How long does the PIN take at Bullingdon?
Phone list, PIN wait, first call, signal, and what families are actually seeing.
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Send on WhatsAppWhat the prison says
Official facts for this prison
Phones in cells
Source: GOV.UK · Last checked: 2025-10-31
First-night call available
Source: GOV.UK · Last checked: 2025-10-31
Switchboard 01869 353 100
Source: GOV.UK · Last checked: 2026-10-15
IMB: 52 applications about letters, visits and phones (2024–25)
Source: IMB annual report, HMP Bullingdon, 2024–25 · Last checked: November 2025
How prison phones work
- The person inside has to call you. Prison phones do not accept incoming calls.
- They can only call numbers that have been approved on their PIN / phone list.
- Calls are paid from their phone credit, not by the person receiving the call.
- Public-estate rates (from 1 April 2025): UK landline 2.48p/min weekday, 2.20p weekend; UK mobile 5.50p/min weekday, 3.60p weekend. Minimum charge 10p per connected call.
- Since 11 August 2026, 0800 numbers as social contacts — and numbers used for call diversion / re-routing — must be restricted.
- Samaritans calls are free. Staff may monitor calls.
What families reported
- Status: Phones are down
Phones down? · 6 days ago
- Status: Working again
Phones down? · 1w ago
“First call came through the same day.”
First call · Same day · 1w ago
“Phone list took about 6 days.”
Phone list / PIN · 6 days · 1w ago
“Phone list took about 10 days.”
Phone list / PIN · 10 days · 1w ago
“They are not feeding the prisoners properly and they are putting vulnerable prisoners on the same wing as someone who is raping young prisoners the inmates are cold hungry and they take forever to do anything for anyone it's so so wrong”
Communication issues · 1w ago
“Waited 17 days for the first call.”
First call · 2–3 weeks · 1w ago
“Mine took 17 days to get on the phone list.”
Phone list / PIN · 2–3 weeks · 1w ago
What to do next
What this actually means
The first call is not the same thing as being on the phone list. Reception often lets someone make a short first-night call. That does not mean every number is approved.
PIN approval is a security check. Families wait days, sometimes weeks. The range on this page is what other families at this prison have reported — not a promise from the prison.
Landline-rate numbers are cheaper than mobiles — about half the weekday cost. HMPPS tells prisons to restrict numbers linked to call diversion and re-routing. The number they submit has to be a real destination, not a hop.
Getting on the phone listQuestions families ask
- Families at HMP Bullingdon report 10 days. 9 family reports. Last report 21 October 2026. Reports vary. PIN is the phone list. These are community reports, not an HMPPS service level. IMB: 52 applications about letters, visits and phones, 2024–25. What people inside asked the board.
They pay from PIN credit. Official weekday rates are national: 2.48p a minute to a landline, 5.50p to a mobile, 10p minimum. Open the cost page for HMP Bullingdon.
- They submit the number. Security checks it. Until it clears, they cannot call that number from their PIN phone — even if they already called once from reception.
- Open the phones-down page for HMP Bullingdon. We show the phones as working unless a family reports an outage. If they still cannot get through, the number may be forwarded.
The phone list can refuse a number. That is not phones down. Mobile, landline, and numbers that forward are treated differently. Since 11 August 2026, forwards can be refused.
If the prison landline is not working, it is often the number — not the phones. Since 11 August 2026, forwards and call diversions can be refused. A landline that just rings your phone is different.