Several times I have been asked about the concept of “Unlimited Collect Calls.” The simple answer to this question is: there is no such thing as unlimited collect calls… at least not as a monthly payment plan.

The term itself is contradictory. This may confuse those of you who have done a Google search for Collect Calls and stumbled upon multiple services advertising “Unlimited Collect Calls.” These services are not lying that their service is unlimited, but the service they are providing is not actually a collect call.  Let’s take a look at why collect calls can never be unlimited for a fixed amount.

First of all, the definition of a collect call is a phone call in which the receiver of the phone call is charged a fee for answering the call. Each and every call is billed to the receiver in some form of payment, where as a traditional phone call is billed to the person placing the call. With a collect call there is a 3^rd party between the caller and receiver who bills the receiver for the call.

Now, if EVERY call is billed for the placement of a call how can a company provide “Unlimited Collect Calls?” Well, again the answer is they can’t. The first thing you have to understand is that the company is not providing collect calls. They are providing a way to answer collect calls.

To explain, let’s call the “Unlimited Collect Call” Company “UCC.” The service that “UCC” provides is better explained as a way to answer as many collect calls as you can afford. When a customer activates an account with UCC, the customer is provided a local phone number to the jail or prison where calls will be placed. UCC charges the customer a monthly fee for this phone number based on the distance between the local phone number and the customer’s phone number.

After activating the account, the customer needs to perform one more step before they can receive collect calls from their loved one. The customer must call the collect call provider of the correctional facility and set-up an additional account. This second account is prepaid and will require a credit card payment before receiving any collect calls. The customer’s account with the facility is debited each time their loved one places a call in addition to the payment made to UCC each month. 

Even though the customer has an unlimited collect call account with UCC, they will not receive a call from their loved one unless their account with the facility has a balance.

Managing two accounts in order to receive calls can be a headache for most customers. It is not convenient for making payments and managing spending, and payments can only be made with credit cards. This is why Just Talk’s service will never claim to offer “Unlimited Collect Calls.” While the other service providers are not outright lying, it is Just Talk’s belief that managing communication should be simple and convenient.

Just Talk also allows you to answer as many calls as you would like… as long as you have money in your account. If the facility has restrictions on the number of calls a phone number may accept Just Talk will give you a second number!

What do you think: should Just Talk begin advertising that we provide “Unlimited Collect Calls” too?

Red Rock Correctional Center is owned and operated by Corrections Corporation of America and houses male inmates from California and Hawaii and detainees of the U.S. Marshals Service.

In 2011, The state of Hawaii extended its contract with Corrections Corporation of America to house up to 1,900 prison inmates at private prisons in Arizona. The new contract will hold for 3-years. The Department of Public Safety will now pay CCA $63.85 per inmate per day. This is a one percent increase from the old rate of $63.22 per day.

The housing of prisoners out of state can make rehabilitation difficult for any prisoner. Family members are usually unable to travel the great distances required to visit. Phone calls can only be made collect and the rates for these calls are higher than any traditional phone call. To make matters worse, most households are no longer keeping their landlines and collect calls cannot be answered on cell phones.

For Hawaiian families of inmates in Red Rock and Saguaro, all of these challenges are made even more difficult. The facilities that house their loved ones are 2900 miles away! A visit would require air-travel. Therefore, families are forced to rely on letters and collect calls. But not everyone can answer a collect call...

Enter Just Talk Communications. Just Talk makes it possible for families to answer collect calls on any phone, including cell phones! Calls from Red Rock and Saguaro are also less expensive when using the Just Talk prepaid network. New customers can try the service for free by visiting Just Talk.

At Just Talk we make "Connecting Families with Loved Ones" our mission.

-Jeff Donnelly, Director of Marketing, Just Talk Communications