Will My Credit Score Be Affected if I Bail My Friend Out of Jail?

Posted on May 20, 2020 by bailbondshamiltoncounty

There is a higher awareness for financial protection and planning these days, considering all the new and innovative technologies available at our grasp. So, when you are faced with the decision of bailing a friend out of jail, you might have questions about the potential liability you take on in doing so, especially when it comes to your credit scores.

If you were recently asked to post a friend’s bail, be sure you understand the seriousness of a bail bond agreement, the risk you take on, and how it might affect your credit. Continue reading to learn these facts and more.

Bail Bond Agreements

Bail bond agreements are legally-binding contracts. You must sign one in order to purchase bail bond services and get your friend out of jail using a bail bond. Upon signing a bail bond agreement, you instantly take on all liability and responsibility for ensuring your friend appears for their scheduled court hearing. If your friend does not show up for their court date, you are legally obligated to pay back the entire bail premium in full to the bail bond company. The bail premium is the amount of money set by the judge following your friend’s arrest. In most cases, this premium is in the thousands or tens of thousands of dollars. This means you do not want to be legally responsible for paying this back.

Accordingly, you must ask yourself whether or not you are willing to take on such liability on their behalf. If they have a habitual criminal history, or a history of not showing up for court, you may want to rethink signing a bail bond contract for their release from jail. On the other hand, if you are 100% sure that your friend is trustworthy, and you know they will show up for court, you can feel comfortable moving forward with signing the agreement.

So long as your friend appears for court, you are off the hook for the bail premium. However, keep in mind that the fee you pay the bail bondsman is non-refundable, so be sure to have your friend pay you back when they get out of jail! Do you have questions about bail bond fees? See our blog, “FAQS About Bail Bond Prices” to learn how fees are calculated.

Bail Bonds and Credit Scores

The only way your credit score can be affected in anyway as a result of bailing a friend out of jail using a bail bond service is if you purchase the bail bond on credit, and then fail to pay if off. However, most bail bond companies do not accept credit, and only allow payments in cash, or sometimes collateral, such as property.

How to Get Started With Noblesville Bail Bond Services

Call Uptown Bail Bonds at 317-919-2489 for fast and friendly bail bond services in Hamilton County, Indiana. Not only is our office conveniently located right next to the courthouse, we are the CLOSEST bail bondsmen to the courthouse. Best of all, we offer 24 hour bail bonds, county and state bonding, free jail and inmate information, and we serve several other cities in Indiana; including Boone County, Madison County, Marion County, and more.

The Process of Using Bail Bonds

Posted on March 31, 2020 by bailbondshamiltoncounty

Having knowledge about how the bail bond system works can not only better prepare you for what to expect, it can also eliminate the stress that comes with discovering someone close to you has been arrested. Continue reading to learn how bail bonds work, and which company to trust for prompt and professional services.

The Standard Bail Bond Process

As soon as a person is arrested, they are taken to the nearest county jail. So if someone were arrested in Noblesville, Indiana, they would be detained at the Hamilton County jail. Once a person is transferred to the jail, they are placed in a holding cell that looks much like the jail cells you’ve probably seen on television. These holding cells are generally located directly in the booking and processing room. Booking and processing are terms that refer to the process of getting an defendant’s fingerprints, mug shots, personal information, and more, and then entering all these records into the jail’s database system.

An arrested person will wait in their holding cell until jail staff can get to them and begin their booking and processing. This can take anywhere from a couple of hours, to an entire day or more; depending on how busy the jail is, the number of staff working, and whether or not an arrested person is intoxicated. If intoxicated, jail staff cannot begin the booking process until the arrestee is entirely sober. This usually means they won’t even check on them for at least 8 hours. Once they are sober, they can be booked and processed.

Now once a person has been booked and processed, they are eligible for bail. They can either call a local bail bond company for immediate assistance and service, or they can call a friend or family member and have them call a bail bondsman. They can forgo both these options and pay their bond in cash, but this is rare considering not many people have this amount of cash on hand. If a person does choose to pay their entire bond amount in cash, a total that can be upwards of 10,000 or more, they will be released from jail and their payment will be returned when they appear for their scheduled court hearing.

Bail Bond Prices and Payments

When a person calls a bail bond company, they are making a good choice. This is the easiest and most secure way to obtain a release from jail for yourself or another person. A bail bond company pays the entire bond amount, in exchange for a small non-refundable fee. This fee is mandated by law, so no other bail bond company charges more or less for their services. Bail bond prices are figured by calculating ten or fifteen percent of the person’s total bond amount. So, if a person’s bond amount was 10,000 dollars, a bail bondsman will ask for a non-refundable fee of 1,000 to 1,500 dollars for his services.

In addition to this fee, the person bailing a friend or loved one out of jail with a bail bond will be obligated to sign a contract stating they are responsible for paying the remainder of the defendant’s bond amount if the defendant fails to appear for court. If the person you bail out of jail with a bail bond doesn’t show up for their schedule court date, you are legally responsible for paying the bail agent the remainder of their bond.

