Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/11/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  They took the device back because they said I waited too long to put minutes on it. I have now deposited money for the chirping text message but after saying they would give him the device back once minutes we're put on it, they're now simply ignoring the request.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/18/2024

  Thank you for bringing this to our attention and we
  apologize for the frustration. Unfortunately, we at Inmate Sales, have no
  control over the assigning or unassigning of Chirping devices as this is
  controlled by the policies, procedures, and purview of the facility. Upon our
  investigation, we were able to confirm that the funds from your recent purchase
  have posted successfully to the Inmate’s Chirping account and are available to
  be used once he gets a device assigned to him. At this point, we would recommend
  having the Inmate reach out to jail staff to let them know that he now has
  funds on his Chirping account, and request that he be assigned a Chirping
  device, if he has not yet already done so. If a Chirping device cannot be
  assigned, please call our Customer Service Department at, (702) 829-3001, with
  your transaction information, and we can process a refund for the remaining
  balance on the Chirping account.  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/12/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I paid this company for correspondence with my son they took 30.74 for his tablet and gave it to another inmate who was a girl so i disputed the charges with my credit card they blocked my account and the money i put on there which was an additional 89,58 which he did not get to use. We opened another account to communicate. I called two days ago for a refund of the money still left thats owed they said they dont owe me nothing. They owe me my money they closed my account for no reason BECAUSE they screwed up and now want to keep the rest!

  Business Response

  Date: 02/16/2024

  We have investigated this issue and this customer chose the wrong inmates name at the time of her purchase.  By the time she realized that and called us, the incorrect inmate had already used all of the funds that she had purchased so there was no balance to recover and apply to the correct inmate for her.  It is not our responsibility if someone chooses the incorrect inmate's name at the time of purchase and if the funds are spent there is nothing we can do.  We have explained this to this customer but she refuses to b****ve us.  She has disputed this payment with her bank and the bank has refunded her funds to her and back charged CPC.  She now owes CPC for the disputed refunded funds as well as the associated bank charges.  She has since this started also disputed a few other payments she made to CPC and so now owes us for those payments and associated charges as well as the funds were spent by her son.  Unfortunately, until she pays CPC what she owes there is nothing that we can do to assist her.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/17/2024

  
  
  Complaint: 21272355
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because:They  took the orignal complaint money from the account PLUS all remaining money from the account which was 89.00. I disputed the charges with my card company BECAUSE they took all monies on the account which did not belong to them. Inmate Sales closed that account on my first dispute so the remaining money should have been refunded. You take something that doesnt belong to them.
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  Brenda *****

  Business Response

  Date: 02/20/2024

  Here are the complete results of our investigation.  We do not b****ve this information should be posted for the public to review but this situation is very involved and this is the only way to clarify.  While we sympathize with this customer there is nothing that we can do until she pays back the debt she owes us. 

