If it gets canceled at the table you’re owed the entire fee. It’s happened to me many times and I have always got the full fee. Sometimes I’ve had to set a company straight, but I got it. Remember this, if you’re at that table and it’s canceled you missed out on another closing at the same time.
BOTTOM LINE VALUE YOUR TIME! IF YOU DON’T THEY WON’T!
I get a steady flow of direct purchase assignments, the going rate is $250. That fee includes two copies and fax backs.
I would have driven back and finished the assignment even if it required driving back another 25 minutes.
You agreed to split the notary fee with another notary so is that notary obligated to pay you your half in spite of the fact that they only get paid when the property closes escrow? Absolutely!
You, the surrogate notary are working under an agreement with the hiring party.
@Notary_veg That would be very disappointing indeed. Here are the general rules of engagement if we are working with a GOOD, reputable hiring company:
But…it comes down to what you agreed to ahead of time. If you signed a document or accepted an assignment that says you will accept $XX, then that is a tough lesson but still worth pursuing.
Like @Arichter and @Tisino have said: never argue, always discuss. It should always, always be a polite business discussion. If it is a simple misunderstanding, it can be resolved peacefully, amicably. If it is a day and night difference of opinions, it should still be discussed peacefully and amicably. Because if we hope to ever work with them in the future, no matter how “right” we are this time, we cannot lose our cool with them for one signing and then expect us to hire us again for another. If we lose our cool when we become frustrated with the hiring company, then they rightfully wonder how are we going to treat their borrower if we become frustrated with them?
I agree with @Tisino as well when she says we need to make sure we are speaking with the right person. If I am talking to a scheduler, I know they are very limited on the fee amounts they can approve. I know they must get management approval. I politely ask them to obtain management approval while I wait, or I might email vendor management myself. Usually the email is something like VendorManagement@COMPANYNAME.com or something like that. If I don’t know the vendor management email, and if it is not already posted on their website or in one of my emails from the company, I ask flat-out ask the scheduler for it. Some companies will even send out a company directory periodically, so that notaries know who to call for what, and when. I love those!
At any rate, politely explain the situation to Vendor Management (these are the people who have the power to onboard us and get us even more assignments, better rates) and ask again for the full rate that you have earned. Again, if it is a reasonable company, the vendor manage is going to realize that stopping the signing was out of your control and certainly not a result of anything whatsoever that you did, and that the company should pay you the full rate.
If the answer is still no, in this case. I would ask if it is possible for them to meet me half way, fee-wise. Even if that was a no, I would give them another chance, if it was me. But the next signing request they send me, you better believe I would make sure they understand what I expect in order to do the signing for them. (see bullets above) And if they can’t agree, then both sides just move on.
But if it was a bad enough experience that you want never to work with them again, that is still a valuable lesson. Add that company to the list of companies that you know better not to work with. Write a blurb next to their company name that reminds you why you declined in case you forget this experience. (Because believe it or not, there will be a time you have so many different hiring companies you work with, that it will be hard to keep them all straight and remember which companies (which people!) were awesome to work with, which were bad, which were so-so, and which you haven’t made your mind up about yet 
)
For the text message signing requests like from SigningOrder.com, I found there is a way to stop receiving text blasts from the company who sent the request. Next time you see a signing request come through on your cellphone, scroll to the very bottom of the message and see if you can locate the “opt out” feature.
Wishing you the best!
Thanks for the info. As I mentioned, it was the start of my holiday, Rosh Hashanah, and I explained I was home and had to leave again, so I couldn’t drive back a second time.
I didn’t agree to anything, so I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Thanks. I’m not sure why everyone in this thread insinuated I had an argument. I was called by the signing service owner, so there was no need to ask for management. He gave me a one word answer – print/trip fee, that’s it. There was no argument, and I decided to put him on my list of duds. I have very few signing service companies on my list any more. I think they’re all much too greedy.
These pieces of advice I find hard to believe:
“Find out the cancellation policy before you accept the order.”
So if you’re called on the phone or if you receive an email notification from someone new, you’re actually going to look up their cancellation policy?
“Get them to sign before it’s cancelled.” Now that’s helpful advice!
It is important to honor the SS policy upon cancellation. It is part of the deal you made with them when you took the assignment. Most of the money the SS makes is well above their costs, so they need to factor in a fair cancellation fee from their revenue as a cost of doing businjess, regardless if they have to pay it out of their own funds. A no-cancel arrangement is unfair to the notary, who not only loses the money on the cancelled order but loses the opportunity to accept an alternative assignment and show some profit for the time lost to the cancellation. Always ask BEFORE the closing what you will get if it cancels, that is basic.
So you’re saying that it’s standard practice to ask about their cancellation policy before accepting the assignment? Never, in all my classes, has any teacher ever mentioned that. Thanks.
Trainers cannot provide for every circumstance you will encounter as a notary signing agent. But since each assignment is a unique contract between you and the prospective hiring company, it is not unreasonable for the notary to inquire abot the cancelation terms. Especially since signing appointments get canceled and rescheduled all the time.
In my previous message, I was just agreeing that staying friendly is a good thing in this business. And not intending to insinuate or offend. There are lots of new signing agents who read these threads and I try to write with that in mind when I reply to a good post.
Hiring companies go through fee negotiations frequently and they know that notaries may have questions about the terms. Both sides should to know what they are agreeing to.
Wish you the best.
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