I did a signing for this company, it was completed on 9/18/23. I emailed them an invoice, as they had asked, they viewed. I recently sent them several emails asking when will I receive payment, I am still waiting for their reply. I also, tried calling them, the phone just rings 2x and then it hangs up(it’s a 800 number). This is the number on their website, along with a cell number that is missing a number.
Take a good look at the agreement you signed with them. Was there any mention of how long they take to pay? Usually most signing services these day take a minimum of 30-45 days to pay, if even that. And be sure to verify if its “calendar” or “business” days, per the statement of work for them.
But if you read along in this forum you’ll see a lot of complaints about signing services that just refuse to pay. You have to watch out for them and not accept assignments from them. This forum is a good resource for determining which are the bad ones.
In the end, you may have to resort to “harassing” them into paying. Send them reminders on a periodic bases, and step up the language in each to where you advise them you’ll turn their case over to a collection agency of notify the Title Companies involved in the transaction of their failure to pay. That will, usually, get their attention. Otherwise, nothing will and you might need to write it off.
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Thank you for the advise.
Hi mag3notary
Good advice . Hoping that I don’t experience this but out of curiosity what procedures would I take to contacting a collection agency to report an unethical title/ contracting company if this were to happen to me?
Well, what I had planned to do when getting close to that decision is, simply, google “Collection Agencies Near me…” and check out the results. You’d want to make sure that the agency will accept small claim amounts without too much overhead, or it probably won’t be profitable.
Also, don’t even bother to try and take them to “Small claims Court.” Way too expensive… especially if their corporate HQ is out of state. All you may get out of that complete exercise is a judgement in your favor. But the Court won’t enforce that judgement and make them pay. You have to do that yourself. You may as well not have taken them to court. Better to engage a collection agency, or, if the amount is not sufficient, just write it off and never do business with them again. You might also consider notifying the title company involved in the transaction of your problems with that signing service. Or notify any professional agencies with which the service is associated (eg. NRMLA - Natl. Reverse Mortgage Loan Assoc.). You can also file a complaint with the BBB as well.
But remember, it’s more than likely the “signing service” (not the Title Company or other agencies) with which you will tangle. They act as a “broker” between you (Notary) and the title company. They are the ones that are most likely responsible for paying you, unless you are working diretly with a title company.
So in other words don’t do business with signing services that are the middle man of a loan signing assignment transaction? Stick directly with title/contracting companies for the most part; correct?
You may find that difficult at first. as title companies usually only want to deal directly with experienced notaries. Best practice is to research the signing service. Find out if they do pay on time (some actually do).
You can use the “Search” feature of Notary Cafe (the magnifying glass) and type in the signing service name. if they’re one of the baddies, you’ll know about it. It’s also important to note well here if you find one that does pay on time so we know we can use that one.
@vroomnotary The information is immediately available within the GOLDMINE in the Notary Cafe database. This will be helpful to you as you can avoid asking fellow business owners to donate their time to help you with already answered queries.
The queries you pose have been asked hundreds of times by multiple Notary Cafe members . . .
As a business owner yourself, the due diligence is upon YOU to perform the Research to ensure you’ve turned over every stone to locate the information.
Of course, it’s always wise to research & vet a new client prior to providing a definitive confirmation to them for your initial Signing Order for them. A great start of research would begin within the Notary Cafe forums Search Function.
Most members find it difficult/nearly impossible to locate the Search Function in order to access the wealth of info available within the database.
To be helpful, I’ve inserted an image for you & others [see below] to help members locate it to unlock the wisdom & knowledge of other members on the forums.
Accessing the database to locate info about potential clients has saved many of us an inordinate amount of time ‘chasing’ payments for Services professionally provided to potential non-payers . . .
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