How it works

How the landline works.

If you are scared for someone inside, call Prisoners’ Families Helpline on 0808 808 2003.

£20 a monthUnlimitedOn the phone you have

You buy the number. You put it on your phone. You give it to them. They ring. You pick up.

Checked against the published rates.

Four stops.

  1. You buy your number

    It comes by email today. A UK landline, on the plan you paid for.

  2. You install it

    Scan the code. The landline sits on the phone you have.

  3. You pass it on

    They write it on the PIN as your number. The prison checks it. How the list works.

  4. They ring you

    Talk as long as you like. Half the rate, so more than twice the calls out of the same account.

All of it, as standard.

One plan. Every promise is written in the terms.

Unlimited minutes
Talk as long as you like. The price does not move.
No app
Calls land in your phone’s own dialler.
No divert
Nothing is passed on. Nothing to spot.
Cancel in one tap
No term. No fee. No wait on hold.
A person answers
Same day, seven days a week. Never a bot.
Two facts, no more
We hold your email and the prison. Never their name.
Cannot dial 999
This number takes calls only. Use your ordinary phone in an emergency.

Questions people ask.

What is the 11 August rule?

Prisons are told to restrict numbers that pass calls on. A number that takes a call and sends it on is one of those. Ours is not. It is a real landline. It rings the phone in your pocket. The rule, in their words.

Will the prison allow it?

It is a normal UK landline number. It goes on their phone list like any other. The prison checks it first. No rule says how long that takes. Nobody can promise you a yes. Not even us. If the answer is no, you get a fresh number free. If that fails too, you get a refund. It is in the terms.

How long until they can ring?

No published policy sets a deadline. Families tell us what they waited. When will I hear from them, by prison. If you are scared for someone inside, call the Prisoners’ Families Helpline on 0808 808 2003 first.

How does it get more than twice the calls?

A prison rule. Not a trick. Calls to landlines cost less than half the mobile rate. That is true in every prison in England and Wales. Their weekly cap does not change, so the same money buys more than twice the calls. We give you a landline number. It rings the phone you have.

What if they get moved?

Nothing changes on our side. The number is a real landline. It is not tied to any prison. It keeps working as it did. They put it forward at the new prison. It gets checked there, like the first time.

Whose money is it?

Theirs. Calls come out of their capped account. At half the rate that account rings you more than twice as often. What is left goes on canteen. You pay for the number. They get the calls.

Is £20.00 a month worth it?

That depends on how much you want to hear from them, not on the pennies. The same capped money buys more than twice the calls. If they ring most days, that is a call most days you would not have had. Do the sum on the published rates. Since 11 August the number itself matters. Ours passes nothing on. So it is not the kind prisons are told to restrict.

Get your number

Keep the call on the phone you have.

You keep your phone. The landline comes to you.

No term. Stop in one tap.