I’ve been seeing on signing order for multiple signing agencies notaries names being mentioned and not to use them. I think this is slander and not right. If title doesn’t want to use a specific notary fine so be it… however, they should never let every single notary they send the order out to see that so and so can not be used. That’s poor business and not ok.
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Very well put thank you. I agree wholeheartedly with this and your original post.
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Yes, Jennifer, another good point you make. I have seen that in some Washington assignment requests as well which specifically states, “DO NOT USE JANE DOE!” (and instead of Jane Doe is a real notary name). I contemplated reaching out to the notary to let him/her know but ultimately did not and just moved on.
After thinking about it, if it was my name being broadcast like that, I would certainly want to know. So next time it happens, I shall take a screenshot and try to reach the notary if possible.
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Totally agree 
%. I hope everyone heeds this great acknowledgment!!! Perfectly said:)
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Agreed. I have many years of experience creating solutions with executives and although I get it that notaries are ‘warning’ each other, I could never bring myself to bad mouth a company in the public domain that did not ‘do something right’.
The thing is, each notary is subject to their own experience. Notary Bob might get dinged but that doesn’t automatically mean the same thing will happen to the next notary.
Because of this inconsistency, in many cases, what happens to one or more notaries may not occur to all others.
We are not the center of the universe.
Were it me, I’d first ask the group here what experience they’ve had with a company. From the responses, I would then hopefully know if I was dealing with a crooked company or if my experience was a consistent or occasional event.
Negative events are triggered by individuals and/or policy. To broad brush a company because of my experience could be premature. Even if I were not able to negotiate a solution with a [signing] company, for example, I would not be presumptuous enough to tell others they Will have the same experience.
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Hi, since you have a depth of experience, you probably do have a handle on good/bad companies so I would not deign to tell you what you should or shouldn’t do but for newer notaries, I’d suggest they get a feel for things before posting how they got a bad rap.
In fact. I’d ask first for suggestions how to solve a problem before making myself an authority who has the space to name names.
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Hi, I get what you’re saying. I’ve lost $15K and more a couple of times but I leave it to others to make their own way. I don’t publish my failures to solve a problem the next person might not have.
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No pay is no pay…and I see nothing but good coming from letting others know so they can avoid the pain. Same is true for those companies who seem to always have undisclosed huge packages or scanbacks or ‘print on legal’ or too much babysitting. Doesn’t hurt us to be forewarned. They are thru background checks and we don’t have that on them. Except for what others have provided, When enough people start saying no to these types of companies, the business will go to better companies who are better able to negotiate reasonable fees so they are able to pay us what the job is worth.
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That’s what this forum is for - so notaries can keep other notaries informed of the G/B/U of the business - good, bad and ugly;
What this forum is NOT for is for companies to come on here posting and blasting notaries … and I’ve seen it more than once. Signing services/title companies should have no posting privileges. They want to read, fine, but then contact the poster with the problem privately to resolve it.
Now, that said - it’s only fair that if you have a problem with a company and want to blast them, fine…but full disclosure - sign your name and your contact info - they’re allowed to confront their accuser.
JMO
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Just want to interject that in 3000 signings that I have done I have never NOT been paid for any one them. There are a few companies that have been mientioned on this thread that I have had to “remind” them to pay me and one company I would not choose to work again with as is the case with many others that are aware of this company as it took me so much effort to get paid on it.
In most cases of a slow pay. If you write a respectful email you get an apology and a check pretty quickly. I also know that there are frequently circumstance that will prevent a notary being paid by a signing service by not providing a W-9, completing billing and payment information to get paid, etc., and some companies albeit rare require an invoice.
There are way to many companies that are batted around on this board that are absolutly solid payers. Also, If I didnt work with many of the companies that have been mentioned on this board, I would work with about half the companies that I work with currently. If Notaries here are readlng about some of these companies and not working with companies who are good payers they are limiting their opportunities and there income by not working with companies who have been reliable for most of us for many years.
