Tightening Your Budget

The bail bonds business has been a trope in movies for years. Often scenes with fictional bail bond companies involve loads of cash, guns, and bounty hunter shoot-outs. When you're in need of a bail bond company, there are several cinematic myths you should overlook before choosing a legitimate company, like Absolute Bail Bonds.

Heading into a bail bonds agreement with the facts will help make any situation go a lot smoother.

Myth: Bail bonds are paid in cash only.

It's one of the more cliche scenes out there. A desperate man shows up at a shady office with a briefcase of money to help free his brother from jail. The money is always perfectly stacked in crisp one hundred dollar bills.

While cash is perfectly acceptable, bail bonds payments are accepted a number of different ways. Thanks to today's technology, the payment for a bond doesn't even have to be made in person. Bail bond companies in California often accept credit cards, money wires, or a direct deposit through a bank account connection. When dealing with a bond company, do not hesitate to ask about their accepted payments.

Myth: Deadly bounty hunter shoot outs.

When a person doesn't show up for a court, their bond is revoked and the bond company loses the money they paid for the client's promised appearance. In movies like "The Reunion" and "Domino," this often leads to deadly shootouts where no bounty is collected and the client is often killed in the process.

When someone misses their court appearance in real life, a bond company will do many things to collect the debt. The first step is to get the person to surrender themselves for the court appearance. If that cannot happen, a person's personal property will be collected. This includes vehicles, homes, and other valuable goods. A bail bond company will clearly state their bounty process on a website and in person.

Myth: Shady bail bond business practices.

It's a typical movie scene: A client finally collects the bail bonds money, but the company has decided to raise their fees and screw the person over. This would never happen at a real bail bonds business. In actuality, bail bond companies must have special licenses to operate. As a part of this, these companies must adhere to state laws that help regulate the process.

Through these laws, there are set fees and no surprise charges for the clients that work with bail bond companies. The standard fee is a non-refundable 10% of the total bail.

For example, if the bail is set at $10,000, then the bail bond amount will costs $1,000. This means that the company will pay the remaining $9,000 to the court. Once the case is over, the $9,000 is returned to the bond company. Nothing can be negotiated or changed in this process.

Myth: Only family members can pay for the bail bond.

This myth usually involves fictional crime families in TV shows and movies like "Jackie Brown." A father or sibling will pay the bond and then hunt their relative down when they skip out on the bail process. While it's common for family members to help each other out, bail bond companies accept payments from anyone for a client.

This means that a close friend, girlfriend, or boyfriend can help pay out your bail. Even someone who lives across the country can help make the payments. Through faxing and email, the forms and agreements can be sent digitally. Payments can be made over the phone and the full bail bond can be paid without stepping foot into the office.

If you have any questions, it's a good idea to visit the FAQ section of a bail bond website. Most of the questions are answered in detail and it's easy to find out more contact information.