First Class Signing Services or NO CLASS Signing services?

I’ve worked first class with a lot without issues.l and good payment. However as long as there are notaries willing to accept the low ball signings, this will continue. Not sure how these notaries make any money but even in my rural area there is a new notary taking these. I won’t.

Actually First Class Signing is my most dependable signing agency. They always pay faster than the others. They contact me by phone and text for assignments. I don’t always accept because I don’t accept anything below $100 and sometimes will counter their offer. But to me, without them, I wouldn’t make the income that I do. They supply me with about 50% of my signings.

Since they wanted to jack with your money…I would have told the file had gotten lost. They would have to send someone else there.

Yeah I can vouch for this. If you take a signing they never leave you alone. Constant emails, hand holding and “remember…” “friendly reminder…” etc, etc, annoying and insulting at a certain point for notaries who’ve been in the game for a long time. If they paid what they used to I’d say it’s MAYBE worth the annoyance, but in no way shape or form is it now.

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THE ABSOLUTE WORST SIGNING SERVICE COMPANY TO WORK WITH…

there’s absolutely no courtesy at all from them. I got a notification from them on snapdocs around 230ish today for a 330 signing a couple towns over from me (about 30 minutes from me). On the notification, it said loan signing with scanbacks…okay cool. I called right after I said I was available to do it to see if they can assign it to me. That’s when they mentioned that it does require a witness and that the signer may have one but they recommended that the notary (me) would have to bring a witness. They asked if I had one, I said yes. I called my witness, but they won’t get out of work until 345. called and reached out to other people for a witness but they won’t be able to cause of kids and what not. Was courteous and reached back out to the signing service through snapdocs and updated them about the witness situation. This is after I printed out 340 PAGES (170 for the signing and the other 170 for the signer) and 10 minutes into driving to the signers house (takes about 35 minutes to get there…also was hoping to get someone to respond back to my witness request on a couple facebook groups)…That’s when first class called me back and asked about the witness situation…through conversation I told them what was going on with my original witness and requested if it’s possible to do it for a later time…they told me unfortunately they’ll have to un-assign it from me and give it to another notary due to the whole witness fiasco…blah blah blah…I then asked if I would at least get a printing fee for printing all those pages. They said unfortunately they won’t be able to…(BS)…but if anything they’ll give me a call back. I turned around and made my way back home. Something told me to check my notifications on snapdocs and literally saw this same signing with a new time of 630pm and $80 more…

WTF…you would think that they would’ve called me out of courtesy and be like “Hey, I know we just spoke and we unassigned this from you, but we were able to work it out and have it at a later time. Seeing that you already have the documents printed, would you still be able to get your witness and do the signing at such and such time?” NOPE…didn’t happen…so now I have 339 papers that I can’t use and an hour and 15 minutes of my life i spent printing and traveling that I won’t get back.

Never will work with this crappy signing company ever again…

Ugh. They sound pretty classless to me.
On another note, sometimes signers think the witness has to be someone they know well. If I can, I try to let the signers know the witness can be a neighbor. They often don’t even realize that.

Heads up the witness could have always arrived towards the end and you could have had that witnessed at the end. I am on this thread because I also have had an ill experience with them recently. They assigned me a single doc $40 at a Starbucks, then proceeded to say since it is in a public place the notary should be able to ask around for a witness. I responded telling them that it is the signer’s responsibility to obtain a witness and if they added a witness fee then I would bring someone to witness.
It is always awkward asking strangers and most people do not feel comfortable being a witness, but after I wrote that they took me off and said that they could find someone else who would be willing to do that.
I used to do a lot of closings for them when they had most of the OpenDoor closings but they do micromanage you and always want scanbacks, and they never pay on time. I am always having to ask them where my payment is which I do get on the next payment batch cycle, but I am going to try to not have to lean on them for work - there are many other companies that pay better and respect you.

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I’ve done that … We pulled someone out of a pizza line one time to witness; also, in nursing homes, many times we ask visitors of other patients to witness. I just explain to the signer that they don’t need to know their business …they just have to be there long enough to watch them sign, then sign and leave (except for a slightly different protocol on some docs, like wills)

It is RIDICULOUS to surprise the notary with the need for a witness at the time of signing. In my state witnesses are hardly ever needed. It’s awkward to ask strangers especially since you have to see their current ID and in some cases take a copy with you

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I have done many signings with them over the years… and it’s been fine mostly but this past year or more has definitely been different…low ball offers and such … currently I am upset with them because they sent out a notice in October of 2023… I countered but wasn’t assigned. Now, it’s December 2023 and I have gotten calls from title and signer looking for me nothing from first class who apparently assigned me once the signers got docs lined up “Two Months” later. I reached out to first class/no class to tell them I’m confused crickets:expressionless:

Maybe title dumped First Class?? If title contacted you directly for same assignment from October with same signer, then that’s possible. I would not tell First Class…you’re now contracted directly with title.

Unless I read it wrong, in which case I apologize

Wow, that’s an amazing observation! I just received my first real estate assignment and only my second notarial assignment since starting my business this Jan. It is a “sellers package” down the street from my office! I couldn’t have been more fortunate. They don’t want scan backs but my attitude is to always offer them anyway. What do I have to lose? Only nothing to gain by me providing excellent customer service. Fee 95.00 for 30x2 copies. Looks like a rental/investment property. And for my first assignment which was just last week, was for a general/specialty notarial project for 11 sigs/Acknowledgments on 11 Simple IRA forms. $15x11=$160+$100.00 per hour+$1.00 per mile travel fee…I gave them a discount of course being that they were a “new” client. Not to shabby though. Building on Wilshire Blvd next door to Marilyn Monroe, Hugh Heffner, Frank Zappa and many others. Can you guess where this was? Interesting day, easy drive…

I have completed many signings for First Class signing with no problems. When a witness is required it is always a paid witness @$25, which is included in my fee. I’ve had no push back and had no problems with payment.
The only time I have requested a witness that is not paid is when I do GNW, usually at a nursing home or some other public location, and the signer is not aware that a witness is required or they have brought someone as witness who is also a beneficiary of the assets and therefore not appropriate.