“Since at least 2019, it has been GTL’s practice that when a Friends and Family Consumer files a chargeback, GTL may block the recipient of the transaction that was charged back from receiving additional transfers of funds from any consumer who sought to use GTL’s service to transfer funds to that recipient using a debit or credit card.”

💡 This shows the company punished incarcerated people for disputes filed by someone else entirely, forcing families to pay up or leave their loved ones without commissary access.

“Until approximately May 2021, in many cases, GTL required payment of a $25 fee in addition to the chargeback amount to remove the block.”

💡 The company not only demanded repayment of legitimately disputed charges but also tacked on extra fees, turning consumer protection mechanisms into profit opportunities.

“From January 1, 2019 to January 8, 2023, GTL’s and Telmate’s acts and practices described in Paragraphs 47-50 resulted in GTL and Telmate taking approximately $4.2 million from approximately 575,000 Unified Accounts.”

💡 This puts hard numbers on the scope of the alleged theft, showing systematic extraction of millions from over half a million consumer accounts.

“Prior to January 2023, GTL and Telmate typically did not notify the Friends and Family Consumer when their account was deemed inactive, and GTL and Telmate often withdrew the remaining funds from the inactive account without directly notifying the Friends and Family Consumer.”

💡 Consumers had no warning their money would be taken, discovering the loss only when they tried to use funds they had set aside for family communication.

“GTL and Telmate did not adequately notify consumers of this policy and practice. Respondents’ inactivity policy was not disclosed in the ConnectNetwork.com website terms of service prior to June 2021, nor was it disclosed in the Telmate terms of use on the GettingOut.com website until December 2022.”

💡 The company kept the inactivity seizure policy hidden for years, preventing consumers from protecting themselves by periodically logging in or withdrawing funds.

“GTL’s customer service representatives often fail to advise consumers that there may be alternative ways to transfer funds.”

💡 The company systematically failed to help consumers find cheaper deposit options, ensuring they kept paying higher fees out of ignorance.

“Although Respondents disclose the fee applicable to a particular transfer to the Friends and Family Consumer before they complete the transaction, Respondents do not disclose a facility’s complete fee schedule to consumers at any time.”

💡 Consumers saw only the fee for their specific transaction but never learned about alternative channels or amounts that would have cost less, preventing informed choices.

“Consumers who are incarcerated and Friends and Family Consumers cannot reasonably avoid these harms because they did not file the chargebacks that triggered the account block, control whether another consumer files a chargeback after transferring funds to a Trust/Commissary Account, or control Respondents’ account blocking practices.”

💡 The CFPB found families were trapped in a system where they bore all the consequences of disputes filed by others, with no way to protect themselves.

“Through their Unified Accounts and other types of prepaid accounts, GTL and Telmate are usually the only providers of telephone services, online messaging, and video visitation in a specific Correctional Facility.”

💡 This confirms families had no alternative providers to turn to, creating a captive market where the company faced no competitive pressure to maintain fair practices.

“This practice took unreasonable advantage of these consumers because GTL and Telmate zeroed-out the consumers’ account balance and retained those funds for Respondents’ own benefit.”

💡 The CFPB directly labeled the inactivity seizures as taking unreasonable advantage, highlighting how the company profited at consumers’ expense.

“These consumers could not protect their interests in selecting or using GTL’s and Telmate’s Unified Account products or services because GTL and Telmate did not adequately inform these consumers of the inactivity policy or notify them before taking their funds.”

💡 The CFPB found the company deliberately kept consumers in the dark, preventing them from taking simple actions like logging in periodically to preserve their balances.

“Respondents’ account blocking practices cause or are likely to cause substantial injury to consumers whose Trust/Commissary Accounts are blocked as a result of a chargeback filed by a Friends and Family Consumer.”

💡 The Bureau formally found that the blocking practice caused substantial harm, establishing the legal basis for finding the conduct unfair under consumer protection law.

“The substantial injury to consumers caused by Respondents’ account blocking practices is not outweighed by any countervailing benefits to consumers or to competition.”

💡 The CFPB determined there was no legitimate business justification that could excuse the harm inflicted on families and incarcerated individuals.

“In some instances, Friends and Family Consumers filed a chargeback because GTL customer service representatives instructed them to do so when customer service could not resolve a payment issue.”

💡 The company’s own staff told consumers to file chargebacks to resolve problems, then punished them for doing exactly what they were advised to do.

“As a result, Friends and Family Consumers are likely unaware how their selection of payment method, dollar amount deposited, and the channel used to initiate the money transfer will affect the fee they are charged, and without that information they cannot choose to arrange their money-transfer transactions to minimize fees.”

💡 The lack of transparent fee information meant families paid more than necessary and had no way to budget effectively or find cheaper options.