(BOP) - Effective April 22, 2017, federal inmates will no longer be able to make collect calls to any Verizon landline customers. In a filing to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from July 2016, Verizon decided to discontinue the service for its customers.
Once collect calls are rejected, inmate calls placed to Verizon landlines will receive the standard message that the call cannot be processed unless the called party sets up a prepaid account. Domestic called parties that cannot receive collect calls may continue to contact Value Added Communications (VAC) at 1-800-913-6097 to set up a prepaid account. International called parties may contact VAC by calling 00+1-972-535-0549 to set up a prepaid account.
The Bureau will continue to offer inmates both traditional collect calling and prepaid collect calling capabilities.