I let the client know early the next morning, but they never got back to me. I feel sick to my stomach. Its almost been a week and I can’t shake it. I documented everything.
I don’t know for sure if I did make a mistake. I wasn’t ever paid. ***It was for GNW and I invoiced him via Square.
How do you get over a mistake or possible mistake?
breathe….you are human. No notary is ever 100% mistake free, and if they tell you they are 1 of two options is the case:
they’re lying
they haven’t notarized anything yet
yes its a pit of the stomach feeling I understand . Just this week an SS notified me I missed an initial on ONE page of a loan signing package and it bothers me . In your case you think you made an error , you reached out to check , the client did not call you back, so don’t let it get to you. You may not have made an error at all. I have many times thought to myself…crap I messed up, and when I checked , I hadn’t . If you had the client most likely would have returned your call to remedy the situation . You will make errors and mistakes , yes it’s our job to be as precise and accurate as we can be . However we are humans and we inherently will make mistakes , give yourself some grace. You did the right thing by reaching out .
What kind of document did you notarize and for who? You are owed your fee. This thing SS, Title and Lenders do of oh you made a mistake we aren’t paying you is not acceptable so don’t let that be your guide . You did the work even if there is an error you are owed money, you should send an invoice . This opens communication again , they may come back and say we aren’t paying you because of x. Then you say, I did reach out about x on y date. I will remedy that immediately . Here is my invoice. We as notaries still deserve pay for services rendered . That includes you.
I see you made an update- this was GNW- with GNW I never call a client or reach out if I think I made an error , the client will call you in 99 out of 100 times if they see an issue with your work for you to remedy it . I never reach out to ask if I made a mistake .
When I do loans, and I happen to be scanning over my scans I will call Title and say oh snap I see I forgot to ( fill in critical error here ) page A . I am taking steps to rectify it immediately , even if that means I have to go back out to the signers home at my expense . But with GNW I don’t worry too much.
I am glad you sent an invoice , from here on out with GNW collect your fee at the time you are performing the work. You can set up a square account to accept card , and cash payments . (it just records the cash for your records) You can decide if you want to accept checks.
Think we need a few more general details to give an honest answer.
You probably would have heard in a week. What were the payment terms on the order? Many services it’s 30 days. Making a mistake doesn’t get you not paid. Relax and realize everyone makes a mistake. If you are notified of an error, you fix it. I used to get super nervous I hadn’t made a mistake yet and I was due one. I just double check my work, scan it and go on.
I never call anyone about thinking I made a mistake. If I did - I’ll hear from them. That’s just me.
Have you called the company back that hired you?
That’s just me too. Like you said, if there’s a problem, you’ll be notified. Like everyone doing this work, I know the agony of a missed initial, which is why it’s super important to double and triple-check your work before you leave the signing site. If you don’t, you only have yourself to blame when you have to go back.
Sorry. This was GNW so no company.
Payment terms were he was supposed to pay before he got to my office. I invoiced him with Square.
Thank you for your kind words. They helped.
It was for GNW so getting paid is on me.
Oh. Any time I’ve done GNW I get paid at the table.
yes GNW thats organic I collect my fee at the time of service , I think OP has learned a few things from this notarization.
Hi Carol, very curious – what was the error you think you made? Many of us can relate to that sick to your stomach feeling – not fun. I agree with the advice others like Chandie have given you. We are human and we make human mistakes.
If you reached out to them about the potential error and they did not get back to you, the ball is in their court. I recommend including a supplemental note in your notary journal explaining your concerns and their (lack of) response to CYA in the unlikely event this does come back to haunt you.
Here is the gist of it.
Guy calls me to create a document for him. He states that “they took my driver’s licenses away” but has a good passport. He fills out the contract online. It states that I have to be paid first. We agree on square for payment. I told him to give me an hour and I would get back to him to let him know when he could meet me at my office.
I do the work. He calls ME in an hour and says he is at my office (first thing to unnerve me). I jump into clothes and get in the car. He is walking around the office area and I herd him back down to where the office is.
I get out of the car and asked him if he had paid the invoice. He said he thought I wanted him to pay at the office (second thing to unnerve me). He says he is sorry. He has about 80 minutes to get to the next town for some appointment.
I forgot the key to the office. I am in an alley with some guy I don’t know who doesn’t have a driver’s license (it could have been medical but I am thinking drunk driving), who doesn’t follow directions. I want him out of here.
I do the notary part on the hood of the car. Enough breeze that I didn’t bring my checklists out.
So that’s it. I felt pressured. I let this guy control the situation.
Later that night, I googled his name and someone with the same name had been arrested for DUI about 2.5 years earlier. My mind said, “oh, he must have been turning himself into jail and that is why you haven’t heard from him and he never planned on paying”
Then I reviewed my day and for some reason I thought that the passport was only good for five years. I even checked my SOS guide. I read it wrong.
The next morning, I sent him a text and an email stating that I thought something might be wrong. I didn’t say what, but I was thinking of a credible witness is what I could do to fix it. Later I googled it and yes, 10 years is okay.
Then I thought I might have made a different mistake. That one is keeping me up at night.
What are you talking about? This is too all over the place for me, need specifics.
Thank you very much for the specific details. You did the very best you could under the circumstances. Definitely note your journal. Chalk it up to lesson learned and move on because I bet you learned a great deal from this experience.
She literally just provided “the specifics”…
Ok, well, all money ain’t good money, and if you are feeling rushed, nine times out of ten, let them find someone else to do it.
Man oh man did I learn. But how do I control this better? Even if I had gotten into my office before him, I could have had the document and my laminated check list on the table. Lighting would have been better, and I would have been more relaxed.
When I am drafting the document, I am a legal document preparer. Once I was in the alley, I was a notary. A public servant. Is it okay to turn him down for non-payment?
OH YES ABSOLUTELY IT IS OK FOR A NOTARY TO TURN DOWN FOR NON-PAYMENT! That would be considered a lawful reason to decline a notarization. No where in the law does it state that we are obligated to perform notarizations for free. So declining or scheduling to another time would have been absolutely appropriate.
He is putting you under HIS time constraint – by telling you he had an appointment in 80 minutes. Trying to make you feel rushed so that you get it done quickly. There are scammers who do this to notaries deliberately – rushing them to check ID and sign/notarize in a dark parking lot. Check out this article: Tricks fraudsters use to scam Notaries | NNA
Friend, I hear you. This NNA article “4 Career Ending Mistakes” will also get your attention: 4 career-ending Notary mistakes | NNA
All we can do is learn from the experience and do better next time.
I can’t bear to look at what the mistakes are.
I had laminated my checklist to “do better next time” and I didn’t even use it.
I have a friend who is an attorney and she brushed this off like this happens all the time. Its not her stamp and signature, its mine.
I guess like your attorney friend I am also encouraging you to brush it off only because you have done all you can right now. I understand you are concerned, but if the signer isn’t going to reply to you, it is OUT OF YOUR HANDS and fretting without knowing whether you actually did make a mistake will only lead to ulcers. I do love that you care so much, Carol. That tells me you are serious about your job. And I would hire you in a heartbeat.
