Introducing the New JPay.com

Posted by: Editor on Aug 5, 2011 | 49 Comments

JPay’s website gets a redesign; emphasis on functionality, ease-of-use

If you’ve visited JPay.com recently, you probably noticed a couple of changes. If you haven’t visited lately, go ahead and click over. We’ll wait.

Pretty nice, right?

The full-scale redesign of the site is more than cosmetic, though. We’ve streamlined many of the features our users rely on to show support to their incarcerated loved ones, including our money transfer service (renamed “Send Money” because, hey, that’s what you’re doing), inmate Email, and Video Visitation. We’ve also made the payment process more straightforward for those individuals who must make community corrections payments, like parolees and probationers.

With this version of JPay.com, we tried to categorize our products and services more intuitively, so first-time visitors can identify which services are most important to them and their loved ones. We also included social elements, including an interactive link to our Facebook page and a live feed to this blog.

And of course, we changed the look and feel of the site. It looks great, just don’t tell that to our web designers. Their egos are big enough.

So please visit our site and let us know what you think. We want your feedback! We’re still tinkering with some aspects of the site, so it’s important to us that you let us know what you like about it. You can leave your comments in the comment section below, or “like” us on Facebook and share your thoughts there.

In case you missed it, that’s www.jpay.com .

B Dunn
August 5, 2011
Where is the email subscription section, for getting more than 5 stamps at a time (and at less expense)? I used to be able to go there and see when I needed to write more often to use up my stamps but now? I don’t even see the option for a subscription. Where is it?
Cecil Noronha
August 5, 2011
So far I am NOT happy with the redesign of the JPay website. I had no problems navigating the old website, but today I have spent considerable time just trying to find where to retrieve mail and where to send a letter to an inmate. I have been on hold for quite a while trying to get a hold of customer support, hopefully they can help. To me the old system worked just fine, and if it aint broke, don’t fix it!
Marlene Bragg
August 5, 2011
Can Not Log In To New JPay Site, Wont Take My User Name Or Pass word
Denise
August 5, 2011
Would love to say it is great but as I cannot get into the site because one of the buttons DOES NOT WORK and have been on hold for over 30 minutes with customer service my reaction at the moment is ~ give me reliability over a pretty look!
MaryGrace Toomey
August 5, 2011
I like the looks but I can not log out and that is a big concern to me. I called and they said to turn the computer off and then restart and see if that would work, it did not. It took 1 1/2 hours before I was logged off, I kept going back and trying. Until that is fixed I do not want to send money or buy the jpeg player. Do you know how long before that aspect of the new web look will be fixed? I really like jpay, I use the email all the time to my son and send him money now through jpay. So I hope this is fixed real soon.
thank you.
MaryGrace Toomey
August 5, 2011
I just sent an email and realized I typed in address wrong, my apologies. this is the correct address.
Dawn
August 5, 2011
Could you please go back to the web design as it was, this is horrible. You have heard “if it is not broke, don’t fix it” This applies. Thanks for trying, but no thanks!!
Carolyn Hurst
August 5, 2011
I have tried for 2 days to retrieve an email from my son and was unable to get it. When i tried to login it would not let me. I tried several times and hours for 2 days. Evan contacted in person about this jpay. He tried and could not help me. Said he would report it. Say’s there’s alot of people not able to LOGIN. Why did you not leave thing’s alone? It was just finr before. Tell the fellow who come up with this NEW JPAY that it STINKS or WORSE. I need this fixed NOW. Thank You
Mark Baranosky
August 6, 2011
I have been an avid user of J-pay.com for nearly 2 years now and usually log-in on Saturday’s to send my letter (to my Son) and/ or money ..
Today was absolutely horrible to Log-in .. and, I had to put in my Son’s TDC number before the Site would recognize my Log-in !!
But, in all fairness, once logged in, I was impressed with the functionality of this new Layout.
They just really have t work on making it easier to access .. if you’re already a user.

Mark Baranosky
adam l
August 6, 2011
Looking good.

You should put a feedback link somewhere on the site so that users can notify you of bugs without having to trek over to the blog comments.

