Christmas 2026
For families who get calls from prison. A real UK landline, on the phone you carry. On weekdays, their calls to it cost less than half the mobile rate.
£20 a month. Unlimited. No forwarding.
No risk. Stop any time.
'Tis the season
Presents, Christmas dinner, trips to visits. Pact says more than half of prisoners’ family members struggle to pay for some of the basics.[15]
Their money, from their account. Christmas Day is a Friday, and the published weekday rate runs to midday on a Friday.[14]
What you get
Their weekly limit does not change. At weekday rates, £21.75 a week buys 395 minutes to a mobile, or 877 to a landline.[7]
Straight to your phone, in your own dialler. Nothing to open on Christmas morning. Tap green to answer.
Since 11 August 2026, prisons are told to restrict numbers that pass calls on.[3, 7.9] Ours sits on your phone. The prison still checks it, like any number.
The number stays if they move prison. Their list goes with them. No term. Stop in one tap.
How it works
1
£20 a month. No set-up fee.
2
One tap puts it on your phone. You keep your own number.
3
They add it to their phone list. Then your phone rings.
The phone list
Nothing rings until it is on their list. No rule says how long that takes. So start early.
Two weeks before Christmas Day Bank holiday
What families told PrisonCheck
2 to 10 days
What half of families waited
6 days
The typical wait
1 in 8
Roughly how many waited more than two weeks
417 family reports from 103 prisons, 6 September to 24 October 2026. Not official.[16] Staff are told to keep delays short.[3, 7.8]
Two weeks before Christmas Day is Friday 11 December. About 1 in 8 families waited longer than that, and nobody can promise a date.
Pricing
Their money stays in their account. You pay for the number.
What a call costs them
5.50p
a minute to a mobile, weekdays
2.48p
a minute to a landline, weekdays
Same weekly limit. More than twice the calls.
What calls cost themEverything included
No risk. No set-up fee.
Not included: their calls. They still pay the prison per minute, at the landline rate. If someone is home to answer a landline you already have, buy nothing: it gets the same rate. Under about 26 minutes a day (our estimate), £20 is a lot for the difference. Every way to get cheaper prison calls
Before you rely on it
They can ask on the wing. You can ask at the visitors’ centre, or ring the helpline.
FAQ
It depends on the prison. Each one runs its own regime over Christmas. We found no national rule on calls that day. They can only ring numbers on their phone list. Ask the prison when phones are on.
Have them ring a landline. On weekdays a call to a landline costs them 2.48p a minute, against 5.50p to a mobile. A home landline someone answers costs you nothing extra. If nobody is home to answer, a landline number on your mobile gets the same rate. ringyard is £20 a month. Under about 26 minutes a day (our estimate), that is a lot for the difference.
Christmas Day 2026 is a Friday. The published rates do not mention bank holidays. If the usual Friday times apply, a call to a landline is 2.48p a minute until midday, then 2.20p. To a mobile it is 5.50p, then 3.60p.
No published rule says. Families on PrisonCheck reported 417 phone list waits from 6 September to 24 October 2026. The middle half waited 2 to 10 days. About 1 in 8 waited more than two weeks. These are family reports, not official figures.
No. The landline sits on your own phone as an eSIM. Nothing is passed on. The prison still checks it, like any number.
Your landline, unlimited calls in, and a person who replies by email the same day. It does not pay for their calls. They still pay the prison per minute, at the landline rate.
Yes, through GOV.UK. It usually takes less than 3 working days to arrive. Bank holidays are not working days. Their weekly spending limit still applies. At weekday rates, the same money buys more than twice the calls to a landline.
Usually not. If they are convicted, families generally cannot send items in, apart from books, unless the governor agrees. The rules are wider for someone on remand. Ask the prison. Money sent through GOV.UK can go on phone credit.
Yes, by post. Write their prisoner number on the envelope. Staff check most letters. Each prison has its own rules on what a card can hold, so ask the prison if you are unsure.
Ask the prison. Each one sets its own visiting times, Christmas included. You book visits through GOV.UK, and your name has to be on their visitor list first. GOV.UK says that can take up to two weeks.
Yes. The landline sits beside it as a second line. Yours stays as it is.
Yes. One tap. No term. No fee. Your number works to the end of the time you paid for. Then it stops.
From GOV.UK on letters, visits and money, the Prison Reform Trust on property, and the published call rates.[11][9][18][14]
Anything else? Email us. A person replies the same day.
Checked against the published rates and family reports.
No term. Stop any time.
Check us