If your loved one ends up in jail, it is natural that you are super freaked out and nervous. But unfortunately, this is precisely the kind of situation that a con artist is looking forward to exploiting. You might just end up getting exploited by fraud people or organizations acting as bail bond agents. You want to secure bail for your loved one as soon as you can. But it is important to be alert and observe discretion while choosing a Redding bail bonds agent.
Identifying a fake bail bond agent is no rocket science. You just got to follow a few basic tips and you are good to go.
Beware of Solicitations and Cold Calls
This is the most important signal to look out for. Ideally, the arrested member himself will contact the bail bond agent or one of their family members will. But if you get a cold call from someone telling you so and so have been arrested and they can help in securing them a bail, consider this a red flag.
The same goes for bail bond agents lurking inside jail premises in search of vulnerable family members. A professional bail bond agent would never approach you themselves. You would have to contact them first.
They Should be Licensed
Professional bail bond agents would always be licensed by the relevant authorities. While meeting an agent, make sure you check their licenses and all. If they tell you stories about the license getting lost or it’s in the process or something, do not even consider hiring them. Be very cautious while looking for bail bonds in Weaverville.
Avoid a Bail Bond Agent If He is Offering Discounts
A bail bond agent would usually charge you 10 percent of the bail amount. This would be their fee for the work done. But if you meet someone who claims to be offering huge discounts, don’t trust them easily. If something looks too good to be true, you might be making yourself available for a scam.
A Professional Bail Bond Agent Would Complete All Paperwork
A genuine bail bond agent would complete all paperwork in the right sequence whereas a fraudster would try to hoodwink you into paying without paperwork. All scams essentially exploit the vulnerability of the human psyche. When a loved one has been arrested, our mind is in panic mode. So it’s easy to fall prey to such a scam.
But that’s where you got to be vigilant. Whenever you communicate with a bail bond agent, make sure you insist on filling out all the paperwork. They would take down your ID details, employment record, and all that. There would be a proper contract in place.
A bail bond agent might also require you to provide collateral or some other sort of security against the bond. This is to make sure that the bond agent can recover the entire bail amount if the defendant fails to appear in court. It is obvious that for so many details to be worked out, paperwork is imperative.
Never trust an agent easily when you are looking for bail bonds in Red Bluff. Make sure that the bail bond agent you finally choose ticks all these boxes right.
