Women make up staff of local bail agency [The Daily News, Jacksonville, N.C.]

Jan. 21--If your bail agent has pink handcuffs, then chances are she's a Bond Chick.

Now with two locations, one on Court Street in Jacksonville and the other on Cedar Street in Beaufort, the all-female bond agency, Bond Chix Bail Bonds, plans on continued growth in North Carolina as the bond agency with sassy attitudes, compassion for their clientele and the aforementioned pink handcuffs.

On a recent Tuesday morning, calls from the Onslow County Jail kept the Chix's phones steadily ringing, which its owner says is a good indication that business is booming.

Under the ownership and guidance of Dave Mayfield, a bond agent with 18 years of experience and 35 other bail bonding agencies, Theresa Szczepaniak and JamieLea Owens manage the Jacksonville location, forming a family dynamic that they compare to Charlie's Angels.

"Dave is our very own Bosley," said Szczepaniak, bond agent. "JamieLea and I, along with Anastasia Taylor, who runs our Carteret location, are the Angels."

The Chix say they share the same heart as the Angels, caring for their clients through every step of the bonding process while they dish out tough love.

"People have a preconceived notion that people who need to be bonded out are criminals or bad people, but they're really just people," Szczepaniak said. "We've been there for every step of the way for some of our clients, even after they no longer need our services, to make sure they're staying on track. We care and we want to help make a difference in their lives."

In operation for about a year, the Bond Chix's bail bonding process is similar to other agencies simple for clients. The Chix are reachable 24 hours a day, seven days a week. To determine whether they want to bond out a client, the Chix review the charges, their client's history and accounts from family members, to determine whether or not they wish to bond them out.

"It's more of a judge of character," said Szczepaniak. "We'll bond out those we feel will show up in court; we give them a second chance."

Bond Chix also has the power to write high bonds.

"Our underwriting authority is amazing," said Szczepaniak. "We have a larger underwriting authority, unlimited executing powers, and can write any amount up to $500,000 in 30 minutes."

The bonding fee is 15 percent of the premium.

Each bail bonding agency has its own signature style and for the Bond Chix, it's pink.

The office is decked out in pink and black with zebra accents, an atmosphere that bond agent Owens, describes as inviting.

"It helps get our clients minds off of why they're here," said Owens. "It's fun and inviting, and it gets them to come back."

Szczepaniak said that adding Owens to the team brought more pink decor to the office and added to the welcoming atmosphere that brings back clients who are eager to share their stories of how they've turned their lives around.

"They become our children," said Szczepaniak. "I'm a mom, it's my nature. We ensure that the defendant goes to court and then we raise them in-between. We have a good relationship with them and they'll come in and have coffee; fill us in about their lives."

The Chix hope to expand their business to six or seven agencies opening statewide over the year and want to help out local support groups, shelters, and victims of abuse.

"Some of our clients are too young to know better when they get started. It usually takes a big strong hand to pull them out and show them some compassion and give them some tough love," said Szczepaniak. "We're trying to offer services above and beyond.

"We want to be able to help out these guys and girls."

--

NEED TO MAKE BAIL? Bond Chix Bail Bonds serves Onslow, Carteret, and Craven counties. Visit them at one of their two locations, at 714 Court St. in Jacksonville or 208 Cedar St. in Beaufort. Reach the Bond Chix 24/7 at 910-355-2245 or 252-354-5000.

___

(c)2013 The Daily News (Jacksonville, N.C.)

Visit The Daily News (Jacksonville, N.C.) at www.jdnews.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services