Posted by walthtz on 12/10/12 11:33am
Msg #446015
SIGN-UP
Hi to all.
Just rec'd a signup package from a company I have not worked for.
They are requesting a copy of my Auto Insurance Policy.
Has anyone sent a companya copy before?
I personally do not think that as long as I am paid as a contractor & NOT as an employee, it is none of their business.
Thoughts?????
Thanks
Walt in NJ.
| Reply by dutchcloser on 12/10/12 11:34am
Msg #446016
I DO NOT send DL, SS or insurance information ever!!! n/m
| Reply by jojo_MN on 12/10/12 12:53pm
Msg #446023
Agree with dutchcloser. EIN only-- after received closing. n/m
| Reply by HisHughness on 12/10/12 12:39pm
Msg #446020
Sometimes I feel like I'm caught in a revolving door, and I'l keep passing the same point for the rest of my life.
| Reply by sigtogo/OR on 12/10/12 1:36pm
Msg #446028
lmao :) n/m
| Reply by Audrey Middleton on 12/10/12 12:48pm
Msg #446022
I received a package from Mortgage Connect requesting the same information. They called me. I came on here to see if they were legit. I still think I am going to pass. I have worked for company's that only requested a W-9.
| Reply by RobinFLA on 12/10/12 2:29pm
Msg #446036
I passed on Mortgage Connect as well. Maybe if enough of us pass, they will modify their requirements.
| Reply by Audrey Middleton on 12/10/12 1:01pm
Msg #446026
I just read their comments page and I am sorry I printed out the 24pg packet. Good thing I recycle paper. I will definately not work for this company.
| Reply by sigtogo/OR on 12/10/12 1:40pm
Msg #446030
just send it if its a good company
I black out my DL number and DOB. If you don't have an ein get one so you never need to send SS#. I have not been asked for my auto ins and if so, I would not have a problem with providing. you have your policies, they have theirs.
don't sweat the small stuff 
| Reply by Linda_H/FL on 12/10/12 2:09pm
Msg #446031
My auto insurance is none of their business
And when companies start telling me how much coverage to carry (which has happened) that tells me they don't know the difference between an employee and IC.
| Reply by Carolyn Bodley on 12/10/12 2:19pm
Msg #446032
Re: My auto insurance is none of their business
I've had companies go as far as to ask me what kind of vehicle I drove -- year, make, model, etc., claiming it was an image issue on their part.
Of course, I never furnished any auto insurance info or the kind of car I drive !!
I'm with you Linda -- NONE OF THEIR BUSINESS.
| Reply by Shan/CA on 12/10/12 2:26pm
Msg #446034
Re: My auto insurance is none of their business
I'm glad this was posted. As a new notary, I need all the info I can get, and I too was asked to send over a copy of my DL and to make sure that I lower the contrast so that the pic can be seen. I was asked if I had auto ins, but was not asked to provide proof. I sent in all of the other required documentation with the exception of my DL, if they call me fine, if not so be it. I already have a EIN # as someone stated. I don't use my SS# on anything (unless I have to).
| Reply by HisHughness on 12/10/12 2:41pm
Msg #446037
Re: My auto insurance is none of their business
Before you so casually accept the outraged declarations of some on this board, you may wish to do a search of forum posts on the reasons that a hiring party would seek such information. There are reasons, and they are substantial.
| Reply by Carolyn Bodley on 12/10/12 3:14pm
Msg #446039
Outraged declarations ...
When I signed, I got all kinds of unsolicitated "signup packages" through email wanting information.
We are all adults and can give the companies whatever information we feel comfortable with. However, I was always more apt to give a company *certain* information (once I had *ACTUALLY* performed a signing for and had a relationship with the company), as opposed to some unsolicited fly-by-night company out of the blue sending me a signup package.
Whether you feel it an outraged declaration or not, I was always an Independent Contractor and never an EMPLOYEE of either an unsolicited company, or a company that I had a signing track record with. My health insurance, automobile policy and automobile declarations and the type and year vehicle I drive, was/is no one's business UNLESS and UNTIL they pay the insurance premiums and *they* PURCHASE the vehicle for me that they consider acceptable for their image.
| Reply by Linda_H/FL on 12/10/12 5:00pm
Msg #446057
Re: Outraged declarations ... nah..don't listen to me
Or anyone else who doesn't give all this info - listen to Hugh - give them your vehicle info, car insurance info..HECK!! While you're at it, give them a crystal clear copy of your driver's license and, oh, by the way, your social security number too...
What the heck - this is just an outraged declaration.
Guess they play a little looser in Texas.
| Reply by HisHughness on 12/10/12 5:03pm
Msg #446059
Re: Outraged declarations ...
