Wow! I am so embarrassed I let myself get stuck doing an assignment for Speedy Sign Notary

Last minute signing, came as a call from a company I had never worked for. (My policies clearly state NEVER TAKE LAST MINUTE SIGNINGS FROM UNKNOWN COMPANIES.) But it was handy, tucked neatly between two other signings, and times are tough… yeah, every excuse. So I took it.

The wording on the docs was vague, and I was in a hurry so I blew through prep and dashed out the door. I was halfway there, mulling over those docs in the back of my mind, when I realized it was a debt settlement! (Policy number two: NO DEBT SETTLEMENTS) But I was on my way, and policy number three is NEVER CANCEL AT THE LAST MINUTE.

The signer was a lady a few years older than I am, quite clear on the phone when I confirmed, seemed to know what I was there for, answered my questions with no hesitation, signed all docs with no problems. One document authorized a payment from her BECU card. I made sure to point that out to her twice and explain that a payment would be charged in the amount shown. She said she understood.

Two weeks later I get a call from Pierce County Sheriff. A complaint had been filed against me for Credit Card Theft and Fraud! The signer claimed I fraudulently represented myself as an employee of BECU to get her to sign those documents (which had nothing to do with BECU at all, and did not say BECU anywhere on them) and then had charged over $9,000 on her BECU card.

At the beginning of all confirmation calls, I clearly state my name, that I am a Notary Public with Kidd Notary Services confirming an appointment to (Fill in purpose of signing, lender name, etc.) I also attach a business card to all borrower copies. I explained my purpose for being there, emailed the deputy a copy of my assignment sheet, shamelessly gave up the signing service (Speedy Sign Notary, BTW - I STRONGLY suggest not doing business with them!). Thankfully, he understood, told me no further action would be taken against me, and that he would close the file.

This morning, Speedy Sign Notary called me! They said they needed me to get NEW CREDIT CARD information from the same customer! OMG! What a shameless batch of scammers! Not only had they managed to get over $9,000 from her original BECU account, THEY WERE GOING AFTER HER AGAIN! And they wanted ME to be the one to get her new card info!!!

I declined, and I was not at all polite when doing so. Later that evening I got a call from another local notary who had accepted that assignment, only to be met by a very tall, big angry man who was rude, declined to let the signer sign anything, accused her of attempting fraud, claimed the signer had dementia and was unable to sign legal docs, etc. So despite me telling Speedy charges had been filed against me for that signing, they SENT OUT ANOTHER NOTARY!

So, I have learned not to circumvent my own policies, which are in place to help me avoid just this type of problem.

ALSO: I cannot say how strongly I suggest NOT working for Speedy Sign Notary!!

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Thank you! This is very helpful. It’s alot of scamming going on these days. I received a similar request via email. As soon as I was told to click on a microsoft attachment and was asked to enter my microsoft login in order to download documents I knew it was a scam. Also the email came from a personal gmail account. I’m glad you enlightened us on this and I hope it never happens to you again!

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May I ask why you don’t do debt settlement?

May I jump in? I have consistently heard from other reputable notaries that debt settlement has worms all over it. Low pay, highly immoral product (so we’re told), unsuspecting signers, and on and on. That’s warning enough, for me, anyway. I would not like to be presenting documents that strap a signer to terms and conditions they cannot fathom. Nah, not for me. The notaries that want to do that sort of work - they are more than welcome to it. JMO

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@teamnotaryservices - my $0.02 FWIW - not only are you asked to present yourself to the signers as a “representative” of the company or a “paralegal” for them company (which most times you’re not) BUT these debt settlement signings are a sneaky way to skirt FTC law about the requirement that any debt settlement company MUST have face-to-face personal interaction with the debtors; further, these debt settlements almost never result in the debts being paid, but the signers are required to sign a form allowing for thousands of dollars be taken from their accounts in periodic payments to accomplish absolutely nothing.

Anyone in debt owing a lot of money can resolve their debts on their own with no out-of-pocket payments to a third party.

JMO

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In addition Judi’s experience with Speedy, I must have been the notary they contacted next. Little did I know what surprises were in store for me. Speedy called me, followed by an email summarizing the details of the signing. One of which included collecting a BECU credit card info. There was nothing shared with me as to the current events that had taken place previously that very same day. The appt was confirmed in advance. I did mention the item that they wanted to collect by phone confirmation. There was nothing to indicate that anything was out of the ordinary during my conversation with this woman.

Upon arrival, Speedy had requested a phone call to confirm I was there. I was still on the phone as I met the signer at the door. The signer picked up her phone to answer a call after greeting me and having led me to the dining table where I began to set up. She continued to walk into her living room where she remained. A minute or two passed and a very large man came walking into her home asking me for my credentials and stating I was a scammer, an accessory to fraud, and that he was going to report me to Pierce County Law Enforcement. He wanted to know who sent me. Another call was placed to Speedy placing them on speaker phone. This man started directing his complaints to Speedy. I had given this man my business card, which has my phone, email and webpage on it. There was no reason for me to remain there any longer, I picked up my phone and excused myself from the appt.

We all walked out of the house together. This man’s car had parked blocking my car from leaving. He moved his car to the side. His mother-in-law was stating another notary had been there previously from BECU. I asked if they had the other notary’s name and which they gave to me. After his mother-in-law walked away from my car and towards the house, he proceeded to tell me she had dementia and they were working on getting a POA. We said our goodbyes.

