Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/02/2025

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On July 1st video calls rates went up all the way to .50 per minute which is almost 8$ per phone call. This goes against FCC regulations stating the max charge is 26 cents per minute for video call at the Chickasaw Regional Correctional facility this is impossible for most of us working individuals with loved ones In the systemCity tele coin needs to reevaluate their system as it going against FCC REGULATIONS

  Business Response

  Date: 07/17/2025

  In response to a complaint filed by Ms. ******** ****** case # ******** where she states that she is unhappy with the rates at Chickasaw Regional Correctional facility in Mississippi.

  We would like to bring this matter to a close as quickly as possible. 

  CityTeleCoin Inc is an inmate communication service for inmates to be able to contact their loved ones. In Ms. ******** complaint she stated that since the first of July 2025 the fees have gone up to $0.50 per minute for the video 

  visits. The FCC made a new order effective July 1, 2025 allowing CityTeleCoin to continue to charge the rates and fees at the facilities we had previously charged. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused Ms. ******. But CityTeleCoin have not gone against FCC REGULATIONS.

  We apologize for any misunderstanding in regards to this new order allowed by the FCC.

   Thank you,

  ***** *****

   

   

             

   

   

   

   

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/22/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have been trying to get my account deactivated and all my messages be removed !! But for some reason it won't allow me to delete my account

  Business Response

  Date: 06/23/2025

   In response to the complaint number ******** wherein Mrs ******* ******** where she stated that she is upset that she is unable to delete her account with CityTeleCoin. We would like to bring this matter to a close. We are an inmate communication service that inmates are able to communicate with their loved ones. In Mrs. ******** complaint she stated that she is upset that she is unable to deactivate her account. Unfortunately she is not going to be able to be deleted her account. When our customers are no longer using our services, their accounts are just inactive. Any messages are unable to be deleted. Customer's information is never given out. Whoever calls in must have customers information to be able to even see the name on the account. No information about messages are ever given out. The only way to obtain that information would be with a subpoena. CityTeleCoin apologizes for any miscommunication that occurred. But we are unable to deactivate Mrs. ********'s account.

  Thank you,

  ***** *****

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/07/2025

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  City tel coin is an inmate communication system were families can keep in contact. I put money on my account about a week ago which included the ability to message and do video calls. I try to send my brother a message yesterday and it says I don't have the funds to send in a message..I have over 17 dollars on my account .when I put money on the account it was for Video AND messaging. Now I see that option had been taken away and I have to add more money to be tablet time in order to send a message. This is wrong..They are blaming on the FCC making changes..That's fine but when I added money it was for messages as well. Now your telling me I can't message my brother?? How is this legal? I put money in for messaging and you can just say we are making changes, . You have to add more money. They will not transfer part of my balance to messaging even though that's what I paid for. They even charge 2 dollars and month as a statement fee which is ridiculous..there is no option to turn that off. I don't need a statement but yet I'm charged for it.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/08/2025

  In response to a complaint filed by ****** ******* case number ******** wherein the customer stated that she is not happy with some of our recent changes that have been made. I see that Mrs. ******* had $17.00 on her account, so she could message and video chat her brother. We have recently changed how some of the services work, and the messaging is one of the changes that were made. We do apologize that Mrs. *******'s account was impacted by those changes with the messaging service, but it did not impact the video chats. We are unable to make any adjustments to this account. As for the statement fee, the customer has to agree to the terms and conditions. Mrs ******* was made aware of the statement fee and did agree to the terms and conditions.

  We apologize for and inconvenience that this may have caused, but these are our company policies. 

  Thank you,

  ***** *****

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/02/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  April 1st City Telecoin changed the way they handled messaging with inmates of jails. Previously, it had been handled under phone accounts which also handles video visits and phone calls. Now it is placed under tablet time. This makes no sense, tablet time is for entertainment, the phone account is for communications, messaging is communications. It is an unnecessary added expense to those wishing to communicate with loved ones.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/04/2025

  In response to a complaint filed by ***** ****** case number ******** wherein Mr. ****** stated that he is upset about the recent changes that CityTeleCoin has made. We would like to bring this matter to a close. We are a communication service for inmates in jail. In Mr. ******'s complaint he states that he is upset with the inmates having to have money on their Media to be about to send messages to and from to the customer. CityTeleCoin apologizes for the inconvenience these changes have caused, but the FCC has made some adjustments. With these changes in place CityTeleCoin will no longer allow messaging to be taken from the customers phone and video accounts. The customer has the option to add funds to the inmates Media/Tablet time, so they can send and receive messages. No funds for the messages will be taken from the customers account.

  CityTeleCoin apologizes for and inconvenience this may have cause, but these are our new policies.

  Thank you,

  ***** *****

   

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/17/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I had spent 22 dollars for my step son that was in jail. Well he ended up getting bonded out so none of that money was used..not one time . I have asked for a refund but instead each month I get a statement saying how much is left on the account( and there's a fee of 2.00 each month they send that out) so now there's only 7.00 in the account and they will not give me a refund!! I've never in my life used this place... And 22 dollars added to begin with and now it's at 7.00 I just want my dang money back. All of it

  Business Response

  Date: 03/18/2025

  In response to a complaint filed by ***** ***** case number ******** wherein she states that she has requested a refund, and we would like to bring this matter to a close. We are a inmate communication service for inmates to be able to communicate with their loved ones. In Mrs. ***** complaint she stated that she had been trying to get a refund. I have reviewed this account and I do see that Mrs. ***** did call in and request her money to be refunded in February and again in March. But she was upset because she was unable to get all of her money back. I did refund the money back totaling $13.22. I was able to give her the $2.00 statement fee's for February and March. Mrs. ***** did agree to the terms and conditions before her payment was processed. The payment was made by ******* ******, so the refund was sent back to Mr. ******** card ending in 4249

  We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

  Thank you,

  ***** *****
  
  ************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/19/2025

  
  
  Complaint: ********
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because: Yes it's for inmates and loved ones to talk. We spent 22.00 dollars and not once did we use your service or talk to our loved one. . I get refunded 13 dollars but not the amount paid ? I could understand if I had used the service or even tried to..
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  ***** *****

  Business Response

  Date: 03/20/2025

  In response to the customer ***** ***** case number ******** where I do see that the customer did in fact reject the initial response. I did refund the total amount back to the customer as a courtesy. The total amount refunded will total $22.65.

