If Charges are Dropped, Do You Still Have to Pay a Bonding Company?
Written on February 23, 2018. Posted In Uncategorized
If you were arrested, you may have been granted bail. If you or a member of your family used a bonding company to post bail on your behalf, you may have many questions about the bail if the charges against you are dropped or if you are found not guilty. Many people wonder if the amount they paid for the bail bond is returned to them in this situation. Here is the information you will want to know if you are in this position.
Do You Still Have to Pay a Bonding Company if Charges are Dropped?
If the charges against you are dropped, dismissed or reduced, you will not get any money back from the bonding company that posted bail on behalf of you or a loved one. If you are still making payments on that bail amount, you are still required to make the payments until the agreed upon amount has been repaid.
Do You Get Bail Money Back if You are Found Not Guilty?
If you have been found not guilty at trial, any fees paid to the bonding company are non-refundable.
Why Do You Not Get Money Back in Either Situation?
When you are granted bail, you have a decision to make. You can post the full bail bond amount with the court on your behalf or on behalf of a loved one. For example, if bail is set at $10,000, you can post $10,000 with the courts. When the case comes to a close, all of the money will be returned to you, excluding any processing fees, as long as you or your loved one did not skip out on bail.
The other option you have is to pay a bonding company a fee to post bail on your or your loved one’s behalf. This fee is usually 12 to 15 percent of the bond amount. So, if bail was set at $10,000, you would pay a bonding company $1,500 to post bond. If the charges are dismissed against you or your loved one, or you are found not guilty, this money is not returned to you. The reason for this is because the bonding company still performed a service for you or your loved one. The fee they charged you was for this service. As such, unless bond was never posted for your loved one before the charges were dropped, you are never entitled to your money back once bail has been posted by a bonding company.
At Free at Last Bail Bonds, we are fully committed to reuniting families. If you or a loved one has found themselves behind bars and needs a bail service, we are here for you 24 hours a day. Call us at 470-410-3409 to begin the process of freeing your loved one.