Cut off mid-call
Why prison calls cut off
If you are scared for someone inside, call Prisoners’ Families Helpline on 0808 808 2003.
Credit runs outWings set limitsThe rate is the lever
The line goes dead mid-word. It is almost never personal. Three things stop a call. The money ran out. The prison ended the slot. Or the next person needed the phone. One of those you can change.
Checked against the published rates.
One
The credit ran out
They pay from a PIN account as they talk.[1] When the balance hits zero, the call ends. There is no warning you can hear on your end. It just stops.
The weekly spend is capped. On the standard regime the published private-cash limit is £21.75.[7] Calls and canteen come from the same pot. Send more and it sits there until next week.
A weekday minute to a mobile is 5.50p. The same minute to a landline is 2.48p. The cap is on money, not minutes. The rate they dial is the one lever a family can pull.
Two
The slot ended
Shared wing phones often have a time limit so more people get a turn. No published national policy sets that number of minutes. Each prison sets its own. We will not invent one.
A phone in the cell, where a prison has one, usually lasts longer. It still follows the regime. Association ends. A lock-down ends it sooner. When they can get to a phone.
Three
Someone else needed the phone
Two phones on a wing and a queue of twenty. Staff end a call so the next person can go. That is not a punishment. It is how shared phones work.
You cannot buy your way past that queue. A cheaper rate means the same credit lasts longer when they do get through. That is all.
What this page will not claim
We cannot stop a call cutting off. We cannot set the regime. We cannot move them up the queue. Anyone who sells you a promise that the calls will never drop is selling something they do not control.
Common questions
Why did the call stop mid-sentence?
Most often the credit ran out. The PIN account pays as they talk. When it hits zero, the line drops. A prison can also set a time limit on each call. A queue on the wing can make staff end a call so the next person can use the phone. None of these is a sign they hung up on you.
Is there a national time limit on prison calls?
No published HMPPS policy sets one for every prison. Each establishment sets its own regime. Some wings time-limit shared phones so more people get a turn. Ask the wing what applies. Do not trust a guide that quotes a number of minutes with no source.
Can I stop the calls cutting off?
You cannot change the regime or the queue. You can change the rate they dial at. A weekday call to a mobile costs 5.50p a minute. The same call to a landline costs 2.48p. The same weekly cap then buys about 2 times the talk.
They had credit yesterday. Why is it gone?
The weekly spend is capped. On the standard regime the published private-cash limit is £21.75. Calls, canteen and other spends come from that pot. A few long mobile calls can empty it. More money sent in sits there until the next week.
Sources
[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[7]Incentives policy framework
HM Prison and Probation Service / Ministry of Justice — current version. Read 2026-08-30.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/incentives-policy-framework
The same cap. About 2 times the talk.
A landline number rings the phone you have. Every call to it costs the landline rate. That is their credit, their extra minutes. It does not stop a queue. It does stretch the money.
No term. Stop in one tap.