Posted by Louis/AZ on 10/27/09 12:09pm
Msg #308831

JG Wentworth - COLLECT UP-FRONT!

I received a call from JG Wentworth out of Brynmawr, PA back in mid September needing me to travel and meet with a client who was cashing out a settlement. I used the orange search button and found very mixed reviews - about 50/50. The reviews were a year old and either people loved them or hated them. I went ahead and took the assignment. The man I spoke with, Jaron Pendergast, said that they typically pay when the transaction funds.

I just called because I haven't received payment yet (my invoice says payment is due within 30 days). Jaron's personality changed when I inquired about payment (funny how that happens). It turns out that their transactions can take months to fund, and based on the conversation I just had, I think I'm going to be chasing them for a while because I'm getting the runaround. Yes, I should have asked up-front when the transactions fund, but I FOOLISHLY assumed it would be within a week or so as is the case with most loans.

I noticed that the vast majority of the people who like/love this company are coincidentally the ones who collected up front via overnight check or Paypal. I strongly recommend collecting up front from this company - otherwise you'll be waiting a while......(sigh) another lesson learned the hard way....

Reply by Jim/AL on 10/27/09 12:20pm
Msg #308834

Re: JG Wentworth - burned me also. Made 3-4 trips, got docs

signed, finally. The guy went with another company after contracting with them, so they claimed I would be paid after they sued the guy. Been over a year now.

Kept calling for payment, they must have removed me because I get no more calls from them.

Reply by Scriba/NM on 10/27/09 12:42pm
Msg #308839

Re: JG Wentworth - burned me also. Made 3-4 trips, got docs

The settlement companies like Wentworth are making a fortune when they snag some poor sap for 60 to 70% of their original award, however, their business has seriously seen a drop- off and they use any reason they can find NOT to pay their notaries. These "settlement" signings used to take me to some very weird places, in very seedy parts of town and meeting with very weird people. You also have to wait for people to show up that could care less about your time, and then finally you have to wrench payment out of the company. I have quit working for ANY of these companies for the aforementioned reasons.

Reply by Louis/AZ on 10/27/09 1:29pm
Msg #308855

Re: Funny you mention "weird" people

I don't have any problems dealing with "weird" situations. One of the interesting things about this business is that you meet all sorts of people from every different part of the social hierarchy. I've done transactions for the filthy rich to the dirt poor and everyone in between - you meet everyone, that's one of the things I love about this business. I remember doing a transaction for a woman who was clearly a "lady of the night." It was awkward, but I didn't care - I got paid and that's all that matters to me.

Based on the feedback I've received, I'm going to insist on up-front payment from these settlement companies. The signings for these settlement companies are usually very easy, and I'd be happy to them as long as they pay me UP FRONT. Paypal transactions can be disputed and charged back, but I'd rather risk that than risk having to chase people for months on end for payment (and possibly have to eventually give up.)

As far as JG Wentworth goes, I'm not holding my breath. The guy who called me was obviously aware that the company had payment issues and now that I think back on it, he was very careful in the way he worded the payment terms. "We pay when the transaction funds, but don't worry - if it doesn't, you'll still get paid." I should have paid more attention, but you know how it goes. Sometimes you're in a hurry and you don't have the time to do thorough research. Oh well, like I said - another lesson learned the hard way.

Reply by Glenn Strickler on 10/27/09 12:24pm
Msg #308835

I quit doing business with these guys or anyone else that I feel that I need "up front" payment from. I was accepting payments via paypal, but I determined that it was just too much of a hassle and added to my expenses.


If you try to collect from any company up front with paypal, be aware that they can contest and pull back the payment before you have a chance to collect it. Also, if you do use paypal, make sure you open a separate bank account for it and have an aggreement with your bank that any deduction of funds must be approved by you before the transaction is allowed to proceed, otherwise, you risk the pull back of the payment from anyone who pays you in that manner.

