UPS makes me bang my head on the wall

Notary Experiences
1

Last Friday, I did a Reverse Mortgage. Nice couple, easy signing, great fee.
Directions from the TC / SS are to drop it in a UPS Dropbox instead of UPS Store after scanbacks. No prob.
Scanned and uploaded from my car, found a nearby UPS dropbox and stuck it in.

Tuesday comes around and I get an email from the TC / SS asking to ship the docs soonest. I tell them I have and check the tracking number which has not registered a pickup.

Wednesday, the TC contacts me again and I make a trip to the the UPS store nearest to the dropbox and ask about it. Not only am I told that particular box isn’t checked often, but IT’S OCCASIONALLY ROBBED! The best they could do was to give me UPS’s corporate number which I called 4 times in an attempt to get a human and the automated tree hung up on me every time.

Frustrated, I went back to the dropbox and stuck my phone inside to see if the package was still there.

Nope. Gone-ski!

So, after five minutes of fighting through the UPS website, I was finally able to get a service rep to call me back. He was less useful than the store associates. Other than telling me to file a claim, he could only tell me when that box had been last checked(the day before I dropped off the docs), but not the next time. I gritted my teeth, hung up, and went home to email all of this to the TC.

Now, here’s the thing that saved my keister and I highly recommend it as a regular practice where legally allowed: I recorded everything. When I emailed the TC, I was able to provide pics of me putting it in the box, audio recordings of my interactions with the UPS Store staff and customer service call, and a short video of the empty dropbox interior. The TC thanked me for my time and efforts and sent me another offer for tomorrow at another great fee.

Moral of the Story: Use FedEx, record proof of delivery(ie. pics, receipt, etc.), and CYA!!!

2

Better solution - go to the store from now on and get a receipt. That will save you every time…include the extra travel/time in your fee - do NOT use drop boxes.

I had instructions from a title company once to do the same thing - during the course of the signing the borrowers asked what happened to the package next…I told them I was dropping in that box on the corner - they told me “don’t - UPS NEVER checks that box”…

I always used an approved drop location and got a receipt - Mailbox Store, UPS Store, OfficeMax/OfficeDepot, etc.

1 Like
3

Normally, I do. The instructions from the TC were very specific to put it “in a Dropbox and not a UPS Store”. This triggered a “shady / sketchy” vibe, but I figured that, if it all went wrong, my tuchus was covered by the pics which are always date/time stamped by your phone.

It was nice that the TC didn’t try to put any of the blame on me.

4

As it’s the certified notary signing agent’s reputation that’s at stake regarding the physical package handoff, I only utilize a chain-of-custody method by waiting in line at an official FedEx or UPS location, physically hand off the package to a FedEx or UPS Staff Member, wait for the label scan-in process, and wait for the receipt. Only then do I consider the handoff as completed.

Yes, this is another reason not to accept lowball signing orders and to include this time “expenditure” within your expense estimates to perform services.

Oftentimes, you must request a receipt. At locations where you are a “regular,” when you walk in the door & are recognized, they know what you need and promptly attend to your business there.

Dropboxes are simply not worth the potential cost to your reputation nor the cost of the time, phone calls, investigation, follow up, etc. if the package isn’t picked up or if it becomes “lost” in transit.

NOTE: There are small business locations that are identified as “Authorized” FedEx or UPS “dropoff” locations.

I don’t utilize those any of those locations as they DO NOT perform a label scan-in and won’t provide a receipt. Thus, when someone checks the tracking status, there is the “appearance” that you are still in possession of the document package, until the carrier scans in the label.

5

In my experience UPS is always better than Fedex…

6

Best to hand it over to a person at UPS or FedEx and get a receipt. Never Never follow those instructions to use a drop box and I have had the same instructions from SS before but I Always walk into UPS or FedEx and get a receipt.

7

Fortunately my office is 800 feet from the UPS store and 2 miles from FedEx they have drop boxes throughout our office complex. I also take mine to the main facility so I have documentation for the transaction and I don’t understand why they wouldn’t require that unless it cost them more to use the main facility.

8

I always take a picture with my phone of the completed package, with shipping label clearly visible, as I’m putting it in the dropbox. Also, I made sure you can see the “pickup has NOT occurred” sign as well.

The drop box is a 60 second drive from my house, the FedEx store is a 40 minute round-trip drive. If I can swing by a FedEx without going too far out of the way, I do. But usually I can’t. This method works fine! The few times that a package has been late, I’ve provided this photo evidence that I dropped it in a licensed dropbox and that has been enough to clear me from responsibly for the delay.

9

I am a 20-year NSA veteran. I will always use the UPS store for drop offs. I keep the receipt until I receive payment. FedEx is a different story. The only FedEx drop off was a local OfficeMax that just closed its doors. I have a very reliable FedEx drop box in town that I am now forced to use. If I have to collect a check from the Borrower, I insist on a UPS label so I can use the store. I always worry about the packages that include Borrowers’ funds because it’s certainly more troublesome for the Borrower if a large cashier’s check goes missing. I want to avoid that scenario always.

10

Fedex picks up free at my office.

UPS does not - I have to take docs to the nearest UPS Store.

Guess which I prefer?

ALWAYS get a receipt. Ignore instructions to the contrary.