Posted by Anonymous on 5/19/05 4:43pm
Msg #39075

What would you do if you were me

I am the owner of a signing company that always pays my notaries and pays ON TIME;)
I pay my notaries even if the signing didn't close. That is fair. I pay trip fees. I even pay for copying docs if they don't end up doing the signing.

Well, I had the MOST AWFUL experience with a RUDE....grouchy notary in Florida. First of all, she sent all of the docs back UNDATED. When I questioned her about this the next day, she said "YOU GUYS WERE LYING TO ME ABOUT THE DATE." She sounded drunk. I thought, "What in the world is she talking about." After about an hour of listening to her not making any sense...I finally got it out of her that docs in Florida that she was mad that the docs were dated one day before the date that they were suppose to sign. Her job is to sign the documents and date the day she signs and not concern herself with this. She didn't say anything about that...she just sent them back undated BUT SIGNED.....She was the most RUDE, grouchy, woman I have ever met. I ended up getting a different notary to do the resign because she was so impossible to deal with. I really don't want to pay her, However I am professional and will, However I don't feel as though she was worth the $175 fee. I feel as though she was worth $75 and no more. She cost me a client because she called up the title company and told the escrow officer that she didn't know what she was doing either. My escrow officer has been a top escrow officer for 20 years. They started questioning my notaries and it made our company look bad. I heard that she has called the borrowers TOO after the signing to see how much we put on the HUD. I can't believe this. What should I do?

Reply by oldhippie_IL on 5/19/05 4:47pm
Msg #39076

Wow, sounds like a big mess. But I'll work for you.

Reply by ERNA_CA on 5/19/05 5:24pm
Msg #39080

Yes there are two sides to every story. Agencies get girped about all the time, but there are allso some notaires out there that have no business beiing notaries. Calling the borrower back for info of HUD. that takes the cake. I hope you dont loose your customer. And im sure youl never use that notary again. Oh my Im ashamed for her.

Reply by ERNA_CA on 5/19/05 5:25pm
Msg #39081

Re: I would pay her a trip fee at the most!!!!!!! n/m

Reply by SamIam_CA on 5/19/05 5:40pm
Msg #39085

She did not complete the job required as a notary - she does not get paid. Period.

Reply by Ernest_CT on 5/19/05 5:41pm
Msg #39086

I'm with ERNA.

Pay the woman a trip fee, nothing more. It sounds as if she did more damage than can be repaired in a long time. Although it is not your fault, perhaps sending a letter of apology to the borrowers with a cc to the escrow officer would be a good idea. You are being blamed for the bad actions of someone who does not belong in our industry.

Along with ERNA, I am ashamed to be in the same business as someone so unprofessional. Thank you for telling us the other side of the signing service / notary story!

Reply by ERNA_CA on 5/19/05 5:47pm
Msg #39090

Re: Great idea Ernest! might repair some of the damage n/m

Reply by SamIam_CA on 5/19/05 5:58pm
Msg #39097

Why do you think she earned a trip fee? n/m

Reply by CaliNotary on 5/19/05 5:51pm
Msg #39092

I find it strange that the title company would drop you because of the actions of one of your notaries in an isolated incident. Yes, she sounds like a nightmare, but surely they would be reasonable enough to know that you couldn't have anticipated her actions.

I wouldn't pay her a cent btw.

Reply by anon on 5/19/05 6:01pm
Msg #39100

Not only would I not pay her but I would seriously consider sueing her for loss of income. Her actions cost you a valuable client.

Reply by DellaCa on 5/19/05 7:44pm
Msg #39122

I am in agreement of anon, How shameful, I think most of us are working very hard to keep service oriented thats terrible behavior.
My 2 cents worth.

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 5/19/05 6:06pm
Msg #39102

That is absolutely unpardonable behaviour!!!!
Please, if you will, would you e-mail me (click on my link) with the name of this notary, I do not want to call her for a signing. I would hate her to mess up my company's relationship with the title companies.

Why on earth would she need to call the borrower to ask what was on the HUD - she would have had a HUD when she went out to the signing.

I honestly don't think she even deserves a trip fee, but kudos to you for paying her anyway - says a lot about your integrity!

Reply by Peaches on 5/19/05 6:41pm
Msg #39109

$75 at the very most!

Reply by Paul2_FL on 5/19/05 6:52pm
Msg #39111

Here's my 2 cents worth...

1 - I would pay her the $175 even though she is not worth it. If you don't your good reputation could get damaged by her bad-mouthing you on forums like this. (maybe a small risk but why chance it for $175 bucks!)

2 - I would send her a letter stating her services are no longer required and that her Independent Contract (if she signed one with you) is now null and void.

