bail bond

December 15, 2007 4:54 PM

If I post bail bond (in Florida for larceny and grand theft), for a relative via a credit card the bond agent wants me to sign 6 pages of legalese documents including a promissory note to a Texas bank @ 12% interest'. i thought this was a 1 way transaction. can anyone tell me what's this about.? can't find anything on the Net.
posted by lemuel to law & government (3 comments total)

If your relative skips bail, the bail agent will have to pay big money to the court. Apparently the agent considers a one-time credit card payment insufficient inducement to make this guarantee. You might try shopping around, although I understand you probably want to do this quickly.
posted by grouse at 5:15 PM on December 15, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Florida prohibits bounty hunters, so bond agents themselves track no-shows, and they'd really rather not. So, if you're bailing someone on a criminal charge via a Florida bondsman, and their bail is $10,000, you're going to go the typical 10% of bail as a bondsman's fee, plus processing and court costs (if any), for something like $1,100 to 1,500, up front, non-refundable. And you're going to sign a note that will go into the bondsman's hold file, sufficient to cover his forfeiture costs on the total bail, if the defendant doesn't show up for trial, and you'll pay interest on that money, starting the date it's forfeited to the court. The only way you can get that money back is if you or the bondsman returns the defendant for trial. Otherwise, you owe $9,000 + interest to the finance company, which is what that 6 page note is all about.
posted by paulsc at 6:09 PM on December 15, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

12% seems kinda high in this environment, knock 'em down to 6% or don't sign!
posted by bruce at 11:05 PM on December 15, 2007