4 Facts Most People Don't Understand About The Bondsman

15 December 2016
 Categories: Finance & Money, Blog

Share

If you have a loved one who has called you from jail asking for you to post bail, you may already be thinking that there is no way you can afford the cost of the bail. It is in these situations that you will want to turn to a bondsman who can help with the cost. However, before you do this, you need to understand how a bondsman works and what your conditions are when utilizing their services. Here are four facts most people don't understand about bondsman that you need to know before using their services:

  1. You Don't Pay the Full Bail: Many people don't understand that you don't actually pay the full bail amount when you post it. Most of the time, it's only required that you pay 10% of it. This can make posting bail a bit more affordable for you. However, the amount can still be high, so using a bondsman can definitely still be helpful. 
  2. There are Conditions: Most people think that the bondsman provides the funds you need until you can pay them back and that's it. However, this is not the case. What will happen is you will have to offer up some collateral that will be taken from you if your loved one does not meet the terms of their bail, such as showing up for their court date. The bondsman won't want to be responsible for this. You will also have to pay fees for their services, which makes the amount you are paying for bail a bit higher because of these included fees. 
  3. You Can Pay in Various Ways:  It's a common misconception that you have to pay cash when using the services of a bondsman. However, most bondsmen allow you to pay with card or check and in some cases even with a credit card. This ensures that you can post bail as soon as possible without having to worry about getting cash. 
  4. You Have to Take Part in the Responsibility of Your Loved One: When you hire a bondsman, it's true that they will hire a bounty hunter if your loved one decides to flee instead of meet their bail terms. However, this doesn't mean that you shouldn't try to keep track of your loved one and ensure that they are meeting the conditions of the bail. This is because you will be held responsible for additional fees for the bounty hunter, as well as getting your collateral taken away from you as mentioned before. 

When you know these four facts that most people don't understand about bondsman, you can understand your risks and what you need to do to make the services of a bondsman like Bail Bond BY Affordable Bonding worth it in the end.