Bail agents failing to provide a collateral receipt!
Bondsmen that fail to provide a collateral receipt are committing a felony of the third degree. This collateral receipt is usually not provided so that there is no record of the collateral that you deposited and makes it very easy for the bondsman to keep. If you are not provided a collateral receipt and the bondsman refuses to provide one, call the police immediately.

Bail agents trading bond fees for sex.
There are several bail bondsmen in Brevard County who exploit women by getting them out of jail for no money and then making them perform lewd acts upon them instead of collecting the appropriate bond fee.

Doing business with "fly-by-night" companies.
If the bondsman is meeting you at a convenience store or a fast food restaurant and using their car for an office then you should probably not be doing business with them. This practice should not be confused with a bondsman trying to make things more convenient for you by coming to a location near you or to your house on a housecall which is sometimes done for the elderly or those without transportation. Also, there are some companies that have a central office and use "satellite" agents in other counties. This is an acceptable business practice. Please use discernment in your observation of these practices when doing business.

Illegal transfer fees.
A transfer fee is charged if the person you are getting out is in a county different than the one you are doing business in. {Example: If you are in Brevard County and are meeting a bondsman in Brevard County to post a bond in Volusia County then a transfer fee would be charged to you in addition to the bond fee.} A transfer fee in the State of Florida is $100.00. If however, you are doing business with a bail bondsman in the county where the defendant is located by phone or FAX or even driving to their office location, there is no transfer fee involved. There are several bondsmen in Brevard County that will charge you a transfer fee because they are unavailable to write the bond themselves or they are out of powers because they are a "fly by night" operation. Do not pay a transfer fee to a bondsman in the county in which you are bailing the defendant out of. {Example: You meet a bondsman in Brevard County and he tells you that he can do the bond but you will have to pay a transfer fee even though the defendant is in jail in Brevard County. This is an illegal practice.

Illegal convenience Fee's
Some bondsmen charge "convenience fees" for coming out after certain hours or to charge "bond premium" on credit cards. This is unlawful and should be reported immediately to law enforcement.

Charging for housecalls
Housecalls are done to make things more convenient for the indemnitor of the bond. The bondsman is NEVER allowed to charge for them.

Collateral checks being held in the file without being deposited into a bank.
This is a common practice which is totally unethical! The bondsman writes a bond for you and tells you to write him a check for collateral in the full amount of the bond (which in itself is absolutely acceptable), then tells you that he won't cash the check but rather he'll put it in the file until the case is over. You tell him that the check is not good but he accepts it anyway. This is the problem; If the defendant fails to appear in court that bondsman now calls you and threatens that he is going to have you arrested for writing a felony bad check. All collateral monies must be held in a Florida bank. If you are dealing with a bondsman that uses this practice run away.

Credit cards being processed by companies other than the bail bond company you are doing business with.
Credit cards should be processed by the bail bond company you are dealing with. Some companies don't have the ability to run credit cards so they use motels or other businesses that they have made arrangements with to run them. Stay away from these unprofessional agencies as this is illegal and unethical.