Why do I keep falling for these rush assignment from a third party?
Company call I need a notary 15 miles away by 12 Noon. I have 45 mins to get there & its about a 30 min drive. On my way here, I’m 20 min into the trip and the Company calls to tell me they are going to be 30 mins late. No problem, I’ll wait & do some office work. Thirty min later I see someone walking into the residence I was suppose to be meet at. He comes back out to walk the dog, I ask are you so & so. He tells me that he was took that the paper work for him to sign would be he between 12 and 4 PM. I call the Company, I said I just cant wait that long for someone to show up with the papers. Her reply was sorry, I guess I’ll have to get another notary.
Do you think I should still fully bill or partially bill her for the inconvenience of making the trip
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I would absolutely bill for the time and travel - they sent you there, after all.
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As you hung around for 1/2 hour (or probably long enough to get the job completed), I’d bill FULL fee…and probably settle for lion’s share of partial.
BUT, what isn’t making a lot of sense, is why ‘someone who apparently is not a notary’ has the docs. Going forward, in this kind of situation, I would require contact info and would definitely talk to signing-location-person to be sure everyone is on same page before I started my car.
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That’s why I always confirm the signing time with the customer. Never just show up with the time they gave you, Always confirm.
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I have only gone twice to an unconfirmed appointment because the scheduling company requested it and would pay a print and travel fee regardless. Some of these companies will not pay an unconfirmed assignment and consider you in the wrong to print without a confirmation. For future reference you cannot give papers to someone you haven’t ID’d in fact if a signer changes his/her mind and wants the signed papers back, they are not yours to give to them, those papers belong to the Lender. I do not hand over the Borrower copy until everything is concluded, this way for a last minute change of mind I do not have to ask for that copy too.
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I doubt you will get the fee. Also, did you confirm with whoever was bringing the documents and the signer? Normally signing services will say ASAP but you still need to confirm with all parties in attendance. Most signing services aren’t aware of the time and travel, or they are given minimal instructions. I hope it works out for you.
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The appointment was confirmed by the agency that gave me the job. It was the third party that was not on time. I was told the third party would be 30 late, and after 30 minutes passes the client said someone was coming between 12 pm & 4 pm to deliver the paper work.
Hiring party ‘confirmation of Appt.’ really means nothing. FWIW: My very first experience with a company that INSISTED I not confirm Appt. w/Signer–just go. OK, if you, hiring party, insist, I will just go, but then I INSIST that if I go and it’s a no-sign for any reason, I will get paid full fee…and you must put that in writing. Which they did. RESULT: I arrived at 8 AM appointment, only to discover that 1 party was available & the other was at work AND the appointment was really scheduled by the signers and Lender/TC for 8 PM. It was hiring party’s error and they had to pay me twice to get this done–and they wouldn’t have done so if I hadn’t gotten that in writing.
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I always make a special effort to confirm myself with the parties that are actually signing that includes: who is signing, address of signing, time of signing, if they have the documents in hand, and that they will have proper ID. I have learned NOT to rely on third party confirmations as they can be totally off.
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You should be made NotaryCafe’s resident professional. Your experience, insight, and responsive posts are appreciated well beyond you know!! Many thanks!
The idea of clients thinking that they can “summons,” a notary at a moment’s notice and that we’re all so hard up, that we’ll come running, is abusive to me. I had no less than 12 this past week…all but one outside of my area and another this morning from a phone call from CA for a client in a town “near me,” they couldn’t pronounce. I guess maybe (I know) I’m getting too picky, but maybe that’s what will change the level of respect and appreciation for what we all do.
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If i cant confirm time and address with signer …i make sure title is paying full fee for a no show
No debate
Just today an out of state dox signing i know required blue ink
ID copies and scan backs
I had to confirm with title because ink color was not in the instructions
I also get direct tel and email for title person
Got to make sure you have the full story.and the players
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Yes sir! You used your time and gas to be there for them. Absolutely!!!
