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:05/27/2025

  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.

  Smart inmate is a horrible service, the company refuses to fix their equipment but yet its still charging everybody full price and keeping money. That company chooses not to fix any of the equipment nor does anything to improve the service, no matter how many times you call.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/27/2025

  If there are service issues with equipment that needs to be repaired and/or replaced, we have a dedicated team to address these issues in the field. This is coordinated between facility administrators and our field services team - the facility has a dedicated process to contact the appropriate department to report any service issues regardless of the nature of said issues, and once reported the issues are triaged for resolution. If you are referring to calls you have placed into customer service, I was able to locate one instance several weeks ago when there was a matter escalated to the call center's management team by the *** you spoke with, and it was then escalated to the technical support team internally. The particular devices reported at the time were having network connectivity issues that did not require physical repairs and has since been resolved. After reviewing several of your most recent visits, I am showing that you are using a cell phone to connect for the visit. As you have been informed via responses to the two support tickets ( ***214 and ***082) you have submitted via ********************************'s "Contact Us" option, cell phone usage is not recommended as we cannot guarantee you will have a stable connection using a mobile device such as a cell phone or tablet. If you do experience issues and feel as though you may have been charged for longer than connected, you may contact customer service 24/7 at ************ to review your account with you for the date/time of the visit provided to them. Thank you

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/20/2025

  Type:Customer Service 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 placed $20 into my account to be able to use their services and this smartinmate system is a joke. They dont help you or the person in jail to communicate. The inmate has no idea they have money in their account and they dont know they need to log into the account as they dont know they have access if they was to log in. Not all inmates are smart as others and this company dont inform the inmates they have money to talk to others . They ( smartinmate) should send a paper letter out or find a solution to inform them (inmate) other then login onto a computer., some people have no idea how to even access a tablet or computer

  Business Response

  Date: 05/20/2025

  The funds deposited were for a Prepaid Account associated with your personal phone number and does not belong to any particular incarcerated individual. The inmate would not be able to see this balance when accessing the SmartInmate platform via the provided tablets and/or kiosks as it does not belong to them. Should this inmate attempt to place a Prepaid Collect call to your phone number you have deposited the funds for, you would be able to accept. Smart Communications provides the services though we are not liable for initiating contact between yourself and the individual you wish to communicate with. If there is a time that funds are deposited directly to the inmate, they will have the ability to see their funds when logged into their Smart account on the kiosks/tablets that are provided. I do show that you have attempted to send a connection request to the inmate - should they accept, you would be able to send messages to them via ******************************** after purchasing credits to do so. Thank you. Have a great day. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/09/2025

  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.

  Put money on the pre paid yo get phone calls but my sister was moved to another facility with different type of communication I just need the money back.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/20/2025

  Good Afternoon,

  Your account was located based on the information provided in your complaint. Your payment has been refunded and will reflect on the card used for payment. Please allow 3-5 business days for the transaction to be reflected as this can vary by financial institution. There was no record of you requesting a refund of the deposit and it not being honored whether by using the "Contact Us" option available at ********************************, or by speaking with a CSR via our 24/7 **************** call center.  Should you use our services in the future and find yourself in need of assistance again, please contact our customer service department at ************ so that we can offer resolution versus submitting your issue through the BBB. Any complaint submitted to the Better Business Bureau reflects negatively on our company, and it is ideal that a complaint not be submitted for issues that were not brought to our attention and would have been addressed in a timely manner. Thank you. Have a great day. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/04/2025

  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.

  9/11/2024-03/03/2025 Smart Communications is a company citizens use to keep in contact with incarcerated individuals, however its not. The phones in the facility havent been working for several months and the company has yet to fix it. Numerous complaints have been made my self included about issues with the devices they provide inmates with. The number one issues is the operator not recognizing 1 for the person receiving the call to press 1. This issues has been ongoing for 6 months and they are aware of the issues . The customer **** arent knowledgeable of the issue and each representative gives you different issues. Ive been told several time that a technician was working to resolve the issue but for 6 months? Ive spend well over a $2000 between the time of this complaint up until my love was incarnated and to not be able to talk to your love one whos already in a stressful situation not be able to communicate with the outside world ; wife, kids, loved one is absolutely ridiculous. Although they return the money when the call fails its a headache and even more stressful when you call for assistance and they **** working does absolutely nothing . They give you the runaround and claim they sent emails to these so called techs. They also make you call your phone provider which *** verified several times its not my phone provider its this company. Ive spent my hard earned money to talk to my loved one thru this company who cant come up with a resolution in 48 hours to resolve the issue.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/17/2025