There are some divs within the header that are showing up on top of the content on some pages. They are clear, but they make some of the links impossible to click. They are called “newHeader_leftSidebarDiv” and “newHeader_rightSidebarDiv”. I noticed them on many of the login pages (i.e. QuickLogin.aspx), but it was worst on the reset password page, where the leftSidebarDiv made the submit button un-clickable.

Not sure if this is across all browsers. I’m experiencing the problem using both Chrome 13.0.782.109 beta and Safari 5.0.5 in Mac OS X version 10.6.7
JPayInc
August 6, 2011
Thank you all for your comments and feedback about the new JPay.com. We are aware of the various login issues, and we are actively working to correct them. Here are some points that other users found helpful:
- The login box is a green box in the upper right hand corner of the website.
- Use Your existing JPay username and password.
- Try setting your computer’s clock back one hour. This sounds strange, but it has worked for some users.
- Use Internet Explorer to access the site. Chrome and Firefox users have had more difficulty during this transition.

If none of these help, please call our customer service line at 800 574 5729. As you might expect, we have been receiving a high volume of calls, so please be patient.

Again, we appreciate all the feedback, and for those of you having difficulty, we appreciate you patience and understanding.

Thanks,
JPay
Ron
August 7, 2011
About the new redesign: First off, I have to log in twice to get in. I tried this on two different computers, with Firefox and Chrome, so that needs some work. Also, if I log into jpay and then leave the window open until a time out, I get a modal dialog box that says:

Sys.WebForms.PageRequestManagerServerError Exception. etc.

This is an unhandled exception, which is a no-no in production code (I’ve been a programmer for 26 years). I know your developers know how to catch errors in ASP.NET, so perhaps they just overlooked this one.

As for the rest of the redesign, it’s OK. I can work with it.

RON
Ron
August 7, 2011
Oh yes, one more thing: When I log into jpay, the address bar says HTTPS but it’s crossed out. I think (using Chrome) this is due to an invalid cert. Chrome can’t be sure the cert is correct so it is warning me. Perhaps it needs to be refreshed?

RON
Karlina
August 7, 2011
I can get on your page but can not log in and write a letter. I hope you fix that SOON cause its a life line …

I agree – The design was calling for a change – but I can not tell about the functions yet… so please let me back in!!!

Regards
Cindi Stapleton
August 7, 2011
I was looking it over just now and had to login twice to get in but it did work. Seems to be just fine once you get in, easy enough to use. If I were to say the one thing I miss is when I am emailing my LO, it no longer shows his TDJC number, I always used that number to verify it was indeed him I was sending either mail or money too. There are many incarerated with the same name so that number is a huge issue missing imho.
Thank you.
MaryGrace Toomey
August 7, 2011
Thank you for answering, I tried everything, even setting my clock back but it still does not work….just fyi
Renee
August 7, 2011
Unable to log on…. Was just on the old site Thursday to send a message, no problem, today, Sunday, time to write again and nothing… Can’t get it… Need to do some more work!!!
Sandy Stacy
August 7, 2011
Got the notice on the new web page but has been unable to log in. I used the ‘forgot’ password/id but only verified id (which I had correct) and no way to reset password even though it had my secret question correct.
Sandy Stacy
August 7, 2011
the one hour trick did work, do I have to always do that?
cassandra
August 7, 2011
Do not like the fact that I am not longer able to add funds to my advance connect account:( the 25.00 minumum is not always an option when working on a budget. Please bring it back.
Gail Hodge
August 7, 2011
Is there any info on your site about seasonal food packages or is that a different site? Couldn’t find any info about ordering or timing.
sendin again with my correct email.
Thanks.
Renee
August 8, 2011
The good and the bad. First the good. (sorry, this part is quick.) LOVE, LOVE the fact that someone has FINALLY removed that awful “clear contents” button that was located one small line below the text box. Cannot tell you the number of times my mouse moved over that button, by accident, and I lost pages of a letter. Glad it is gone! Now, the bad. A questions & a comment. Is there a way (other than right here) to contact J-Pay through email? I used to be able to ask questions that way. Am I overlooking something? I can hardly believe in the year 2011 that a company, that makes it’s bread and butter off emails will NOT allow a customer to ask a question via email? How much higher are you going to take your prices? It used to be a full page for 44cents. ONE page. That was bad enough. Now with the limit of 6000 characters, it is even LESS than ONE page. (You count each space as a “character” too. I did an experiment & that is what it worked out to be.) Its to the point, I don’t care to even skip a line between paragraphs. Why? I’m paying for each of those spaces. I want to use abbreviations as I do in a text on my phone, but sadly some have been incarcerated so long, they don’t know that “language”. I don’t know who did the analysis of 6000 characters = 6 handwritten pages. Apparently not MY handwriting. J-pay is very convenient and apparently convenience comes at a very, very high price….higher now than ever before. I’ve actually had 2 inmates tell me not to bother sending J-pays & simply go through the mail, because they don’t like me incurring the extra charges. I am still going to use J-pay. Just my opinion here, but I will be more conservative with my usage.
JPayInc
August 8, 2011
Hi Renee,

