There is an interesting online program offered by TDCJ Commissary and Trust Fund Department. The name of the program is eCommDirect. What is eCommDirect? Have you ever heard of this program before? For anyone who is curious about it, check out the information below.
Definition
eCommDirect is the kind of program that makes it possible for friends and family of inmates who are approved to make a deposit into the account for their loved ones who are currently living in a TDCJ facility and purchase commissary products. In other words, it allows them to make purchases for eligible inmates up to the maximum quarterly spend. The inmate spends are based on the following:
- January – March, April – June, July – September: Up to $70.00
- October – December: Up to $95.00 (holiday spend)
There are up to 100 of the top selling items available for purchase. These include hygiene products, snacks, correspondence supplies and some new packaged items. It is worth noting that the amount that may be spent by the inmates on commissary items from funds deposited in their inmate trust fund account will not be affected by the online amount purchased. Not only inmates on commissary restriction, those who are in General Population and State Jail levels 4 and 5, Administrative Segregation levels 2, 3 and transition, Death Row levels 2 and 3 and specific medical conditions are not eligible to get commissary purchases through this program.
For the family or friends of inmates, it is also possible for them to make an online merchandise purchase or an online deposit to the inmate trust fund account of their loved ones. In the end, the online merchandise purchase will be sent to the inmate within five business days. It is usually after TDCJ gets the purchase transaction details from the Texas government. Keep in mind that there is a possibility for unit security or staffing issues to override this timeframe. The online deposit that is made to the inmate trust fund account of the inmate will be sent on the second business day from the day of deposit. The next thing to remember is that online purchases are subject to substitution if the item is not available at the time of distribution.
How is eCommDirect used?
In order to make the transactions succeed, it is a must for you to be included in the approved sender’s list for your inmates. This kind of list is made up from their visitation list and their approved phone or OTS list. Your inmate is the one that has the responsibility to add you to their visitation list. Try to reach out of the unit for verification in case you are not sure if you are included in such a list. For anyone who wants to ask something about Offender Telephone registration, just call Securus at (866) 806-7804. Make sure to register your telephone number before getting calls from a TDCJ inmate. Usually, your phone number will be approved within 72 hours. After the approval, it will be needed about 3-5 business days to go into effect as an approved sender.
First of all, you should look for the inmate by using your first and last name, the TDCJ ID number of the inmate and their last name. If you have no idea the number of inmates, there are several ways that you can try to find it. The first one is through the online inmate search at https://inmate.tdcj.tdcj.texas.goc/InmateSearch/start.action and the second one is by calling the phone number at (936) 295-6371 or (800) 535-0283. As for the phones, remember that they are answered from 8 AM to 5 PM from Monday through Friday.
Remember that you are not creating an account with Texas.gov to make future purchases or deposits. In fact, accounts are ready for the inmates to use once they are in TDCJ Custody. If you want to have access, all that you need to do is to make sure that you are included in the approved sender.
After the inmate has been verified, now you can do a few things, such as purchasing certain commissary products for the inmate from the online catalog of TDCJ and making a deposit into their Trust Fund account. Do not forget that there is no need for you to make a purchase and deposit at the same time.
Talking about eCommDirect, it is important to know that an online purchase program is available for every eligible inmate. The commissary staff does not have the right to determine or control eligibility. If they want, the inmates can submit an I-60 for their eligibility status. If family members or friends have something to ask about this program, they can contact 936-437-4726 or send an email to ecommdirect@tdcj.texas.gov.
A bookworm and researcher especially related to law and citizenship education. I spend time every day in front of the internet and the campus library.