  This issue was escalated on Sat 3/1 and was resolved on Tue 3/4. The issue was that the **** tone necessary to connect the call was not being put off by the receiving party's device. This is a known and common issue experienced by experienced by ********/********* customers. This was escalated to a 3rd party vendor (carrier services) to resolve as this was a carrier to carrier issue and not an issue that Smart Communications was able to resolve as the issue did not originate within our systems. *************************** attempted to reach the complainant to confirm resolution and as to my last knowledge on 3/4 they were not able to make contact. It was confirmed via call attempt records that the consumer was able to connect to their calls. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/17/2025

   
  Complaint: 23016442
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  No one contacted me back to tell me the issue was resolved, the call dropped and no other attempt was made to contact me. I still have money with smart communication because I was unable to accept calls, my loved one has now been shipped off to prison. 
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* *******

  Business Response

  Date: 03/17/2025

  No further action or response required. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/30/2024

  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 added $10 to a prepaid account for a video visit - tried to visit could not - had to add more money to visit - added the 10 on ***** couldn't do visit - added $10 to the phone account - and it posted - had to add $10 more on ***** for a video visit - contacted customer service by email and was told it was added to my account - emailed back stating it was because I could not do the video visit without having to add more money to the account - got email back saying yes it was added - advised it was not - got email stating to contact customer service if I had any questions - Ticket number ******- got absolutely no service at all

  Business Response

  Date: 01/09/2025

  The ticket number referenced has been reviewed. The primary concern in regards to the deposits you made and whether the deposits posted to the respective account or not was addressed in the ticket. You made two payments on 12/23/2025, each being for a different type of account. You were dissatisfied that the second payment made on 12/23 did not post to your Prepaid account, and the reason is because is was not a Prepaid Account deposit - this was addressed in the ticket. At the time of the correspondence, the changes to how visitations are billed were just being placed into effect and there was a temporary issue that affected the visitation in regards to registering the amount available on the Prepaid accounts in addition to the real time balance being available to view online. The issues with visitation were separate from the matter of whether or not the deposits posted to the proper account. Ticket ****** has been re-opened and a follow up will be provided shortly. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/12/2024

  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.

  Nature of the Complaint:I am filing this complaint regarding the services provided by Smart Communications, specifically their inmate calling services.Problem Description:For several months, I have been unable to receive calls from my loved one who is an inmate. Despite numerous attempts to contact Smart Communications' customer service and report the issue, the problem has not been resolved. Each time I reach out, I am reassured that the issue will be fixed, but no action has been taken, and the issue persists.Desired Outcome:I am seeking a prompt resolution to this issue. Specifically, I want Smart Communications to ensure that I can receive calls from my loved one without further interruption. Additionally, I would like compensation for the months of service during which I was unable to receive calls.*****************************

  Business Response

  Date: 08/12/2024

  Good Afternoon,

  The first record of reported issues being escalated on your behalf by a CSR was on 8/9; there were no support tickets submitted affiliated with your online account via  the "Contact Us" option at smartinmate.com. There has been a recent issue occur with customers using TMobile/Metro/Boost as a phone provider; limited information was provided as to when this may have began for you though we have had several reports over the past few weeks from various customers. The intermittent issues occurring do not lie with the Smart Communications services and have to be escalated to 3rd party carrier services for resolution. With this being the first business day since your complaint was submitted on 8/9, this had not been put into the queue. Your information submitted is pending review which requires reviewing the call records to your phone number amongst other factors. Once the findings have been compilated we will reach out to you directly via email to advise of what was officially submitted on your behalf. Thank you
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/23/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore 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.

  On June 22, 2024, I made payment for telephone services. I used my **** of America credit card. On that same date, Smart Communications billed my credit card twice for $23.00 each time (total of $46.00).I have contacted the company multiple times by both email and telephone. The company never responds to any of my communications. The company promises to call back - they don't. The company advises to "stay on the line" with my telephone call but no one ever answers.According to many other complaints, this appears to be a common practice of this company.Help is needed to have this company perform better service to customers and to stop double billing.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/24/2024

  Good Afternoon,

  I have reviewed our ticketing system as well as our inbound call report. There is no record of your phone number provided calling into our call center between 6/1/2024 to 7/24/2024. I only show one support ticket submitted on 7/14/2024 which is the same ticket as the file you attached (ticket # ******).The phone number searched was ************, the same number you listed on this BBB complaint and on your ticket submitted. In regards to the payments you made, there is no evidence of you being "double billed". You made 3 payments total from your online account at smartinmate.com on 6/22. We do not keep card numbers on file for there to be any automatic/recurring payments. On 6/22, you made a total payment of $105.95 at 11:37 am which was a $100 trust deposit (fee was $5.95) as well as two payments for $20 totaling $23 each after the $3 payment fee was applied - one was at 11:31 am for a Prepaid Collect deposit (your phone number) and the other at 4:50 pm for a PIN Debit deposit for the inmate you are connected with. Considering the fact that the two $23 payments were made at different times as well as for different products, this is not a case of Smart Communications double billing your card used and no action would be required by Smart in regards to these transactions you made independently using our website. I have also issued a response to ticket ****** so that you may correspond directly to me should you have any additional comments or concerns to address. Thank you. Have a great day. 
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/25/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

  However, I recommend that the Business should implement an on-line historical record of all transactions so users can confirm their charges.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/18/2024

  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.

