4 Ways to Pay for Phone Calls Involving NDOC Offenders (what families should know)

AdvancePay is a prepaid option through ViaPath/ConnectNetwork. You fund the account ahead of time, and calls draw from that balance instead of showing up as charges on your regular phone bill.

Traditional collect calls work the old-school way: the person receiving the call accepts the charges. In NDOC's system, those charges appear on your local telephone bill - but only if your phone company allows collect billing on your line.

With offender debit, your loved one uses money from their NDOC trust account to buy calling time through the Offender Services Commissary at their facility. Instead of you paying from the outside, they cover the cost with funds already in their account.

Direct-bill accounts are reserved for professional calls. ViaPath sets them up, but billing goes only to attorneys and bail bondsmen - not friends or family.

You can fund an NDOC AdvancePay account through ViaPath's automated phone system or by speaking with a ViaPath Customer Care representative. NDOC also publishes vendor support numbers for things like AdvancePay deposits - helpful if you want to double-check you're calling the right place or run into a payment issue.

• ✓ Offender’s first and last name
• ✓ Offender’s NDOC ID number
• ✓ Offender’s date of birth (month, day, year)

To set up AdvancePay by phone, NDOC lists these ViaPath/ConnectNetwork numbers: 1-800-483-8314 for the automated system, or 1-877-650-4249 to reach a Customer Care representative. NDOC also posts the same numbers under vendor support - (800) 483-8314 for the Automated Payment System and (877) 650-4249 for ConnectNetwork Customer Support - so you can confirm you're dialing the right line.

With traditional collect calls, the person receiving the call pays. In NDOC, that charge appears on your local telephone bill - assuming your phone company allows collect billing on your line.

If your loved one has funds in their NDOC trust account, they can buy debit calling time through the Offender Services Commissary at their facility. This shifts the cost to their available trust funds - useful when outside payment isn't an option or you want to manage phone costs differently.

Direct-bill accounts exist for attorneys and bail bondsmen. ViaPath handles setup, and NDOC states the calls are billed directly to those professionals only - not to friends and family.

Attorneys or bail bondsmen looking to set up direct billing should start with the ViaPath/ConnectNetwork contact options NDOC publishes. The same vendor support channels used for account setup and customer care handle direct-bill questions.

Choose Best

• ✓ Choose AdvancePay (prepaid) if you want to add money ahead of time through ViaPath/ConnectNetwork and have calls pull from that prepaid balance.
• ✓ Consider traditional collect if you’re comfortable having charges billed to your local telephone bill and your phone company permits collect billing.

If something's off - your payment won't go through, you're unsure which account type you're on, or you just need help getting started - use the vendor support numbers NDOC posts. Going through ViaPath/ConnectNetwork's published support channels is usually the fastest way to sort out billing and account questions.