*** My health insurance, automobile policy and automobile declarations and the type and year vehicle I drive, was/is no one's business UNLESS and UNTIL they pay the insurance premiums and *they* PURCHASE the vehicle for me that they consider acceptable for their image.***
One of the unfortunate aspects of this forum is that sometimes participants speak out of a deep well of ignorance, and sometimes they do so at the top of their voices, and sometimes in doing so they give poor advice to people who are seeking something with more substance. This outraged declaration is one such instance.
You are a signing agent on assignment. As you pull into the borrowers' driveway, you run headlong into his Mercedes, which his teenage daughter is backing out of the garage. Or, worse yet, you run over and kill his 2-year-old child. Do you really think that the borrowers' attorney is not going to sue Fidelity National Title and Bank of America, which hired you? Do you think your attorney is going to send a postcard to the borrowers' lawyer saying, "Hey, Joe, just so you'll know, Carolyn Bodley is an independent contractor, so even though Bank of America has more assets than at least 39 banana republics that I know of and even though Fidelity National Title keeps a villa on the Riviera for its employees' twice-a-year vacations, you're not gonna sue them, right? Just between us friends, you're not gonna invoke that hoary old doctrine of negligent employment just because Carolyn let her drivers' license lapse two months ago, and just because she never wears her glasses when driving even though that lapsed license says she's supposed to, are you? C'mon; tell you what, I'll pick up the green fees Saturday if we can just get around this little glitch."
It IS the title company's business, it IS the lender's business, it IS the signing service's business because you are conducting THEIR business. And if they are ever sued, they want to know -- they are entitled to be told up front -- that you meet all the legal requirements, such as having a valid drivers license, to conduct their business. And if they are sued, they want to be sure that you have the capability of satisfying any judgment that might be taken jointly against them.
You keep holding that independent contractor contention over you like some sort of shield that will ward off every evil under the sun, including the heartbreak of psoriasis, Carolyn, and I hope it works for you. If it ever comes to pass that you have to learn the hard way just how flimsy that defense is, though, and just how justified hiring parties are in asking for information impacting their liability, I hope that others who see what your attitude has done to you will take the lesson to heart.
In the meantime, I am done with this subject. I hope that the next time it comes up, those who respond will do so with some real grasp of the issue, rather than out of ignorance.
As to the make and model of vehicle, that has nothing to do with the legal issues, and everything to do with the image the hiring party wishes to convey. It is not unheard of for businesses to be concerned about their images; some spend millions of dollars doing nothing but promoting their images. If you find that objectionable, don't work for them. Some things in life just aren't worth wasting outrage on.
| Reply by Carolyn Bodley on 12/10/12 7:45pm
Msg #446070
Hugh, I got out of the signing biz in 2008 ...
so, as for your rant, it doesn't concern me at all.
| Reply by HisHughness on 12/10/12 8:54pm
Msg #446079
Re: Hugh, I got out of the signing biz in 2008 ...
One person's rant is another person's advice well-taken.
I do find it interesting that you have not been a signing agent for four years, and yet you presume to give advice -- questionable advice at that -- to new signing agents about how to handle their relationships with hiring parties. That strikes me as much like my grandmother giving advice to my granddaughter on how to handle dating relationships.
| Reply by walthtz on 12/10/12 9:18pm
Msg #446083
Re: Outraged declarations ...
Hugh,
Thank you for a detailed explanation. You have brought up some good points which escaped me & that is why I put the question out there.
as for the ranting, I, like you have NO control over what others say.
I for one do appreciate a straight forward answer as you have anwered & I thank you for that.
Walter in NJ.
| Reply by ArtG/KS on 12/10/12 9:39pm
Msg #446088
Here the right answer in my words.
First, Huhness is absolutely right, like it or not. My summary is simple. In business you have to decide if a company is going to pay you enough for your service. Second, you have to meet their contractural agreement requirements if you want what they will pay you. Three, check out their reputation. Then decide what you will do and waste no time pondering this issue over and over again.
| Reply by Shan/CA on 12/10/12 10:00pm
Msg #446091
Re: Outraged declarations ...
Thanks Hugh, for giving a better explanation. As I said earlier, I am new and I want to avoid making mistakes where I can. Not complying would be a good way to not get a call!
| Reply by rolomia on 12/11/12 10:45pm
Msg #446257
Re: My auto insurance is none of their business
Telling them my info. is NOTB virtually guarantees that I will get None Of Their Business. I love it when other NSA's in my area turn away new/extra business b/c they're asked to provide info. that they aren't comfortable sharing. If said companies are hiring NSA's in my area, by all means, turn them down. It increases my workload. Additional signing orders are always welcome.
