Posted by Charles_CA on 8/8/05 9:33pm
Msg #57751

Message 57596 - Nice try Anonymous

Get out from behind that Anonymous and lets see who you really are. While Notaries are comissioned with a bond there is no recourse against Signing services who don't pay. Start hiring notraies with E&O insurance and your problems will ease. Very rarely does an SS ask me if I have E&O. I guess they are happy dealing with those who have nothing to lose. I carry E&O because I have something to lose and don't like placing it at risk. But then you won't be able to get the $50 and less notaries, you'll actually have to pay them something because they ar in business. There is absolutely nothing keeping Signing services from starting their own boards and listing the bad notaries.

Reply by TCMN on 8/9/05 7:28am
Msg #57792

There will be a Companies(SS, Title, etc)Msg Board/Forum on


NotaryDex.com, when the new site is released in the next couple weeks (tops). I believe there will be a public message board, a private NOTARY MEMBERS ONLY message board and then one for the companies to post their "Beware of these Notaries" info, etc. I think they are talking about ratings to of notaries because there has been a lot of frustration. They say they will bring the notary industry to the next level and I think that is a great start.

I have personally had to redo a notary's work around me several times or find out she never showed up and doesn't return calls after she's accepted signings. That makes our industry look very inexperienced.

Hope that helps.

Reply by Anonymous on 8/9/05 8:04am
Msg #57797

Re: Message 57596 - Nice try Anonymous-Charles

there are tons of no no lists against SS's...most of them unfairly on the list because A (1) notary messed up and didn't get paid. Don't be so quick to jump the gun and attack the SS, we are doing the best we can and if we post anonymously, it's because we don't need the flack from the few who messed up. If you guys can post anon, we also should be afforded that choice. I've read you previous posts and I would call you if there was a closing in your area, you seem to be professional in your writings here, believe me, lots of us signing company employers read this and other notary boards, weeding out the professional 'sounding' notaries....Allison B from S Cal is surely not one of them and has been discussed at great length between many of us. She will wind up in a factory gluing phones together soon, just to get her off the street dealing with the public!

Reply by Allison B on 8/9/05 8:20am
Msg #57802

You Have Problems Anonymous SS - Were you With SigningZ?

My guess is that you are that creepy guy from SigningZ who was probably fired because you drove that man's biz into the ground and now you're popping up with a new name, just like a jillion other low-life ss's. Forget about me! YOU give GOOD SS's a bad name. If you were proud of what you were doing, you'd post your name... I do.

I cannot speak for Charles but I imagine that he would chose to associate himself with professionals and that is definately not you or your group. He called a spade a spade, that's all.

I'm happy that you've speny so much time discussing me at great length - I'm honored! You can call me all the names you want, it doesn't bother me a bit. I'm laughing all the way to the bank not working for idiots like you who rip newbies off who don't know better. It will all be over soon for you anyhow: "Here today, gone tomorrow".

Reply by Anonymous on 8/9/05 8:28am
Msg #57803

Re: You Have Problems Anonymous SS - Were you With SigningZ?

no, we are not signingz and you still continue to prove how uneducated and unprofessional you are. Laughing all the way to the bank? That's your motto whenever you feel insulted, which is pretty much daily. Must be tough to be a bottom feeder, yes?

Reply by Allison on 8/9/05 8:35am
Msg #57806

Insulted? NOT, I always look at the source

And since the source is you, I could care less what you think. Like I said, Here Today -- Gone Tomorrow: It's only a matter of time that you'll be exposed and only uninformed newbies will be signing up with you and you'll be complaining about signers who don't know what they are doing, and it's all the notaries fault, and it because of them you require a jillion fax-backs, blablablah. Are you sure you aren't that creepy guy from SigningZ? You sure sound like him.

Reply by Anonymous on 8/9/05 8:53am
Msg #57809

Re: Insulted? NOT, I always look at the source

***you'll be complaining about signers who don't know what they are doing, and it's all the notaries fault, and it because of them you require a jillion fax-backs, blablablah.***

exactly...and that's why you will be working in your nearest factory soon. We are not here today gone tomorrow, we've been around a long time and treat our professionals very well.

