| Ok, here's my two cents on Millennium... got to remain anonymous on this one, though... don't like to do it, but because of their threat to me... I'm staying anonymous. Anyway, I got a call from Millennium to take a signing about 2 months back or so. I accepted the signing and contacted the borrower to confirm. Then all these Millennium horror stories started appearing on the boards. I called Millennium back and told them I have no problem accepting the signing, but I will need a check up-front because of the reputation they are gaining in the notary community. The gal who answered the phone said that the Op's Mgr would never go for that and they would find someone else. She asked if I wanted to talk to the Op's Mgr, but I said "no need if she can't send the check up-front." The next day rolled around and I began to become concerned because I had already committed to the borrower that I would show up that day. Feeling that my neck could be on the line if she lost a lock or something, I decided to call her to see if another notary had called replacing me. She said "no".... and asked why I wasn't coming. Without naming the company, I stated that the company who contracted me, not the lender, would not pay me up-front... and hearing from the notary community they are behind in paying their notaries.. and left it at that. The next day, I get a call from, I guess it was the Op's Mgr, threatening to sue me for slander... that I had contacted the lender (which I had not... I guess the borrower did... and then the lender contacted Millennium). I said to her that I did not contact the lender... I contacted the borrower, because I had made a commitment to her to show up and she wanted to know why I wasn't coming. I told the Op's Mgr that I did not mention her company's name. I also defined "slander" to her... in that it is defined as an act of maliciousness and false misrepresentations to damage another's reputation. She said that they had problems in accounting and that they are only a month behind... (but from the forums, they are much further behind)... I said then how do you consider what I said "slander"... I didn't misrepresent or state any untruths... you just admitted your company is behind! She said, "we have over 10,000 notaries in our database and work with many huge lending operations throughout the nation and have a solid reputation.... blah, blah, blah." Anyway, it turned into a not-so-nice conversation in which she hung up on me. So far, I've not been served with any "slander" suit. I believe she realized that you can't sue someone for slander, when your case is unfounded. For those of you who would not agree with what I did... I'll tell you that I am not one to purposely make trouble for myself... when the borrower asked me why I was not coming... it never occured to me to lie about it... or to leave her hanging as to why I wasn't coming. I live in this town, Millennium doesn't... I won't let my reputation in my community suffer, just because their reputation is suffering in the notary community. |
