Arrests can happen at any time. If you, a friend, or a loved one has been arrested, getting them out of jail is what you prioritize. Getting your loved one out of jail means that you need to meet the bail condition set. There are two options to meet that bail condition: pay directly and in full to the court or hire a bail bond agent. When you hire a bail bondsman in San Angelo like Freedom / Libertad Bail Bonds, you get to save more money. Bond dealers do not take the total amount demanded by the court. Instead, they take a certain percentage which will become the payment for their services. If you cannot come up with the total amount demanded by the court in exchange for the release of your loved one, a bail bondsman is your next line of action.
What is a Bail Bond?
A bail bond is a type of bail that saves you money and is guaranteed by a bail bondsman. For a bail amount to be paid, it has to have been set by a judge. Once the amount is set, a bail bond agent can help you cover it while paying a percentage of the bail amount as a service fee. Once paid, the bail bondsman helps to process the release of your loved one from jail.
Working with a bond dealer is flexible. They save you money and can also offer you financing solutions to cover your premium. The major difference between paying directly to the court and using a bond dealer is a refund. While the court will refund you at the end of the case provided you meet all conditions, a bail bondsman won’t. You’ll have to decide whether you can come up with the total refundable amount demanded as bail or pay a fraction of the bail amount.
What to Look for in a Bail Bondsman
If you have decided to work with a bond dealer, you have made a wise financial decision. Looking for the right bail bondsman can be a hassle, especially as there are many of them. You need to be able to sift through the promises of the best-quality services to narrow down who is who. To get started, follow these tips.
Ask for Recommendations and Do Your Research
When looking for a bail bond agent, the first line of action is asking for recommendations from family, colleagues, and friends. While collecting the details, conduct a simple internet search of the top bail bondsmen in your community. If any of them have, in the past, worked with a reputable bail bonds company, they’ll be glad to help. If they have also engaged the services of a bad bail bondsman, they’ll be quick to warn you. While conducting your research, make sure to read reviews from past clients. Past client reviews can give you an idea of what to expect from the bail bondsman.
Once you have collected a list of bond dealers in your area, you can begin to thin the list down. Consider the availability of the bail bondsman and how fast their services are. Naturally, you want a bail bonds company available 24 hours a day to address all of your needs. You also want a bail bonds company to process your loved one out of jail as fast as possible.
Ask Questions
Once you have thinned the list of potential bail bond agents in your community, proceed to interview them. Ask about their services and rates. You should also ask about the documents and information needed to process your loved one out of jail. In general, the bail bonds company should request important information like the defendant’s name, the offenses they have allegedly committed, where the defendant is being held, and the amount set as a bail condition.
You can also ask about refunds at the end of the case. While most bail bonds agents do not offer refunds, you may be lucky to find a different situation with your local bail bonds agent. You can also ask about how fast their services are and when you can expect your loved ones to be released from jail.
Financing
In some cases, you may be unable to pay the 10 to 15% premium charged by the bail bonds agent at once. A good way to choose the right bail bonds agent is to ask about financing options. Some bail bonds agents offer flexible financing solutions that help you to spread the payment over an agreed period. This will reduce your financial weight and help you to maintain financial stability.
