In the bail bond industry, bail bond premiums are fees based on the total bail assigned to a defendant during an arrest or set by a judge during an arraignment or bail hearing. After the bail is set, indemnitors who sign for the defendant bail bond and the bail agent negotiate fees, payment plan terms if applicable and discounts the signers maybe eligible for. As an example, say John has a bail set at $100,000. The bail industry would typically charge a 10% fee on the face value of the bond. At CBB bail bonds, the first thing we do is check to see what discounts the clients are eligible for. Examples of how someone can be eligible for discounts are; retained lawyers discount, veteran discount, paid in full discount, full collateral discount, union member discounts, military discounts, senior citizen discounts, law enforcement discounts. And in addition to eligible discounts, under proposition 103, we can apply deeper discounted rates which in turn can help save thousands of dollars. Back to our example with John, John’s brother decides to bail out his brother, John has retained private counsel and is willing to pay in full instead of doing a payment plan and or decides to collateralize the bond. In this example instead of being charged $10,000 for the bail bond premium, at CBB bail bonds, we would discount $4,000 off the price bringing down John’s premium to $6,000. In some cases, we can bring our premiums down to even cheaper rates. We strive to offer our clients the best rates with unmatched customer satisfaction.
Annual bail premiums imply that bail agencies can charge fees or the entire bond premium to renew a defendant’s bond specified by a time frame typically outlined in the terms and conditions of a bail contract. Its no surprise that people can be caught by surprise and not be aware of these fees. At CBB Bail Bonds, not only are we 100% transparent with our clients, but we will never charge our clients for renewal fees or new bail bond premiums. At CBB Bail Bonds, we have a vested interest in helping our clients get through their cases.
There are no laws that regulate or prohibit a bail bond company from charging renewable premiums. Therefore, there is confusion with individuals who are released out on bond and do not do the research or read through the bail agreements. We know that when people call us for help, sometimes they do not know what questions to ask or where to start. Our professional staff is knowledgeable and will help walk you through the process. We will never take advantage of someone. We want people to trust us and refer us if the time were to ever come. This mindset is what has allowed us to grow and provide a different kind of bail bond service.
Bail bond renewable premium terms are typically outlined in the bail bond agreement between the indemnitor and or defendant contracts. Some agencies stipulate renewable premiums at one-year intervals and others at 2 years. It is important to understand these terms in the beginning and or ask the questions before signing a contract. Last thing you want is for you or your loved one to be surprised with more fees that you were not expecting. At CBB Bail Bonds, there are no “surprises”, everything is honest and transparent from the beginning. The goal is to give our clients peace of mind and focus on what is most important, your case. We understand that those financial resources need to be set aside for your attorney and or other services you may need rendered to aid in the defense of your case.
The answer is simple, we care about our client’s wellbeing. We know that when people call us, its because they are in a tough situation, contacting us is usually the first step someone can take to secure the defendant’s release. Before entering a contract, we at CBB Bail Bonds will take into consider all options before entering a contract. Sometimes, the bail can be set at an amount that is just too high to handle, when things like this occur, we can request a bail hearing through the court to try and negotiate terms of pretrial release. The goal in this scenario is to convince the courts to release the defendant on his or her own recognizance, reduce the bail amount, make the defendant eligible for bail if they are not and or request special conditions such GPS ankle monitors or enroll in a program such as AA classes, NA classes, anger management etc.
In most situations, a defendant’s case usually resolves within a year, some courts or counties have rules or policies where cases must reach a resolution or be passed a certain stage of the court process by certain time frames. This is done to help manage the flow of cases in a court, but every so often, there are complex cases that require more time, and or a case starts the trial phase in which this can easily surpass a year. Its at this point, that the “big surprise” comes, and clients get charged annual premiums and or fees. At CBB bail bonds, we have a belief that once your out on bond, we want our clients to focus on what matters most, and that is resolving their case, regardless of how long it takes.
In conclusion, we do not believe it’s fair to charge clients renewable bail bond fees because there are a number of reasons why a case may delay or not settle within a year. Some reasons include but are not limited to delays with the prosecution, setting a case for trial, busy court calendars, public health emergencies, investigations, the defendant delaying his or her case to get help/treatment and or many other reasons. We always assure our clients and always want them to know that we have their best interest at heart. We want our clients to make sound decisions without the added pressure of having to come up with more money. Our motto is simple, bail out with CBB Bail Bonds and stay out.
Just ask! When contacting a bail bond agency, its important to understand the process. In a time where things are hectic, its hard to understand all the language and terms in a bail bond contract because the client wants their loved one out fast. Executing a bail bond quickly and efficiently is important and is our #1 priority but making sure our clients understand their options helps make sound financial choices. Here at CBB Bail Bonds, we want to help you and will never take advantage of someone’s distress. Think of it like this, say you walk into a car dealership and you want to purchase a car. The seller does not explain anything other then gathering a few signatures and lets you drive off with the car that you want. Feels good now but then you realize that the price is not what you thought it was, or maybe the finance terms are not reasonable or there are hidden service contracts you were not aware of. You would be disappointed and worse yet, be locked into a contract you did not necessarily agree with. Therefore, we take the time to explain everything and answer any questions or concerns our clients may have. There are no surprises with us. The only surprises our clients get from us is big discounts and 100% customer satisfaction.
