-Net. Check it out, seriously...

Lys

Just so everyone will know, Tele-net, Inc. is not available at every facility. I personally live in Indiana and my husband is incarcerated in the mountains in Wheelwright, Kentucky. I was provided with the forms and a quote that was wonderful and really had my hopes up. However, once I turned in the forms and mailed in the $39 fee... I heard NOTHING for weeks. I called and called and each time the SAME lady told me they were working on it and everything was fine. Finally, after waiting about two months, I asked to speak to someone of authority and I was given a man named John who said he was the president. He told me again that were working on it and finally admitted to having problems finding a connection with Bell South. After two more weeks, I called again and was told again that they were still working on it and I could either wait or they would go aheand and issue a refund of $39. I informed them that I was provided with a quote for services and I would like to have the service that I applied for. Again, they said to follow up in another week. Well, about three days later, I received a refund check and a letter stating that the service is not available at that facility. I was a little pissed to say the least. I have had issue after issue after issue with Correctional Billing Services. The calls are $16.50 for 30 minutes plus $20 plus dollars in user fees for them putting the calls through for me... I guess. They are pimping us if you ask me and I am so tired of it, but what can I do? I sure wish I would have thought of this money making scheme before they did and I could be RICHER THAN RICH!

Anyway, I just wanted to forewarn you that the service may or may not be available to you. So, don't get your hopes up too soon and create a new phone budget or anything like I did!

Best wishes to all of you!

Nikkel425
I'm so sorry to read this! I don't talk to anyone at Telenet cept for Richard. Telenet saved me :)
Hope things work out for you..

I was going to post about this Telenet place, thinking it would be new to everyone but apparently not! It sounds like a GREAT deal, almost way unbelievable. I asked the guy "what is your purpose in doing this?" and he said that the phone companies are ripping us off and they just want to help. I thought for sure this was a scam. I'm just a bit nervous about sending my money. And what if the phone company I go through finds out? The guy from Telenet kept stressing to keep this on the lowdown and do not tell the phone company or anyone about it. He said it's not illegal. I'm just afraid my phone co. will find out and terminate Ryan's calls.
Also -- how exactly does this Telenet work? The guy, Richard, was explaining it to me but I got lost. Who pays the outrageous phone bill that they will send me each month? Or do they send it somewhere else? He also said something about a new phone number that my fiance will have to call, instead of my home number.
If anyone who is using this service could PLEASE respond back, I'd greatly appreciate it! I'm paying $30 for a 30 minute phone call right now and that is just ridiculous!

Ryans Girl,

BELIEVE RICHARD. I finally did and am so glad. He will walk you thru it and if you have any questions just call him at the number for him and he'll explain it. If you don't understand tell him. I've been on the phone with him up to an hour at a time in the beginning as I was afraid too.

Telenet is awesome! You will no longer have an outrageous phone bill. It should be cut by about 2/3.....

Deb

I appreciate the tip on Tele-net. My Son has only been in for 3 weeks and I have paid $180. the first week and who knows how much my bills will be since every time I say "yes" that is $4.00 and then $.89 every minute after. I am excited to see how much they can save me so that we can talk. I am out of state and I cannot visit him, THANK YOU!

How long does it usually take to get things set up with telnet?

Kristin,

It takes a couple of weeks at the most.....

Deb

It usually takes 3 weeks (at the most), but believe me it is worth the wait. I just checked my ph bill before I was on Telnet. It was 480.00. I figured the same amount of min. and my bill with Telnet service is less than half of the other.JUST DO IT!!!!!!!!!:) :)

Thank you so much :) when he gets to add me to his numbers in October I will make sure I am set up with them!

Thought I`d let everyone know that Sprint has a similar service called "remote call forwarding".You set up a local call number the inmate calls in the town they are incarcerated in and Sprint shoots it to the forwarding phone # at your home.It costs $19.95 a month plus 10 cents a minute.It has reduced my phone bill from $400 a month to $100 a month.It has been a real lifesaver.This includes the cost of MCI getting their surgharge of $1.20 per call because of the prison system.Just call Sprint and ask to set up a residential call forwarding number in the town your loved one is in.I do this from Ohio to Michigan.Hope this post saves some bucks for someone. :)

I have just talked to Richard and he is going to call me back and let me know if I can get their services. I would also like to call Sprint and ask them. Anyone know their phone number?

I tried to sign up but you have to have a good credit rating and I dont because of my bankruptcy. So I didnt want to throw away the $39 deposit. But whoever can get this service get it, it has great phone rates and will really help. Unfortunaltely I am SOL.

