Do you know someone who has been wrongly arrested? Do they need bail money so that they can try to get on with their life while waiting for their day in court? Being innocent isn't a guarantee that a person will never get arrested. Sometimes police make mistakes or sometimes a person was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.  

Unfortunately, simply saying that you didn't do anything wrong isn't going to make a judge set bail any lower. And that's why bail bondsmen were invented. They'll put up the bail money in exchange for payment from you. But before you simply hire the first one that you can find in your area, here are some questions you should be asking.

1. How much do you charge? In some locations, a bail bondsman must charge a certain fee for his or her services. This is generally set as a percentage of whatever the bail is set at. For instance, if bail is set at $10,000 and the bail bondsman charges 10%, then you'd have to pay him or her $1,000 whether or not the person being bailed out shows up for the court date as per the terms of the bail agreement. If the person being bailed out doesn't show up in court, then you'd owe him or her the bail amount plus additional fees set by the bail bondsman.

2. Do you charge extra for copies of the contract? Always get a copy of whatever contract you sign with the bail bondsman. If he or she doesn't have a contract for you to sign, look elsewhere. There are people out there who claim to be bail bondsmen, but who are not legally qualified to do so. These people could take off with your money without providing bail, and then it can be nearly impossible to get your money back. Always get a copy of the contract so that you know exactly what the terms are and so you have proof that you gave them money.

3. How soon can you get this person out of jail? An experienced bail bondsman will never give you an exact timeframe. One who tells you that it will be in exactly three days or something similar is either extremely inexperienced or is lying to you, and you should look elsewhere. A bail bondsman will work as quickly as possible to get a person out of jail, but the court system can be slow. It's not like on TV where you post bail and get out in less than five minutes. It could take a few hours, or it could be a couple of days, depending on a number of factors like how busy the courts are and when your friend or relative was actually arrested.

For more information, contact a company like First Choice Bail Bonds.

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