"Why
Glickman Bail Bonds"
Glickman
Bail Bonds has been family owned and operated since 1970, we value
our customers and treat them fairly and professional. Unfortunately, not all
bail bondsmen feel the same way.
Friends and family experience a
lot of stress when a loved one is in jail. If you have never experienced it, It
can a trying & emotional time...Glickman Bail Bonds understands that.
That sense of panic leaves people vulnerable to a number of bail bond
scams and fraud that unprofessional and unlicensed bail bondsman prey on..
Don’t be caught by one of these
schemes. Some can be costly for you and are illegal. STAY AWAY if
any bail agent approaches you with one of these offers:
1) "Cheap
bail bonds" may seem like a good deal, but they're not."
Some bail agents promise "5% or 6% bail or another amount that's much
lower than the 10% bail bond premium required by law in most states. A
company that offers a cut rate is likely either advertising deceptively or
blatantly violating the law.
For instance, if the court sets a
bail amount of $50,000, the bail premium (the fee that you pay to a bail
bondsman) is usually 10% of the total, or $5,000.00 You pay that fee to
the bail agent, who then promises the court that the defendant will show up for
all their court appearances and is then released from jail. The
bail agent keeps the bail premium as a fee for assuming the liability of the
full amount of the bond.
You may see a bail bond company
advertise "5% bail bonds" – which would mean a bail bond fee of
$2,500.00 instead of $5,000.00 on a $50,000 bond. That sounds like a great
deal over the phone or on paper, and we all jump at the chance to save some money.
Unfortunately, once at the bail agent’s office, many are surprised to find out
that the bail company will take 5% in cash or credit cards as a down payment and
finance the balance, likely with high interest. Which they will tell you AFTER
the paperwork is signed
It’s a classic “bait and
switch." But with a loved one sitting in jail and no guarantee that any
other bail agent would act any differently, most people just go ahead and sign
the paperwork. This practice isn't illegal, but it is misleading.
Glickman Bail Bonds offers
financing, without interest charges, and will arrange this with you in advance,
rather than trick you into coming to their office with false assumptions and
hidden charges.
A practice that is VERY
illegal though, is for any bail agent to charge less than the rate established
by law. Bail agents can lose their license and have their businesses shut
down.
Glickman Bail Bonds can
LEGALLY charge as low as 8% for a bail bond, but conditions apply.
Bail agents are prohibited from
hanging out in the jail or on the police station steps and offer bail services. Most
agents ignore this law and solicit business this way anyway. Majority of the
public do not know this is prohibited.
The Bail agents doing this are
usually UNLICENSED and after getting your attention, they pass you onto a
licensed bail agent. These Bail Bonds companies do not care about the
clients and just want your premium. Do you really want to do business with
a company that doesn't care about their clients best interests and knowingly commits
unprofessional acts? of course you don't.
Any bail agent who does this is
in danger of losing their license and could even face felony charges and
jail time.
Unscrupulous agents obtain
booking information and track loved ones over the Internet. If a bail
agent ever calls you on behalf of someone in jail, find out who called the agent
with the request. Be suspicious if the agent refuses to tell you or tells
you they obtained the information from the police or online.
To make it easier to understand,
in the bail industry, a client must contact a bail agent. It is illegal for a
bondsman to call and offer unrequested services. Calling a family member is
perfectly legal if the defendant contacts the bail bondsman first and asks the
bondsman to do so. But if a bail agent calls you – and the person in
jail didn't call them first - then the agent is acting illegally. Don't
deal with that caller – he or she may not even be an actual bail bondsman
so don't give any information about yourself to them.
Some scam artists will call
you at home and ask to meet you someplace like a coffee shop because their
office "is far away", make you sign fake paperwork, take your money,
promise you that the person in jail will be out in an hour and
disappear.
Unfortunately, these scams play
into the misconception that people have about the bail bond industry as a shady,
underhanded kind of business. True, some bail agents are unethical, but
there are thousands of honest bail bond agents.
While it may seem as though a
bail bondsman is offering you a great deal, be careful. Everybody loves a
bargain, but ask yourself why this person is offering an arrangement that's so
different from other bail agents.
Glickman Bail Bonds works
within the system and plays by the rules. You can count on us to
treat you fairly.