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US Recovery Bureau
- Abigail Hendricks
- Pennsylvania
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- Scott,
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- I recently read an advertisement on the internet that
if I complete the course being offered by US Recovery Bureau in
Passaic, New Jersey (URL omitted, my bold script) that I
can be licensed in all 50 states-is this true?
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- Abigail,
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- Each state regulates bounty hunters separately, some
states require licensing, others do not regulate bounty hunting at
all, and it is is plainly illegal in Kentucky, Illinois, Wisconsin,
and Oregon where they do not recognize the commercial bail bond
industry at all. As a result, the answer to your question
concerning getting licensed in all 50 states by the training company
in NJ is also NO. Think of a "license" as
permission to practice an occupation or to do something specific
issued to you by the state. 2 examples would be a driver's
license or a license to practice medicine- both are issued by state
offices.
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- Training providers such as the group to which you
refer are commonly referred to as "certificate mills"
by insiders in the bail enforcement community because they prey on
people who do not know the first thing about the laws that regulate
this industry. They often make outrageous claims then take
advantage of them, though I don't think that their advertisement on
Google.com actually says "license" it does mention becoming
certified in all 50 states.
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- While I cannot comment on the quality of their
training program because I have not taken it (yet), I believe that
their advertising tactics are shady at best. It is certainly
deceptive, especially when you consider for a moment that 4 states
specifically outlawed bounty hunting! How can they then make the
assertion that they can qualify people for all 50 states? Let's
just go ahead and leave out Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina
as well- because free-lancing bounty hunters are not allowed either;
you must be licensed by a bail bond or surety company.
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- To make my point: perhaps most telling of my dealings
with them was when I called their office "looking for a little
more information." I told the girl that answered the phone
(who identified herself as Agent Carmella-something-or-other) that I
lived in Kentucky (the most hostile state towards bounty hunters in
the United States) and asked her if I were to complete their course
would be able to get started working right away here, to which she
replied with a perky. "yes!" and I then asked if she thought
that there were a lot of clients and fugitives in Kentucky and if I
could be successful here with the right training to which she replied,
"there is plenty of work!"
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- I then asked her if she knew the law in KY and she
began to really fumble- I let her have it with both barrels!
Perhaps they did not know that it was illegal... If they profess to be
the premier bail enforcement training school would I want to
take a class from them? No way, not if I was just starting
out!
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- What else aren't they going to
tell me that might land me in jail????
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- In retrospect I felt badly for schooling her so
harshly but I felt, and told her, that obviously her company's ethics
needed a little work and suggested that someone might need to request
the New Jersey Attorney General or Trade Commission take a look into
their deceptive business practices (these were my words).
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- Buyer Beware!
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- I've found that just by being completely honest with
everyone that calls or writes, I can keep my reputation intact and
still get training clients in those states out of their pure
curiosity!
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- Warmest Regards,
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- L. Scott Harrell
- CompassPoint Investigations
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