At the end of the day, I called Judi as she was the named notary who had been the notary that had been confused as the representative from BECU. We spoke for some time about this very odd situation that placed both of us under these precarious circumstances at the behest of Speedy Notary. This will be the last time I ever take another order through this company.

The story doesn’t end there. The next morning, this same gentleman showed up knocking on my door unexpectedly. He said he had first gone to my office downtown Tacoma and then came to my home. He had a 6-page document in hand from Notary Cafe Forum from various people’s reports on Speedy Notary with scammy all over the place. Speedy also didn’t follow up to find out if I was ok, what happened, or answer my call when I tried them later that evening.

Beware! Be Safe Notaries!

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I’m sorry to hear you went through this. I sure hope you told this guy to lose your address and phone number and don’t come back. I get he is protecting his ;Mom, but IMO his behavior is borderline stalking and harassment.

Another incident needs to be reported to law enforcement. Not only the fraudulent charges but sending a notary out twice to someone with dementia. This is elder abuse.

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My home address isn’t listed on my business card. There has been a report filed, per Judi’s post previously.

THANK YOU!!! This is great information.

No, I meant a report filed by YOU as you were also sent out to do this - the more reports law enforcement gets the better chance something will be done to stop this predatory practice… I’d also include the behavior of the son toward you in the aftermath…but that’s just me.

I did not work for Speedy Signing, but in my early years as getting started in this biz, I took a handful of these debt settlement assignments. It didnt take long before I realized what a scam they were. Haven’t taken one in 5 years.
The worst was an appointment to meet at McDonalds. I get there and find out the “signer” is a mentally challenge women with a caretaker. The “caretaker” had full charge of this woman’s care and finances. She had taken out and charged cards to their maximun in this woman’s name and now was telling her to sign all these docs.
I immediately called the signing service and told them the situation and that I would not continue with this signing.
I found out later that they set it up again with another notary and not only had this challenged woman sign, but also a second one with the caretaker! UNBELIEVABLE!!!

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OMGOSH! Speedy Sign Notary called me for this closing in Bonney Lake. My gut told me something was off. When I found out I was to take a picture of her credit card I emailed them and told them in no way would I do so and that I respectfully decline. I dodged a bullet.

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Hello

I agree, these people are very persistent and rude to try and get us to do something wrong because they know, the rules for us…I found it very discussing that these company don’t pay you what you are worth and on top of that some of them are in the game of getting over on the clients and will make it out as your fault, which is so unethical. And sometime it is a all around game, which sicken me…I hate for people to do people in and on top of that put me in it.

I had a very similar experience. I believe
the company lending
targets the elderly & seeks out notaries for a one time
use. My borrower changed her mind-they were to call her back & asked me to return in 48 hours. I was to be paid by PayPal in 48 hours. I was not available. I called twice & emailed
for a print $ trip fee.
This company does not pay the notary either.

Is debt settlement the same as a structured settlement?

No…debt settlements are exactly that … Companies come in and help people handle and pay off massive credit card debt … Most times most companies do absolutely nothing for the customer that they can’t do themselves and charge thousands of dollars to do tbat nothing.

Structured settlements are a way for people to receive funds from a lawsuit settlement, an inheritance, lottery winnings or other avenues through periodic payments rather than lump sum payments. Many times taking the structured settlement rather than a lump sum results in the person getting more money in the long run.

One very legal…one not so much. One is like an annuity or insurance policy giving money in regular installments, the other sucks the person dry financially.

Okay now I have a question! I have an appointment tomorrow for a loan restructure (that’s what it was called) they’re paying me 175 and it’s doc pros, Which is always been good and reliable. have any of you done one of these? I also got it from Snapdocs so that would be verifiable, am I correct?

From quick google search:

" What is loan restructuring? It is a method used by businesses, individuals, and even governments to avoid defaulting on current debts by negotiating reduced interest rates . When a debtor is in financial distress, loan restructuring is a less expensive alternative to insolvency."

Sounds like a refi or modification. I’d check with doc pros. Be forthright and tell them “I’ve done refinances and modifications…what exactly is a restructure?”

JMO - good luck and let us know how it goes

P.S. - based on what I Found on google it could well be a debt settlement - be aware.

I quit doing debt settlement when they wanted me to pass a test and kept saying i was represented as a paralegal. Nope. I also felt uncomfortable with one in particular. Older guy. Lots of debt from a divorce. When all was said and done, he was trashing his credit for a total savings of $3000. I saw less on others. The whole thing did not pass the sniff test, so i no longer do them.
Another that did not pass for me was a real estate one. They picked the wrong person here as i have been a real estate agent over 37 years. All i said is that they should probably talk to an attorney before signing. First, it did not appear to be a document prepared by an attorney, a requirement in Colorado. Even thqough i was not representing myself as an agent, i am. I did have them sign a note saying they had refused to contact an attorney. The contract was in exchange for a small payout, say $5000, if they ever sold their house, they would sell it through XYZ company. The duration was 40 years!!. My job as notary was to verify their signatures, period. I got the assignment from a company where i got a lot of work. Part of me wanted to send a copy to the real estate commission and let them decide. I did not. Doubt the thing would hold up in court. I did check out the real estate company. Licensed in colorado, but out of florida.
Bottom line, if you dont like it, turn it down, even if it means backing out at the last minute

Up to you. Me, no. They even tell the customer you are a paralegal and they have a form as such. Not comfortable. If they do not sign, their rep will call and lose it on you. Their income was just lost, etc. He just lost a sale. I had that happen a number of times when signer found out their credit would be trashed.