I have 2 scheduled on Friday; the first at noon 46 miles SW of me, overnight docs to the BO. Pay$65. The 2nd at 6PM, 46 miles north of me. E-docs requiring 2 sets to be printed: Pays $90. In Arkansas, that's pretty good. I though it odd that both signings were 46 miles from me, in nearly opposite directions. But, whatever. I'm just happy for the work. I enjoy staying busy. Lots of general notary work + signing orders is a great side business. JMHO
| Reply by LKT/CA on 12/10/12 10:07pm
Msg #446092
I agree with LindaH/FL, Carolyn, and.....
......ANYONE ELSE who says it's none of the hiring party's business to have the NSA's auto insurance policy, DL, SSN, make/model of car, OR whatever else the NSA decides is none of their business. If the NSA accidentally crashes into something or someone on the borrower's property and gets sued, the NSA can AT THAT TIME produce documenation proving they were/are licensed, bonded, and insured. If and until that happens, it's none of the hiring party's business. The NSA could care less who the borrower's attorney decides to sue - we know attorneys cast a wide net, to include the mail carrier and grocery clerk, but the judge will decide who is or is not culpable.
If the hiring party cares so much about their *image* just give the NSA a list of vehicles the hiring party feels is appropriate, then the NSA can say YES, their vehicle is on the list, so they're *worthy* to do the signing, or NO, they don't have a vehicle on the list (nevermind that they have XX years of professional experience and knowledge)....so SORRY, OH GREATNESS HIRING PARTY!! They're just a lowlife slug who is unworthy to do their precious loan signing.
When a company NEEDS an order filled, sign-up packages and their subsequent agreements go right out the window, which tells me they are NOT needed. It's up to each NSA to decide for themselves if they want to complete sign-up packages. The only info **I** would provide is my commission, bond, E & O, and EIN and nothing more. JMHO
| Reply by HisHughness on 12/10/12 10:23pm
Msg #446094
Re: I agree with LindaH/FL, Carolyn, and.....
***If the NSA accidentally crashes into something or someone on the borrower's property and gets sued, the NSA can AT THAT TIME produce documenation proving they were/are licensed, bonded, and insured. If and until that happens, it's none of the hiring party's business.***
It is this kind of shallow thinking that so pervades much of the advice dispensed on this board. This misses the entire point. If the proposed signing agent doesn't have the required documentation that the hiring party needs to feel comfortable about any potential liability, THEN THE HIRING PARTY WILL NOT BECOME A HIRING PARTY for that agent. The company will move on to the next agent who has the required documentation, and who also has a sufficient grasp of how business is normally conducted that he or she will provide it.
Geez. We lost a lot educationally when, after the Greeks, we dismissed classes in logic from the curriculum.
| Reply by ArtG/KS on 12/10/12 10:46pm
Msg #446098
Re: I agree with LindaH/FL, Carolyn, and.....
Since this is an open forum, companies can read what you posted. If they do, and disagree with you, this may be a mute issue for you LKT. Business is business. If I were to hire a contractor, I make the rules of decorum. The contractor can comply or say no. Thats it. Its a waste of time to take issue with that. No need to keep repeating your discontent with such information requests.
| Reply by LKT/CA on 12/10/12 11:27pm
Msg #446104
Re: I agree with LindaH/FL, Carolyn, and.....
<<<If I were to hire a contractor, I make the rules of decorum. The contractor can comply or say no.>>>
Exactly, which this contractor listed the documentation she would (and would NOT) provide.
<<<Its a waste of time to take issue with that. No need to keep repeating your discontent with such information requests.>>>
What is this "repeating your discontent" ? I haven't "repeated" a thing, though I have echoed Linda and Carolyn's sentiments. I am quite content to provide only such documentation as *I* deem necessary and now that I think about it, I WILL repeat one thing: When an entity NEEDS to fill an order, it gets FILLED.....and their sign-up agreements are thrown to the wind.
| Reply by LKT/CA on 12/10/12 11:13pm
Msg #446101
Re: I agree with LindaH/FL, Carolyn, and.....
Yeah, yeah, Hugh, everyone who disagrees with you is ignorant, shallow and lacks logic....um hmmmm!!
| Reply by HSH/WA on 12/10/12 11:27pm
Msg #446105
Re: I send mucho info but have not been asked for insurance
yet, but would send if they ask. If I were them I would be far more interested in the back ground check. What a liability to send someone into a BO's home.
| Reply by GOLDGIRL/CA on 12/11/12 1:14am
Msg #446106
Just saying ...