Get over yourself and get a clue.
It really kills you that you don't know who we are doesn't it? lol

BTW: what does a jillion mean Miss professional? You should care what the signing services think of you...maybe you'd be as busy as you claim to be, by not having, in your own words..."time to be on this board"....need I say more Miss Factory bound?

Reply by PAW_Fl on 8/9/05 2:57pm
Msg #57885

Re: Insulted? NOT, I always look at the source

>>> Get over yourself and get a clue.
It really kills you that you don't know who we are doesn't it? lol <<<

It may "kill" some not to know, but personally, I could give a rats patootey. As far as I'm concerned, you have absolutely no credibility. You hide behind the "Anonymous" moniker like it was your shield.

At least there are many posters here who have created a reputation and established credibility. And you don't have to use your 'real' name either, just an identified moniker.

There are many reasons why I won't work with many signing services, and you are exemplifying one of those reasons. Even when the mud starts to fly, a professional and a professional business will keep their cool and show respect and discipline. Unfortunately, I do not see that with your rantings and snide remarks.

Reply by JuneBug on 8/9/05 5:32pm
Msg #57914

Just Gotta Say It

I was told to just "read" this message board and not post until I was very very confident. As a brand new signing agent (not notary - this is my 6th year as a notary public) I understand now what I was told. I have read some posters before and wasn't sure where they were coming from, but i'm with Charles and I'm with Alison -- I do not ever want to work for a Signing Company like this Anonymous person -- he/she is very unprofessional and the "call girl" concept is not too far-fetched. S L E E Z Y is the best word that comes to mind. Let's find out who he/she is so we can warn others. Thank you

Reply by FranMac54 on 8/9/05 9:06am
Msg #57812

LISTING FOR BAD SS COMPANIES

YOU TWO need to take your personal issues elsewhere. This site is for the productive use by notaries trying to weed out the deadbeat companies. There are currently 6 locations a notary can check the legitimacy of signing companies. If a signing company does not pay or ask for illegal acts then we report them to these sites. Its that simple. If a notary is naive enough to accept an assignment before checking with the following locations then they are truly operating at their own risk. Allison..it sounds like you got stiffed for sure. Sorry about that..am sure you didn't deserve it...but PLEASE..let's tone down the rhetoric..it's making it too hard to read through all of the postings everyday. Which I do......thanks

ALL NOTARIES should check the following sites before accepting business from a company that is new to you.
Better Business Bureau www.bbb.org
NotaryBeware.com
123Notary.com notary forum
GoMobileNotary.com notary forum
NotaryRotary.com notary forum

Our success is completely dependant upon notaries report bad companies. If you encounter legitimate issues i.e non payment or request for illegal acts, please fill out a report with the BBB. IT IS FREE AND ONLY TAKES A MINUTE. It also might help you get paid. But, it helps your fellow notaries turn down work from deadbeat companies.

Reply by Kiso on 8/9/05 10:05am
Msg #57825

Re: LISTING FOR BAD SS COMPANIES

AMEN Fran

Reply by AngelinaAZ on 8/9/05 9:40am
Msg #57819

to ANONYMOUS re: unfair SS postings

While I agree that there could be the occasional unfair post against an SS... most of us watch what we post when naming companies. For instance... just because I had one bad situation with an SS, that doesn't mean that I smear their names all over the place. I may post what happened... and post a little story that may help keep other notaries away from situations that may go the same way... but I WILL POST IT WITHOUT NAMING THE COMPANY. I only post a name if I REALLY think that notaries should beware on a regular basis. Things do go wrong... and not everyone handles problems well... SS or SA... and I hope that these boards do not become a place for bashing over every little thing on either side!

Also... whether companies are listed as BEWARE or not... I will speak with each company and am open to give almost (I say almost because I never gave SOX a chance) every company one chance if they are professional and meet my fee. I use the list to assist and make me aware... not to govern. I am honest with companies up front if I see something bad about them and tell them my reservations. Most of the time... (some of them are still very slow pay) I have had very few problems and even developed a few great clients out of this policy. For instance... Executive Closing is a very good client of mine... they deal me straight... and pay on time. Who knew?

