Chesapeake sued for right to bid on phone contract at jail

Campaign contribution reports are public record, look at the last election campaign contribution reports to see who gave what to who. There is where your answer resides.

I work for a company that does contract work for the Navy and we make sure that we know about every bidding that is going on. I also had a brother in the PA prison system. He called me once and when I got the bill I just about hit the floor. I of course called the provider and told them that the fees I was charged were wrong. As stated before if you can not afford the call then just say no.

They do it all the time not shocked. Yeah I bidded on a grass contract and won,but Chesapeake overlooked me, and several other companies who were experienced and gave it to TME the highest bidder. The workers didn't even speak English. When asked why I was told that the purchasing director was left out of the loop on that contract. I guess there are grass maffia's, telephone maffias etc when it comes to contracting in Chesapeake.

" The fees associated with those calls are absurdly high. Maybe someone needs to look for a better way."

Why not return to a bank of coin operated telephones. He [or she] who has the money gets to use the phone. Of course this pocket change would come from family members but I imagine it's a lot cheaper than the exhorbitant fees being tacked onto phone bills for all the collect calls.

If you sit on a civil court sometime, this is the kind of stuff they do all the time. That's why they exist. The city probably doesn't care either way but if they granted them an exception to the rules, someone else would complain about preferential treatment of a competitor. If they go to court and get an impartial ruling then no one has a basis to complain.

Cities put out Request For Bids "RFB's" on contracts. They do NOT call every phone company provider and let them know that there is a contract out for bid. When the request is made they can and will set up a "Pre-Bid" meeting. Making it mandatory. If your company doe snot show up, oops so sorry for you. You should have been paying attention. Case should be DROPPED, stop wasting the taxpayers money.

Now, my son is locked up in Missouri, they have pre-paid calls there .10 a minute, anywhere in the USA. If he calls collect its $ 4.83 the first minute and .99 each minute after $18.69 for 15 minutes. Rook and Crook the families for all those collect calls, shame on the phone company. Oh and if the phone somehow dies 3 minutes into the call, no credit for the call and charges start all over again. Step up to the plate Chesapeake and don't hurt the familes of inmates. They didn't do the crime.

"Officials with Securus, based in Dallas, Texas, contend the company never received notification from the city about a mandatory meeting."
I am sure the issue will be resolved without litigation. How can anybody defend the cost of phone s without addressing how much the "working stiffs" are paying to incarcerate these criminals? Pablo, show me where I criticized anybody in my post? I did not call anybody dumb or criticize an entire school system that has nothing to do with the issue. Pablo, we have obviously disagreed on many issues, but I have also said "nothing personal" and "I'm sure you are a good guy". You have been pretty harsh on me too. Don't cast stones in your glass house! :)
I stick to issues and have research-based evidence to back what I say, whether others like it or not. Peace!

Such trivial issues taking up the courts time!! It actually cost $1.50 for 15 minutes for the inmates and it's a priviledge!! No one is getting stiffed because the families have the option of saying NO when asked if they accept the charges. They do have visitation day for the inmates and families that are on the list. Got2win1, ease up??? ... error in communication or some other reasonable, harmless explanation... wow!!!! Talk about criticizing anybody??? I'm just curious as to who hides behind a fictitious name and criticizes everyone??????? Just my observation and opinion!!

every jail/prison/correctional system sticks it to the inmates and their family's.i visit an inmate from time to time and the canteen he uses in that facility it costs him $30 in quarters to get two sodas two hamburgers and a few bags of chips.and the telephone situation is the same way.its bad enough these people commit the crimes they do,but why make them suffer and their family's by ripping them off,most criminals family's are of limited means or worse as it is.my friend bought a 12 inch tv from the prison px he paid over $178 for it i saw the same exact set for under $35 at wall mart.how and why do they let them get away with this.they wont let you bring simple things from outside like underwear or tee shirts,tooth paste or soap even if they are in factory sealed packaging.regardless of the crimes they have done they still have wives,children,mothers,fathers.they put themselves there but the

The families of inmates at the jail "are the ones getting stiffed". Ain't that the truth. Securus, the city of Chesapeake, and all of the other cities need to either give the families a break, or let the inmates pay for their own calls (phone booth?) Maybe the jail could allow an emergency call to a family member for a justifiable reason. I do not understand why the corrections system feels that it is necessary to treat family members like criminals.

The telephone company isn't the real issue here. Chesapeake recieved that much in commissions from the company and it only comes from the FAMILIES of the inmates. Now while I realize that we're talking about a lot of money here, it seems that the families of the inmates are the ones getting stiffed as it were. A normal call that would cost you or I a dollar or so cost the families ten times that amount. All the calls are billed to the numbers called by the inmates. The fees associated with those calls are absurdly high. Maybe someone needs to look for a better way.

Anybody can sue anybody, any time. That does not mean the case has merit. Even if it does, that does not mean a monetary settlement will me paid. All the company wants is a chance to bid. There may have just been an error in communication or some other reasonable, harmless explanation. Let them have their day in court before criticizing anybody. What does the school system have to do with this? I'm curious to know where you went to school and what your level of education is.

More money going out of the Chesapeake treasury for stupid actions. Just how much money can the public afford to pay out. It almost seems like everyone should resign and walk away from a sinking ship. I know deep down that the majority of chesapeake employees are hard working stiffs doing the best they can, but man, how much more of a beating can taxpayers take. Dumb, dumb, dumb! Did they graduate from chesapeake schools using a different grading curve?

Prisoners should be charged fair market rate for their allowed telephone calls. While I'm for punishment of crime, it should not be turned into a money making operation. People should not get excited about making large profits from caging fellow humans.

From what I've read, the phone systems are a rape in the correctional facilities everywhere. They prey on those that have little to nothing charging something ridiculous like $1.00 per minute for an inmate to make a collect call to their families and attorneys.

I'll bet Securus is upset they might not have a chance to bid on a contract that stands to put hundreds of thousands (if not millions) in their pocket. Poor Securus...

If they failed to meet the pre-bid qualifications, tough luck and better luck next time.

...really need to be on the phone?

I got a campaign ad in the mail before the last election that stated that Cliff Hayes saved the city "millions" through his genius with computer systems. Of course, it didn't offer any proof. What a joke.

If Mr. Hayes is really that sharp, doesn't it follow that he should be a millionaire himself? Talk about blowing your own horn... Badly.

It looks like Cliffy's real talents lie with geting his posse lucrative city contracts. Where have we seen that one before? Detroit, maybe? Just another arrogant pol.

Thanks, VAP for reporting this. Keep us up to date, and keep digging.

There's nothing wrong with testing out other competitors... but I suppose with matters of sub/contracts, someone is bound to get sued anyways... you either let them stay in the competition with the others and still don't award them or just tell them to take a flying leap from the beginning... either way, it's an unhappy lawsuit...

Big babies...

Ut-Oh............Chesapeake makes headlines again...........glad its not SONO! or is that GB? or WB??......

More tomfoolery.