I have an assignment that I took and called the signer as required to confirm the appointment. It’s an elderly gentleman and I took the time to explain who I was. In this day and age, it’s hard to detect a scam and he was fully convinced I was scamming him. He told me he did not want to proceed and would call the police if he continued to be bothered. I get it. I relayed to the signing service.
They replied with - lender wants you to try again and then relisted me on the job for a second attempt saying - don’t call just show up. HOW SHADY IS THIS? Sorry but I’m not in the business of harassing people to make you money for the measly $50 you offered me to try to get this gentleman to sign an Intent to Proceed. They won’t remove me from the file and said they would blacklist me and notify their “associated members” of me being uncooperative to complete a signing. WHAT!!
Could you please clarify which signing service you are referring to i think thisnis important? There are potential issues that need to be addressed. I would have toldthem to contact and verify the details. If a situation causes discomfort, it should be resolved by avoiding pressure and offering reassignment instead. It is not appropriate to compel someone to finalize a closing if they are not at ease with it. These signing services are getting out of had and they are just people like me ad you. Some just dont know how to run a business and forgot how they started.
That’s what they all tell you to do when you can’t reach the signer for confirmation. Half the time, it ends up being that they gave you the wrong phone number. The only problem with that logic is that if, for whatever reason, the signing doesn’t take place, you’ve done all the work and driven to Tiimbuktu for 50% of your agreed upon fee.
I’m sorry, but if a signer tells me to leave them alone or they’re calling the police - the lender can (insert preferred phrase here) - I’m not going to have police called on me -
Never had a company push me that far - they either understood and were really nice about it or pretended to understand and found someone else willing to deal with this situation. You said “elderly gentleman” - he may well not remember starting the process (memory issues) and you probably dodged a serious bullet.
@miyakmeek – I would suggest you have it all in writing (email works). Advise SS to please remove you from this file (give particulars, i.e. name, file number, etc.) as the signer, Mr. XX has told you he does not want to proceed and threatened police action if bothered again. Be sure to cc yourself. Keep that copy for your records in case you need to explain to some other hiring party why this SS blacklisted you.
Please let us know who this SS is. It may help for future reference.
I don’t want to put the signing service on blast just yet. I’ll see how it pans out this morning. The lender is the one pressuring them (or so they say). The lender sounds scandalous Lend-to Loan with a VA cash out.
If the “process” got all the way to the closing appointment, it wasn’t just something he started and then forgot about. The way most of the signers describe it to me, it’s quite a lengthy process that culminates in our signing appointment. Most signers who back out (in my experience) do so because the terms weren’t what they understood they would be.
They want you to just show up and get an ‘Intent to Proceed’ signed by an elderly man who TOLD you he does NOT want to proceed and will call the police if you don’t stop bothering him…. and you tell SS you’re not going/he CANCELED. And SS & supposedly Lender won’t remove you from this? And threaten to blacklist you for refusing to put yourself in jeopardy? I hope they realize they are just bullying you and finally see the light. If not, document as yolicue said. I do agree that this SS well-deserves a public call out for such outrageous actions.
I definitely would have made note of the conversation and asked to be removed despite their threat to blacklist you. I don’t play those games. I actually had to remove myself fron one a month or so back because the ,an told me on the phone that he wasn’t signing and he had already verbalized that to his lender. He was unhappy with the rate on his refinance. I had made sure that I made note on my little prep sheet I make myself that I keep in my computer for a while and I made note on the platform rather than calling in so I had it in writing why I was removing myself. I do believe that man did come around again a few days later. I knew not to take it as I knew it wouldn’t be guaranteed work. Don’t be afraid to cancel the few rare ones that say they aren’t signing to make yourself available for a sure deal. I’ve never lost work over it.
I had a similar situation where the signing was set up by the son. He and the parent had a piece of property that was owned by an LLC they were both members of, the son being the Managing member, but the sale needed both signatures. When I called to confirmed the number I was provided was the son’s and the instructions said “the signer’s caregiver will have to assist.” (automatic red flag,) when I arrived neither the signer, his wife, or caregiver were expecting me.
