Three Ways to Pay for Phone Calls from Pendleton: Collect, Prepaid (AdvancePay), and Debit

Calls from Pendleton fall into three categories based on who pays. Collect calls bill the person receiving the call. Prepaid collect (AdvancePay) lets you fund an account ahead of time so calls draw from that balance. Inmate debit (PIN Debit) means your loved one pays from their own account.

Collect is the traditional setup - charges appear on your monthly phone bill. AdvancePay and PIN Debit work like prepaid balances that get used up as calls happen. The difference? You fund AdvancePay; PIN Debit comes from the incarcerated person's account (though friends and family can add to it).

With collect calls from Pendleton, charges go through your phone carrier and show up on your monthly bill. Convenient if your carrier accepts collect billing - but some phone companies cap how much collect billing they'll allow before blocking additional calls.

1. Answer and check whether your carrier allows collect billing - Collect calls are billed through your phone carrier each month, so your carrier has to accept that type of charge.
2. Watch for carrier billing limits - If you get a lot of collect calls, your local phone company may cap how much collect billing they’ll allow; once you hit that maximum, future collect calls can be blocked.
3. Switch to prepaid if collect calls get blocked - Call ViaPath at 800-483-8314 to sign up for a prepaid calling account so you can start receiving calls again.

AdvancePay is Pendleton's prepaid collect option. Set it up through ConnectNetwork.com or by calling 800-483-8314. You're putting money on an account tied to your phone number, and calls get charged against that balance.

Once funded, your AdvancePay account goes active immediately. Each time you accept a call, the cost comes out of your balance right away - no waiting for charges to appear on a monthly bill.

PIN Debit puts payment on the incarcerated person's side. Instead of billing your phone carrier or your AdvancePay account, your loved one pays for calls using funds from their commissary/trust account.

• ✓ Create an Offender Phone account through ConnectNetwork.
• ✓ Purchase/ add phone minutes for the inmate’s PIN Debit account.
• ✓ After payment, the credited amount can be used by the inmate to place calls to any allowed phone number.

Not sure which to pick? Start with what your phone can handle and who you want paying. Collect works when your carrier accepts it, but charges come monthly and you might hit carrier billing limits. AdvancePay is a good choice if collect calls are blocked or you want more control - your account activates immediately and each call deducts right away. PIN Debit makes sense when your loved one has commissary funds, or if you'd rather add to their debit balance than pay through your own phone line.

1. Try collect (if you can) - See whether your phone carrier accepts collect billing and whether you’re running into a billing limit.
2. Set up AdvancePay for prepaid collect - Use ConnectNetwork.com or call 800-483-8314 to start a prepaid account tied to your phone number.
3. Use PIN Debit if the inmate will fund calls (or you want to add minutes) - Create an Offender Phone account through ConnectNetwork and add minutes to the inmate’s PIN Debit balance.