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April 11, 2013

Getting what is due! A clever plan!

I love it when we can get what is due us without resulting to collection actions or a courtroom.

It seems that one of our notaries was owed a considerable amount of cash. Approximately $500.00 or so. He had done several signings in a short period of time for a deadbeat signing company and was having no luck in collecting from them. They had given him the run around, and he was fed up.

He, of course, was not going to work for them again until he had been paid in full. However, in his haste upon receiving a phone call he accepted a job from this company and when he became aware of his mistake he was of course very upset with himself, and was so inclined to give it back. But, it was at that defining moment that he had an idea. He decided that he would do the job. But he had what I consider a brillant idea! A ingenious way to collect for the new signing plus all of the other outstanding money that was owed to him.

So, he did the signing as requested but instead of using the return company’s UPS number, he filled out the UPS label asking for over $600.00 plus dollars COD. Yes folks, CASH ON DELIVERY. So, when the UPS driver came knocking on their door the company was faced with a serious dilema. Either they pay the requested amount and get their documents or lose them. They would of course be returned to the shipper. Well….they paid the fee in full and the notary received every penny that was owed to him.

Now, I don’t know if this is considered doc highjacking… and truthfully I don’t care. Due to the notaries quick wit he got what was due to him and that is WONDERFUL in my book!!

Until next time

Be safe

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Pricing formulas & time spent
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Low ball signing companies
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=745

Protecting yourself with a contract
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=2593

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February 1, 2011

How to get paid by out of biz signing companies!

Many notaries ask us how they can get paid by signing companies. Dealing with signing companies can be tricky. But, there are some basic rules of thumb you need to understand.

(1) You need to screen companies before you work for them.
That way you avoid the really bad ones and cut your losses. No notary gets paid 100% of the time, but if you avoid bad companies, you will raise your percentage for how often you get paid. Notary Rotary and 123notary have excellent resources in our lists of signing companies and the forum. You can read the gossip about hundreds of companies before you get involved. Stick you toe in before you jump if you don’t want to get in trouble!

(2) Don’t give too much credit to companies
Notaries get in trouble when they let a company rack up a huge bill. You need to keep track of the payment regularity for each company who you work for. If someone is delinquent on even one payment, don’t work for them until they clear that up. You need to keep your personal records for all signing companies on your person at all times just in case they call offering you work. I wouldn’t offer more than $400 credit to companies with a good rating on our list of signing companies. Don’t offer more than $200 credit to others who are either not ranked, or have mediocre rankings. If they want more work from you, they can paypal you funds up front or pay faster. No money, no honey!

(3) Visit our resources page.
There is a “how to make sure you get paid” page in our resources page. In that page there is a letter from hell which is a template for a demand letter. It works most of the time. But, if the company is out of business, even our demand letter might not work. Don’t get strung along to that point. Settle your finances quickly so that you don’t end up with a company owing you $3000 who is out of business. Keep track, and stay out of trouble.
http://www.123notary.com/notary-public.asp

(4) Your attitude makes a big difference
When I talk to notaries who have trouble getting paid, I notice a few things. First of all, all notaries have trouble getting paid from time to time. But, if a company is low on funds and can only pay a few of the notaries they owe money to, they will pay the ones they intend on using in the future. If you are a bad notary, or are a headache to deal with, you are LESS likely to get paid. Keep that in mind. Be pleasant and professional. One guy who didn’t get paid interrupted me each sentence. I couldn’t finish my thought without being interrupted. No wonder he didn’t get paid. The signing company must have gotten complaints about him. That is not a legitimate excuse not to pay him, but signing companies typically don’t care about what is legitimate or not! They do what they feel like.

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January 26, 2022

The carrot, the stick, the notary, and the bag

Filed under: Humorous Posts — Tags: , , — admin @ 5:55 am

We have all heard the story about the carrot and the stick. But, I decided to add complexity to the story by adding in the notary and the bag which are both relevant in their own way.

