CUSTOMER PROFILE

T-NETIX

It’s important to remember that many of the individuals who enter correctional facilities leave loved ones on the outside. Often, these loved ones are interested in maintaining contact with those inside correctional facilities, and they do so via telephone. That contact is made possible through communications providers like T-NETIX.

T-NETIX, the nation’s largest provider of corrections industry related telecommunications services, has been providing inmate call processing to the corrections industry since 1986. The company currently serves more than 1,000 corrections facilities and justice departments nationwide, processing more than 35 million call transactions per month across 50,000 lines. In addition to providing specialized call processing and billing services for use by correctional facilities, T-NETIX offers direct local and long distance call processing for correctional facilities.

Because inmate calling often is based on a collect-call setup, it is imperative that the name, number and billing information for the receiving party are valid. To ensure that is the case, T-NETIX uses validation services from Accudata Technologies. With its access to line information databases (LIDBs) and other name/number storage databases, Accudata helps T-NETIX determine whether or not calls are being routed to the appropriate numbers.

Sometimes, numbers will be changed, collect calls are blocked for a number or incorrect information is assigned to a number, meaning collect calls won’t go through. The families want to hear from their loved ones in correctional facilities, and Accudata helps T-NETIX get the correct information so that communication between parties is possible.

“Our relationship with Accudata Technologies has been beneficial,” said Karyn Lohmeyer, Director of Fraud Control with T-NETIX. “Accudata, which operates its own LIDB, has the capability to look up and find the true account owner for numbers.”

By using Accudata’s services, T-NETIX is able to connect calls based on accurate, up-to-date information. In addition, whenever there is an issue, Accudata will search for the source of the problem and correct it quickly.

“Sometimes the calls coming from a particular facility are not connecting properly, and Accudata always hunts down the problem immediately,” Lohmeyer said. “That hasn’t always been our experience with other validation services providers. Often, with those other providers, we would have to put in several service request tickets to get them to act. We were just a drop in the bucket to them, but Accudata is extremely responsive – so much so that we feel like we’re their only customer. Plus, they’re just nice people.”

For the future, T-NETIX is looking at ways to use the information provided by Accudata more efficiently to further enhance customer service.

“We would absolutely recommend Accudata Technologies to companies that need valid information,” Lohmeyer said.