You can still contact us via email at support@jpay.com. Thank you for your feedback.

-JPay
lisajr14
August 8, 2011
I acutally like the new site, I have NOT had any problems and like the forum where I can chat and find out new things going on in they system!
Karlina
August 8, 2011
Me again… Ok, I can get logged in through another computer now, so its probably something in my settings that kept me out. I havent changed anything though…the clock thing didn’t work for me.

Is the video visitation thing already reality?????????????????
How do I do that and does it work from oversea too??? I tried to get into it but beside the describtion of this service I can not get further… why not? Its a wonderful idea, just like jpay! Thank you for this service and your efforts
JPayInc
August 8, 2011
Hi Karlina,

Thank you for your comments. Video Visitation is indeed a reality… for some facilities. Others do not offer the service (yet! we’re always working on adding more facilities and agencies). So if you don’t see an option for Video Visitation when you log in, it’s not available (yet!) at your loved one’s facility.

Thanks again for the comments.

Best,
JPay
MaryGrace Toomey
August 8, 2011
No one has mentioned or is it mentioned when you reply about being able to log off, that is important to me! Could you help me and/or tell me how to log off now?
JPayInc
August 8, 2011
Hi MaryGrace,

If you’ve tried clicking the grey “Logout” button in the top right hand corner of the screen and it’s still not letting you logout, you can email customer service directly using the Customer Contact form. Our technicians should be able to help you.

Thanks,
JPay
MaryGrace Toomey
August 9, 2011
Ijust tried to send through the Customer Contactform and it did not work, said to retry sending, which I did over and over again, finally tried to just start fresh and it still would not go, so here is what I sent: I did not have a specific subject for this. I can not log off, it takes hours now. I keep coming back and it will not log off. I want to send money (like I have for the past 6 months) and I want to buy my son a jpeg player. I am concerned that the program does not log off, it feels very unsafe to me to have my cc info just out there. So could you please tell me what to do. I have shut the computer off completely and restarted, I have tried every thing that is on the list to try and I still cannot log off. This is important to me. I don’t know if anyone is having this problem. I do not see it on the list when I look it over. I would really appreciate your help/reply. thak youust tried to send a message and it said to keep trying.
JPayInc
August 9, 2011
Hi MaryGrace,

Try calling our customer service line: 800-574-5729. Press 1 (Send Money) then press 2 (Live Agent) and you’ll get someone to talk to. Hopefully they can help you identify (and solve!) the logout problem.

Thanks for your patience,
JPay
Shawnna
August 11, 2011
Good evening jpay if some would help me I’m trying to send an letter but I don’t see a send button anywhere all I see is the compose and after I write my letter I can’t send it. It is starting to be frustrating please help the old system I never had a problem with.

Thanks
Felicia
August 11, 2011
Hi,

The new layout of the website is nice but I would like to see history of the emails I sent in the past. The oldest date I see is February 2011. Will it be possible to re-gain access to all our emails we sent? Before the new layout we were able to view all emails that was sent to an inmate’s facility.
shelli salinas
August 14, 2011
I haven’t been able to login via my email at all despite the advice posted. I do enjoy the new layout however the old one was alot easier to navigate around instantly-hope this is a temporary hiccup as it is extremely frustrating not being able to communicate with our loved ones.
Nadia
August 16, 2011
I just wanted you to know that I went out to the new site and it looks good but it is very frustrating and there are a few things you may want to tweak…

