I don’t think it’s very professional to leave up “beware” when you aren’t the first notary reporting they pay very fast. We should think about we post when we’re going to impugn a service that may not treat anyone badly.
NNA has an article on their website from a few weeks ago about how notaries get blacklisted. Not surprisingly attitude and trying to re-negotiating fees are on that list. You can deal with terrible situations without being horrible to whoever you’re interacting with. Some notaries behave as though there are no rules to follow when they are irritated. The best thing I brought to being notary from past jobs is having a thick skin. I get irritated too but people I speak to on the phone rarely know it.
For some reason people think they’re great if they get paid right away. I look at what they charge the customer and how they treat me. If, every time they contact me, they say they found my name on a database, i have little respect for them. If they lie about the number of notarizations and what is required i can’t work with them.
You don’t know what they charge a customer for you. Notary services on a closing disclosure isn’t just our service. If I do seller docs - someone is doing buyer docs. If there’s a Quit Claim Deed there’s a notary handling that somewhere. All due respect, but you don’t know what anyone is getting charged. That fee on the closing disclosure isn’t just the one transaction you are handling. If that’s something a notary is reviewing to know if they are getting paid fairly - that’s not the way to do it. You take a job you charge a fee. Number of times I stamp should drive my quote for service? Not on a loan signing. I quote a package. I don’t count stamps. If that’s how you want to determine if someone is treating you fairly that’s your business.
I know exactly what they charged the poor customer because she told me and it was triple what I’d charge. And I’ve never done a loan signing for them. They seem to only handle gnw assignments. The reason I mention number of notarizations is because every time they tell me it’s a real quick signing – just one. When I get there it’s a full set of documents OR the signer isn’t even prepared yet with the documents. And this is after I speak with Finest (or text; they rarely pick up a phone) to get details because I need to allow enough time to get from one appt to another. And yes, they tell me that they do pay per notarization. So in total, the signer always has their own documents; they don’t come from this signing company. What work have they put into this job? They create dynamic web pages to reach every city in the country. When they get a poor customer clicking on their order form, they go on their nationwide database to find the notary and then proceed to charge triple what the local notary would charge for the same work. This signer was furious that they wouldn’t allow her to cancel when it was more than 24 hrs in advance.
And I’m not trying to be rude. I just think notaries should keep in mind if there are forums where notaries complain about services - there are probably forums where signing services, title companies and lenders complain about notaries. That’s all.
Well then you didn’t read my post above before commenting. The signer called me directly to schedule an appointment after having already booked with Finest. Of course i didn’t know that. Within a half hour I got the call from finest with the exact location and type of document asking me to do the same job. Signer was probably having second thoughts and decided to check rates in the area. I thought she had already confirmed with me and was confused. She tried to cancel with Finest but they wouldn’t let her get out of it even though it was 24 hrs in advance. And she TOLD ME she was charged triple my fee. It’s gnw, one notarization and they don’t even have to see the document.
And do you think they care about my opinion or have blacklisted me for telling them what i think every time i do a job for them? No. They contact me every day of the week, stating that they found my name on a database. Shouldn’t they know I’ve done signings for them? That’s what I mean by poor customer service. It has nothing to do with the speed at which they pay me. Im wondering if they’re operating from overseas because they sound so distant on the phone and are definitely not native English speakers. The address they list is in Florida though.
I love when a signing service calls me and personally identifies themselves. It makes me feel more confident when i know who im speaking to and that I can call with questions. And I appreciate when they are willing to negotiate on fees.
percent!