Reply by Glenn Strickler on 10/27/09 12:26pm
Msg #308836

I should have also added ...

If you do decide to stick with paypal, make sure you do set up that separate account and then transfer the payment out the second it is credited to that account.

Reply by Ali/IL on 10/27/09 12:56pm
Msg #308847

Re: I should have also added ...

I did one for them took four months to pay me. When I would call they would switch me around from person to person.
Finally they said that the client was contesting my fee and that I should go and speak to him about my payment. I told them that I was not going to bother them with it since I had contracted with them . They paid after four months.I haven't been called since.

Reply by CaliNotary on 10/27/09 2:00pm
Msg #308864

"I used the orange search button and found very mixed reviews - about 50/50."

"(sigh) another lesson learned the hard way...."

It wasn't learned the hard way, you found all the information you needed to turn down the signing when you did a search. That is learning something the easy way.

You then chose to ignore all of the negative stuff you read and take the signing anyway, which makes me wonder why you even bothered to do a search in the first place. In case you don't remember your school days, getting 50% right on something still gets you an F.

Reply by Louis/AZ on 10/27/09 4:16pm
Msg #308881

Re: To CaliNotary

Thank you for the lecture, CaliNotary. If only I could be as smart and astute as you are, I'm sure I would never have payment issues with any of the companies I accept assignments from. I found the reviews about JG Wentworth to be mixed, and fairly dated at over a year old. My purpose in posting here was to share my experience and provide up-to-date information which I hoped others would find useful.

The fact that you took the time out of your day to write such a rude and nonconstructive post tells me that you're obviously not busy generating money, and furthermore, it tells me that you probably never even bothered to go to school at all. You probably didn't even have the opportunity to earn an F in a class. Congratulations on all your success.

Reply by CaliNotary on 10/27/09 7:48pm
Msg #308914

Good lord

Just because you've shown yourself to be a total dumbass when it comes to making business decisions, doesn't mean you have to get snippy with me.

And if you are going to get snippy, at least do it creatively. And at the very least, don't make yourself look like even more of a dumbass by saying something idiotic like "if you have time to post this during the day, you must not be getting work", when we all (at least those of us who are still regularly getting work) know that one of the beautiful things about this job is that it often gives you free time during the day, since so much of our work is done in the evenings. Not only is it just a flat out dumb thing to say, but it's also become a tired cliche on this board.

Reply by LKT/CA on 10/27/09 9:41pm
Msg #308931

Louis/AZ

I agree with what CaliNotary wrote and, in fact, think his point was right on target!!

Think of it this way, Louis....if you apply for credit and the bank reviews your credit report and half of your accounts are payed on time, every month and the other half of your accounts are late (30, 60 or 90 days late) how do you think will work for you? Will the good accounts override the bad ones, or will the bad accounts work against you? Bad accounts always work against you.

In essence, you are extending credit to companies when you do the work now and get paid later. Just as a mixed credit report will not be in your favor, mixed reviews for a company should not be in their favor either - unless you like chasing your money. You didn't learn the hard way...the signs were there and you ignored them and now you're paying the price. As a business, you should work smarter, not harder.

Mixed reviews = deadbeat.

Reply by jba/fl on 10/27/09 11:05pm
Msg #308941

Louis/AZ: Does the leopard change his spots? Or do

you have cataracts and can't see them? There is a reason it is called history, and there is a reason for the phrase: History repeats itself.

Reply by CopperheadVA on 10/27/09 4:34pm
Msg #308884

Louis, be sure to rate them in Signing Central! Last rating

was in July 2009.

Reply by Ilene C. Seidel on 10/27/09 4:36pm
Msg #308885

I'm so glad I turned one down today.

