The rules changed on 11 August. Ours did not.

New prison rules restrict numbers that pass calls on. Most cheap prison-call numbers work exactly that way. This page says what that means for you. And it puts our rules in writing, so you can hold us to them.

What changed

A new rule, in plain words.

On 11 August 2026, the prison service issued a new policy. It tells every prison in England and Wales to restrict “0800 numbers … and numbers linked to call diversion and re-routing services”.[3, 7.9]

In plain words: a number that takes a call and passes it on can be refused. It can also be taken away later, after months of working fine. The person inside loses your number while it is sorted out.

Most cheap prison-call numbers are built just that way. This is not our claim — the sellers’ own pages say the call is forwarded to your mobile. How the two kinds of number are built.

Who sells what

One company, two names.

Unilink Software Ltd runs eMates — the message kiosks inside many prisons. It also owns FoneSavvy. In 2026 it launched NeatPhone: a second name for the same kind of number. Both forward calls. Both are sold to families like yours.

We are not telling you what to think about that. We tell you because the adverts do not. You cannot see it from the outside. And who owns what should not be a secret from the person paying.

Ownership read from the companies’ own pages and Companies House in August 2026. Every service, compared.

The hard part

Nobody can sell you a yes.

No service is “approved by the prison service”. Not theirs. Not ours. A prison approves one number at a time, when the person inside asks for it.

And no published rule says how long that check takes.[1] So anyone who quotes you “three to five days” made it up. If a seller promises approval, walk away. That promise is not theirs to make.

Our rules

Seven rules, in writing.

Not values. Rules. Each one costs us something. That is how you know they are real.

The money is theirs.The saving lands in their account, not yours. It buys more minutes, or more canteen. We will not dress that up as your profit.
A number should ring a phone.Ours lives on the phone in your pocket. It does not take a call and pass it on. That is the whole design.
If we do not know, we say so.No made-up waiting times. No guessed rules. Where our guide is not sure, it says so on the page, in plain sight.
When someone else is cheaper, we say so.Talk less than about 26 minutes a day? Do not buy from us. Our compare page names the services that beat us, by name and by price.
Two facts, and no more.We hold your email and the prison. Never their name. See privacy — it is one page, on purpose.
Help comes before the sale.If money is tight, the Prisoners’ Families Helpline is free.[5] On our pages it comes before anything of ours.
The rule above binds us too.A prison decides what to approve, one number at a time. We cannot promise a yes either. If saying that costs us your sale, it was not ours to take.

Short on purpose. A rule you cannot remember is a rule you will not keep. If we break one, tell us — and tell everyone else too.

Where this came from

Open any of them and check us. If something here is wrong, tell us and we will correct it.

[3]Interception, monitoring and security of prisoner communications policy framework
HM Prison and Probation Service / Ministry of Justice — issued 11 August 2026. Read 2026-08-23.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/interception-monitoring-and-security-of-prisoner-communications-policy-framework
[1]Staying in touch with someone in prison
GOV.UK — current guidance. Read 2026-08-23.
https://www.gov.uk/staying-in-touch-with-someone-in-prison
[5]Prisoners' Families Helpline
prisonersfamilies.org — opening hours read from the site. Read 2026-08-23.
https://www.prisonersfamilies.org/

The phone list, step by step If a number has stopped working About RingYard

A new rule, in plain words.

In plain words: a number that takes a call and passes it on can be refused. It can also be taken away later, after months of working fine. The person inside loses your number while it is sorted out.

Most cheap prison-call numbers are built just that way. This is not our claim — the sellers’ own pages say the call is forwarded to your mobile. How the two kinds of number are built.

One company, two names.

We are not telling you what to think about that. We tell you because the adverts do not. You cannot see it from the outside. And who owns what should not be a secret from the person paying.

Ownership read from the companies’ own pages and Companies House in August 2026. Every service, compared.

Nobody can sell you a yes.

No service is “approved by the prison service”. Not theirs. Not ours. A prison approves one number at a time, when the person inside asks for it.

And no published rule says how long that check takes.[1] So anyone who quotes you “three to five days” made it up. If a seller promises approval, walk away. That promise is not theirs to make.

Seven rules, in writing.

Not values. Rules. Each one costs us something. That is how you know they are real.

The money is theirs.The saving lands in their account, not yours. It buys more minutes, or more canteen. We will not dress that up as your profit.

A number should ring a phone.Ours lives on the phone in your pocket. It does not take a call and pass it on. That is the whole design.

If we do not know, we say so.No made-up waiting times. No guessed rules. Where our guide is not sure, it says so on the page, in plain sight.

When someone else is cheaper, we say so.Talk less than about 26 minutes a day? Do not buy from us. Our compare page names the services that beat us, by name and by price.

Two facts, and no more.We hold your email and the prison. Never their name. See privacy — it is one page, on purpose.

Help comes before the sale.If money is tight, the Prisoners’ Families Helpline is free.[5] On our pages it comes before anything of ours.

The rule above binds us too.A prison decides what to approve, one number at a time. We cannot promise a yes either. If saying that costs us your sale, it was not ours to take.

Short on purpose. A rule you cannot remember is a rule you will not keep. If we break one, tell us — and tell everyone else too.

Where this came from

Open any of them and check us. If something here is wrong, tell us and we will correct it.

[3]Interception, monitoring and security of prisoner communications policy framework

HM Prison and Probation Service / Ministry of Justice — issued 11 August 2026. Read 2026-08-23.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/interception-monitoring-and-security-of-prisoner-communications-policy-framework

[1]Staying in touch with someone in prison

GOV.UK — current guidance. Read 2026-08-23.

https://www.gov.uk/staying-in-touch-with-someone-in-prison

[5]Prisoners' Families Helpline

prisonersfamilies.org — opening hours read from the site. Read 2026-08-23.

https://www.prisonersfamilies.org/