They said or asked nothing about my credit or credit rating. I had no problem at all

Jo, do you have bad credit? I do and have hesitated about doing this right now. I can't afford to send the money and be turned down!

They don't ask about your credit. They didnn't mine anyway. Just make the phone call and Richard will explain every thing to you. He's great!!

MsMack - just now saw your post - and Christy too - I had a bankruptcy too, and just overall horrible credit, and still I got approved. If you have had phone service in your name and have paid your bills OK, you will probably be approved. And Richard has always been kind enough to our members to offer to go ahead and run the credit check beforehand so you won't be out the $39 if you are not approved. Give Richard a call (or PM him at golf_buddy) and let him know you're a PTO member, he'll be happy to help I'm sure...

Who is using Telenet? Is it better than Sprint?

Kahlan

I found sprint was cheaper then telenet.It cost $19.95 a month and & 7 cents per minute.My bill was about $32 a month to talk twice a week for 15 minutes from Michigan to Ohio.I called John at telenet and he said it is the cheapest and he could not match Sprints rates.It was a residential remote call forwarding line.Sprint is cheaper.

Thanks! I'll check on the rates for SC.

Before you set up your remote call line make sure the prison allows the inmate to call it.My husband got thrown in solitary for calling mine after they traced our calls.They consider remote call lines a 3 party line in Ohio and he got punished.We see the parole board in 3 weeks and they better not use it against him.Oh I love the politics!!Remote call lines are legal.Grrrrrrrrr.Check it first.

I'll do that! Thanks for letting me know. All of this is new to me.

I new to this site and I am checking out all this info, its wonderful. I just applied for Telenet
Thanks:)

I had this kind of service b4 and the facility would not put the new number they gave me on his phone list. My husbands counselor checked into it and told me that the number did'nt match with my address. Did anyone ever have this problem???

Call Richard at Telenet and let him take care of it. All I gave him was my name, address, Home phone number. Then waited for him to send me the phone number to give to my son. I've had it for a year and a half, and talk to my son every other day and some times 2 or 3 days in a row, (according to his mood) Richards phone number is 1-888-925-1400

If the facility you are dealing with requires an address to go along with the phone number when your incarcerated loved one puts the new number on their list, Richard can get you "proof of address" in the locality where your Tele-Net number is set up. I didn't need it for mine - they don't require addresses - but I've seen the address match to my Tele-Net number on the bill. All you need do is call Richard and tell him you need proof of address for your Tele-Net number.

Tele-net is awesome you guys....

Deb

I have been signed up through Tel Net for about 2 months now, and honestly I'm paying more in phone charges than ever before. I've gone over the bills thoroughly and the long distance charge would in fact be about half for a 15 minute call, but they are charging me if the answering machine answers even though no one is punching the 0 to take the call and I'm getting bills from everywhere, Powernet Global, Sprint and then my regular bill.

On occasion I have my number forwarded to my cell phone when I'm not home, and the quality of the service is so bad I can't talk.

I've called Tel Net and left messages and they haven't returned my phone calls.

So, I would say, Buyer Beware before you spend the money for the set up charges, which is costly

Originally posted by Trikess
but they are charging me if the answering machine answers even though no one is punching the 0 to take the call and I'm getting bills from everywhere, Powernet Global, Sprint and then my regular bill.

I get charged for the voice mail picking up too, but just for the $2 or so connect fee (which appears on my regular bill) - the PNG charge is only a penny or two since there's no actual "call". While it is a little annoying to be paying that $2 every time the voice mail picks up when I'm not there, I'm saving way too much on calls to really be concerned about that, still paying only around $4.35 for what used to be a $20+ call so I don't really care about the few charges here and there when the voice mail's picked up. I'm saving too much on the real calls to care too much about those connect fees when I'm not home and the voice mail's picked up... and now that I have had the number a while those calls are decreasing too. Still very happy with my service and since they saved me about $850 on what would have been an $1000+ bill a couple of months ago, I have ZERO complaints.

Okay, I'm trying to be positive and think that it's just an adjustment period. I have two people calling me also. I'm in Alabama and they are in Virginia. I'm going to let it go for another month or so and see how it plays out before giving up on it. If it turns out better I will certainly let everyone know.

It may just take a little adjustment. Believe me, Trikess, I know the frustration... apparently the person who had my number before got a LOT of calls, so the first few months I got lots of hangups and other wrong number calls, that all went to voice mail and I got charged the connect fee + whatever penny or two for the call charges when voice mail picked up. But it has DEFINITELY improved... I only get the occasional wrong number now and hopefully the water dept. down there (which is about to cut off that person's water, so saith the automated recording) will stop calling soon too. :D

My guy is as guilty of running up that connect fee too but I'm trying to get him trained to not call so much unless he's pretty sure I'm there.

