Case Study: Bailgram.com
Reduce Risk, Improve Processes, and Help Little Johnny Get Out of Jail Faster — It’s all in a Day’s Work at Bailgram.com
Company Overview
Bailgram.com is a professional nationwide bail bond company. The company provides a nationwide network of well-trained bail bonds agents who can quickly obtain release from jail. Bailgram provides full service and support throughout the arrest process — offering free bail bond information and education, arranging bail and writing the bond, and assisting with financial arrangements such as collateral and credit terms.
Workflow Challenge
Brian Petrone has been a bail bondsman for twelve years, and as a former correction officer he’s quite familiar with the pitfalls and emotions that surround incarceration, and the processes that it takes to quickly get someone out of jail. “We often get frantic calls to get ‘little Johnny’ out of jail. Often ‘Johnny’ is a good kid, but probably went to a concert and just did something stupid or made a bad decision. His parents are freaked out, he’s freaked out, everyone’s embarrassed and scared, and we need to act fast.” To that end, Brian needed a solution to speed up the bail contract signing process, minimize credit card fraud, and reduce any possible risk with his insurance company. The traditional method of faxing the contract for written signature was lengthy, and often customers didn’t want Bailgram.com to fax the paperwork to their workplace which delayed the process even further. A delayed signature could incur the risk of a higher bond being set by a judge and possibly an additional 8–10 hours in jail. In addition, if the customer appeared to be a high risk, Bailgram.com would incur the cost of a notary to get the bail contract signed in person. To reduce the “paper factor” in the bond process, Bailgram.com considered creating a form using Microsoft Access, and emailing this to their customers. This would speed up the front end of the process, but on the back end the customer would still have to print out the form, sign the bail contract and identity verification form, and then fax everything back to Bailgram before the bond could be posted.
EchoSign Solution
Brian searched the internet and found EchoSign. With EchoSign, Bailgram.com can post a form for instant, online e-signing and email documents for e-signature. This combination was a winner for Bailgram.com. Now, with EchoSign’s online forms signing capability, applications to underwrite bail and identity verification for a credit check are completed directly on Bailgram’s website. Once these are approved, the bail contract package (which contains about 10 forms) can be prepared and emailed to the customer for e-signature. “It’s a complete online package that is done here in the office so we know it’s accurate and it cuts out a lot of mistakes. Also everyone automatically gets emailed a signed copy of the paperwork so there are no surprises later on.”
Results
EchoSign significantly speeds up the bond contract and eliminates paperwork for Bailgram.com. “Literally, we can get the paperwork signed in 15 minutes or less,” remarks Brian. EchoSign also serves as a risk management application — it reduces credit card fraud and minimizes risk with Bailgram.com’s insurance company, as Brian has complete identity information to help determine if the company should take the risk of underwriting the bail. In addition, EchoSign supports national partnerships with other bail bondsman, and delivers interstate commerce capabilities as Bailgram.com can easily respond to customers no matter where they are located.
EchoSign saves time for everyone. It’s really convenient, and I always keep thinking of new ways to use the product. Our clients love it too. They don’t have to miss work or interrupt their day to get a loved one out of jail. I can say with confidence that we can have ‘little Johnny’ out in a couple hours!
— Brian Petrone, Bailgram.com