Reply by Sarah/CA on 10/27/09 6:10pm
Msg #308902

I was one of those from about a year ago. I went out for a settlement. There were about 10 documents that needed to be notarized. I waited and sent invoices only to be told by Mr. Pendergast, after getting voicemails and the run around, that the settlement did not go through and so they would not be paying me. I told him I did my job and expect payment whether or not it went through is not my problem. I sent letters and invoices and still to this day have not been paid. I would strongly suggest payment up front. They are very nice when they call you upfront and not so nice when you are trying to collect.

Reply by MW/VA on 10/27/09 8:54pm
Msg #308922

I've heard some notaries use Dun & Bradstreet for collections. You might give that a try.

Reply by BrendaTx on 10/27/09 9:49pm
Msg #308934

Recently got a call from another one of these companies.

Can't remember the name. I quoted a fee. They said too high. But, then they called back. I had told them on the original call that I'd require payment up front via paypal.

When they called back they agreed. Well...guess what...as it got down to the wire there was suddenly no paypal account to pay me with.

I said I was sorry but that their type of companies were terrible about not paying notaries...if they could overnight me a check...but they couldn't and found someone else to do it...there are new ones in this area who are just getting on the mobile notary / nsa bandwagon. Ah, the joys of being a newbie.

Reply by Louis/AZ on 10/28/09 2:56am
Msg #308950

The point of my post

I want to thank most of the people who replied to my post. I see some people have had similar experiences, and one person remarked that they were glad they turned down an assignment from JG Wentworth, so I'm guessing maybe others out there found it helpful as well. I made sure to rank them in Signing Central.

I think others mistakenly thought that I was just whining about not getting paid and was looking for pity and sympathy from the group. This is not the case at all. The amount of money I lost was not anything to cry over, and I'll more than likely end up writing it off. The point of my post was to share my recent experience and caution others about a bad company. Other people felt it was appropriate to respond with lectures, attacks, and cliche little ditties. These posts, needless to say, were not very helpful. I read this message board occasionally and I notice that some (only a small few) posters feel compelled to criticize others, try make people feel stupid, and they habitually respond with "unhelpful" comments. The level of professionalism these posters display with their choice of wording definitely speaks for itself. (I guess you could say that these leopards haven't changed their spots...)

Reply by CaliNotary on 10/28/09 11:21am
Msg #308972

Re: The point of my post

"and they habitually respond with "unhelpful" comments"

And here I thought telling you to believe what you read when you do a company search on NR was being helpful. Silly me.

Reply by jba/fl on 10/28/09 11:32am
Msg #308973

Re: The point of my post

" (I guess you could say that these leopards haven't changed their spots...)"

(puppies, kittens, butterflies in the margins.)

There are truisms in life - you are now trying to take this to the jury, who may or may not agree with you. I think you are not changing your spots and are still whining. When I posted it was with gentle reminders - perhaps too cliche and pithy for your sensitive psyche. This is business man - , and not necessarially the gentle wipes counter. While we are growing our businesses it is a construction site and you need to keep your hard had available.

(puppies, kittens, butterflies in the margins.)

Reply by ReneeK_MI on 10/28/09 3:50am
Msg #308952

Something you might try, if they owe you ...

Google & make a list of corporate officers - hint, all use same e-mail protocol: first initial, last name. Send a brief, concise & pointed e-mail cc'd to ALL of them (including the rep who hired you, and any other company names in your records). Just the facts - if you bleed this out to more than a few sentences, it will get nowhere.

I did this (above) with some company once (don't remember which one), and it worked pretty quickly.

While the BBB is NOT a business-to-business platform, nor is it a collection agency - and I don't suggest using it as such, this particular company stays on top of their BBB complaints. If you can manage to get one in there under "contract disputes", it might be worth the 2 minutes it takes.

Reply by CopperheadVA on 10/28/09 5:45am
Msg #308954

Re: Something you might try, if they owe you ...

You're right, Renee. BBB doesn't get involved in payment disputes, but if you phrase it that the company "failed to fulfill it's contractual obligations", they will likely accept the complaint.