Anyway, just give it a little while... it's taken about three or four months for my non-him calls to dwindle down to almost nothing but it's getting there.

I am basically only get 2 types of phone charges. One is the long distance transfer (the 15 cents per minute) on one bill and the the other is the collect call connect charge on the other bill. And of course the monthly service charges on the bills.

I have gotten a few wrong numbers (calls that are not from prison) and all I get charged for is 1 or 2 minutes of the long distance charge (15 or 30 cents or so).

I have also had my calls transferred to my cell phone a few times and the quality is the same as my regular cell phone service.

From what I understand how this system works, it is just like if I used call forwarding on my home phone to transfer calls to another number. I would be only be charged for the long distance charges if I had the calls the forwarded to a number that wasn't in my own area code. How can we get charged for the collect call connection charge unless we push the button to accept the charges?

My phone charges used to be about a hundred a month and he was only calling me once a week (15 minute calls each). Now of course they are still about a hundred a month and he is calling me 3-4 times a week. I didn't really think I would be "saving" any money, because I KNEW we would be talking more - a LOT more!

I really wish it was working well for you -- maybe Richard will be able to figure out what the problem is. For me, Telenet has been a WONDERFUL!!

Kim

My bills have been way lower since I got Telnet. I use to pay 300.00 or more a mo. Now I never pay over 125, and we talk a lot more. Call Richard and I'm sure he will clear it up for you.

What does Telenet charge for calls?

Kahlan, It depends on where from and where too.
I got my new number today for Tony :) Can hardly wait for him to call Sunday!

Kahlan, I pay about $4.34 for every 15 minute call.

Still very happy with my service... I got my regular phone bill today, I knew it was going to be a higher than usual one this time 'cos we've talked a lot. Some quick figuring and estimating my Tele-Net call costs, I figure they saved me around $700 this month, compared to what it would have been. :)

We are both in S.C. He is in R&E and I've only talked to him one time for 10 minutes this month and the phone cut off on us! I can't stand it! He will be moved to Tyger River Correctional Inst. sometime this month I guess. A transfer was put in this week for him. I am driving myself insane waiting by the phone. Should I go ahead and call about Telenet? The prison uses Sprint. I need to talk to him! I miss him so much!

If you're sure he's going to go to the new prison soon (and sure he's going to go to that particular prison), you might want to go ahead and see about getting Tele-Net set up and that way he can put your new phone number on his phone list as soon as he gets there and it'll all be ready to go. Call Richard at 1-888-925-1400 and he'll be happy to help you get started and answer any questions you may have...

Hi, this is Richard with Tele-Net. I am sorry to hear Trikess is having problems. Let me explain some of these charges. Any calls that are transferred from the prison to your house over the inmate line is chargable to you but only for the talk time. There should be no connection fee. So if a wrong number calls and talks to your answering machine for 1 min you will be charged 15 cents only. The longer you have the number the fewer wrong number calls you receive so for most customers the cost is negligable. If the problem is too bad we can get you a new number.

As far as quality goes every time a call is tranferred the quality can deteriorate. If the quality is less when you tranfer from your home to your cell phone than the resulting deterioration is from your cell provider. If the quality is really poor we need to know because it usually means that one of the telecom switches is having a problem. In which case we need top know exactly what time to call occured so we can trace it.

Don't hesitate to call or drop me a PM if youo are having problems

Good to know, Richard! I haven't been scanning my bill with a fine toothed comb so I assumed I was getting charged the connection fee on my regular bill every time the voice mail picked up. Thanks for explaining (as always)!!!

I've just sign up for it also I hope that it will work for some apparent reson i had a block on my line but it wasn't from my local company so they say but i can recieve local collect calls i had sent tenex 100 dollars and they didn't do nothing for me now they told me i had to wait 4-6 weeks for my deposit back tricksy

i want to clarify tricksy message. She sent $100 to T-Netix the prison phone company so they would remove a block on her line and even after getting the money she still can not get her calls.
She has now called Tele-Net and we are fixing her up. We should have her collect calls working in a few days.

Yes after doing the math, I would be paying more than I am for the service now through Verison. Telenet wasn't worth it for me

I'm sorry to hear we couldn't save you money BlockNC. You are correct, our service does not save eveyone money, especially if you only take a few calls a month. This is why I want one of our counselors to speak to everyone who wants to sign up so we can make sure that our service will save them money. We are here to help you save money not cost you money. Don't hesitate to call us for a free evaluation.

