Happy Sunday, everyone!
I have a signing tomorrow morning. I have called the signer twice, left a message on vm once. I have also emailed and texted the signer.
He has yet to reply to me.
I do have an after hours number for the company who hired me. Should I call them or just email them and let them know? Or do I need to mention it to them?
Thank you so much. I really appreciate it!
If signers donât? wonât? confirm, itâs not a good sign. I definitely would contact hiring party with this info and ASK if they still want you to print, make trip. Because, if they do, tell 'em full fee required for no show/signs. Then, be prepared to negotiate or bail if they wonât agree to that. Some just want to pay 1/2 feeâŠafter all but table time has been completedâŠand if no show. they want you to hang around for 1/2 hour. Yes, e-mail and call.
Thank you so much for your guidance. I am going to contact them now.
Itâs around an hour and a half trip one-way, and I definitely donât want to waste time and money.
3 hours travel time!..full fee regardless of outcome if they want you to do it with no confirmation. They may re-schedule it after somebody speaks with signer. With all youâve done to contact signerâŠit just sounds like thereâs a problem. (and itâs NOT yours)
I have an irrational feeling that this assignment is one of those that an experienced notary would have declined (they couldnât find someone closer/cheaper???) Hope you got a very good offer. Regardless, you accepted it. Full fee or BAIL.
@jennifer2 Great query 
I concur with @Arichter that this isnât a âgood signâ & that Iâd definitively reach out to your contracting/hiring entity for further instructions.
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There are a few different scenarios that are possible & that Iâve directly experienced in this type of instance:
NOTE: Iâll usually review the BOs Universal Residential Loan Application [URLA]/ 1003 for confirmation of accuracy of number & email data as well as look there for a secondary contact number &/or other email data.
Sometimes, you can verify their contact data is current by performing a Google Search on their name.
Thanks! I have tried to contact the title company at the after hours number, but the voice mail is apparently full. 
He only has one phone number, a cell, and it is typed out twice the same way in the instructions.
I had that âspidey senseâ on Friday afternoon when I could not get in touch.
I am going to go ahead and send an email to the title company detailing the attempts to contact and tell them that, due to travel time and my own personal time, I would respectfully request the full $$, even if the signing does not occur.
Which leads me to another question. (Thank you so much for helping me with questions).
Should I expect to get an angry person when I arrive and go up to the door? I just have that feeling.
@jennifer2 What type of signing is it? I presumed in my Post that it was a Refinance.
Or some other type of GNW?
Equity usually doesnât âdoâ the weirdo signings, but Iâve learned (the hard way) to ALWAYS confirm before printing, driving to get FULL FEE REGARDLESS OF OUTCOMEâŠIN WRITING from hiring party. Do NOT go unless they tell you to do so & agree to pay. No idea what youâll encounter when you get there without confirming appointment. While it wasnât Equity, last time I had a no-response signerâŠhiring party canceled.
Itâs a Quit Claim Deed, but there are also 13 (!) Limited POAâs. Oh and a Same Name Affadavit.
Definitely do NOT print, drive without confirming w/signer (who knows what this is for and wants to sign) OR getting full fee written agreement from title IF they still want you to print/travel without confirming. Send another e-mail to TC letting them know you called to a full VM box. Document all your efforts to make this happen as scheduled (so you canât be blamed for âlateâ.)
Sadly, sometimes the phone numbers they give are work only numbers. Loan officers need to do a better job. I eould definitely let the assigning company know. You may need to reschedule a new date after they call you tomorrow! Happened to me several times.
@jennifer2 Hmmm . . .
Iâd definitively proceed with extreme caution for this Signing Order [SO].
As previously advised, youâll also want to obtain the hiring partyâs commitment to proceed without being able to contact the signer AND that your Fee is due and payable for services rendered at the time service is provided - regardless of/not contingent upon borrower(s) signing, the loan funding status, or the purchase/sale finalization status.
P.S. Please come back to the forum & post your decision/results. Thank You
Jennifer, itâs Jennifer in GA.
If youâre driving 90 minutes each way, are you earning anything?
For me, 90 minutes means Iâm charging $200+ minimum.
I definitely wonât drive that far without first talking with that signer to confirm things.
Yes, call & email hiring agency.
Have them advise. Clarify the fee again
Charge for printing, if youâve done so.
Just sayingâŠ
Best of luck & enjoy growing your business.
So, Jennifer2âŠwhat was the outcome?
Good morning!
So on Monday morning I still could not get in touch with the title company. Every extension I had (I also tried the receptionist) could not be transferred. I sent another email and copied the signing agency.
The signing was scheduled for 10. At 9:30, I got a call from title. The lady I spoke with told me she had no trouble getting in touch with the signer and just to proceed with the signing. I told her that I would have to reschedule since the location was an hour and a half away.
Long story short, we rescheduled for later that day. I called the signer and they answered that time. I have no idea why he would not answer my phone calls, or return my voice mail or email. It was just weird. He was a man of few words, and this is a difficult situation, so I guess I will chalk it up to that.
In your experience, is it sometimes hard to get in touch with title companies?
Thanks again for your help!
Glad it all worked out. YepâŠquite a few people will NOT answer phone, click on an e-mail, respond to a text from someone they donât recognize. Sometimes it helps to start out with âI am a notary trying to confirm an Appt. w/---- for the signing of (whatever). Please contact me so we can confirm this or it will need to be re-scheduled.â And sometimes it takes a call from Title or LO to get them to answer! Tell whoever to give them your # so they can âplace to callâ. Itâs a scammy world out there and some people are terrified.
@jennifer2 Yes, it can be challenging at times. When that situation arises, they usually respond with a statement along the lines as shared by @Arichter in her post above.
Iâve learned to begin with a statement like hers (see below) regardless of the contact method utilized; i.e., phone call, text, or email. Definitively donât begin with your name or a greeting of any kind as most receive that as a confirmation that itâs a scam call . . . 
DEFINETLY EMAIL AND CALL HIRING PARTY
if you go you get full fee or tell them to reassign
This just happened to me. I had the order last week and tried voicemail and text, no reply. I thought the signer might prefer Spanish, voicemail and text, no reply. I received the documents a day before the signing. I checked the 4506-C, same number. I contacted Title and explained that I was unable to contact the signer and I would like to know if they had an email or another number to try. They did not. I asked their protocol. They wrote me they would pay full fee if I went and didnât meet with the signer, so fee guaranteed.
On the day of the appointment (a forty-five minute drive one way) I was delayed. There are massive road repairs going on and the way was crowded. When I arrived I noticed the front door was open with a screen door in front of it. He was there and didnât seem alarmed I was 15 minutes late. The number was an old number for him. I will not print for an unconfirmed appointment and will not travel unless I am guaranteed a fee for my efforts regardless of completing the signing.