- The banner at the bottom cuts off the links in the columns when you go to another page besides the Home page
- The Login button box is wrapping
- There is text on the “About” page that looks squished
- There is no email listed for support@jpay.com
- you need a feedback link
- the “clear content” button is gone
- if i type and email to one person and switch to another it moves my email over to the other person (not good)

Also, unrelated to the site…when you call the support number there are no options other than those related to sending money and when the prompts are done you are just stuck in the call queue.
Nadia
August 16, 2011
oh yeah and you may want to take the FB stuff off the pages because it kills your phone if you are accessing the site thru a phone.
mary
August 25, 2011
ok, yet another new glitch i see. Since last night i notice every time it autosaves your letter every couple of minutes it kicks you out of what you are typing. You have to go back into the typing page and scroll back down to where you were and it usually has erased like the last 2-3 letters. Does this every 2-4mins so it took me forever to type a half a page. Last night thought it was my phone but tonite im on a desktop computer and exact same problem so know its jpay. would appreciate if you fix asap.
doreen
August 26, 2011
Hi

I haven’t had any problems at all with new site. I hope I didn’t just jinx myself. I for one am thankful for the send funds ability. Wish it didn’t cost so much tho…..
Connie
September 20, 2011
I like the new design. The only problem I have with it so far is that I have a blackberry and cannot read letters from Jpay because I don’t have ADOBE. BOOH!
Other than that, it is a great new design. I like it:)
shinejackson
September 22, 2011
you have a list of new capabilities that JPAY now have such as email photos, JPEG, Video visitation. But you don’t have a list of prison who are authorize to use it. I was so excited to find out you can send photos with your email. Spent 30min trying until I realize Coal Township don’t accept emails with photos. I really like the old system especially when the stamps did not expired. PLEASE GO BACK TO OLD SYSTEM. For all the monay you’re making off of loved ones, I believed you can come up with something better than this
Eloise
September 24, 2011
I was told we could order necessities for an inmate online. couild you help me with this,please? shoes-t-shirts-etc.
Kashena
September 26, 2011
So far I’m loving this site!!!
shannon
September 30, 2011
I’m having the same issues everyone else seems to be having with logging in. I havnt been able to send an email or money in over a week now. Very frustrating. I miss the old site, there was nothing wrong with it. I never had a problem. Pls bring it back.
TG
October 28, 2011
VANILLA GIFT CARD TOLD ME THEY DO NOT ALLOW THEIR CARDS TO WORK ON SITES CONSIDERED A MONEY TRANSFER>>> DONT SPEND MONEY ON THEIR CARD FOR USE ON THE JPAY SITE. Jpay should have a list of cards that have been verified that work on this site. To avoid people spending money on cards for jpay they cant use on jpay… I use the gift cards to avoid using personal banking or cc online.
douglas carles
November 9, 2011
i just got out of idoc, we had nothing but problems out of the new system. hope the fix, many really depend on the system for contact outside
Charles Storer
January 6, 2012
I know it’s a bit late to jump into the discussion here that began way back in August. But there’s one aspect of the site I didn’t discover until about a week ago, when the inmate with whom I correspond most frequently was undergoing a change in status and location– to work/release as he nears completion of the sentence. The ability to see immediately after logging in (without a couple of extra clicks to a different page) the existence of new un-read messages– was a feature I really liked when introduced in the August site redesign. Then last week, I was experiencing frustration that the entire “Email” section on the JPay home page was missing! At first I thought it was a temporary malfunction of the site, but a day or so later when I tried selecting the name of a different person using the “inmate/offender” drop-down list box, then the “Email” reappeared and finally I was able to get to the unread message from the one who had sent me a message about his transfer. How would someone who’s set up for messaging with only one inmate get this accomplished in this circumstance?
Editor
January 6, 2012
Hi Charles,

The services (Email, Send Money, etc.) that appear on the homepage are only those that are available at your loved one’s facility. If an inmate is transferred to a facility that does not offer JPay’s email service, then the Email tab will not appear on the homepage that corresponds to that inmate. This is a relatively infrequent occurrence, as state DOCs that offer our services at one facility tend to offer the same services at most of their facilities, so for inmates transferred within the prison system, the same services will appear on the homepage. In the scenario you described, however, a customer can always contact our customer service department (though this online form) to retrieve old emails.