Well, I have to apologize to Richard because I was signed up with Intelvision and somehow I got it confused with TelNet. I've had a conversation with Richard and have switched to TelNet, so I will find out how it works out. Doesn't sound like the prices are too different $.l5 instead of $.l6, but Richard did explain that they have different equipment set up in Dallas and serivce and quality should be better I hope.

Linda

hy richard or golf-buddy send me some info. on TELE-NET INC i am paying $2.55 for the frist minet and 30. a minuet after that :argh :pissed: :pissed: joshsdad

I called this company today, my fiance is in Mass and I'm about 99 miles away in the same state, I was quoted 60.00 to activate 26.95 per month and 5.00 a call! I think 60.00 is kind of high. I have already paid probably close to 3000.00 in collect calls in the past 15 months and some jails are more than others. I'm wondering why some people on this posting board pay more or less for activation? Does anyone have any idea?

Hello, I am very new to PTO. I wish I knew of your existence months ago. I guess we all feel very alone when we are new to the system. But I want to say you all have helped me since I began to browse your notes some few hours ago. For a few moments I felt like someone could really understand. I felt not quite so alone, not quite so lost. Thank you PTO.

My young son went to jail in Dec 2002, awaited trial in County Detention for 8 months before being sentenced to 30 years suspending 15, for thefts totalling less than $2000.00 and then he was sent to ECI. I have had to cope with many odd events and feelings, anger, remorse,sorrow and heartbreak, since this course set itself into motion...and the money I have spent on talking with my 20 year old son has already more than doubled the amounts of his theft. And I have at least 10 more years they say before he is eligible for parole. At that rate I don't even think I can calculate what the total AT&T profits will be or fathom the idea of a staggering kickback the prison itself will receive. I typically spend $700-900 per month for Shaun to call from ECI in MD to Northern California. I know for a fact ECI does not allow conference calling, answering a call waiting, or call forwarding. They prison knows that I am in California...I have been approached by local dudes that run a DSL service in town here to try such a bypass thing as TelNet does...I have to stop and clarify something here tho'...I would rather spend 2000.00 every month on calls than risk being cut off from him. I have read the entire discussion here on TelNet and I am still unsure...

I am not sure why I write any of this now. I know you cannot tell me what the right answer is. I guess I just wanted to say that I am so empathetic... Thanks for being there...Peace to you all I pray.

wyg...hi....call richard he will explain it to you how it works....and more than likely you will not get cut off...the prison can administravely cut off a forwarding line...but they wont get your son in trouble...it will just revert back to what it was...the expensive one....call richard and find out

How long does it take for them to give you a quote after you file an application?

Right now, me and my boyfriend are only 2 hours away, I'm not sure what the price of the call is(MCI) is my carrier. Would it be wise for me to sign up for tele-net. I"m in new york city and he"s up in new york state.

Baile_con_mi,
Give them a call and I am sure they will give it to you right over the phone in case you have not heard back from them already. They have been extremely busy lately but I know few people that care as Richard does. He'll spend a minute or an hour with you.. :)

Summertime, I am not sure of this but I think New York's still in phone litigation and service may not be available in New York at this time. Think that's what was going on anyway. I'm sure someone will come along and verify the status of this...

I just signed up a few weeks ago and service within NY was still unavailable then. My friend is in another state- that's the only reason it worked for me.

Wygi8

Please be very careful about obtaining a remote path phone number, especially since they know your location and might be on the lookout. I know it can save you a lot of money, but my daughter is in Virginia and they found out about the number and she was put in segregation for 45 days because of it and right now I've been cut off. MCI is the carrier and I'm in the process of trying to find out why her calls won't come to me now that she is out of segregation. The prison threw the book at her for third party calling.......I protested to no avail. I have contacted the FCC and they are in the process of trying to change that. I cannot even forward my home phone number to my cell phone for fear my daughter will call and they will punish her for third party calling.............it's extortion, but we are at their mercy.

Linda

samiam: As you can see from my reply to Wygi8, the prison can get people in trouble. It's not against the law, but it is against prison policy and an MCI employee reported me to the prison and caused all the problems. Be aware if they want to they can punish your loved one.

Linda

do u know if this is available on all states?

Here I am again. I used Telenet for 2 years. I don't need it anymore since my son is is in the work release program, but Richard got me a toll free number for him to use now,and it is REALLY reasonable. Just give Richard a call and believe me he will help you in any way he can. I had problems in the beginning, which was my fault, because I tried to do it myself. But just give Richard a call and he'll take it from there if at all possible.

To Pam mom, Yes the service is available in all states and all facilities.

Richard~

Does that mean NY as well? I know there were issues in NY ... have those been cleared up?

~alyson

How about South Carolina? They wanted a copy of my phone bill to get the Sprint service. Will it be a problem to change to Telenet?