Posted by Charm_AL on 1/30/06 9:53am
Msg #92285

dreading a phone call

I had an appt., at 6 Friday nite, docs o.n. SS calls me to let borrower know they need a cashier's check for $1,900 something. I called around 1 and left a message, she called me back at 3. Borrower nice, but freaks and tells me she has a check for $400 something. Now, she starts dealing with the L.O.
I get a phone call at 5 from the borrower and she tells me they wanted her to sign anyway and they would fix it, she said no way and told me she canceled. Ok, it's and hour and a half drive so I think, cool, now we can make other plans, which we did.
At 6:30 my phone rings three different times within a few minutes and then a fax sound, fax not on, no fax.
Then the borrower calls me at 6:45 and tells me that the L.O. just faxed me the new HUD and told her I will be out there by 8. HUH?
No one called me from the SS to cancel, reschedule, or anything.
Now, I'm sitting on her docs and waiting for a tongue lashing from the SS.
I am right to bill them a cancellation right?

Reply by Calnotary on 1/30/06 10:01am
Msg #92286

Did you call the SS at 5 when the borrower called you to cancel?

Reply by Charm_AL on 1/30/06 10:12am
Msg #92291

No, I didn't call the SS because the borrower told me she canceled it.
I thought the SS should have called me to cancel it or at least put me on noticel that they were trying to get the HUD fixed and asked me if I was available later that night, if they could in fact get it done.

Reply by SueW/Tn on 1/30/06 10:05am
Msg #92287

Morning Charm...

Awhile back I had the same type thing, borrower called to say they cancelled...etc., etc. I did exactly what you did and evidently the LO and borrower got together and it was now a go. I had already rescheduled the time slot but was able to get another SA to handle it. Lesson learned, now regardless of what borrower tells me I immediately call SS and let them know borrower has cancelled and I'm rescheduling the time slot. I didn't even think about billing them for a cancellation as I hadn't done a thing, no e-docs etc. Hope this helps a bit but I know how you feel.

Reply by MistarellaFL on 1/30/06 10:09am
Msg #92289

I would bill them for either a cancellation fee or a lack of communication fee, LOL.I wouldn't feel
too bad about it either. Isn't that why the SS takes a cut of the notary fee? To schedule and provide communication between the parties? Sounds like the SS dropped the ball here, no fault of yours. I wouldn't drive 1 1/2 hours on a MAYBE, either. If someone tells me the appt. has cancelled or will be reschd., I have to believe it, and make plans around the reschd./cxl.
I think they forget we have a life, too.

Reply by SueW/Tn on 1/30/06 10:13am
Msg #92292

I would agree with you except...

Borrower dealt directly with Charm, borrowers have no idea about the middle man (SS). Certainly the LO knew about it or they wouldn't have redrawn a new HUD but I'm assuming (ut oh) that the LO isn't going to give the SS a heads up thinking they've got the SA in a holding pattern. Just my thoughts and yes, we all need a life too.

Reply by srnotary_CA on 1/30/06 10:24am
Msg #92298

Re: I would agree with you except...

I would have done the same thing. If I am not notified a fax is coming through or that the signign is back on I would have made other plans as well. We can't sit and wait for these lenders to get things right. If they had said that they were fixing it could you go at xxx time instead then that would have been different. The LO should have let the SS know what was going on so that they could also make the necessary changes. You are not to blame in this.

Keep your chin up Charm.

Reply by SueW/Tn on 1/30/06 10:28am
Msg #92302

Just for the record I didn't put blame anywhere...

Having said that let's look at it from the SS point of view...how can they possibly set up a reschedule time with the SA IF they are not aware of the cancellation to begin with? IF we're going to put any blame on anyone it would seem to me it belongs in the lap of the LO. That's the tact I would take, the LO was well aware of the problems and SHOULD have talked to Charm directly knowing they were redrawing the HUD. Charm's concern is with the SS and doesn't want to take a tongue lashing...I'm with her, I wouldn't want to either but it appears that the main question here should be "IF the borrower calls the SA and cancels WHO'S responsibility is it to notify the SS, the SA or the LO because certainly we can all agree that it's not the borrowers responsibility".

Reply by CaliNotary on 1/30/06 12:43pm
Msg #92352

I learned a long time ago

that the only way to make sure everyone is on the same page is for me to make the extra calls. If a borrower tells me it's cancelled, I call the SS to make sure they know. If the SS tells me it's cancelled, I call the borrower to make sure they know.

No, we *shouldn't* have to do this, but communication isn't one of this industry's strong points, so I figure it's best for me to just do it so I don't get the irate phone calls later, and nobody's sitting around waiting for something that's not going to happen.

Reply by Anonymous on 1/30/06 10:25am
Msg #92299

Re: I would agree with you except...

I know not all signing services are bad. But it just goes to show what that additional layer of communication does. It is not needed. But knowing how these layers can (or cannot) work I would have emailed or called ss and advised them that bo cancelled and let them worry about it. Who's on first, nobody knows.

Reply by O/Cnotary on 1/30/06 10:29am
Msg #92304

Another reason to eleminate the middle man, you did the...

right thing but I dont think you can bill for anything. Bill for a cancellation? I dont think so!

Reply by Charm_AL on 1/30/06 10:34am
Msg #92308

Re: Another reason to elimi the middle man, you did the...

O/C...there are SS's out there that will pay a cancellation fee if it's canceled an hour or less beforehand. Trust me, I can show you the check stubs!

Reply by Charm_AL on 1/30/06 10:33am
Msg #92307

Re: I would agree with you except...

Got my call. Explained what happened and she said she was going to dig into it and try to reschedule. I told her the borrower cancelled, about the incorrect HUD and that the L.O. tried to save it, but no communication to me to stay on call for another 2 hours. She was fine with that. She also said that she would call me back if she can get it rescheduled.

Reply by SueW/Tn on 1/30/06 10:39am
Msg #92310

sounds like you're breathing easier...WTG! n/m

Reply by janCA on 1/30/06 10:39am
Msg #92311

If I have gotten an assignment from the SS and the borrower cancels, I immediately call the SS and let them know. Just as if I would have gotten the assignment from a title or mortgage company and the borrower cancels, I would contact that entity. Then it is in their ballpark.

Reply by SarahBeth_CA on 1/30/06 11:54am
Msg #92327

I had one a couple months ago where the lo called me to reschedule but somehow I missed that he was the lo. He may have said "this is so and so reguarding the so and so signing". It wasn't till 2 days later when he called reguarding the docs that I realized who it was. I then called the ss who had no idea what was going on which is funny because it's one of those that you have to go online to update completion. Everything was fine but just a pain with the update phone calls that we have to do to cover our rears. Yes sometimes having a middle man is just a pain.

Reply by Dee_Fla on 1/30/06 5:49pm
Msg #92443

Most of the time, if the Borrower cancells or if I hear from the LO that it is cancelled, I also call the SS and let them know and they seem to be the last ones to know.

But there had been times that the SS called me that it has been "postponed" and i wait and wait till the new date. Sometimes I get the new date and sometimes I don't.

As far as billing, its hard to bill a SS if they know nothing of the cancellation especially if the borrower cancelled it. It would be your responsibility to communicate that to your SS as a courtesy thing.

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