This is because the bail bond company forfeits the monies they put up for the defendant’s release, with the expectation that they will receive that money back when the person shows up for court. So, if they don’t show, the bail agent doesn’t get their money back, but they do have a binding agreement with the person who signed for the bail bond saying they are legally responsible for paying the bail agent back.

Fast and Friendly Bail Bonds in Indianapolis, Indiana

Call Uptown Bail Bonds at 317-919-2489 for fast and friendly, bail bond services in Hamilton County, Indiana. We offer 24 hour bail bonds, county and state bonding, free jail and inmate information, and we serve several other areas, including Madison County, Marion County, Boone County, and more. Request a free estimate, anytime!

How to Post Your Own Bail

Posted on June 27, 2016 by bailbondshamiltoncounty

Sadly, not everyone has the option of calling a friend or loved one for help posting bail after being arrested. Not because the jail revokes their phone privileges, and not necessarily because they don’t have any friends or family, but because certain circumstances simply don’t allow it. Whether for pride, employment protection, or something else, sometimes a person must post their bail all on their own. Fortunately, there are convenient ways to do so. If you currently have an arrest warrant and need to surrender soon, continue reading and
learn how to post your own bail.

Get Booked and Processed

Be prepared to wait while jail staff books all the inmates. This could take anywhere from an hour to several hours, depending on the amount of traffic. The booking process includes mugshot, finger printing, gathering of personal information, and more. Once you have been processed through the system, you will be led back to the holding cell and given the opportunity to make phone calls. Jails will allow as many phone calls as you need to arrange a release from jail. However, bad behavior will take away this privilege until they believe you are ready.

Then Make a Choice

To post your own bail, you have two options. You can choose to pay the entire bond amount in cash at the jail, or you can choose to pay a small percentage of your total bond amount by hiring a bail bond company. If you pay cash for your full bond, your payment will be refunded back to you when you show up for all court hearings. If you use a bail bond company, the percentage you pay is a non-refundable fee. Even if you have the thousands of dollars to pay your full bond amount in cash doesn’t mean it is a wise choice. You don’t want to empty your bank account for a release from jail. Choose a bail bond service for a more practical and simple way to get out of jail.

Call a Bail Bond Company

A bail bond company will only charge you a small percentage of your total bond amount, and although non-refundable, it is a highly-worthwhile investment. Make a phone call to a local bail bond company located near the county jail you are locked up in. Then tell them your information and they will take it from there! They will provide supportive, professional bail bond services, and can even pick you up from jail and drop you off at their office to complete the rest of the paperwork.

Murello’s Uptown Bail Bonds

Hamilton County Bail Bonds 317-919-2489

Call Uptown Bail Bonds at 317-919-2489 to get out of the Hamilton County jail. We offer fast and friendly 24 hour bail bonds for anyone arrested in Noblesville, Indiana and its surrounding locations. Our experienced bail bondsmen are happy to help you surrender to an arrest warrant, bail yourself out of jail, and provide professional guidance. Call 317-919-2489 to request a free estimate or bail bond information, any time.

How Much Does an Inmate Search Cost?

Posted on November 20, 2015 by bailbondshamiltoncounty

When you believe that a friend or loved one has been arrested, the first step is discovering where the arrest took place and which correctional facility they may be detained at. You could choose to open up the Yellow Pages and proceed to call every county jail in your city, but this might take a while.

The quickest way to determine where a friend or loved one is being held in custody is by performing an inmate search. There are several resources available for this service, either online, in person, or over the phone. Continue reading to learn more about inmate lookup resources and how much this service costs in Indiana.

Inmate Lookup Services

You can use online resources that provide inmate look ups for all counties in a state. There are several sites that offer this service, most of which require you to sign up for an account and pay a particular fee. These fees can either be one-time fees or multiple charges based on the number of searches you perform. Fees range anywhere from $5 to $25, depending on the portal you choose. But this is not the most cost-effective way to perform an inmate search to locate a friend or loved one in jail!

Most bail bond companies provide inmate lookup services for free, whether you use them for bail bonds or not. They retain the professional access required to view jail databases and look up a person’s arrest in minutes. So the next time you want to find out where your friend or loved one has been arrested, contact a local and trusted Bail Bond Company in Hamilton County, Indiana for fast, friendly, and FREE assistance.

Murello’s Uptown Bail Bonds

Noblesville Bail Bonds 317-919-2489

Call Uptown Bail Bonds at 317-919-2489 to get out of jail in Hamilton County, or to request an inmate search for your friend or loved one in Noblesville, Indiana. We are a licensed, bonded, and insured bail bond agency that provides a wide range of professional services for bail bonds, arrest warrants, inmate searches, and more. We offer free jail and inmate bail bond information, 24 hours a day and 7 days a week! Call 317-919-2489 for fast and friendly bail bonds in Hamilton County, IN today.