Survey: Losing your paycheck to collect calls fees
The New York Times has an editorial about how the New York State’s highest court has rejected a lawsuit by families of inmates who claimed the prison system overcharged them for telephone calls from their loved ones. Nonetheless, the suit and the intense lobbying has helped reform this unfair system of charging 16 cents or more a minute with a $3 surcharge for every call. New York, along with other states, received a hefty percentage of the fees–nearly 60 percent–making prisons a revenue opportunity. Read the whole editorial here.
How much money did you spend on collect calls and what did you sacrifice? Fill out this form and we’ll post results [UPDATE: See how much people spent on collect calls and what they sacrificed]:
[...] you’ve been affected by the high costs of collect calls, take this survey. Also, tell us what you think in the comments section [...]
[...] of people struggling to keep a strong bond with a loved one in prison by accepting collect calls, please take the informal survey. Come join our live call-in show on Wednesday, Jan. 27 at 9 p.m. ET to share your experiences and [...]
My phone bill got shut off numerous times because of high amount in calls. You always seem to sacrifice one thing for another. My husband was then moved to another state and the calls were then even more ridiculous. It would cost $25, with a $5 fee we would get 30 min. that would be a 20 min. call and a 10 min. call. Now I am in Arkansas doing a prepaid calling system, which calls can either be paid $25 or $50 amount. The processing fee is still the same. We get maybe four calls now for this price. I am unemployed right now so pretty much not able to afford even the $25 a month for calls. I moved here from Colorado to be closer to my husband. He still have 3 and 1/2 more years to go. He is in a work program supposedly there to help him financially and the family. But they do not allow him to send money home and pays $450 for housing from his money there. I thought the state paid for housing. Seems like programs they have to help benefit and prepare them for society and better themselves the system still is taking their money from the inside. I don’t understand it.
[...] You can also see how much money people spent receiving these collect calls and what they sacrificed in the results of our survey here. [...]