I found the following ad on St. Loius area Craigslist this morning. As you can see, the ad is a posted as a consumer notice on how to avoid being “RIPPED OFF by a greedy bondsman.” Out of curiosity, I called the number. It is actually an ad for a particular bonding company and tells potential clients five good questions to ask your bondsman.
Those five questions are:
What is your experience? Your reputation? How fast can you bond my loved one? How much do you charge? What are your qualifications?
I think these are all good questions to ask of any bondsman. The recorded ad warns potential clients how to avoid unscrupulous bail bond agents and, of course, directs clients to a particular bail bond company.
Craigslist Ad:
Consumer Warning Notice:
Before you hire ANY professional Bail Bondsman, you encouraged to call a TOLL FREE hotline to listen to a free recorded message that reveals the 5 questions you must ask in order to avoid being RIPPED OFF by a greedy bondsman. Call TOLL FREE (877) 626-8683 X 3004.
Side note: The Missouri consumer hotline of the Department of Insurance, Consumer Affairs Division is 1-800-726-7390. The Consumer Affairs Division is responsible for investigating complaints against anyone licensed by the DIFP.
Monday, October 6, 2008
2 comments:
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In my opinion that is just good marketing. If more bondsman knew how to market successfully instead of simply complaining to DIFP about those that do we wouldn't have such an issue here in Columbia.
ReplyDeleteLeave them alone and let them grow their business!
You know, this may be a sorta sly way to get business. I couldn't tell you if it is in any way unethical. However, I think there may be a stronger message here. I believe that if ANY of us can't answer these basic questions then meybe we should reconsider HOW we do business.
ReplyDeleteIt's kinda like the old saying that "One bad apple can spoil the cart". The general public still has the perception that we are all either cowboys that are there just to bring a guy in strapped to a horse Dead or Alive, six guns blazing. Or we all dress in biker leathers with long hair flowing with feathers, and go by the name "Dog".
In most cases this is not the truth. :Yeah there are a few that do that, but the great majority of us try to dress and act like professional buisness men and women.
It is up to us to educate the public about our industry. And, when those BAD apples show up it should be up to us to toss them out of the cart as effectively as possible. Maybe it's my military background that has caused this way of thinking, but, I firmly believe in the theory of "Police your own". Meaning that before someone gets out of hand WE should be the ones to work towards correcting the problem first. If the general public sees that we are the ones that are seeking out the " problem children" and getting them out of the business, then we as an industry will gain the public's trust.
Just my 2 cents.