Posted by Leon_CO on 12/8/08 5:57am
Msg #271348

Reneging on a closing assignment

You get a call to do a closing for the next day from a company you never heard of. You're in your car on your way to a closing, and it will be at least a couple of hours before you're back at your desk and can get on the internet.

You accept the assignment.

A few hours later you're back at your desk. There is a confirmation waiting for you. You get on the internet and do some research on this company. You read a few comments on a message board. There isn't much to go on because the people who left the comments didn't really say much. You read comments such as: 'Slow pay.' 'Still waiting for payment after 30 days.' ...

You really don't have much to go on, but it doesn't make you comfortable. So you call the company back and tell them that you don't want to do the closing because you read some 'negative' things about them. They assure you that they have had no problems in the past and ask you if you're sure you have the right company. You just tell them to find someone else.

You're still not sure if it was the right thing to do. Your conscience is telling you that you should have taken a chance on them. It seemed like a good assignment. You wish that the people who wrote the comments had been more specific. It's too late for that. You already turned it down.

Was it the right thing to do renege on the closing assignment? Was it the fair thing to do? Was it the professional thing to do?

Reply by Trenton Hall on 12/8/08 7:22am
Msg #271350

I seldom accept jobs while in the car, unless I already know the mileage and what I what for the job. My fee is based on mileage and printing. How would you know what to charge if you don't know how far it is.? Unless of course the fee they quote is so far above what you THINK you'd charge. But once I've accepted, rarely do I go back on it. And if I have a doubt on the call, I'd have other commitments.

Reply by Lee/AR on 12/8/08 7:39am
Msg #271352

2 or 2 dozen 'slow pay' comments would not cause me to give it back. It's all about keeping the pipeline full. NO pay comments--they'd get it back and they'd get told exactly why: You don't pay your notaries!

Reply by DebbieT on 12/8/08 7:40am
Msg #271353

Re: I'll answer that...

I would rather miss out on the $$$ amount of money letting an assignment go than to put all my work and expenses into one and not be paid. Always trust your sixth sense. Thats what its there for.

Reply by jojo_MN on 12/8/08 7:48am
Msg #271354

Only you can make the choice based on someone else's opinion. It is not uncommon for a company to have a policy that they pay on the 30th of the month following the assignment. One company in particular that had that policy gave me over $20,000 in business over a four year period. Ideally, everyone would pay within a week of closing.

As far as cancelling after agreeing to do the job, you could get a reputation for doing that and might not be getting called in the first place. How would you like it if they confirmed with you, then found someone cheaper and cancelled after you turned down other assignments for jobs in the same time period.

I posted before, that you can't always judge by one or two comments. You mght not know the circumstances. I had one company that wasn't paying me, then wrote a check for $800 that bounced. It turned out that it was the fault of the bookkeeper. She was fired and the I've been doing business with the company ever since and have never had problems.

Now if it is a company that is blasted on the board by many notaries all stating non-payment issues after a couple months--that is a totally different issue.

This is a very tough business to be in right now, and it IS hard to decide who are the good guys. Only you can make that decision.

Reply by DebbieT on 12/8/08 7:58am
Msg #271355

Assuming that he was checking Notary Rotary for the information he could carry a list with him. Do a little research, print the list out and put a check next to the ones that you would not be comfortable working with. Keep the list in your car and refer to it in situations like this.

Reply by jojo_MN on 12/8/08 8:00am
Msg #271356

Great idea, Debbie.

Reply by Margaret_FL on 12/8/08 1:28pm
Msg #271407

I already do that because I am always in my car. If I waited until I got home, I would never get any work.

Reply by hcampersFL on 12/8/08 8:15pm
Msg #271461

I have taken assignments and looked later only to find it was a company I didn't want to work with. I still made the appt.

I only cancel if I find out they are "no pay" type of company's.