  On 11/27/2023, Brenda *****
  called us claiming a purchase she made on 11/24/2023 for the product “IEE”,
  which is minutes to be used on a tablet device, did not post. She had made two
  purchases that day on the website, a chirping purchase for Daniel ******, and a
  tablet purchase for Erica ******** ****, both for a total including the
  processing fee of $30.74. We realized that she had intended the purchase to go
  to her son, Daniel ******, but she did not choose the correct inmate.
  Unfortunately, within the time period of when she made the purchase on
  11/24/2023 and when she called us about the purchase, 11/27/2023, Erica ****
  had already used the funds from the purchase in their entirety and we were
  unable to process a refund. Brenda took issue with this, as she b****ves that
  our system chose the wrong inmate, but our system has never, to our knowledge,
  purchased for an inmate that the customer did not click on and submit for, and,
  from our testing, when you type in Daniel, Erica ****’s name shows up since her
  middle name is ********. When we explained how we b****ve this happened, she
  disconnected the call.  
  On
  12/1/2023, we received a fraud dispute on a charge that Brenda made on
  11/24/2023. However, the payment disputed was the purchase she made for her
  son’s chirping account rather than the purchase made for Erica ****’s Tablet
  account. The purchases were made the same day for the same amount, so her
  intention was likely to dispute the tablet purchase. When the payments
  are disputed, we accrue the debt of the disputed charge ($30.74) as well
  as a $30 chargeback fee charged by the credit card company, in this case
  Mastercard, for a total of $60.74. Brenda is responsible for that debt, given
  that the fraudulent charge happened on her account. 
  When an
  account is under fraud investigation with our company, in order to be
  unblocked, the customer would have to settle the debt with us and complete a
  credit card verification in order for their account to be unblocked and for
  them to be able to continue to make purchases, use our products, process
  refunds & transfers, etc. At the time of the dispute, she had $89.44 on her
  Direct Pay (phone time to one phone number) account, so $60.74 was debited from
  that balance to settle the debt on her account due to the dispute, which left a
  remainder of $28.70, but account was still blocked until she completed a credit
  card verification.  
  On
  12/1/2023, Brenda ***** called in, and we explained her situation to her, and
  informed her that she would need to complete a credit card verification in
  order to unblock her account and filled out a credit card verification form
  with her, and at that point, it would be possible to submit a refund for any
  remaining balances not used. She would still need to fax information to our
  secure fax line in order to complete the credit card verification. 
  On
  2/6/2024, Brenda ***** called in upset due to her account not being unblocked,
  and we again explained that while we filled out a credit card verification
  form, she would still need to fax information to our secure fax line. She did
  so later that day, and we unblocked her account later that afternoon, keeping
  the $28.70 on her number available for her to use for phone calls connected to
  her number.

  On
  2/9/2024, Brenda ***** called in for a refund and upset due to us explaining
  that we could only refund remaining balances – the $28.70 – but not the funds
  used to pay back towards the original fraudulent debt on the account – the
  $60.74. She asked for a manager to call her back, but her phone would not allow
  call backs.  

  She
  called in the following day, on 2/10/2014, and we further went into detail.
  While we tried to explain we could still refund the remaining balance, she did
  not agree that she was responsible for the fraudulent debt accrued on her
  account, and did not agree that the $60.47 went to that debt and could not be
  refunded to her. She then claimed that she would be disputing the rest of the
  purchases made on this account.  
  On
  2/13/2024, we received a dispute of other transactions made on her account – a
  Direct Pay (phone time to her phone number) purchase she made on 11/14/2023 for
  $31.92, the aforementioned other transaction made on 11/24/2023 for $30.74, and
  a tablet purchase she made for her son on 11/27/2023 for $30.74, as well as the
  $30 chargeback fees we receive for each disputed purchase. She then had a debt
  accrued on her account due to this fraud of $183.40. We debited the remainder
  of the funds off her phone number – the aforementioned $28.70 – to pay toward
  that debt, so now instead of $183.40, she owes $154.70. No refund can now be
  given for the $28.70, since those funds we applied to her debt.  
  .

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/20/2024

  
  
  Complaint: 21272355
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because:YOU can not charge me more than 30.74. At this point you have made fraudlant charges to me. I will let my credit card decide you can not charge me YOUR FEES because you lost with my credit card. Inmate Sales has no right to take advantage of the public people. I feel this is NOT the first time Consumers were taken advantage!! I will forward this e-mail to my credit card so they can see in your own words how you ripped me off for fees that were on you!
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  Brenda *****

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/30/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My phone number has to been sold to marketers and scammer. I have received acam calls multiple times a day since, November 2023, which is right after I started using the company's website. This is illegal and I want it to stop immediately!

