Prisoners' Rights Advocates Want FCC to Cap Ancillary Fees on Inmate Calls
The FCC should rule it has authority to impose caps in ancillary fees for inmate calls because they can't be jurisdictionally segregated between interstate and intrastate calls, advocates said in filings posted through Monday in docket 12-375. Worth Rises, the…
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Prisoner Policy Institute and others jointly want quick action due to a "record of rampant abusive charges" by inmate calling service providers. They questioned ancillary fees including for automated payment, live agent, third-party financial transaction and paper bill, saying the charges can increase the costs of phone calls from inmates as much as 40%. "If the Commission does not sustain its previous actions to rein in excessive ICS ancillary service charges, ICS providers will simply return to their old habits, exacting the same outsized payments through different, evolving mechanisms and loopholes," said Pay Tel Communications. Securus doesn't "believe the Commission can reach any conclusion regarding the application of these caps as a generic matter," it said, "since the jurisdiction of any given payment transaction depends on the specific circumstances." Global Tel*Link argued against a one-size-fits-all approach.