  We received collect phone call from my brother on my mother phone at 4am 6/15/24Saturday morning. My mother phone carrier doesnt accept collect calls. He continued to call . We were able to hear the jail facility he was calling from. I being nervous and sleepy went online to that facility website to see if this was truly my younger brother calling from ********. He was identified on the jail facility website but had no arrest reason. We living in *********** so the only thing I could do was call that jail house facility. They couldnt tell us anything over the phone and explain to me that I could get him to answer the tablet/phone service that he was given by setting up account with ********************** communication. It will allow me to talk directly to him. I went to do just so. As I was creating the account my phone was in and out of service, do to the fact I live in a very rural area. Being scared, upset, sleepy and nervous I continue to try to find out what was going on with my baby brother. I was able to setup account with ********************** communication but it wasnt the correct one it only allowed me to text him. I called the customer service and thats how I found out i did it incorrectly. I asked could I change it to the calling section and I was told I couldnt. I also had some how selected a 100 dollars thinking it was 10 dollars.My daughter called back and the lady told her once he released I would get funds back to me. He was released yesterday 6/17/24 Monday went in 6/15/24 Saturday . I called on that Monday after his release to see when i will receive my remaining balance and I was told it was none refundable. I asked him so you guys just keep my money . He said it will remain on this account and i can use it again when he gets locked back up. I just want the money that wasnt used. It is over 90 dollars. That I can use it when he goes back as if he is in an out of jail was uncalled for. I even asked if I can dispute with my bank and he said no. Rude customer service.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/10/2024

  The transaction in question was refunded to the consumer when the original complaint was received. It appears at the time there was not a response issued via the BBB complaint despite resolution being reached. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/22/2024

  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.

  On May 1, 2024 I deposited $80 cash into a kiosk at the ********* re entry facility in *********, **********. The kiosk is owned by smart communications. According to the facility and the inmate, that deposit never appeared to the account. I called ********************************************* for an update and they told me that they see the deposit and should be there, they also told me that it was probably the facilitys fault that the money wasnt in the account. After many attempts to figure out what happened to the deposit I asked smart communications for a refund and they keep giving me the run around and not really saying much. They say they dont have an update. 3 weeks later and I still dont have the money or information.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/22/2024

  Good Afternoon,

  Ticket number 786256 was submitted on the evening of 5/21 and was responded to this morning (5/22) and escalated to me to review. I was able to view the attached receipts and will correspond with you via the ticket you submitted. Thank you.

   

  Kindest Regards,
  *********************************
  Support Manager
  Smart Communications 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/23/2024

   
  Complaint: 21742947
  
  I am rejecting this response because: This is the same response other customer service reps have been giving me for weeks and I simply cannot wait for my refund. It is not my problem that the funds got lost in transition through the kiosk. It is not my problem your system is not reliable. You now have a duty as business to refund my money after almost a month of nothing being resolved through your unreliable system. Your company having this issue with ********* administrative is not my problem, I used your services and you alone are responsible for refunding my money. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************************

  Business Response

  Date: 05/23/2024

  Good Afternoon,

  While we do have to work cohesively at times, our customer service call center is managed separately from the support department which is managed by myself. This BBB submission as well as the support ticket you submitted simultaneously is the first I have heard of this issue. While I understand your frustration entirely, I am working this issue for you as I have already reached out to the facility directly and am working with them in regards to this issue. Thank you for your patience while we get this matter resolved for you. Again, further correspondence will be handled through your support ticket submitted. Have a great day. 

  Best Regards,

  *********************************
  Support Manager 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/31/2024

  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 want to know why in the world if you can make this old software for jails, why can you not be able to tell if they are getting your messages when you have credits for both parties already on here. It is ridiculous how your supervisors buy into this crappy software when you cannot meet the needs of the people.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/31/2024

  The purpose of the credits is to pay for the message and has no correlation to whether or not said messages are read by the recipient. If the message was successfully sent, it is visible in your "SENT" message folder which means the message was successfully delivered in the system. If at any point you have any questions about services offered by Smart Communications, please feel free to contact our customer service staff 24/7 at ************. Thank you. Have a great day.