criminal or civil conviction
FlyingBug,
You may well be right and, if so, I don't really know how the issue would stand with regard to criminal record checks. I guess it might not count.
But, if the company were feeling really nasty, they could, instead of chasing you for a debt in the civil court, press charges for fraud in the criminal court. It would be harder for them as the burden of proof is different but it would be a bigger risk for the person trying to evade his bond.
Like you said, I think it's better to pay up.
OverFlare