Posted by 101livescan on 4/11/12 9:37am
Msg #417560

Low paying fees

I just got off the phone with notary in LA who works for two companies on this board we all talk about regularly. BS and X. Unbelievable that notaries are still working for them.

A little creative marketing needs to be employed here to move away from these companies. They are getting paid big $$ and paying the notaries $40 to $75. Unbelievable.

Reply by Penney/CA on 4/11/12 9:42am
Msg #417561

I have had many calls from them and state my starting fee is $xxx and they go away. They must be getting someone to do complete their signings for those fees which tick me off, but what can you do? We state on here so many times how important it is to turn these low-ballers away, but they still seem to be able to get their work done.

Reply by 101livescan on 4/11/12 9:46am
Msg #417562

Gotta get the word out...

Reply by Kay/IL on 4/11/12 10:08am
Msg #417565

Have these companies heard the saying...

you did it cheap, you did it twice?

These cheapo companies don't seem to get that. Too many times, the notaries who accept below market fees are the ones who do not do signings correctly (improper notarizations, missed initials, dates, etc.). Things like that can cause anything from spending extra monies to have another notary doing a complete resign to a borrower losing his/her lock, if not business relationship altogether.

Just pay a fair and reasonable fee to an experienced notary and you will get an error free signing the first time around.

Reply by Les_CO on 4/11/12 10:24am
Msg #417568

Re: Have these companies heard the saying...

Many many out there don’t read this board. They hear about the job (NSA) they take a course, and join the NNA…and hope the phone rings…And guess what? It does. These low paying Signing Companies and now more and more Title Companies every day call notaries listed there, to see if they can get anyone to take the job. If they can’t they turn it back, or in Title’s case just pay more. These guys work on volume, and care ONLY about the bottom line. Customer service, loyalty, building a relationship, a satisfied borrower, doing a good job, of even complying with the law…Nope...It’s just a numbers game, and only profit motivated. Think about it… the borrower pays, but is rarely going to do business with them again, and most don’t get the choice…as for us notaries… only one thing counts. Not knowledge, ability, appearance, dependability, punctuality, accuracy, or how we interact with the (real) customer…nope…Just how cheaply we will do the job. That’s it…nothing else. The management at big guys that have been at this a long time (FASS, and ND) have made an executive decision to get it done as cheaply as possible. They hire low paid (many offshore) people to schedule, and to check on the notaries, hand hold, and get sloppy or incorrect work fixed. They find this more efficient and profitable than hiring knowledgeable, experienced professional notaries that charge fairly for their service. They don’t care if the entire process is poorly done, leaving everyone involved with a bad taste in their mouths. They make MONEY. And that won’t change. As long as there are those willing to work for less, there will be those very willing to pay less. JMO

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 4/11/12 10:41am
Msg #417570

Re: Have these companies heard the saying...

Yup, it's all the NNA here, people. Very few of those notaries read this board. Other have been "warned" to stay away because they don't think it's a terribly helpful place. HAH!!

All of the low-ball calls I get anymore all say they found me via the NNA. The only reason In continue to maintain a membership there anymore (and i find it entirely useless, btw) is because there is one Title company that pays me very well whose president requires their background check and no other. The people who I have contact with there all realize it's completely useless (especially for CA notaries), but they won't argue with the boss. Frankly, I won't argue with them either because they pay me VERY well, and they don't ask questions. They don't even ask me for availability anymore. They just email the files to me and let me take care it. Because of that... I begrudgingly put up with it.

More and more, those lawballers just don't bother to call me anymore because they know I'll say no. Others are put on a direct to voice mail setting on my phone so I never hear them call (like SOX, etc.)

I still get a few calls a week where they say, "And we pay $75.00..." for a job wherein they want me to drive over 60 miles each way. I wish them good luck in finding somebody to it but I charge $xxx. A few times I get laughed at, saying I charge too much. Other will pull out the, "But we don't even make that much on this," line. The best happened not long ago when a lady said, "I guess you're not working very much since nobody is paying those fees anymore. $60 is standard these days, and we're being generous at $85."

But the biggest issue is that they know to go after the NNA newbies who have been brainwashed to believe that they have to take what they're offered to get experience, be guaranteed "volume" work in their area, etc. THey don't last long...because they realize they can't maintain a business that way. Or, for others it's just a hobby for a little extra spending money. Either way, there's always new people to replace them and they know it thanks to the marketing capacity of the NNA.

If it weren't for that one company, I'd drop my NNA membership immediately. I've been working hard to convince them it's not necessary, but I haven't had any luck yet. Frankly...it's not a big enough of a deal because the work they give me more than pays for it in a single signing.

