As we all know they went out of business, but has anyone tried to do anything? I have filed a complaint with my States DOJ, well all they did was verify they went out of business, big shocker there. My next step is to file a theft of services report with the police department to go with the small claims report that I am putting in to recover that money and all the time and effort I went through to get it back. I have already verified that the money was paid from the title company.
On a side note, beware, they are opening under a new name, so I would check under the secretary of state of where the businesses are at and find out the owner. I have the old owners name.
Notaries that are stiffed on their fees are essentially “unsecured creditors” and will have to wait their turn to get paid from whatever funds are available after other creditors further up the line are paid. I’ve never bought into the “theft of services” baloney because, in most instances, it is nearly impossible to prove the debtor signing service intended to commit thievery. The debtor’s poor business practices cannot be held as criminal.
Due diligence is one’s best protection against problematic signing services. And keep in mind that all businesses take losses (pilferage, shoplifting, petty theft, etc.). Do you really think the police department give a hoot about some notary’s unpaid service fees? The cost to take the report outweighs any possibility of recovering $$.
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Well as an ex-reserve deputy and just getting off the phone with an officer, YES. How dare you deminish the work that we do. Our time is valuable, I am an accountant, in fact a Forensic Accountant, I can name you the laws that were violated. Have you actually read the agreements that we sign, they violated them. They agreed to pay us within 30 days, they did not, so they violated their own contract. What you stated was rude, and what they did was criminal and not a felony but is a Misdemeanor, look it up. I am doing exactly what my state law states that I should do, I am going forward, as I have been stiffed before and this won’t happen again. This man intends to open up under another name. I plan to make sure he can’t.
Here’s the definition if you are uncertain. And they willingly and knowingly committed said offense, so yes it is a crime.
Theft of services is a criminal offense occurring when a person obtains valuable services—such as labor, professional services, utilities, or hotel accommodations—without paying for them through deception, force, or threat. It is generally treated as a misdemeanor, but can elevate to a felony based on the value of services stolen, often penalized with fines, restitution, and jail time
Keep your shirt on! If you feel that legal action will bring recovery or preclude the perp’s future endeavors, it’s not me who’s stopping you. Go get 'em. How much do you think you’ll recover (I ask rhetorically)? Never said it wasn’t a crime.
Look, nobody likes taking losses. I hate it and as a retired bank fraud investigator (33 years), I know the ropes and the pain as well. I’d rather spend my time making money on deals offered by reputable companies then trying to recover pennies on the dollar or punish some fool who has long since absconded with my money. I wish you the best of outcomes.
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I don’t use the term there of services either. It in 6 years I have gone unpaid one time.
That’s it. I find it hard to understand how any working professional takes anything personally.
Over reacting is destructive.
I, too have written off less that $1,000 in nearly six years and thousands of signings. Half of that was probably my fault (oversights and sloppy work when I was a rookie). I’m very careful about choosing my signing services. Now THAT has paid off and more than offsets my unpaids.
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Agree with Bobby-CA, johnsonps306 and dgsdesigns. IMO, all 3 of you are correct to a certain degree.
Storytime:
I started this business Jan. 2006. At the time, I was still working “my regular job.” I did that for 5 years. I gave myself 5 years to learn the business, the laws and grow my business. Part of learning the business was to discern the companies that were worth working with.
In the first week, I accepted some low fees – not because I wanted to get the experience but because I didn’t know any better. After my 2nd one, I thought this can’t be right. That’s when I found the forums, mainly Notary Rotary. Learned A LOT there. My fees changed. This is when I set my fees and stopped accepting everything that came my way regardless of what “they” offered me. I learned to counter-offer/negotiate.
One of the companies I worked with and loved back then was Eleventh Hour Signings (Paige Tiffany). They paid well ($125) and paid timely. Until they didn’t. In 2007, I received a notice from them that they’d encountered some financial setback and would be a little late in paying. Hey! They’d been good to me and I was, after all, working my regular good-paying job. I replied to their missive that I was willing to wait 2-3 additional weeks for payment. 2 weeks later, I received a notice that they’d filed for bankruptcy. They owed me for 2 signings. I filed as a creditor but my claim was way down the totem pole. Never heard another word from them. Wrote them off as a bad debt.
In 20 years of being an NSA, that was the only time I was not paid. I make sure I get written confirmation; everything in writing, no oral agreements. I quit taking this personally. Yes, I’m courteous to my working partners but we’re not BFFs. Every company I work with is vetted prior to performing any work with them. When payment due date arrives and no payment, I start sending reminders – on day 1, then day 3 – and make a pest of myself. It’s usually a case of delay by USPS. Once or twice, it was a matter of “it fell through the cracks” and company was glad I contacted them.
IMO, if a company is in the process of filing bankrutcy or has already filed and they continue to hire NSAs for signings and fails to pay said NSAs, THAT (imo) constitutes intent to commit thievery.
Go get 'em, dgs! Their bankruptcy has long been coming. Cloud Signings has had a very poor pay rating for at least 4-5 years.
Please let me know if what you are doing works out. Cloud owes me over a thousand dollars. Everything I am hearing is it would cost more money to try and get your money from them. Very frustrating 
You have a limited time period in order to file a small claims case. You have to initiate it within your states window of time, this is usually 18 months and you have to show proof that you have tried to contact them, that inclused filing a complaint with your state DOJ, also filing Theft of Service charges with the police department and getting a case number and a copy of the report for your case. I have also build an interest table with each of the loans at 18% annum accruing on a monthly basis. This is where my real job comes in.
