Agreed. Debt Settlements are pretty much scams. I wont participate.
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I learned the hard way.
They donāt tell you that you have to take a test. They wait until you do the signing and if you donāt take the test after the signing then they wonāt pay you.
I took the test and missed by one point.
I wonāt take it again. I donāt have time for this.
I WILL NEVER WORK FOR THRM AGAIN!
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thank you for sharing
yeah weāre not supposed to act as their agents
Iāve done several debt settlement āpresentationsā is what they call it ā¦ I read the script that is also mostly printed out in large print slides the debtor reads along and initials each page, and have them sign like 15 pages (approx 40 pgs total). I usually take them to the fee schedule after reading the script. One woman I spent like 45 mins then got to the fees schedule, and then she declined when it sunk in that the lawyer/company negotiation with creditors doesnāt start until there is enough money paid into the newly setup account to cover a debt (which they can access online)ā¦ so it is many months of payments while still having to deal with creditors (a new phone number is recommended). The second assignment I took the woman actually read the documents she received ahead of time and she whipped right through signing knowing exactly what she was doing. Its not something I would ever do, but people are desperate or have their own reasons for going forward. Its not my place to judge. Another assignment was a woman divorcing her husband, separating her life from his and needed the security of a set amount and timeline that she could see an end to that part of her life and budget accordingly. Unless the person is mentally incapable of knowing what they are signing - - I do the job I was contracted forā¦ and even if the debtor decides not to sign, I still get paid. But 4 out of 5 DR Iāve done have signed and believed it was best for them and their tens of thousands$$ debt.
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I accepted one early on and when I got the paperwork and reviewed I cancelled. Maybe I was just hired by a scam company but the terms to the process were HORRIFIC! I need to be able to sleep at night and signing some stressed out person to those terms would not have allowed me to. Perhaps I am jaded because I once worked for TransUnion and understand credit stuff more than most but not paying your debt for 2 years while paying this consolidation company for two years (what turned out to be a ridiculous fee) then after they get paid for two years they would start negotiating your accounts. OH HELL NO! I could not be a part of their terms in any way. I couldnāt do it. I refuse to be a part of it. Hopefully some companies are actually helping people but I refuse to be a part of doing them an injustice.
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If thatās not bad enough, youāll end up shelling out $38,935 to pay off the new loan versus $35,646 for the original two loans āeven with the lower interest rate of 9%. This means your ālower paymentā has cost $3,289 more. Weāve got two words for you: Rip. Off.
I have taken the testing necessary to do these. Itās a paralegal cert to doā¦I get 150 to 200 a signing. We are NOT acting as a JD. itās very clear. We are given a script to read and notarize a sig. What could I be sued for?
What? I donāt understand. Are you saying they train you to be a paralegal?
And what you can be sued for is anything the signers feel you may have done to misrepresent the product. These debt resolutions are illegal in many states - companies contract with notaries to bypass the federal law that requires that the terms and conditions MUST be done face to face with a company representative (thatās YOU).
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They are one of the many companies that look for Notary Services on Snapdocs.com. Which is a free platform for your mobile notary services in your area, but like most notary platforms you wonāt get paid for 30 days after the completion of the job. Which sucks!
You could be sued if you give legal advice without a license, for one. If you havenāt any law education, you have no knowledge of what is considered legal advice and what is not. You are NOT a paralegal - that is just a meaningless test according to their criteria and definition.
Yikes, thatās dangerous territory.
As a paralegal, that sounds extremely shady to me. I had looked into NPN recently and didnāt like the look of it from the start. So, I sent a decoy request to join (lol) as I have many years experience in law to see what their game was about. I received a denial of course because I donāt have the signing experience they require - fine.
I had no idea that NSAs were required to take āparalegalā test. Thatās a rather dangerous area to be offering agents without the actual legal education to back it. Trust me, you are not a paralegal once you pass their test.
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Thank you! I wondered about this statement and feel bad if this notary honestly believes he is a duly trained and certified paralegal by this company. Iām a paralegal/legal assistant - took a whole lot more time than Iām sure this company is devoting - or is qualified to administer.
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Absolutely. Time, and serious education.
Hello,
Iām very new as a signing agent and most of my signings so far have been debt settlements. I appreciate how easy they are to go through and I get between $65 and $85 each. There is usually only one page to notarize, and depending on how many questions they ask, it is completed in 30 mins to an hour. Also, I donāt mind scanning back the docs, in fact, I prefer it.
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The Notary Defendant
Honestly, I will never understand why notaries are taking these jobs outside their scope of practice. I donāt take application or these debt settlement assignment ever. Need help with notarization? Yes, I am happy to help. Need help picking up application and drop it off? No, Iām not in the delivery business.
Need help taking auto/home photos or inspection? No, Iām not in the photography or inspection business.
Need help herding dogs? Sure! 
One time I spent 45 mins gathering 2 dogs for a disabled signer. She was in a wheel chair and can not chase after her dogs. When she opened to door to let me in, the dogs took off:(. She cried and said, āI canāt lose them, please find them. I wonāt sign until they are back. I paid $1200 for each one.ā She called her son to come home to help but he was droving a truck at work.ā I told myself, āthink, think Sinath, thinkā, I almost call the cops for help but I was determined to get the dogs back. After 45 mins of herding dogs in the rural town in my suits, I finally got the dogs in the gate and she signed. I never told the title or the loan officer about it. That was an interesting experience though. 
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The moment she stated she wouldnāt sign until you retrieved her dogs, Iād call the assigning agent to let them know she refused to sign. Iām too busy to burn time corralling her dogs. You can bet this wasnāt the first time her dogs escaped her custody.
Due to my physical limitations, thereās also the risk to my well being. Getting my insurance to cover my medical bills for injuries not related to the task at hand would further complicate matters.
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I agree @RiverpointeTax - yeah, corralling dogs is not part of my assignment ā¦ although kudos to VIP for going above and beyond
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I hope that all of the NSAs that are taking this work, read this post. When you take these jobs and choose to act as a representative of a company rather than as a third party disinterested notary public, you may be putting yourself in legal jeopardy if the deal eventually goes South. Notary E and O will not cover this because it is beyond the scope of notarization.
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While I applaud VIPnotaryCO for her kindness and over-the-top efforts to help, I am conflicted as to what limits I have regarding any interaction with signers that goes beyond what I was hired to do. In todayās wacky. woke, wounded society, the risks may just be too great to inject myself into someoneās issues. I didnāt used to feel this way. Iād reflexively help out almost anyone in need. Not anymore.
Being a notary can be a tough job as we all can see in the posts on this forum. We enter into a strangerās life for about an hour, put up with all kinds of conditions and situations, get the job done and hopefully collect our fees two months later.
Iām no longer willing to lengthen my assignments with assistance-league efforts to make the signersā lives a little easier by helping out by moving a chest of drawers, turning off the lawn sprinklers, chasing down the [unfriendly] pet or interacting with their children. I sometimes feel a little bad when I decline to become involved with the signersā household issues but I have learned through experience that I am only asking for trouble if I do get involved.
My rule after one year of doing this work: Get in, get it done, get out. Be polite and courteous. Be efficient. Be on time.
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