Reply by Penney/CA on 4/11/12 11:10am
Msg #417578

Re: Have these companies heard the saying...

I have had a few companies requesting copies of background checks. I contacted the Secretary of State regarding California's requirement for Notary commission and she sent me an email stating that we go through both a DOJ and FBI background check to obtain our commission. I forward that e-mail to whomever is requesting the check and I have not had anyone ask me for anything more than that.

Reply by Kay/IL on 4/11/12 12:30pm
Msg #417588

Although I am not a fan of the NNA........

in defense of them, one thing I must say is that all (yes all) the client relations I made through them have been long standing, provide consistent work and pay $xxx. Actually, some lowballers have contacted me through this site.

It would be a great if a way can be discovered to steer the newbies in the right direction.....:/

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 4/11/12 1:29pm
Msg #417594

Re: Although I am not a fan of the NNA........

I had the same experience for a few years, but I've found that most of them have lowered their fees now, insisting it's an "industry standard".

There is no industry standard --- but they sure are trying to make one. That stupid (no longer in existence) minimum fee schedule the NNA put out is still having an impact. It seems those companies figured since there is "no minimum fee" [schedule] anymore, they can, and do, go lower.

Reply by Hugh Nations Signing Agents of Austin on 4/11/12 3:20pm
Msg #417605

Another view

***all (yes all) the client relations I made through them have been long standing, provide consistent work and pay $xxx***

In my opinion, defending the organization on that basis is like saying it's okay to toss a live rattlesnake into a day care because it might catch a mouse. I think the harm that organization has done over the years to the profession far far outweighs any benefits to an individual. One of the major reasons we are afflicted with so many companies seeking lowball NSAs is that some organizations concerned primarily with their bank accounts rather than the health of the profession have kept pumping out signing agents by enticing them with blandishments of high incomes. More hungry signing agents = more agents willing to work for less.

It should be noted that Harry has asked that we not refer to the NNA by name or acronym when commenting negatively. He gets heat for it, and I think we should respect his wishes.

Reply by IAC on 4/11/12 4:19pm
Msg #417611

Re:Lowball...

Its becoming a daily call from the SS with the low fees. It is obvious, the bottom line is how much they can keep for themselves, who care if the docs are a mess. The unqualified notary will spend hrs. at the signing what do they care. They got some cheap!
I did a signing this past Monday, right out the gate the borrower said, "I paid extra to have my name correct on the docs/" Guess what, name was not correct, as was the county incorrect and to top it off it was a 150 pg loan! After my phone call to the lender, who could not be understood let alone answer the questions I proceeded to sign docs as NKA. I made county corrections with initial and etc. This was a after hrs. signing so in the morning I contacted the SS and informed them for ALL the additional time spent I was billing extra. I informed them it is not the responsibility of the notary to correct information that was previously addressed with the lender.
Will lowballing stop, not anytime soon, but at least I will not subject myself to low fees. As I have said in prior talk, Professional Notaries need to stick together you will succeed when the LB's run out of funds.

Reply by leeinla on 4/11/12 6:29pm
Msg #417633

Re: Lowball Fees

Since the NNA came out with that flyer: you can make between $50-$150 as a long signing agent a couple of things happened. Lower fees, notaries that turn in incomplete packages, and people that are not professional during the loan signing process. One of my pet peeves is that every signing service agreement I sign now they tell me to dress professionally. I know how to dress for a signing. I am not going to renew my NNA membership next year. The NNA is not a good advocacy group for us. It took me some time to figure that out. Basically, if you pay a signing agent a reasonable fee for their service, you probably get a notary that takes pride in their work and know how to dress professionally.

Reply by MikeC/TX on 4/13/12 4:09pm
Msg #417845

Re: Re:Lowball...

"I did a signing this past Monday, right out the gate the borrower said, "I paid extra to have my name correct on the docs/" "

Am I reading this right? The lender actually charged additional money for that? What happens if you don't fork over the extra cash - they use a random name generator while preparing the docs? It seems to me it would be in the lender's best interest to just make sure the names are right...

Reply by MikeC/TX on 4/12/12 2:53pm
Msg #417713

When I was doing IT work, we had a graphic we used...

with clients who were being unreasonable about cost and time requirements.

It was a triangle; along one side was the word "Good", along the second was the word "Cheap", and along the third was the word "Quick". The client was told, "You only get to pick two sides; which two do you want?"

So if they wanted Quick and Cheap, it wasn't gonna be Good, etc. Same thing applies here...