This is a petition to stop the monopolizing of phone company access to families and friends of jail and prison inmates and the unfair business practices of companies such as (for example and in particular) Evercom or also known as Correctional Billing (http://www.correctionalbilling.com) or T-Netix Collect Calls, owned by TZ Holdings, Inc.
These companies deceptively force the consumers into using their services for inmate calls by placing a block on the phone and only removing it upon payment of outrageous amounts in advance in order to talk to your loved ones who are in jail/prison. This petition is to demand that the innocent friends/family members who want to talk to people they love who are in jail/prison, can choose their phone carriers and not be blocked from phone access when they pay the bill as they are supposed to, and they should not be forced to use the services of one company alone without option, deceptively made to sign up by being billed through their phone companies without any prior understanding, agreement, contract, or explanation to the consumer, and over-charged an enormous amount of money that far exceeds the normal prices of telephone calls.

This petition is to demand a change in these practices, and regulation passed to protect the innocent friends and family members of incarcerated individuals.