Posted by SoCal Signing Co. on 11/18/05 6:01pm
Msg #77548

dialog

We had a signing in NC, S/A said no problem. We sent out the confirmation, and the e-docs. First attempt at signing docs, the borrower wanted a few changes on the docs and asked to resign the following day. Signing agent said no problem and completed the signing the next day.
The following day, we get called and was asked why the borrower had to travel to the signing agents place of employment both times to complete the signing the borrower was not happy. We were even called by the borrower to ask why he had to go to the SA work to fix the RTC that the SA made an error on yet a 3rd time.
Now I get an invoice from the signing agent to be paid, now the signing was completed and there should be payment. However, due to his laziness we were reprimanded for our title co. not making it convenient for the borrower, after all the borrower pays for this service.
I have contacted the signing agent to discuss a fair resolution to this, but wanted to throw it out and see what everyone thinks of this.
Lisa

p.s. our confirmation states the signing location as the borrowers home.

Reply by srnotary_CA on 11/18/05 6:16pm
Msg #77549

Hmmmmm...... If the SA was being paid to go to the borrowers home then he should have. What is your policy for changing location and mess ups? Was he/she made aware of them? If so then he needs to be mad accoutnable for his actions. IMHO Did he tell you he was having the bo go to his office or did he tell you he went there? Was your Fee docked?

Reply by Glenn Strickler on 11/18/05 6:16pm
Msg #77550

Sounds like one of these notaries that needs to go away. If I ran a signing company and had to put up with that, I would not pay him. However, you probably need to settle for something so not more than 1/2 fee for less than doing 1/2 the job then cross this person off of your call list ..... Oviously this person does not believe in customer service.

Reply by Charles_Ca on 11/18/05 6:16pm
Msg #77551

On the surface it would appear that...

The notary did not do as expected. However since we only have one side of the story it is hard to tell. I've had borrowers ask if they need to come to my office and are pleasantly surprised that I come to their location. I have borrowers who specifically don't want to sign at their home and so we do Starbucks etc. the problem I would have is that without a trip fee then the only charges I am allowed to charge are the state allowed per signature fees. Depending on the quantity of signatures notarized the fee might vary from the agreed upon fee.

Reply by CaliNotary on 11/18/05 6:46pm
Msg #77554

Not exactly

"the problem I would have is that without a trip fee then the only charges I am allowed to charge are the state allowed per signature fees. Depending on the quantity of signatures notarized the fee might vary from the agreed upon fee."

Even if the borrower comes to you, if you're going through the entire loan package and having everything signed then you're doing more than just strict notarizations. Therefore you can still charge your regular fee.

Reply by SoCal Signing Co. on 11/18/05 7:10pm
Msg #77558

Re: Not exactly

Mistakes are not an issue with this, if the signing agent goes and takes care of the mistake right away we do not deduct for this.

Signing location was stated to be at the borrowers home on the confirmation, and our confirmation states, "communication is most important, please let us know if there are changes with the signings".
S/A runs a UPS store and could not get off to do this signing as agreed and told the borrower he would like to sign at the store.

We were not told this until today.

Reply by Paul_IL on 11/18/05 10:58pm
Msg #77588

Re: Not exactly

What has the SA said about this? As was previously stated there is a second side to all stories.

Reply by CaliNotary on 11/18/05 7:10pm
Msg #77557

I think you should contact the borrower and offer to pay them a travel fee. We get paid for travel, why shouldn't they? Find out what they think is fair (and make sure it's at least half of the total fee), then deduct it from whatever you're paying the SA and send him the difference with an explanation of where the rest went.

Reply by Tennessee on 11/18/05 7:41pm
Msg #77564

I totally agree with Cali...

not to mention the fact I'd be hopping mad that my agency wasn't involved in changing the location of the signing. We may be independent contractors but we MUST follow the individual rules of those companies we elect to do business with. Of course there's always the old adage, "there's your side, his side and the truth".

Reply by SSEmobile on 11/18/05 7:52pm
Msg #77567

Communication sometimes is beside the facts.

Sometimes the facts of the matter are difficult to determine unless there are a significant number of "BS PROOFS" built in.

I have a couple of questions, as this kind of issue has come up many time in my bankcard business, and the BS stops are already built into my signing agent business because of the past experience ........... (lol)

1* Did the SA call the BO for the appointment and did they AGREE to meet at the SA's office at the request of the BO? This sometimes happens because the BO may NOT want "strangers" in their home, for one reason or another.

2* Did the SA get a WRITTEN location waiver DOC, and SIGNATURE when the BO was there the first time? This would have cleared up the issue, you would know WHY they met there.

Now if the SA flaked and simply skipped the trip, you caught them, do as you will.

3* Did the BO then object after the fact to having to travel to the SA's office twice because they were upset about something (maybe something else) and figure they could get away with THAT objection rather than anthing else?

Believe me, CUSTOMERS are just as opt to LIE about anything as they are to NOT lie if they think they can nget away with it when dealing with agents who report to someone else.

4* Don't ALL of you SA's have"BS proofing" DOCs built into your every move as an agent, even if you have to write them as they come up?

Frinstyance ........ If I have a BO who won't sign now, I have them write an entire paragraph on the back of the top page of the package as to why they won't sign and then SIGN it, so I know I will not get blamed for it.

If I had a BO tell me "Can we meet at your office (or any other location)" I always have a quick DOC for them to sign saying it was THEIR idea.

This SA screwed up by not having the BS proofing DOC approprate to the deviation of the agent responsibility, and now YOU'RE here asking what we think the resolution of the problem should be, when you basically might not have ANY idea what the truth of the matter is!

:o]

BS proof everything you can folks, and let that speak for you every time there's a question about your performance.

Reply by Rebecca_TN on 11/18/05 10:46pm
Msg #77584

Of course there are two sides and we haven't heard the other side, but I would wonder if the SA does this on a regular basis. I have done several "fix it" signings where the borrower told me the first SA told them they would have to meet her at a resturant. All of these have been at locations that are far out and not convenient to get to. When I ask who the SA was, the answer is always the same. When I ask them if they told the lender she said they would have to meet her, they said no. So, here is someone that is consistently telling borrowers she cannot come to their house, but the SS's and TC's don't know about it. I have often wondered how many others do the same.

Reply by SoCal Signing Co. on 11/19/05 1:40am
Msg #77613

Calinotary

Your idea is a good one.
thank you for that

Reply by LawrenceOK on 11/19/05 8:03am
Msg #77626

Re: Only Twice

Only twice have I had the borrower request to meet at my home office. One for a TC and one for an SS. I am about 1/2 mile from a major highway ( US 77 ) and both times the borrowers had to travel past my location to get home. So, per borrower's request I contacted the TC and SS to advise of the location change and that I would be adjusting my fee to reflect the signing location. The TC & SS were grateful that I had advised them and because it was the borrower that requested it, they would pay my full fee. COMMUNICATION sure saves from having all that BS.

Reply by SarahBeth_CA on 11/19/05 11:42am
Msg #77665

Re: Only Twice

My question would be why in the world did the SA accept the assignment if he did not know for sure that he would be available. Only once this year did I have an issue with making an assignment because my hubby had to stay over at work. I got things worked out and was at the appointment on time without a problem.