  Business Response

  Date: 01/30/2024

  Due to the nature of our business, we keep all of our websites and apps extremely secured.  We do not currently and have never sold or provided  any of our customers information to any other companies.  If she has set up an account with us to receive calls from an inmate and the calls that she is receiving originate from inmates at one of the jails that we service we can block her number.  For this she will need to contact our customer service department at ************.  While we can understand and sympathize with this customer's irritation, we can guarantee her that we are not responsible for her receiving these types of scam and marketing contacts.  We would encourage her to verify any other companies or purchase websites that she may have provided her information to in the past several months.  For additional information we encourage her to contact our customer service at ************.  Thank you for the opportunity to assist this customer.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/05/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have a friend incarcerated in Boulder. The inmate sales app let me load $50 onto his chirp account so that he could text me. This money does not include the service fee charged by inmate sales of $8.30. The inmate informed me after the fact through his wife that there is no chirp capability in the facility. I called for a refund since clearly if no capability exists, I should never have been able to load the money in the first place. I received a promise of a refund in the amount of $50. However inmate sales rep told me they keep the $8.30 service fee. Which is theft. I purchased something from the app with the understanding the service was availble. If the service wasn’t available in the jail, then inmate sales should not have sold it to me. Then to keep the service fee for a service that was not delivered is theft plain and simple. And to think that the service fee is as high as it is in the first place but then is stolen from customers is just sick. And worse this is being perpetrated on the most vulnerable in our society — family members whose love one is incarcerated. How sick is it that we as Americans lock up more humans than all the rest of the world combined and then we take advantage of their families as well, all in the name of capitalism. This is wrong on so many levels and those working for this company should be ashamed of themselves. I will seek legislative action against this type of robbery so that the service fees are capped to a reasonable level and are not used as a secondary form of punishment against vulnerable families.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/06/2023

  Thank you for the opportunity to investigate this customer's issue.  Upon our investigation, Chirping is available at the Boulder location.  However, for whatever reason the jail has not given the chirp devices to all of the inmates there.  This customer's loved one still does not have a device at the time of our investigation.  His refund request has already been processed for the full amount including the fee and should appear on his bank or credit card statement within a few days.  That depends upon the banking processes.  We do not sell products on our website or app that are not available at the location selected.  However, we cannot control how the various jails distribute the devices needed to the inmates so occasionally this type of situation may happen.  We are always ready to refund payments in full in these instances. Again, thank you for the opportunity to address this customers concern.  We are truly sorry that he experienced this with his loved one.  Hopefully, a device will be eventually given to his loved one so that they can communicate. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/13/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  This website is set up to take payments and then there is no way to access the service. They accepted money from me a month ago, and despite not being used the money has vanished into thin air. They accepted money once again and there is no obvious use for this service either. I downloaded the app thinking that would be more informative but it us set up the same as the website is. This company accepts money for services that are not usable.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/06/2023

  We have tried on numerous occasions to contact this customer but have not been able to reach him.  Upon investigation, we do see funds on his account for calls to his phone number only but the inmate has not attempted to contact him since using the booking phone on 11/16.  The funds are still available should a call be attempted.  We encourage him to contact our customer service at 877-998-5678 to request a refund of the funds if he desires to.  Thank you for the opportunity to address this customers issue.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/30/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I simply want to register with inmatesales.com for an account in order to have video calls with my finance,
  As I am in Australia & my details for example my Australian phone number isn't accepted on the website when I enter it in, so therefore I cannot create an account

  Business Response

  Date: 10/30/2023

  Thank you for sending this customer's issue to us.  Unfortunately, only US phone numbers are able to register for an account for video visitation or any of our services.  We are unable to register non-US international phone numbers.  Regretfully, this customer's only option would be to write a letter and mail it to their loved one if the facility accepts international mail. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/16/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My boyfriend is incarcerated and this inmate sales is the ONLY means of communicating. He's goto my on his account and both times he's tried to call it does aNot Come through it just sends me a notification saying i missed a session. This is absolutely RIDICULOUS I put money on his account for him to call home for his children not to waste while this company decides to steal the money

