Families of incarcerated individuals are suing correctional telecom companies alleging price-fixing and lies about fees resulting in the exorbitant costs of prisoner phone calls.

Prison telecom companies typically charge between $9.99 or $14.99 for a 10 to 15 minute call. These cost are prohibitive for prisoners and their families, and as alleged in the lawsuit have been illegally established by the telecom companies.

Route Fifty reports:

The lawsuit, which was filed in Maryland, names Global Tel Link, or GTL, and Securus Technologies, as defendants. The two companies are the largest correctional telecom companies in the country, controlling 80% of the market. The complaint alleges that officials with the two businesses secretly met and engaged in price fixing—wherein competing companies agree to set the same price for services—in violation of federal antitrust laws.

The lawsuit further accuses Securus and GTL of lying to state and local governments, as well as consumers, about the cost of the transaction fee associated with the call.

For more information:

Families of Prisoners Sue Over High Cost of Phone Calls (Route Fifty)