... would love your thoughts on this

Notary Experiences
1

So, I have been rendering services to "XYZ " for a few months now mainly servicing closings for Mortgage Connect in my area. ( I am withholding the Name as I wish to continue to wear my professional hat which I would have loved “XYZ” to have displayed.)

In all that time I focused on building a relationship rather than focusing on the money - this is not to say that I took anything less than $100. 100 was the only fees we could agree on - better than the insulting 75s and 85s I hate to see :triumph: :triumph: . I also expressed initially that my services for the $100 will only apply to locations less that 30 mins from my office. (1 hour round trip) … and so the relationship begun.

As time went on I received assignments further and further away, max 1 hr 20 mins to which fees were never adjusted. Since I was focused on building a relationship I took on those assignment with a willing heart hoping we could have a great working relationship. With all the closings I took on I did not receive any feedback to which am believing no news is good news. (well I pride myself with being thorough anyway - based on my numerous reviews received thus far :grin: :grin::blush:)

On 04/23/21, I took on a signing for yet another $100 for a 40 mins drive to the location. and I received a packet for 57 page which I printed two sets of. Yes, I was surprised of the low volume of pages, however I just assumed since it was coming from XYZ as a third party and not Mortgage Connect directly they would have done the due diligence to check the documents for completion ( my thoughts were that some may have been signed online - 1st mistake on my part). During signing the borrower asked for specific docs that were not included in the packet. So we called Mortgage Connect per my instruction sheet and it was at this point that we realized the documents received were incomplete. The gentleman I spoke to at MC apologized and assured me they were going to compensate me for the drive back to print a new set of docs to complete the closing. At this point I called “XZY” to update on the situation. I explained that the entire closing trip would take me about 3 hrs drive coupled with the extra 140 pages x 2 copies making a total of 394 pages not forgetting the added inconvenience, I asked for a fee adjustment to $200. I was then told MC is willing to compensate me but not sure they will offer the $200. At this point I was really frustrated and would have abandoned the signing, however I remained professional and was worried about the borrower’s need to close that day. I went ahead to close with the understanding that “XYZ” was going to get back to me on the matter as promised.

To make matters worse upon my return, the borrower was under tremendous pressure to leave for work as he had called for 2 hours delay to work, due to the mishap. The chaos and rush caused signing errors that was detected later on that evening. ( I had to drive back the following morning to get the errors fixed before I mailed the packet out - this I never mentioned to XYZ as I took it to be my responsibility to render error free signing. )

Up till date XYZ never got back to me on the matter. I recently received checks for a few signings of which this signing was part ($100). I then emailed XYZ in reference to the short payment of the faithful 04/23/21 signing. Its been 2 weeks and I still have not received any response with regards to the matter.

I honestly find this non-response unprofessional and I am forced to believe XYZ was only taking advantage of my relationship building intentions.

I am getting ready to resend XYZ another email explaining my disappointment in the manner in which this matter is being handled. If XYZ expects me to uphold professionalism when dealing with borrowers on its behalf, I expect same. I could call Mortgage Connect to report the matter because I believe XYZ would have been paid the extra by now but somehow decides not to compensate me or shall I say it was missed?. I would have appreciated even if XYZ had offered a counter than to totally ignore the matter and my email I can bet it was read…

Anyway, personally I have no intentions to report to MC and I am strongly disappointed that XYZ would allow $100 or less to disrupt a working relationship.
I hope after I send my final email, respectfully expressing my disappointment, I can decide weather to continue to work with them or to move on. I do not intend to send multiple reminders not worth the time as I expect the right thing to be done without being pressured.

Anyway … I apologize for the lengthy write-up I was just expressing my disappointment. I appreciate your time. Please let me hear your thoughts on the matter. I may be over reacting - who knows :woman_shrugging:

Thank you.

2

Sorry to hear you went through this but kudos to you for sticking it out. The above statements are where you turn - I’d go back to the MC connection and let them know that XYZ has not paid - let them intervene; they may pay you directly AND may even start contracting with you directly - a win win.

From what you wrote, it sounds like this XYZ began pushing the boundaries more and more on each signing, which should be your first hint that things weren’t going to go as well as you liked. I know you appreciate the relationship but there are many others out there you can make that will be both profitable for you and enjoyable for all concerned. If you want to continue with XYZ you may want to consider digging in your heels and sticking to your limits - and set a fee for anything beyond your limits, because it sounds to my like this company knows they’ve got you…time to put your foot down.

One last thing - I respect you not wanting to throw XYZ under the bus but, honestly, you don’t owe them anything at this point - they owe you. And if they treat you this way, they’ll do it to others. I can think of a few companies that pull this on notaries…it would be helpful to your colleagues here (and I’m not speaking me as I don’t do loan signings) if you’d let them know who XYZ is - they lost the pleasure of anonymity when they failed to pay you as agreed

JMO and good luck with this

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3

Agree totally with LindaH-FL. In my experience, it is hard to build a relationship as most will dump you if they find someone $5 cheaper to take advantage of. Learn this: volume means nothing to us if it isn’t profitable. Your goal is not volume, but profit.

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4

Thank you so much for your thoughts and advice. Greatly appreciated. :pray: :pray: :pray:

5

I totally agree with you. Yes I got the feeling they might have gotten someone cheaper in my area and decided to pull that fast one on me. :joy: :joy: :joy:
… I also don’t believe in volume it means absolutely nothing because those low paying offers tend to disrupt my availability for my very high paying clients - some lessons learnt over time.

Thank you so much for your thoughts …

6

I’m unaware Mortgage Connect even used outside signing services, given they have their own roster of nationwide notaries–me being one of them.

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7

I think they are using Notary Express. I told them to remove me as they only pay $50 to $85. I told them my minimum is $100 and they said they never pay that much for a refi with scan backs. I said they remove me from your list.

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8

Well, I thought that you could view to address before accepting the job. I’ve worked with Mortgage Connect over a year and I could see the address upfront before I accept. Also depending on what type of signing it is, you should be able to determine if there’s docs missing when you print and scan (preview) the docs. For example, refi you may have on average anywhere from 125 - 180 pages. So I’m not sure how you are accepting a job without knowing where it is.