Shan's post ... "and I too was asked to send over a copy of my DL and to make sure that I lower the contrast so that the pic can be seen."
Why do you think they asked that? In my not-so-humble opinion, it's because they wanted to see exactly what she looked like. Duh. And why do they want to see what she looked like? Same reason they're getting their knickers in a twist about what kind of car you drive ... so as not to tarnish the image they've spent millions of dollars promoting. They don't want you pulling up in front of some borrower's house in a beat up '79 Dodge Dart with the muffler dragging behind ... same as they don't want ... dare I say it .... people they wouldn't hire for their work force because of racial, gender and age bias and overall appearance (tatts, facial piercings, facial hair, purple hair and their mufflers dragging behind).
You don't think they're gender profiling, age profiling, racial profiling? Get real. In fact, it always struck me that the ONLY reason they wanted to see your DL was not to see that you were licensed to drive (who isn't?), but what you looked like: your gender, your age, your race, your appearance. No doubt in my mind. That's why I would advise some singularly unattractive notaries or notaries who live in racially sensitive areas not to post their picture on their NR profile (unless it actually might work for you!). Same if you're "too old" looking or "too young" looking.
Take it from there ....
| Reply by ReneeK_MI on 12/11/12 5:05am
Msg #446109
An additional point about photo-ID
Like Hugh, I have some strong opinions on this topic and they (apparently) aren’t popular ones. I’ll limit myself to one point I haven’t seen anyone else address.
Unless our client knows our physical appearance (via photo ID cross-referenced with our name on all the usual stuff), there is NO POSSIBLE MEANS to reasonably ensure that the person they vet & hire = the person that knocks on someone’s door. I know for FACT that there are people out there who take signings and send others to do them in their place. Those others may/may not even be notaries. So much for having confirmed YOU are actually a notary, have E & O, were BGC’d, etc. – it all means nothing if you are sending someone else in your place. Nobody can even find out you are doing this, if the pkgs come back to you to be notarized. This is my major issue with SS’s who list themselves with profiles that appear to be an individual – proclaim all their individual adjectives (BGC, Certified by Many, 40,000 signings, etc.) but do NOT make clear that they are a SS, and as such they are sending others to do the work THEY may have been judiciously selected to do.
Without knowing what you look like, there is no point to even asking for any other documentation. For all they know, the person they are going to be responsible for sending a borrower’s personal information to, and sending to meet them could easily be a criminal, a person who trips and falls on people’s porches as a way of making a living, your 17 year old trained to ‘point & sign’, and all things in-between.
My perspective is perhaps different due to my having practically ‘grown up’ being scrutinized far beyond a D/L, by working ‘inside’. Years and years of drug-testing, credit report reviews, finger-printing, etc. I expect it, I even applaud it, I consider it the way things SHOULD be and am happy to support it, which is why my cheesy little photograph is on all my profiles and I am happy to send a viable client my D/L, auto insurance, whatever I deem supportive of this protocol.
FWIW, I have a client I’ve worked for since ’05 that tracks when my D/L expires and asks for the new one. The locals (some of my best clients) usually do face-to-face (along with ‘paper’ vetting). The comment GG made about profiling is definitely a flip side to the coin, and I have to appreciate the potential for that very negative downside. It wouldn’t be fair of me to unconditionally support the above, without acknowledging a dilemma that I myself haven’t had to struggle with but that certainly many of my colleagues might be intimately familiar with. I don’t know what the answer to that is, and all I can say is that I appreciate it may, in some instances, be a valid issue. Consider, though, that borrowers/buyers come in all demographics and profiling NSA’s (to match a particular demographic) might not be AS common an issue as in other venues?
| Reply by ArtG/KS on 12/11/12 6:37am
Msg #446110
Re: An additional point about photo-ID
Additional point. The other side of my business is insurance inspections and another is real estate. For both, I have a picture ID to wear. The insurance inspection ID is prepared and sent to me by my client company after Ive sent them a photo of myself. Apparently Im not too bad a looking old goat. Lets end this dizzing topic.
| Reply by ArtG/KS on 12/11/12 6:39am
Msg #446111
Re: An additional point about photo-ID
Oh I forgot. Some of the posters's websites here have their photo as well.
| Reply by BobtheElder on 12/11/12 11:57am
Msg #446179
I've sent a copy of my insurance card with the company name on it and my name, black out anything confidential... I didn't think it was a big deal. I refuse to send a SS number, just my w9 w EIN and a copy of my commission and E&O if requested.
| Reply by Eve/VA on 1/9/13 1:14pm
Msg #449633
They may have their reasons for requesting so much info but
the signup package is labor intensive and I couldn't find anything about their fee structure.
So, not going there
|
|