Some companies are very slow pays, and you can choose not to work with them. In most cases they also tell you in their agreement their terms so you can avoid them. I dont really care as long as they are in my pay pipleline it is good enough for me as long as it comes.
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Like I said, you have a depth of experience I don’t have, no one is watching out for us so we have to advise each other and I agree when a consistently bad character needs to be pointed out it should be done but for now, with the lesser experience I have, I’ll take 'em one at a time, will continue to hold back judgment and for myself, if I hit a speed bump, will ask questions first before I ever think to use this forum to express my angst against any particular company.
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I think what I just said sounds wishy-washy so simply said and maybe more to the point, for me, speaking of apparently ‘bad’ companies, I prefer to keep things professional.
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I agree. Well said. We need to be open honest and this is a safe place to do this.
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I think as a new notary I appreciate hearing all two, three, or four sides. I think there’s a lot of different variables to every situation. I trust I will make the best choice for me. In saying that I believe if multiple people have a bad experience with a SS and speak there truth on this platform…thank you. In the same breath I have made mistakes and if a SS does not want to work with me again, it provides me an opportunity to do better. I hope all the SS’s that were outed do better.
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Most of the companies I worked for in my past have had a few that didn’t pay. It’s one of the challenges of being a small business. When I did contract work for a healthcare staffing company, a few nursing or smaller healthcare facilities didn’t always pay their invoices. They could not afford to hire their own staff, used the third party staff and later didn’t pay. Some eventually paid others went to collection. A few law firms I worked at also didn’t have a rate of being 100% paid, there’s always that one or two problematic companies or people you meet that will not pay their invoice. It’s one of the struggles of doing business and being self employed. It’s not necessarily a reflection of you, it’s more how these type of companies do business. Sure if you’re messing up the documents and appointments, not getting paid is the result of that. When you work with a few reliable companies you might have 100% getting paid rate. When you work with many companies, chances are you’ll run into one or two that will not pay you no matter how much you did and how well your services were for them. It is also not only signing services, some struggling or not well managed title companies might try to find ways to wiggle out of the notary fee or get extras. If you’re inexperienced with documents you might be easily taken advantage of or hassled so take caution new notaries to document work. Take the extra steps to triple check everything and any doubts or questions always confirm for each appointment.
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I agree with this. Couldn’t be more right.
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Dear new notaries, I hope you are paying attention to these responses. Apparently some people consider me a “doormat” for urging professionalism. This “doormat” comment is another of many tactless examples of lack of professionalism I was suggesting notaries might be wise to avoid.
If you disagree with something written in this NotaryCafe forum, it is possible to do so without calling names like a first grader. If MarkWWoody had simply said, “I disagree because this is a business and if someone doesn’t want to be outed as a cheat then they should not cheat the service provider. This weak and waffling position that you would have us maintain only gives power to those that would take advantage. And by the way your unsolicited advice is pretty bad” I might be able to respect him as a notary and/or take him more seriously.
The name calling only underscores my original point. Can you note the difference between these statements?
A. “Karen and XYZ company are lying cheats because I did not get paid and everyone should boycott XYZ company.”
A. “I did not get paid by Karen at XYZ company and I refuse to do any more assignments for her or XYZ company.”
A. “You Madam are a doormat.”
B. “I don’t agree with your statement or your advice because…”
The A statements include name calling and are unprofessional and absolutely unnecessary. All of the B statements are more professional.
Of course, whether or not a notary chooses to behave professionally is ultimately up to them, as several here have made so abundantly clear.
(edited for clarity)
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Hi MbNotaryservice1, I understand what you are saying. As a notary, would you also be okay with your hiring company (title company, signing service, lender, etc) outing YOU or your company by name in a public forum like this, calling you names, and detailing their bad experience with you, and urging other hiring companies to boycott you?
No, i wouldn’t of coarse, but I know who I am.
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I think notaries use this forum to vent about their experiences.
And warn others because there are scamming companies out there.
I do understand what you’re saying about professionalism and I don’t think you’re a doormat for bringing up the professionalism being important. I was siding with the part for outing on here companies that are dishonest and cheating.