Posted by SLB SIGNING SERVICES, INC. - Sherry on 6/28/06 4:15pm
Msg #129366

Honest opinions please....Thanks in advance

I know that I am posting this on a notary board and I am truly looking for your opinions and feedback ont his situation.

We assigned a closing to a notary. Said notary accepted assignment. Said notary completed assignment and submitted our online completion form....on this form, notary indicated that she was in constant contact with a gentleman by the name of "R" (supposedly from our clients office) due to the complexity of the loan. She proceeded to state that in communications with "R", she requested an additional $150 for her time and trouble...and now is requesting that we pay her that.

Well..first off, we have no idea who "R" is...never heard of him. Second off, we only billed our client for the fee that this closer initially agreed to.

Below is my email to her....I want to know from your perspective, am I being fair?
We do encourage our notaries to contact our clients directly regarding docs issues but never regarding payment. We have a set fee structure that is negotiated prior to acceptance of assignments (unless we are made aware of circumstances that warrant a higher fee). The only logical solution now is that either you can contact "R" (because I have no idea who he is) and have him inform my client that we need to bill this additional money and in turn, have them let us know that it is OK to bill this OR you may want to contact "R" directly and have him pay you the additional monies directly. At this point, there is absolutely nothing else that I can do. We quoted you a fee, which you accepted. Had we been made aware of the additional fee request prior to closing, if justified, we would have gladly addressed the issue with our clients to try and have the fee adjusted. But since we were not made privy to this information, the fee that we will be paying you is $xxx which is what was agreed to initially. If you have any further questions, please address them to me personally. Thanks and have a great day!

Reply by SueW/Tn on 6/28/06 4:27pm
Msg #129372

wow....something new everyday n/m

Reply by AngelinaAZ on 6/28/06 4:27pm
Msg #129373

If you didn't authorize it, you can't be expected to pay it... but in the interest of the client & SS and SS & SA relationships... you should try to stay involved and see it through.

The only thing that I would suggest is to not relinquish positive control of the situation. Even though you were not involved with 'R'... if I were you... I would contact him myself, discuss the situation and figure out a positive resolution for everyone. Stay in control. You booked the signing... it is your client.

Reply by Lee/AR on 6/28/06 4:42pm
Msg #129382

Angelina has it right!

Know you don't know who 'R' is... so find out & follow Angelina's advice. The 'R's need to know that they need to communicate with you, too. Follow thru; keep control. Get the add'l fee from 'R'; pay the notary. Everybody happy!

Reply by Missy_Lulu on 6/28/06 4:31pm
Msg #129374

Yes I believe you are being fair. You were not kept in the loop.

Reply by SueW/Tn on 6/28/06 4:35pm
Msg #129375

Sherry...may I comment on "kept in the loop"

Your instructions are extremely clear (at least they were on the assignments I performed for you) and they state for the SA to coordinate with TC. Perhaps this is what the SA was doing? Following instructions? I'm just floored she would bill for following instructions...I dunno, I need sleep.

Reply by SLB SIGNING SERVICES, INC. - Sherry on 6/28/06 4:36pm
Msg #129376

I am heeding the welcomed advice of another poster and not responding to every post on my thread..but I just want to say that I know that you and I have had our run-ins Angelina but I truly appreciate you taking the time to read and give me your feedback. Your advice is truly appreciated as is everyone elses. Sometimes sitting in the SS seat doesnt always allow me the SA perspective...so I am grateful for all of your views on the situation. NOW I AM REALLY DONE..no more posting on this thread..just reading your feedback now.

Reply by AngelinaAZ on 6/28/06 6:07pm
Msg #129411

Re: Honest opinions please....To Sherry...

Sherry... Obviously, responding to every post in a thread for the sake of responding is somewhat of a waste of space. But guess what... I'm a premier member, I pay my fees and while I will try to be considerate... if I really want to post something.. I post it. (All I'm trying to say is that while I would not advise posting a response to every post in the thread... if you have something you want to say... say it.)

In regards to our run-ins... we might not always agree when it comes to certain things... but that's life. Unless you run over my dog on purpose or are mean to my kids... everything else is water under the bridge.

Have a good evening!

Reply by AngelinaAZ on 6/30/06 3:47pm
Msg #130115

This was supposed to be a NICE post...

geesh... sometimes I do sound harsh don't I?

Anyway Sherry, I hope you understood what I was trying to say.

