They called me a few weeks ago on a Friday with a Sunday signing. I have never worked for them but knew I had heard of them before, just couldn't remember at the time why. Scheduler was quick to agree that I had not worked with them prior; this is not always a red flag, but is something to pay attention to if you think you see flags elsewhere; I have been in business since 2006.
She said the usual line from SS companies, "We pay XX", I think it was probably $90 (note: try that the next time you are at Walmart if you don't understand why you should NOT let hiring party to dictate your fees) I told her, my minimum is $135, without any scan backs and for an average doc package of 125pgs. Without skipping a beat, she quickly agreed to fee, a 50% increase! (with that quick of an acceptable increase, I knew then I had to check them out)
Later that evening, I was able to research them here on NotRot. They have a long, and well earned, history of NO/SLOW PAY, a history of slipping in extra work that they did not disclose to other NSA's, a history of huge doc packages with more than the normal duplicate docs (something like 200+ pgs for a "normal" refi), and other issues notaries who have had experiences with them.
After seeing how hard this company has worked to earn the reputation they have, you better believe I was turning that one back.
Saturday morning I text the contact number I was given for them (scheduler asked me to text if I needed to get in contact over the weekend). I mentioned their reputation for no/slow payments, additional work not disclosed, and lack of support for NSA's on or before the signing. I said that I would not be accepting this signing, or any future signing requests from them unless, and until, their history with other NSA's greatly improves.
Amazingly enough, almost as if by magic, within 2-3 minutes of my text being sent, I received an email claiming the signing had been canceled. I never did receive any reply to my text.
I have found NotRot to be THE BEST, imo, source when it comes to researching, new to me, hiring companies. If you don't find a company in Signing Central, try searching the Work forum. Once you find the listing or posts, read the information; if a company has a long history of either not paying or not paying as agreed, late, &/or, a lot of 1-2 star ratings, whatever the reasons given, BELIEVE WHAT YOU ARE READING!
You are extending credit to every SS or title company that calls you for signings. Treat your business like a business, not a hobby. If you would not hand them $500 cash with an agreement to pay you back in 2 weeks after what you read, then why would you work for free for them?
A rule I live by in this business --- Understand, if a company works hard to earn a slow/no pay reputation, You are NOT special to them; they WILL NOT change just for you & pay you as agreed! DROP THEM, THEY ARE NOT YOUR TARGET MARKET!
A big THANK YOU to NotRot and all the professionals who rate in Signing Central and post their experiences with companies (good or bad).
