The process of bail bonding is a difficult period emotionally for the relatives of the defendant and due to their vulnerability and naivety, they may fall victim to unscrupulous bail bonds agencies.
Here are a few ways to spot bail bond services in Orlando that might do more harm than good.
The next step is to research the available agencies; which one is closest to you. Proximity places an important role has some agencies do not take clients from out of town due to security risks, the ease at which you can walk into the agency is also dependent on how close it is to you.
As a guiding principle, if the deal is usually too good to be true it usually is. Most bail bonds agencies are not set up as charities and do not render their services out of the goodness of their hearts. You should beware of services that have no records in the jail house. The jail house is a good place to find credible agencies that regularly post bail bonds in Orlando on behalf of their clients, and you should ask an officer in the jail house if they are familiar with the agency you have chosen or intend to choose, they would usually be able to point you in the right direction. Hire a bail bond service based on trusted reviews and referrals.
Agencies that were just recently set up might also be a front for a scam and hence you should be wary of the new and shiny when it comes to bail bonds agencies. In the event the agency might even be legitimate, they might lack the necessary experience to make the bail bonds process go as smoothly as possible. If something goes wrong due to their inexperience or incompetence, your loved one might be on the receiving end. Stay away from them as much as possible.
Agencies that claim not to need any collateral should also cause you to raise eyebrows. The collateral signed on to the bonds agency is usually the guarantee they have the defendant would not abscond and leave them to foot the bill of the bail bonds, hence the collateral places a crucial role in this process. Therefore, any agency that claim not to require this crucial security which have an ulterior motive and you should either avoid or beware of them.
Exceedingly marginal interest rates; as already said before, most agencies are set up for profit and those that require little to no interest rates might be more interested in scamming you out of the collateral than getting the defendant out of jail. Some of these unscrupulous agencies even go out of their way to ensure the terms of the bail bonds is violated so they get to keep the collateral which is usually of greater value that the bail bonds itself.
Having your lawyer recommend a bail bonds agency might also help you avoid services that are out to take advantage of you. If it's possible have a lawyer go over all the necessary documents a bail bonds agency give you to sign before entering a contract with the bail bond agency in Orlando that might not be in your best interest.
While the period of someone you care for being locked up would cause you to be distraught, being vigilant of the schemes some agencies play to defraud vulnerable people would save you from more heartbreak.