Reply by SarahBeth_CA on 6/28/06 4:36pm
Msg #129377

Honestly Sherry

Yes there is something you can do. I think that if she indicated on her invoice/completion form that she spoke with so and so from your clients office who modified her fee you should verify that. When you see an invoice for an amount that isn't what you agreed upon that is when you take up the issue. It's not that difficult to verify the situation. Once verified bill your client with a note stating per R an additional xx for xx service. You shouldn't have billed before confirming the matter. It doesn't really need to be a hullaballoo. I'm not saying that she shouldn't have contacted you, she should have. I wasn't there and I don't know the particulars. But it doesn't always work out that way and she did make sure that the loan was signed.

Reply by SarahBeth_CA on 6/28/06 4:40pm
Msg #129379

After reading Sue's reply

I just wanted to say that I didn't know that the instructions state to coordinate with TC. She very well could have felt that she was following instructions.

Reply by SueW/Tn on 6/28/06 4:54pm
Msg #129391

SarahBeth...please don't mistake what I was trying to say

Sherry's confirmation is extremely easy to understand and the instructions are crystal clear. If the SA cut a deal with someone at Title and was foolish enough not to have a hard copy, that's between her and Title. Myself I wouldn't have performed $150 worth of extra work (God only knows what hoops she was jumping through) without talking with SLB. That's too large an amount to throw to chance...at the moment I"m leaning in Sherry's corner...otherwise she will get blindsided many times.

Reply by SarahBeth_CA on 6/28/06 5:02pm
Msg #129394

Re: SarahBeth...please don't mistake what I was trying to sa

You know I totally agree with you and yes I may have misunderstood. I stand by my first comment on taking a couple of minutes to verify then bill.

Reply by Rebecca Fair on 6/28/06 4:45pm
Msg #129384

I had a similar situation a while back. I had agreed to a fee and due to very late docs I had to go to two locations to sign the Mr. & Mrs. I could not get ahold of the SS due to a power outage caused by our first TS. I tried numerous times and left three messages. The Broker wanted this done and after an hour of trying to contact the SS I told the Broker I would need some kind of CO for the additional fee and if she would send an email stating she would be responsible for the additional fee I would head out the door. The broker sent a CO, The SS got power again all was okay.

Question for you now. Did the Notary try to contact you re: the special situation? If not, I think it's all on the Notary for taking you out of the loop. JMO

Reply by SLB SIGNING SERVICES, INC. - Sherry on 6/28/06 4:48pm
Msg #129386

No contact calls whatsoever Rebecca... n/m

Reply by CaliNotary on 6/28/06 4:45pm
Msg #129385

Once you've agreed on a payment, that's it. It goes with the territory of being a signing agent that you're gonna have the occasional messy signing. And even if she WERE justified in asking for extra payment, $150 extra is just ridiculous.

It's the signing agent's responsibility to control the signing. Either they're ready to sign or they're not. It's one thing to get a few questions answered by the loan rep, but if it's going to require constant communication throughout the signing and monopolize an excessive amount of time, then it's our responsibility to either get them to understand their right of recission and get the signing done, or tell them they need to reschedule when they get all their issues resolved. But if a signing agent voluntarily sits through a signing for hours, that's on them, not on you.

Reply by Ndwa on 6/28/06 5:41pm
Msg #129404

I think it is the SS responsibility to iron this matter out, but I'd say tough luck to the notary. As Cali stated, how can that SA justify charging you an addt'l $150 when your normal contracted fee is $100. She should have called you when her first instinct says I'm in for a long haul.

Reply by Negrete on 6/28/06 8:32pm
Msg #129446

I agree with all the poster and would follow through with Mr 'R' ASAP and inform him that he should not be telling a notary that they are going to get more monies for this or that or the other thing unless he plans on paying the extra fee.

Reply by Marlene/USNA on 6/29/06 10:17am
Msg #129553

Re: "Have a great day!"

I can't comment on the loan signing issues in your posting. However, I feel compelled to mention that ending the delivery of bad news with "Have a great day!" can be like throwing gasoline on a fire. The notary is not going to have a great day if she's just been told that she's not going to get the payment she was expecting. Nor are you.

A more neutral touch like "Thank you for your consideration of this matter (or continued cooperation or somesuch)" could keep the focus on the issue at hand.

Marlene, who is herself known to her boss for heavy-handed email and other disappointments