Posted by Anonymous on 8/31/05 1:50pm
Msg #62925

Additional fees

In the past few months I have had few issues where the notary assigned agreed to extra work for an additional fee directly with my client. However no one brought us into the picture. We were unaware of the services and did not invoice for such at the time of closing. The notary has been paid the original fee as agreed but not for the additional fee (we were unaware of any changes). Now the client involved denies there was such an agreement.

As a notary, if you are going to agree to additional services or the scope of the assignment changes and you expect additional fees you need to contact the company that is paying you not any other party to the transaction at the time when you discover the fee change is required not after you recieve a check for services. In other words, if you take an assignment from an SS, do not agree to additional services without letting the SS know. Have the new fee agreement in writing. Don’t expect payment for additional services from a company that is unaware of the change in scope of the assignment. You need to verify fees with the company that contracted you and no one else.

Reply by hcampersFL on 8/31/05 2:18pm
Msg #62938

I would never discuss fees with anyone other than the party that hired me! I have had the signing change due to time or more signers etc. but I always call the ss and make them aware of the situation and we can discuss fees at that time.
I would say talking to anyone but the one who hired you is unethical as well.
Beverly

Reply by Nicole_NCali on 8/31/05 2:57pm
Msg #62963

Re: Additional fees...

Since we do not know what company you represent, here are reasons where additional fee's come into play and why some SS are out of the loop.

Scenario:

Figures on the hud or terms were not solid when the first draw happened, the SA is at the table with the borrowers and the LO is called and at that time, the LO promises that the borrower that the new docs will be ready tonight and to smooth it out for the whole process, the LO will ask the SA to come print again and come back out with the docs.


Problem:

The SS that contracted the SA is not available for after hour calls and besides, the LO could not reach the SS either to even negotiate this change.

Bandage solution:

The LO will tell the SA to come back to do the signing and that the SA will be paid an additonal fee for the signing.


It appears to me that the SS must inform the lender, title company or whoever that if there is any additions ot the transaction, they must call them, the SS, immediately. I personally don't do alot with SS, but it appears that SS are just glorified messaging services. If the SS has not expressed this in their communications to their clients, then it is there fault. The SA is under the impression that this whole routine is a straight transaction and any additions would be worked out between the SS and their client. For the future for the SA part, get the new order in writing from the requestor, that way when the two entities get their sh_t together, they will have a backup.

SS also need to keep themselves available even after hours and weekends to prevent this.

Reply by Anonymous on 8/31/05 3:58pm
Msg #62985

Re: Additional fees...

In your scenario, what harm would there be in advising the SS when you report status or the next day. If they aren't available (after hours) leave a message, send an email.

We do have an after-hours number as well as voicemail. I do not have an issue with the notary telling my client to do such and such, I need an extra $X. My only issue lies in the fact that we did not find out until 3-4 weeks later when the notary had a discrepency with the payment.

Reply by Becca_FL on 8/31/05 2:50pm
Msg #62960

In the past four weeks, I have had situations come up where I do require an additional fee and can not reach (after hours) the SS or TC that hired me. Here's what I did in all three situations:

left message for contact person @ SS/TC
emailed contact person
got written verification from LO via email for price increase
called contact the next day to explain what occured to increase my fee
followed up with email to SS/TC w/ cc to LO
Included emails in return pkg

Each time (4 to be exact) my fee has been approved. I've already been paid for 2 out of the four.

It's all about communication and getting the job done. I'm an above and beyond type of person, but I don't work for free.

Reply by Anonymous on 8/31/05 4:01pm
Msg #62987

And I don't believe that you should work for fee but neither should we. If the steps you posted here had been taken there would not be an issue and this post would have never existed.

Reply by Anonymous on 8/31/05 6:05pm
Msg #63020

'And I don't believe that you should work for fee but neither should we.'

As a notary, if we are asked to perform additional steps in the process, how exactly does that mean the SS is working for free? The SS is still doing the same job they were hired for to begin with. We performed the additional work, not the signing company. How is it when we do extra work, your fee must also go up? In some cases, with the SA doing extra work, it could mean the SS didn't do the job they were hired for. I understand it will mean te SS will be paid less, but in most cases, your fee is your fee - you neg. with us, and what is left over is yours to keep. If we increase the fee by $25 for additional work, will you only authorize it if your client increases your pay by $25? If they refuse, and we have still completed the extra steps, you won't pay us? It sounds like a catch 22 - and another reason SS are the middle man. I would love to earn $$ by someone else's efforts.

Reply by Anonymous on 9/1/05 9:57am
Msg #63266

My issue was the notary agreed with my client for an additional fee. Her original fee and the additional fee was in excess of what I recieved due to the fact that I did not know about the agreement. The client is denying the agreement and 30 days later when it is brought to my attention, can do nothing about it. The purpose of my post was to remind notaries that if the expect to get paid, they need to make sure the payor is aware. In this case no one did until long after the fact.