3 - I wouldn't send her name to anyone (sorry Sylvia) because this might come back to haunt you.

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 5/19/05 7:06pm
Msg #39114

Paul - sending the name to me wouldn't "come back to haunt her" But I would be sure not to call that notary for a signing.My signing service has a good reputation and I aim to keep it that way by not hiring notaries of the caliber that "anonymous" experienced.

Reply by Paul2_FL on 5/19/05 7:14pm
Msg #39116

I really didn't want to add that comment (I respect you and your business) but my thinking was this:
If somehow she (the obnoxious notary) found out that this SS is sending her name out to other SS's not to hire, she could have ammunition for a law suit against this particular SS. I'm not a lawyer but it seemed to me a logical step she could take that would cost this SS a lot more than $175.

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 5/19/05 7:34pm
Msg #39118

I respect your opinion Paul - but I really doubt that a notary of that caliber <g> is reading this board.
And signing services sharing information on "bad" signing agents is no different than signing agents sharing information on bad signing companies.

Reply by Nancy in Florida on 5/19/05 7:51pm
Msg #39126

WOW, how unprofessional could she get? Calling the Title Company and the borrower really takes nerve. I hate to see her get paid the full fee since she did not do the job correctly but I think you should only pay the trip fee. I am in Florida and I'd be happy to do signing for an SS that has the integrity that you do.

Reply by Paul2_FL on 5/19/05 8:17pm
Msg #39127

You're probably right Sylvia, but just the same, I'd be very careful about giving out her name. From the way she acted with the SS, who knows what she might do next. One thing I didn't mention in my "2 cents worth" was that this SS needs to spend some time with her escrow officer convincing him/her that it will never happen again. How to do this is probably another thread.

Reply by John_NorCal on 5/19/05 10:06pm
Msg #39164

I agree with Paul2_Fl.

Why take a chance for a bad apple? If she is acting so idiotically, no tellling what tales she will spin!

Reply by Anonymous on 5/19/05 8:21pm
Msg #39129

I am sorry that there are people like this notary out there. She had no right calling the borrower or the title company..You should have called me. Any questions that I had,I would have called you right then and got them answered..Jimmy/Florida

Reply by Monica - FL on 5/19/05 10:13pm
Msg #39165

I live in Lady Lake,Florida (also known as The Villages) and would be happy to work with someone like you. I have had some really bad bad bad experiences with Signing companies. If you want good service, I can give Sylvia as a reference as I do work for her in the Lake, Sumter and Marion Counties area.

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 5/19/05 10:44pm
Msg #39173

Will be more than happy to give you a reference any time Monica

Reply by JanetK/CA on 5/20/05 2:54am
Msg #39196

It's hard to say for certain what we'd do, unless we're in your shoes. But.... my opinion is that she didn't do the job she was hired to do and didn't accept responsibility for her poor work, so I wouldn't pay her a full fee. However, I'd recommend taking the high road in so far as at least paying her a trip fee or enough to cover her expenses (doc printing, too, if applicable). Then you have a better chance of her leaving you alone. And I also think it would be good to discreetly share her name with other agencies, if you trust them to not disclose that you are "blackballing" her. Getting someone with her attitude and lack of knowledge and business ethics out of this business does everyone a favor -- especially future borrowers! The down side of that is if she calls another agency for business and someone lets slip that you badmouthed her. She sounds like someone who wouldn't hesitate to make trouble for you... JMHO

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 5/20/05 8:08am
Msg #39210

Janet
I don't think anyone from a signing agency would let slip that she had been badmouthed.
If I knew who it was and she applied to me to be added to my database then I would just "accept" her application, but would never call her.

Reply by ItsMe123 on 5/20/05 1:03pm
Msg #39312

If she didn't date, she didn't notarize--Don't pay a dime

Without a date all you have is a bunch of docs that are looked at to have the same value as blank docs. Why even pay a trip fee when she knowingly sent back docs that could serve the same function as blank docs? She knew they were worthless, worse if she was unaware they were worthless. If she gets real nasty about it send some of the orginals to the state without relaying any of the story at all. Say that you question the validity of the notarizations and the potential damage that undated docs bring to all parties named the docs. I am sure if you have a slew of docs with inproper notarizations, the state will see an issue and take care of what is her problem, not yours. CC the title company and the lender in your letter to the state and I am sure they will see you as a partner rather than a problem. I act as a lender and if a SS sent me such a thing after a closing gone bad, I would look on them as trying to solve a problem and accepting responsibilty. It would show me that they went the extra mile and they cared. I would also expect them to do the closing for free regardless of the cost to the SS.