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A newly lodged Bell Canada prison calls class action lawsuit claims the phone company charged excessive fees for calls in and out of prisons.
According to the lead plaintiff, and Ontario resident represented by Sotos Class Actions, Bell Canada is the sole provider of telephone services in correctional facilities in the province. The Bell prison calls class action lawsuit alleges that since 2013 the company has been charging “unconscionable telephone service rates” for incoming and outgoing calls to the correctional facilities.
The plaintiff says that he was incarcerated in several Ontario correctional facilities and that his family could not afford to receive calls from him due to the fees charged by Bell Canada. In addition, his access to legal services were also limited by Bell’s phone fees.
“Taking advantage of its exclusive control over the [Offender Telephone Management System], Bell gave Ontario Prisoners one option, and one option only: place collect calls to landlines at exorbitant and improvident prices extracted from anyone who had to accept the calls,” alleges the Bell prison calls class action.
The plaintiff further claims that Bell Canada falsely represented its rates to those who called from Ontario correctional facilities. The class action lawsuit alleges that Bell represented to incarcerated people and their families that call rates would be no higher than regular residential rates. However, according to the complaint, one 20-minute call could cost over $30. Calls out of the facilities are allegedly required to be collect calls, so prisoners’ families and loved ones are often stuck with the bill.
“Making prisoners’ phone calls to the outside world prohibitively expensive puts a financial and emotional strain on the prisoners and their families,” stated the lawyer for the plaintiff, according to Cision. “It is grossly unfair because it isolates prisoners, inhibits rehabilitation and contributes to anxiety and depression. Bell Canada’s commitment to promoting awareness of mental health issues rings hollow in light of this practice”
According to the class action lawsuit, mental illness rates for those in correctional facilities is much higher than suffered by members of the general population. The high rate of mental illness makes communication with friends and family members of vital importance to incarcerated people.
The Bell Canada prisoner calls class action lawsuit seeks to represent current and former incarcerated people who made collect calls from an Ontario correctional facility, as well as the people who accepted and paid for those calls.
The plaintiff is seeking compensation for the allegedly exorbitant call rates charged by Bell Canada, including $1.52 million in general and statutory damages and $10 million in punitive, exemplary, and aggravated damages.
The proposed Bell Canada prisoner calls class action lawsuit was filed on Feb. 5, 2020 and will need to be certified by the court to proceed.
Did you make or accept a collect call from an Ontario correctional facility? Did you find the charges excessive? Tell us your story in the comments below.
The plaintiff and proposed Class are represented by Mohsen Seddigh and Tassia K. Poynter of Sotos LLP.
The Bell Canada Prison Calls Class Action Lawsuit is John Doe v. Bell Canada, Case No. CV-20-00635778-00CP, in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Canada.
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20 thoughts onBell Canada Faces Class Action Over ‘Exorbitant’ Fees for Prison Calls
Still accepting the collect calls to this date. You come to a harsh choice of supporting someone u love in there..especially right now when we can’t have visits, or supporting yourself. We barely have any contact because of the amount of phones vs inmates. Its just a disaster and def not helping the already crisised mental health system and the people suffering. It’s also not easy on us put here. My anxiety is crazy right now. I miss my partner n never know when I will see or here from him or if we.can afford the calls. Shame on bell for profiting off others misfortunes.
I’ve been dealing with this for 2 years now… Thousands spent. Half the time, the call gets dropped, too.
Yes i had my boycfiend and don in at dsme time and couldent afforef to get calld i got calls at the end of the month and they were cut short my son was having a hard timw his first time in he was being hurt and couldent get ahold of me now hes terrified to do anything outside the home in fear of going back he is now working wirh teripest
i was billed $880.00 my first billing and $550.00 second billing> my son is in jail again. I’m trying to keep calls limited and looking for a cheaper solution. I spoke with my provider which is Roger, they told me that they are billed through Bell as it is their pay phone that the calls are made from.
Suggestion: call2talk.com, if it’s long distance. (it saved us!)
Get trapline. It’s pay as you go service. Good luck.
So, after being told it was a straight $3.95 cent charge with NO long distance by Patrick Quataros in the Philippines on Oct 1, 2020 at 11:20 am, I received my first two charges that were 25 and 27 $$ I called back three times this morning. Was left on hold for over an hour and then hung up on, called again and I was not rude, just trying to get my story across, and hung up on!! Please add me to this lawsuit. I have two more calls I accepted and am not sure if those charges yet. I was told by Tbaytel they are charging me approximately 1.33 per minute!! BS! My kids better not be a gift less this Christmas because I now have $100+ dollars for 4 yes, FOUR phone calls! The calls were from Kenora jail to my landline in Thunder Bay.
My bill for 3 wks was over $900 and that was on evenings and weekends when they said it would be cheaper. My common law husband is in Kenora jail and I know that my bills will be higher now. Only if they had cheaper rates so he could talk to his son more often
How much was each call? My brother is in Kenora Jail right now. I called Bell yesterday after the first call to find out the cost of each call. I told them my brother was calling me in Thunder Bay from the Kenora Jail. He put me on hold and came back a few minutes later and said the costs were 3.95 per call. I asked if it was just the one rate or if there would be long distance charges, he told me it was the one fee. I accepted one more call and told him he can only call me once a week because I can’t afford and more than that. I’m waiting to call tbaytel next week to see if the charges are on there and exactly how much they are. (They weren’t on after the calls yesterday) I’m hoping only 3.95 per call and will be extremely upset if it’s more because over $4 a call with tax is ridiculously high for a 20 minute call. He only gets a $20 calling card from the jail, which runs out in the first day or two and you can’t buy another one. This needs to be fixed and fast. My brother has mental health issues and needs his family during this time. I know he’s there for a reason but it shouldn’t be made a financial burden to his family. I wrote down the name, date and time of the person I spoke to at Bell as well.
i have paid a few thousand dollars when friends needed to call my phone and get redirected through 3 way calling because i was the only one they knew with a land line……with bell you wouldn’t know how much it was until you got the bill.
was charged $20 for a call when a family member calledl collect. please enter me inthis classa ction suit thanks
My ex plus my dad was in together I had no landline so they kept calling my mother’s phone anyways in a month the bill was almost 1500
I spent hundreds of dollars per month on expensive bell Canada collect calls!
during incarceration of my relative. Please add me as class member claiment.
I was incarcerated at central north correctional centre for approx 2 months. I called my fiancé through the bell system, after 1 month my bill was over 1,100.00 and another bill (from my friend) was 650.00. I was charged 30.00/ 20 min call. Prior to going to CNCC I was in the Thunder Bay District Jail for 4.5 mths and paid 1.00/ 20 min call using the same bell system. There were no rates posted anywhere at either facility and I didn’t have the option to call a bell operator to get rates- calls were not accepted. I now have to pay more than $2,000.00 in bell charges- I make $1,110.00/ mth on disability and also have rent to pay plus utilities. I currently have the CTCC looking into it but would like to talk to someone in your firm as I can send you copies of my bills and discuss it further.
I spent hundreds of dollars a per month on expensive bell Canada collect calls!