  Business Response

  Date: 11/01/2023

  Thank you for following up on this customer's issue. Please accept our apology as we had thought that this complaint had already been responded to.  We have investigated this customer's account and found 2 calls that were blocked by her cellular carrier and went directly to busy status.  We attempted to contact her with no success so sent her an email with this information urging her to contact her cell provider.  Upon checking the account again today, she has been successfully receiving calls.  This issue has been resolved.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/02/2023

  Type:Delivery Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  This company has stolen money from me. The way they’ve done this is not deliver over 20 texts that I have paid for out of my own pocket. The inmate I’ve been messaging has said he contacted support and they had said it had something to do with my “connection” or “phone provider” which is COMPLETELY untrue. I’ve called t-mobile to verify if any towers are down & if they’ve received similar complaints of text messages not sending. This is stealing & Im not going to stand for it. If this continues to be an issue I will be moving forward as this is FRAUD.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/17/2023

  We have attempted on three different occasions to contact this customer but have been unsuccessful.  As this customer has already been advised, there is on ongoing issue with various cell phone providers where they are not allowing some messages to go through.  We are still working with them at this time to try to get the issue resolved but have no timeframe for resolution at this point.  Until the cell phone providers resolve their issue, there is no known resolution date but when this is resolved we will let our customers know.  Unfortunately, we have no control over the cell phone companies.  We are happy to refund the unused balance remaining on the customer's account.  We encourage her to contact our customer support line at 877-998-5678 for further assistance.

  Thank you for the opportunity to address this customers issue.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/11/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My loved one is incarcerated and I spend hundreds on chirp, calls, video calls and tablet in the last 7 weeks and the service is poor. Cuts in and out, drops calls, can’t hear, super static in the background. And all the while u are paying for this at premium prices. They should supply a premium service for the cost we the family have to pay.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/23/2023

  Thank you for the opportunity to investigate this customers issue.  We have investigated this customers calls and visits and have found no issues with the equipment at the jail.  All calls were clear on that end.  However, we did notice that on her end there were issues when she was walking around the house etc.  This is due to the cell phone service and we have no control over that.  We encourage her to find the place in her residence where she can get the best reception and remain in that location for the duration of her calls and visits.  For any further questions our customer service number is ************.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/25/2023

  
  
  Complaint: 20580002
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because: the only calls I have issues with is from Inmate sales. It doesn’t matter where I am at at home or anywhere else for that matter it is poor service on their part. Many other people have the same complaint. And furthermore exactly how do they know what I am doing when I am on my phone in my home?? I see this as an excuse to give subpar services to people that have no other choice but use them. I spend thousands and want services worth that price. 
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  Tina ******

  Business Response

  Date: 09/26/2023

  We are sorry that this customer is experiencing issues with our services.  As a courtesy, we have reviewed her visits again and as stated previously, the facility side of the visit is fine and stable.  The issue is on the customers side.  This customer is walking around and/or driving while the visit is connected which causes the cellular signal to be less stable as it travels between towers or experiences differences in signal strength due to surroundings fluctuating.  We have no control over the cellular network airwaves.  If the customer remains in one location during the visit, the signal should be more stable and she should experience much better connection. If she continues to move about while connected on a visit, the signal will continue to fluctuate and she will continue to experience issues.   For any additional help we suggest she contact our customer service support at ************.  Thank you for the opportunity to address this issue.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/10/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I sent a screen shot of atleast 2 days that I know of that I set up a video visitation and was unable to even connect to him for one minute. But the amount came out of my remaining balance. I'm not sure what I'm suppose to do about that? The calls are already outrageous I don't want to be loosing money when there's issued with connecting with the inmate.
  Thanks for your time
  Tiffany *****
  **********

  Business Response

  Date: 07/22/2023

   

  We have attempted to contact this customer to try to troubleshoot and resolve the reported issue however have been unsuccessful in reaching her.  We ask that she call our Video Visit Customer Service at ************ so that we may further assist her.  Thank you for the opportunity to address this customer issue.