The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has taken action against Global Tel Link Corporation (GTL) for taking millions from more than half a million accounts and blocking money transfers for incarcerated people, who needed money for essential items like food and medicine in prison.

“Global Tel Link took advantage of incarcerated people and their families, taking their money and preventing them from receiving the money transfers needed to pay for basic necessities,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra.

“Incarcerated people, as well as their families and friends, often have no choice in whether or not to use these products and are exploited by companies that abuse their monopoly power to increase their own profits,” he said. he declared.

The CFPB orders GTL to cease these practices, reimburse $2 million to those affected, and pay a $1 million fine.

GTL, which provides services such as money transfers to incarcerated people, often froze accounts when a chargeback was filed, even if the incarcerated person was not responsible. The company also withdrew money from inactive accounts without notice and hid some transfer fees from consumers.

The CFPB order requires GTL to reimburse affected consumers, stop blocking accounts, stop withdrawing funds from inactive accounts, and be transparent about all fees.

About GTL

GTL is a Virginia-based company doing business as ViaPath Technologies. Its wholly-owned subsidiaries include California-based Telmate, LLC and Texas-based TouchPay Holdings, LLC.

The companies contract with correctional facilities across the United States to provide various products and services, including money transfer services, to incarcerated individuals and their families and friends.

Friends and family use these services to deposit money into an incarcerated person’s account, and these funds can then be used to pay for items in the correctional facility’s commissary. GTL and Telmate also offer accounts to pay for phone services, online messaging and video visits.

GTL is often the only provider of money transfer services in the correctional facilities where it operates.

It has a “no refund” policy for money transfers, with a few exceptions, making it difficult for friends and family to resolve errors such as duplicate transactions or funds sent to the wrong type of account.

As a result, these consumers may file chargebacks with their own financial institutions in an attempt to recover their funds. In some cases, GTL’s own customer service representatives ask consumers to file chargebacks. In response, GTL in many cases blocks the incarcerated person’s account from receiving additional credit or debit card transfers until someone refunds the chargeback amount and, in some cases in the past, additional costs.