Posted by IL/notary on 11/17/09 11:21pm
Msg #311336

Can they do this??

FedEx charged my debit card $38.00 for shipping because the signing service went out of business. I was stiffed by the signing service but I did not bill the borrowers. Am I liable to pay the freight?

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 11/17/09 11:32pm
Msg #311339

Yup...

Per the billing terms of service... http://fedex.com/us/services/terms/

"NOTWITHSTANDING ANY PAYMENT INSTRUCTIONS THAT ARE GIVEN TO FEDEX, THE SENDER IS ULTIMATELY LIABLE FOR, WILL BE BILLED FOR AND AGREES TO PAY ALL CHARGES AND FEES, INCLUDING ANY SPECIAL HANDLING FEES, IF THE RECIPIENT OR THIRD PARTY FAILS OR REFUSES TO PAY"


You are the sender... not the Title company or the signing service.

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 11/17/09 11:39pm
Msg #311340

Which, by the way, is another good reason

for people not to accept the cheapo rates. The potential for liability for document shipping is a very real factor for us, and quite a few have been billed by UPS and FedEx after being burned by a service or Title Company. It's something that should be factored in to your base rates and a small fund on hand to cover it, just in case.

Reply by IL/notary on 11/18/09 12:00am
Msg #311341

Re: Which, by the way, is another good reason

OR have borrowers listed as the senders...

Reply by Lee/AR on 11/18/09 4:42am
Msg #311343

Best practice,imo: Recipient/Sender are the same n/m

Reply by John/CT on 11/18/09 8:16am
Msg #311357

But, FDX & UPS can trace shipment back to you ...

if you prepare the shipping label online. As a matter of fact, UPS uses your account number in the tracking number. Best practice to avoid chargebacks, use hand written airbills.

Reply by Ilene C. Seidel on 11/18/09 6:52am
Msg #311346

Re: Which, by the way, is another good reason

I never put my name on shipping label. I list the receiver and sender as same. Why stiff the borrower they had nothing to do with it?

Reply by jba/fl on 11/18/09 7:36am
Msg #311352

Not the BO - they just lost their loan n/m

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 11/18/09 9:42am
Msg #311369

The borrower???

Putting the borrower's details as the sender could actually be seen a fraud.

Reply by IL/notary on 11/18/09 8:57pm
Msg #311474

Re: The borrower???

I've seen the borrowers on pre-printed labels from Title Co. never thought it would be considered fraud given the docs inside are theirs and they are well aware they will be shipped to the title co in order to process their loan. I agree the best way would be to write the receipient/sender in both places and use the handwritten airbills. I will for now on...

Reply by CopperheadVA on 11/18/09 5:40am
Msg #311345

You can do a search for "chargebacks" on this website, but here are a few message numbers that have some good advice:

217051

274484

Reply by MW/VA on 11/18/09 7:35am
Msg #311351

Yes. I got stiffed for my fees & shipping charges when one company went under. It's the only time that's ever happened, so 1 out of a 1,000 isn't bad. This is business. IMO, in this business like any other there is going to be some "bad debt".

Reply by Bob_Chicago on 11/18/09 8:27am
Msg #311358

IMO there is no reason for the "shipper " info on a

hand written FEDEX or UPS label to be legible.
Your Cell # , your ZIP and bwr name and file #, should be readable,
but no reason for them to be able to trace back to who sent it.
Even if your name is shown as shipper on a pre-printed lable, let
them try to proove that you were the one who dropped it into their system.
Major flak used to come from DHL, but that is no longer an issue.

Reply by PAW on 11/18/09 8:29am
Msg #311359

Typically, in my experience, the account number provided for sending back the documents isn't the signing service's account, but the title company's account that is handling the disbursement and closing. (Sometimes, it's the lender's account, but not to often.)

If in fact it was the signing service's account, contact the title company and/or lender handling the loan. I'm sure they can work out the fees with you.

Personally, I run a business and as such ALL outgoing labels prepared by my office show my business as the sender. In over 20 years doing it this way, I have only been back charged once and that was due to my own error, and was amicably rectified by the title company.

As a standard business practice, before any shipping label is prepared, a phone call to the title company to verify the account number is made. Then that number is entered for the billing using the online shipping software. Works for me.

Reply by Notarysigner on 11/18/09 9:03am
Msg #311361

I usually ask for and receive a pre-printed shipping label.

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 11/18/09 9:26am
Msg #311364

Me too...but beware and read the label carefully - my name has shown up on that pre-printed label as sender more than once....

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 11/18/09 9:41am
Msg #311368

I do essentially the same thing Paul does. My packages are sent on labels ordered through my FedEx account, and I put my own contact information as the sender. I'm not worried about the charge back issue. If it happens, it happens... but it's not happened yet. I know it happens to others, though.

The reason I do it is because I've actually received several calls from Title Companies later on with direct work as a result of the information I put on the shipping label. One lady called and said, "I really liked your work so I copied your contact information from the FedEx label. So glad you put your cell on there. We don't use the signing service that hired you anymore, so it was nice I had that one record. Most notaries use fake information or list the same company twice."

You never know what little details are being noticed about your work, including something as simple as a shipping label.