Reply by Charles_CA on 8/9/05 12:44pm
Msg #57845

Re: Message 57596 - Nice try Anonymous-Charles

Greetings:

I never intended this to becime so personal but there is a great deal of acrimony between notaries and sigining services. Usually where there is smoke there is fire. I can tell from their posts that there are some very dnagerous notaries out there and it is a crap shoot a lot of times when all you have is a small self writen profile of the notary and their location. I come from other businesses and am a notary peripherally. There are two basic problems as I see it, notaries who are inexperienced and are not dedicated to doing a good job and signingin service who appear to be fly-by-night and don't do a good job of making sure that a notary gets paid. Hiding behind the moniker of anonymous makes it hard to take one's concerns seriously since there are no consequences to anything you might say. I stick my foot in my mouth occasionally but I mean what I say, if I'm wrong I'll admit it and I don't mind being corrected. I put my name out there so that if there is a problem we can work it out like the adults we are supposed to be.

The pay problem is a serious one and needs to be addressed. I can tell you from first hand experience that signing services are the epitome of "call girl principal". If you don't know what the "call-girl principal" is its a concept that services are not nearly as valuable after they have been rendered. I suspect that many sigining services are firm subscribers to the call girl principal. In my experience most are. The only one I have seen who pays religiously is Lori Cartwright and Associates. I am sure there are others but LCA is the onlyone I have had who did not need to be reminded to pay me. The others need various amounts of persuasion and I report delinquent payments to the credit reporting agencies (Experian, Tand Transunion in particular)

The problem of diligent notaries is also a serious one. However one needs to remember that, in California at least, the notary is a comissioned representative of the Secretary of State, the notary has a comission and a bond and if there is aprblem then the notary shojld be immediately reported to the Secretary of State. Some notaries like myself carry E&O insurance because we are afraid of the risk to our assets of making a mistake. That extra risk makes us as professionals much more careful of our actions. I have never been asked if I carried E&O insurance by an SS. This morning I received a message from Reeves-Hary that they now carry $100,000 in E&O for all notaries hired by them. The prblem is prevalent and will get worse as the lending market contracts. I have no interest in being an SS but I know that if I were I wojld only hire notaries who carry E&O because it shows a dedication to their work: they will be more careful because they ahve more to loose.

Anyway a lot of this will become moot in the near future: I am already hearing of notaries looking for other areas of income because there is becoming a surplus of notary signing agents and the SS will soon follow. Both notaries and SSs who remain are those who are in the business for the duration, have the tools, the financial wherewithall, and the dedication to the work.

Reply by So Cal on 8/9/05 1:25pm
Msg #57863

Re: Message 57596 - Nice try Anonymous-Charles

I just got my notary commission and I was wondering if you or someone could give me pointers on becoming a loan signing agent.

Do I need to take a class or learn additional material? What about taxes? Should I start an LLC? Does it look more porfessional if I have the errors and ommissions bond? If so, where is the cheapest company to get it from?

I would greatly appreciate if a response can be made regarding my questions. Thank you.

Reply by Charm_AL on 8/9/05 1:47pm
Msg #57867

Re:new notary...

There is a post (#33325) that has some helpful tips for notaries looking to become NSA's.
You do not need E&O insurance to look professional, it is highly recommended to cover yourself.

Reply by JanetK/CA on 8/9/05 3:14pm
Msg #57890

Re: Message 57596 - Nice try Anonymous-Charles

Please don't take this the wrong way, but you should be much more concerned about how to BE a professional than how to LOOK professional. I realize this may sound like splitting hairs, but in a way, it's at the heart of what this thread is all about. CHARM_AL is right about the thread # she referred you to. If you read all of that, then as much of this and other boards as you can, most - if not all - of your questions will be answered. (Feel free to skip over the stupid personal stuff and attack messages...)

This is not difficult work, but like anything else, there is more to it than meets the eye and very much at stake if it is done wrong. So to answer your first question: YES!!! And I recommend starting with the CA notary Handbook - issued by the SOS, not the NNA! Your first responsibility is always as a notary and you should know the state notary laws inside out. Reading message boards will give you some very useful real-world application to take what is in the Handbook from the theoretical to the practical. If you're not willing to do that, you likely should find another "profession", because chances are, you'll become part of the problem instead of part of the solution, and I suspect you don't want that. (BTW, a bond and E&O insurance are two different things - already explained in other threads, probably more than once.)

This message epitomized another point I was going to make that having E&O insurance is no guarantee, either... One of many reasons I have no desire to ever become a signing service, either! ;>)