There are many reasons why some agencies would charge fees and others will not. Some bail agencies are restricted due to corporate polices and others because they have quotas to fulfill or in some rare instances, take advantage of someone’s distress. We do not engage in any of these practices because we like helping people. Our reviews speak for themselves and have created relationships with hundreds of clients who in turn create referrals. Throughout the years, we have built a solid reputation and created relationships with our clients who know we can be trusted and counted on for professional bail bond services.
When entering a contract with a bail bond, sometimes 3rd party services are required such as notary fees or recording fees or bail posting fees. When we negotiate our fees, we take into consideration these services and will never charge that in addition to premium fees. Our fees are flat and will always let our clients know ahead of time if there are other fees associated to a bail contract. In some instances, extra services are required per the request of a court and we will always work with our clients to provide the services at cost effective rates or in some scenarios zero out of pocket costs. California department of insurance does permit bail agencies to charge some fees in special circumstances but always must be justified. Here is a clear example, let us say Maria calls CBB bail bonds. Maria lives locally to us and is calling to inquire about bailing out her friend Sandy. Sandy is in a jail facility 300 miles from our main service area. In this situation, we can under write the bond, contact a bail agency who under writes from the same surety company and have that bail agent post the bond and transfer the liability of the bond to us. This enables our organization to reach out and provide bail services in areas where some agencies would not be able to service because of the network we have. In the example mentioned above, we would be justified billing for a posting fee. But here are CBB Bail Bonds, we do not! Our goal is to make the bail process as seamless as possible.
Reassumption of liability is used when the bond posted for the defendant enters a forfeiture. Situations can arise where several factors can take place such as mis calendaring a court date, or maybe the defendant had an emergency and was unable to attend his or her court appearance. When this happens, the courts may issue a warrant and order the bail bond into forfeiture. When this occurs or if you anticipate but being able to attend your court date, it is imperative that you contact your bail agent immediately. In this scenario, we can attempt to reach the court and notify them of your absence, or we make arrangements to re calendar your case and give the court a form stipulating that the bail agency is willing to re assume the liability on his or her bail bond. We noticed that standard practices in this industry allow for an agency to charge fees for resumption of the liability notice to file with the court. CBB Bail bonds does not charge our clients for this. Sometimes there are filing issues the court and do not properly record the bond or maybe not have it on file. We do not penalize or charge fees to our clients for simple or little mistakes, we take care of our clients, the problems and move forward.
Its important that during a stressful situation, we need to take the time to fully understand these terms. Its easy to overlook these conditions, especially when your number one priority is to secure the defendants release. We will never take advantage of someone’s vulnerable moments and its important to turn to someone who you can trust. CBB Bail Bond agents are trained and screened to assure highest quality service day or night, 365 days a year.
The first thing that you need to do is contact the bail bond agency immediately. Most bail agencies will receive notice of forfeiture within a few days of the missed court date. You will need to make arrangements to either come into the office or meet the bail agent at the court where your case is held. In most situations, the warrant is recalled, the bail agent signs a reassumption of liability form and the defendant is given a new court date to return. In some circumstances, the judge can revoke or remand the defendant into custody or raise the bond amount. It is extremely important that you do not miss any court dates. Always contact your attorney for advice. At CBB bail bonds, we strive to minimize these errors by enrolling in our clients into a text message reminder system. Our clients and their signers will always receive a notification the day before a scheduled event as a reminder. Our downloadable app also creates calendar events in their mobile device with full details, courthouse, address, department, date and time. Not to mention, all our clients can call us at anytime to verify these details. We have staff that checks the status of our clients’ cases and makes sure to update our clients with any changes to their court dates. We implement a 2-layer check system to make sure our clients don’t get into any other problems.
A reassumption of liability is a form provided by your bail bond company where it sets aside the forfeiture and reassumes the liability on the bond. Not all forms are the same, every surety company has different forms but essentially all achieve the same goal, reassume the liability of the bond and prevent the defendant’s detention. This is another example of how some bail agents can take advantage and charge fees. CBB Bail Bonds is focused on helping individuals and building relationships. We are not going to jeopardize that over a few extra bucks.
Start by looking at reviews, online review forums offer some insight to the bail company or bail agents working under that companies conduct. Its important that you go with a bail bond company who has a solid reputation. At CBB Bail Bonds, 90% of our clientele come from referrals or attorneys who know that will always do the right thing. We are endorsed with over 30 criminal defense law firms who know that they can depend on us. Check out our reviews and see why hundreds of people have praised our service and given us highest ratings.
In conclusion, CBB Bail Bonds is dedicated to serving our clients and our communities. Turning to a bail bond agency is never a good thing but is the first step most people take. Finding a trustworthy and honest bondsman that has your best interest at heart is right here at CBB Bail Bonds. We are just one call away from turning a bad situation into solutions.
For more information on Annual Premiums, please contact us and one of our licensed agents will contact you to go over the processes.
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