Marketing is a big part of the bail bond business.Make the name and phone number memorable!
Photo by Diane Taylor
Ever been in jail? Me neither. I started doing a story about the funny names of bail bond companies in Las Vegas, but along the way, I learned a lot more.
For example: If you have a rental car in Las Vegas and you keep it a couple extra days figuring the rental car company has your credit card and they’ll just charge you more, you could be in trouble. In Nevada, keeping a car longer than originally contracted and not getting authorization from the car company, means…you have just stolen a car. If your car is spotted and you are arrested, your bail now is $20,000. If you don’t have the $20,000 or have a friend or relative who’s willing to put up the entire $20,000 until your court date, you need to find a professional company that provides a bail bond, a financial assurance that you will show up in court.
Competitors next to each other on Las Vegas Boulevard.Photo by Diane Taylor
Look in the yellow pages for a bail bond company, and at first you might laugh. Las Vegas bail bond companies have memorable names such as: Aardvark Bail Bonds (lots of “A” listings to be early in the phone book), Kiss Bail Bonds (Kiss the jail goodbye), Bad Boy Bail Bonds, Jailbusters Bail Bonds (featuring a free ride home from jail and a t-shirt), Scream and Shout Bail Bonds, Express Bail Bonds, I Didn’t Do It Bail Bonds, Goodfella’s Bail Bonds (“Free hugs”), Bust Out Bail Bonds, etc.
The greatest number of arrests in the Las Vegas valley come to the Clark County Detention Center and that’s where most of the bailed-out offenders come from as well.Photo by Diane Taylor
Though you might find hundreds of listings for bail bond companies, I’m told the town has only about 20 master bail bond companies, each of which do business under a number of company names. I talked with one company that is actually seven companies (having purchased a number of smaller companies, they say), but now has only two locations. The young gal who answers the phone for all seven companies does not need to keep the company names in her head when she picks up the phone, she just answers all the numbers, “Bail Bonds”. How do they stay in business? “By reputation and treating everyone decently.”(One bail bond company I visited actually had a Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce customer service award on its wall.)
Once you contact a bail bond company (usually first by telephone), you are informed that to have a bond issued, a fee of 15% of the bail amount is required along with court costs ($40) to file each bail bond. The 15% fee is the same for all bail bond companies in Nevada, is non-refundable and is in addition to the bail and court filing fee amounts.
Though the person signing for the bail bond puts up only 15% of the bail amount, that person must assure the bail bond company that if necessary, they can pay the entire bail amount. (For larger bail amounts, cars and houses are often necessary as collateral.) The bail bond company is actually the licensed agent of a surety company and makes up the bond under the surety company’s name. A bond document is then hand delivered to the jail. When the person shows up for his or her court date, the bond is returned to the bail bond company and an attorney files to have the bond exonerated.
If you come to visit a detainee at the Clark County Detention Center, follow the rules!Photo by Diane Taylor
If the person being bailed out does not show for their court date, a warrant is issued and the bail is forfeited with payment due in 180 days. If the person cannot be located within 180 days of the court date, the entire bond amount is paid to the court and the person who signed for the bail must now reimburse the bail bond company, and the bail bond company reimburses the surety company. A bounty hunter, or “bail enforcement agent”, may be hired within the 180-day period to find the person who missed the court date. An in-house employee may be a bail enforcement agent, or a free-lance agent can be hired. The person putting up the bail must pay the cost of the bail enforcement agent as well. In Nevada, everyone in the bail bond business must adhere to special licensing and training regimens, and the processes are cumbersome. Anyone convicted of the rather vague definition, “moral turpitude”, or any financial crimes cannot work in the business.
What is the greatest satisfaction in being in the bail bond business? Two bail bond employees I interviewd each noted that providing bail so that someone arrested for a mild infraction can be released and not lose their job and livlihood for their family…is the greatest satisfaction. Otherwise, sad stories, tears, anger and unkept promises are also part of the business. When I visited one bail bond company, the owner’s cell phone rang and he noted, “This is one of the tricks of the game; we have a program that actually gives us the telephone number of phones that are supposed to be restricted. We always know the number calling us.”
A three-year employee at one company observed that she liked her job because she is treated well and “I like all the stories”.
”Basically we are a financial institution and issue short-term loans with one large interest payment to people in need,” one bail bond employee explained.
The headquarters for 911 Bail Bonds is undergoing renovation, so its sign is ground-bound.Photo by Diane Taylor
The offices of bail bond companies generally don’t win awards for décor. (Does the term “hole in the wall” ring a bell?). However, the 911 Bail Bond headquarters (at Desert Inn and Eastern) proudly says it occupies a former dental office and is in the process of upgrading its offices and waiting areas.
How’s business? One bail bond company noted that business has been down so tactics change. For example, this particular company said it now, in certain cases, issues “credit” to the person needing to come up with the 15%. With good credit, that person may now pay the amount over a period of several weeks.
Another company noted that when last October, bail amounts for many Class 2 felonies moved from $3000 to $20,000, business suffered. Friends or family members who could afford a 15% fee amount of $450 now must come up with a fee of $3000 and a promise to pay up to $20,000. “And when I tell them that, they just laugh,” said one bail bond employee.
Another problem: “The laws keep changing regarding reclaiming assets in a case where a person doesn’t show up for court. The bond is forfeited and we need to reclaim the collateral. If we go to court, we win the case, but we don’t always prevail in terms of collecting the assets. That’s when we lose and the business is a real headache.”
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