  We would like to apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. 

  Thank you,

  ***** *****

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/21/2025

  
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  ***** *****

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/25/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I was charged twice for tablet time when I only made one purchase of $30. This is the second time this has happened to me. Not only did they not take care of it the first time but they did not resolve this time either. The agent was understanding & even gave me suggestions but I know for a fact I closed out the tab as soon as I made payment to avoid being charged for a SECOND time. This is unacceptable and it feels like this company is illegally charging accounts without refunding customers. I asked for a refund since inmate did not use the second tablet time purchase yet and they said no. How can this company charge my account two hours later for the same purchase and get away with it not only once but two incidents within 6 months. This is outrageous and I feel I should have been given a refund for the second purchase that was made by their website not me.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/18/2025

  In response to the complaint filed by ********** ******* case number ******** wherein she stated that she was double charged for a $30.00 payment. We would like to bring this matter to a close. We are a inmate communication service for inmate to be able to communicate with their loved ones. In Mrs. ******* complaint she stated that she was double charged, we have gone over this account and did find that Mrs. ******* was not double charged. She made two payments over a two hour period. Her payments were made from two different IP addresses. She was informed of the confusion, and Mrs. ******* paid the fraud charge that was owed to CityTeleCoin and stated that she understood what happened.

  We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.

  Thank you,

  ***** *****

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/18/2025

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  ********** *******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/13/2025

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Basically I would like to know how someone can get away with extorting someone in other words or either racketeering or whatever you want to call it when you put $15 on their books and they charge $6 in taxes that's insane that should be illegal because if you can't do that anywhere else but in jail to people then it really should be illegal cuz you're paying on the week so something needs to be written up in something on this one this is insane

  Business Response

  Date: 02/05/2025

  This letter is in response to a complaint filed with the Better Business Bureau by ***** ******** (Re: Case #********) wherein Mr. ******** states that he is not happy with our services. We would like to bring a close to this matter as quickly as possible.
  
      We are an inmate communication company.  We provide services in jails for the inmates to communicate with their loved ones. In Mr. ********'s complaint he states that he is unhappy with the taxes and fees that are being charged for services. We always make sure that everyone understands all policies and taxes and fees before anything is taken from the customer’s credit card. All of CTC's taxes and fees are regulated by the FCC. Again, we offer our sincerest apologies if there was any misunderstanding
  

   

  Thank you,

  ***** ********
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/04/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Putting 20 dollars on inmate media account results in just a little over 10.00 to the inmate account. This is taking advantage of people. Also a unanswered call takes 50 cent from inmate phone account. I believe this is taking advantage of people really badly.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/11/2024

  In response to a complaint filed by ***** ***** case number ********, stating that he paid $20.00 for an inmate to have media time and only received $10.70 in available time. Before any payment can be completely processed, the customer must agree to the terms and conditions. Also Mr. ***** stated that an unanswered call still takes $0.50 from their balance. CityTeleCoin Inc does not take any funds from any account unless the call is connected between the inmate and the customer.

   

  We apologize that Mr. ***** is unhappy with our services, but we are unable to accommodate the requested for any refund.

   

  Thank you,

  ***** *****
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/09/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I purchased calling cards for him to buy tablet time because that's what the description says on the app however inmate cannot use calling cards to purchase tablet time like it says. I would like a refund for the money I spent on this.
  
  Thanks,
  ******* *****

  Business Response

  Date: 10/08/2024

                       In response to a complaint filed by Ms. ******* ***** complaint
  number (********) wherein she stats that she like a refund for 3 calling
  cards that she purchased. We would like to bring this matter to a
  close.
  
                       In Ms. *****' complaint she
  stated that she would like a refund for calling cards that she
  purchased, because it says the inmate can use the calling card for
  tablet time. I have looked it the calling cards that were purchased by
  Ms. *****, and all of the funds were used by the inmate. We would have
  been more than happy to give a refund if the funds were never used, but
  due to the fact that the money was used CityTeleCoin will not be able to
  assist in the desired settlement. .
  
  Thank you,
  ***** ************.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/08/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Date of transactions there were 8/7/2024 there were 2 transactions for 20.00 each. Citytelcoin trying to tell me that I purchasedcalling cards on a old number that I had when I added my new phone number to the account and use that phone to make the purchases they were rude and disrespectful and I have done this a million times and I know what I'm doing and they try to tell me that I did not add to this phone number to my account and I know that I did because it shows it on their website are there app that the phone is added to the account

  Business Response

  Date: 09/03/2024

  In response to a complaint files by ***** ***** case number (********) wherein she stated that she would like a refund for 2 calling cards that she purchased. She stated in her complaint that she did not purchase the calling cards on her phone number ************ and I see that she did not, she purchased them under ************. The phone number does not matter when the inmate is using a calling card. Both the calling cards that the customer is requesting a refund on have been used. The inmate can use the funds no matter which phone number the customer put the payment under. The customer made the first calling card payment at 15:41:26 and the other payment was at 21:52:48. We will not be able to assist Mrs ****r in her desired resolution to receive a refund.

   

  Thank you,

  ***** ********