Hope this helps, and happy new year!

-Editor
flapa
January 20, 2012
I’m new to everything except having to except I;m a mom to a 21 yr old inmate. I was not aware that I could send a email to my son, Hes at Taylor in Perry Florida. but I do see that as a option when I’m sending money, so I am going to see if I can really do that now. Does anyone know when or if a web message will also be able to happen? I’m in P.a and if I could just see him… It would help me sooo much.
tajkhan
February 3, 2012
I pray and ask that if there is anyone wrongfully imprisioned, anywhere in the world, that you please have them released immediately. Please give every prisoner peace and hope in their heart that they can know how much you love them. In Allah name I pray, Amen My prayer is for all prisoners everywhere. That the Lord will give them the strength they need to make it through their ordeal. We are all Allah creation no matter who or where we are. My prayers are also with the over families of prisoners for they are often forgotten. They too are, in a way, imprisoned. May God grant peace to all of you my Dear Allah please bless all of ouer families & let their faith be strong. Give them hope & love. Bless them with the promise I pray and ask that if there is anyone wrongfully imprisioned, anywhere in the world, that you please have them released immediately. Please give every prisoner peace and hope in their heart that they can know how much you love them. In Allah name I pray, Amen My prayer is for all prisoners everywhere. That the Lord will give them the strength they need to make it through their ordeal. We are all Allah creation no matter who or where we are. My prayers are also with the your families of prisoners for they are often forgotten. They too are, in a way, imprisoned. May God grant peace to all of you my Dear Allah please bless all of ouer families & let their faith be strong. Give them hope & love. Bless them with the promise that everything will turn out fine. Amen
O Allah Let these people know you are with them.Bless them and help them through these times.You are Not alone – God is always present I wish you love, health and happiness Amen I thank you for including us all, those of us who have a dear one in prison. My dearest friend is incarcerated, justly, because he was too poor to afford the proper counsel. We are appealing her casess and ask that you pray for her as well as for us. We need all your prayers. Again thank you for your thoughts and prayers, we need all the prayers we can get Dear Lord,
I’m not sure of everyone’s current situation, but You know Lord. Please protect the prisoners, all over families and friends from harm. Strengthen their will and courage to face their everyday struggles. Show them Your love and comfort them. Pour out Your blessings on all ouer people. Bless their finances so that they can afford to pay their bills and enjoy life – paying for legal defence is expensive. When the people are released please bless their employment endeavours. Bless them with good friends, surround them with kind and encouraging people. For the prisoners who have done harm to others please help them to repent and to make amends with their victims. For the prisoners who are innocent of their charge please help them to gain their freedom quickly and legally. Heal their bodies and minds of whatever ails them, make them well and whole again. Thank you Lord. I pray this in Allah name, amen.
Charles Storer
February 15, 2012
Because of certain concerns beyond the scope of web site design, last month I contributed additional comments to a few of the other JPay blog postings. But returning to the subject of my earlier comment here, in the state of Washington, the transfer of inmates from one DOC facility to another is not infrequent at all, and it has also become apparent that the JPay messaging feature isn’t a consistent offering at all their facilities. Yesterday, I happened to notice that my “inmate #2″ (the one I previously used for sneaky “back door” access to my unread nmessages from “inmate #1″) has also been moved to a location where messaging is unavailable.

Of course these transfers can happen for a variety of reasons. But in the case of the first inmate, it represents the kind of progression and outcome most of us hope for and expect– going to work/release status during the late stage of serving a sentence. At such times, continuity of communication can be especially important, as it was necessary to arrange for delivery to him of certain documents and personal property. And this was happening while I was physically located in an entirely different part of the world– visiting my real family. The absence of JPay messaging at the DOC work/release facilities isn’t really a big deal. Once the inmates are there, we can communicate with them using plain old email, as they are free to use this in conducting their job searches. Except in this case, after the CCO realized I was not only a “friend” but also the “victim” she decided to disallow further communication between us– a decision with which I don’t entirely disagree, as my experience has shown that the transitioning process is something that may be best left in the hands of trained professionals.

A certain irony here was discovering last weekend (through another source) that he has in fact already found work– with a small company specializing in web site design consulting.