Posted by Mindy_WA on 7/31/07 12:07pm
Msg #202969

Wow, Stewart Lender Services..shame on you!

Just got a call regarding a signing that was to take place last night. I arrived at the home of the borrowers last night and ID'd them. Mr.'s given name is "Billy" but the Drivers License says "Bill". FINE. Then looking at the docs they show "William". I cannot notarize as he has no documentation showing "William". He further states that his name is not even "William" at all. That the original loan was mistakenly drawn up in that name some 20 years ago. He has been signing it since. Umpteen different notaries have notarized his signature without properly ID'ing him. I should be, but am not SHOCKED.

I am, however, shocked that in speaking with Stewart Lender Services, they said that they can produce a signature Affidavit that was signed years ago, with an alias of "William". Unfortunately, that does not qualify as a "state issued valid picture ID". Stewart said it is state issued (???). She was quite angry with me. And in less words informed me that I do not know what I am doing. She would be calling "Vendor Management" about me. I told her that I would do the same about her, if necessary. For the sake of arguing, I told her that a signature Aff is not proper ID (it just proves who one of the unlawful notaries is), and that it would be better if they could just find another notary that doesn't mind breaking the law. She said that she would.

Wonder which one of my fellow local notaries that will be? And, SHAME ON YOU TOO!!

Reply by ZeeCA on 7/31/07 12:24pm
Msg #202982

sad that someone is so concerned about $$$ that the law is not an issue

I had a similar but I was the notary who caught that his name was wrong on all the docs for years... he had signed multiple loans w/ this particular company and not one notary ever noticed the names did not match...........I explained that he would have to always include this name in the AKA as his entire credit is now under a different name.

long story short.. the tc was so impressed they gave me a HUGE bonus... thx but just doing my job..............

Reply by VioCa on 7/31/07 12:32pm
Msg #202988

You will be surprised how fast they will find someone willing to break the law for a few bucks
I am running into this kind of situation very often and I am told that I do not know what I am doing and that "the other notary" was ok with the id provided. I usually tell them to send "the other notary" to close the deal.
I lost clients because I refused to notarize with expired id's, green cards, maiden name on the id and married name on the docs etc., but I still refuse to do it. I am happy to hear that there are other Notaries that have high standards of ethics. Keep it that way and maybe the EO's will get the message that the names on the docs should match the id. It is so easy to correct it on Title, a Quitclaim Deed will do it but for some reason they wont do the right thing and then will put pressure on us to notarize the way it is.

Reply by dickb/wi on 7/31/07 1:42pm
Msg #203015

a quit claim may do it, but wh will...

notarize it?.....maybe the previous notary......lol

Reply by Philip Johnson on 7/31/07 1:51pm
Msg #203016

Is that Dick or Richard? :) n/m

Reply by VioCa on 7/31/07 3:50pm
Msg #203056

Re: a quit claim may do it, but wh will...

The quit claim should read John Doe who aquired title as J Doe and then the signature line shows John Doe that matches the id and this would do it, the docs can be drawn then in the id name. "Not a lawer, seen this on other borrowers"

Reply by Gerry_VT on 7/31/07 2:43pm
Msg #203040

I'd say Mindy_WA has a genuine problem, not because the ID says "Bill" and the document says "William", but because Bill says his name is not "William". I think it is inappropriate to blame the original notary who notarized the earlier loan. In _Change of Name and Law of Names_ by Edward Bander, on p. 34-35, it says "The [Montana] court pointed out that it is suficient to describe a person by any known and accepted abbreviation of his Christian name, and that there are certain standard abbreviations, derivatives and nicknames for the more common Christian names which have long been recognized by the courts as being interchangeable with the person's full name. . . . Among such abbreviations are. . . Bill or Wm. for William. . ."

Could this lead to someone impersonating someone else with a similar name? Of course. But that could happen anyway, for example, people who have different middle names but neither the ID nor the document contains middle names.

Reply by Mindy_WA on 8/1/07 10:42am
Msg #203195

Bill didn't "say" his name wasn't William, his mother said it on his birth certificate when she gave him a legal name of "Billy". While I can understand why, as an adult, "BillyBob" would be a name you don't want. I am not charged with allowing the lender to completely change his name. "Bill" maybe, but not "William".

Think about this. My given name is Melinda. I have always gone by Mindy...but I have enough where-with-all, even as a child in school, to know the difference. To know that not many people draw the connection with the two names. Granted, Bill comes from the name William, but William doesn't come from the name Bill. That's why notaries are not to assume.

My problem came in when the borrower explained that "the first loan company assigned him this name thinking that he was a 'William'". I know that I didn't ask a loan company to name my child! How can this be acceptable??

I suppose you could debate this all day long. But, as previous posters said, a simple Warranty/Quit Claim, could solve this problem. ALSO, if he could produce ANYTHING as proper ID showing him as "William", I would have been fine. He had nothing. He is not William. The borrowers felt comfortable with not signing the wrong name. They wanted it corrected.