Then to make matters worse as I talked with the signer he had no idea what I was talking about, and I began to suspect that he may have some diminished capacity (possible early dementia, or something like that) because he didn’t know which of his son, and even when talking to the son went from moments of seeming to understand and then being confused. He then told me he wanted time to review things and talk to his son. I thought to myself “Thank God” because I was about to say we can proceed because I have serious concerns here. I alerted the signing company, where is and remains Top Notch, I won’t name names because I value confidentiality but needless to say they talked to Title who seemed to not care. But, I told the signing company if they go forward that I didn’t care about a trip fee, or anything that I was more concerned about the signer’s best interest and that instead of myself assign a different Notary just so rather I was right or wrong another Notary without foreknowledge of my previous visit could make their own mind up.
Well, it got more interesting because no sooner than I had parked my car I get a call from the signing company Title had called and said their had been miscommunication. The only reason the signer didn’t want to sign was because I had arrived while he was eating supper it was 3pm CST. Now, granted he was eating but that was never mentioned. That was the final red flag when I talked to them, and they agreed so when it went back out there was definitely notes for the next Notary to pay close attention.
So, sorry about the rabbit trail but I figured I would share this to echo the sentiment that there are definitely some unscrupulous people out there who only care about closing deals to make their commissions and closing fees. But the signing company that sent me was thankful that I was looking out for them and me.
Um…no thank you. I don’t want anything to do with the police and if they have to be involved to get it done then I don’t want anything to do with it. Signing loan documents should not have any type of pressure associated with it. I do get it was an older gentleman and I have MORE respect for that situation just because I feel like so many companies take advantage of the vulnerable folks in our society. I don’t want to be part of that.
WOW!! I would have had many red flags at that too. My grandparents were wrapped up in mortgage fraud and almost lost their house. With other people who got caught up in the same thing and DID lose their houses. I don’t wany anyone to feel like they are being bullied or forced into something. I also feel that older generation gets ignored when they say something as well because it usually is “they are old” or “they are confused” - that doesn’t mean you disregard what they are saying and that is how I felt this situation was. They just didn’t care. He was doing a cash out and they just wanted their easy money.
I’ve been doing this for a long while now and this is the first time I’ve ran into the situation where the SS wasn’t listening to what I was relaying then I felt like they called and harassed the poor guy to sign anyway. You are right. There is much more work out there and I don’t need to deal with this.
I found that with the debt relief things, which is why I dont do them. Customer has a casual conversation and they don’t realize they’ve bought a product. The salesmen are particularly pushy and I’ve been yelled at for not trying hard enough to get the signatures. For me, it’s a big no.
If it’s a mortgage, they’ve already submitted so much to the lender, they know.
After carefully reviewing your initial post and the subsequent comments exchanged within this thread, I’ve gained a valuable perspective on the diverse ways individuals choose to interpret and navigate similar signing scenarios. I want to clearly articulate my personal approach to these types of signing assignments. My fundamental principle is to maintain unwavering impartiality throughout the entire process. I will never, under any circumstances, attempt to persuade or override a signer’s objections, regardless of the stage of the signing. The clear and unequivocal statement made by the elderly gentleman, specifically, “He told me he did not want to proceed and would call the police if he continued to be bothered,” is, in my professional judgment, the definitive termination point for that signing order. I would immediately and unequivocally remove myself from the situation, completely disregarding any pressure or position taken by the hiring company. My primary concern in these situations is the protection of my professional integrity and my own personal safety. I am not prepared to jeopardize my notary commission, face potential complaints filed with the state, or, given my identity as a Black man in today’s society, place myself in a position that could potentially lead to any form of negative interaction with law enforcement. Of course I respect everyone’s own way of doing things.
and he had already verbalized that to his lender. He was unhappy with the rate on his refinance. I had made sure that I made note on my little prep sheet I make myself that I keep in my computer for a while and I made note on the platform rather than calling in so I had it in writing why I was removing myself. I do believe that man did come around again a few days later. I knew not to take it as I knew it wouldn’t be guaranteed work. Don’t be afraid to cancel the few rare ones that say they aren’t signing to make yourself available for a sure deal. I’ve never lost work over it.