The Carrot
Most notaries are lured in by the benefit of getting paid for signing agent work. They are desperate to get work. They believe all of the lies they are fed by companies that string them along without paying them what they really deserve — or perhaps without paying them at all. Notaries keep chasing these bad companies around in desperations because these companies have a carrot — or at least a perceived carrot. (money would be the carrot in this case)

Notaries should NOT hover around bad companies like little puppy dogs jump around their master. Have some dignity! You need to market yourself to hundreds of signing companies. Get on their lists. And keep in touch with them. You need to see yourself as a carrot rather than chasing other people’s carrots. The notary’s carrot is that they can provide seamless service. Imagine a notary who is always on time, always well dressed, always polite, rock solid in reliability, doesn’t make mistakes, knows the documents inside out, and knows how much to explain and what to refer to the lender. If you can be that perfect flawless notary — you are valuable — and you would be more than just a perceived carrot to the signing / title companies. You would be a stick.

The Stick
Many notaries try waving their stick around without the carrot. They brag about themselves and try to convince others that they are great, and they are above the childish requirements for fax backs. Companies who use inexperienced notaries require fax backs since those notaries make a lot of mistakes. If you are “all that”, then why are you working for these chop shops in the first place? Don’t wave your stick around talking and whining — become a carrot on a stick instead.

The Notary
Notaries whine about not being offered much money for undesireable jobs with fax backs. The fact is that if you have experience and are 100% reliable and offer 100% quality service — such a notary is NOT REPLACEABLE… Then you develop a tremendous value. Those are the notaries that companies will wait for. They will say, “Okay, we will reschedule the signing for Wednesday if that is when you are free — we will wait for you”. If you are an average notary, nobody will wait for you.

The Bag
If you don’t make yourself into a super desireable notary, you will be left out by the more desireable companies who can pick and choose. And you will be left holding the bag.

An ending quote…

“If life gives you carrots, make carrot juice” — 123notary.com

.

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What are Jeremy’s favorite blog entries?
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A compilation of Notary stories
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=21898

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January 6, 2022

A tale of four notaries in hospitals

This was originally published many years ago.

 A tale of four notaries and their adventures at hospitals.
 
Hospital notarizations are very tricky and there is a lot that can go wrong. We have several resource pages regarding hospital notarizations to steer notaries away from pitfalls.  The characters in this story are NOT based on real characters, but each one of them has either a single attitude or attribute that is similar to a real person that I am acquainted with.  This silly story will show how each notary fared and how their way of thinking worked in the long run.  The various notaries include an Arkansas notary, an Illinois notary, a Florida notary, and a Pennsylvania notary public.
 
(1) Jeremy Blunt, a notary in Arkansas was called to do a hospital notarization in Little Rock on the following day.  Jeremy, with his blunt, but thorough manner told them, “Make sure to tell the nurses not to drug the patient within eight hours of the signing.”.  The caregiver, who was happy to have a thorough notary, overlooked Jeremy’s blunt manner and was very willing to coordinate a temporary lapse in morphine, so that the signer (an elderly relative) would be able to sign the papers.  Jeremy called an hour before the signing to have the caregiver read the ID information to him, and had the caregiver verify that the signer had not been drugged recently, was awake and able to conversate, and wouldn’t be drugged until after the notarization, and that the nurses had been informed.  The caregiver was standing next to the bedridden signer to MAKE SURE that no intravenus drugs were given.
 
Jeremy arrives at the signing with his notary bag, records the ID in his journal, gets a signature in his journal and the document(s), fills out the certificate form(s), stamps them, affixes his official Arkansas notary seal, staples the documents together, and is done.  Jeremy gets his fee, thanks everyone in a very blunt way, and leaves.  The signers say, “That Jeremy gets the job done — he’s a bit blunt, but polite, and he saved our rear ends big time!!!  That OTHER notary let us down.  Thank god for good notaries!”
 
(2) Linda Liberty, a notary in Illinois was called to do a hospital notarization in Chicago the following day.  Since she had a strict policy of not butting into anyone’s medical business, not asking questions, and minding her own business, she omitted to ask the caregiver if the signer was on medication.  After, all thats NONE OF MY BUSINESS!  The next day, she gets to the hospital, the caregiver says, “Thank you for coming”.  Linda politely says, “Its my pleasure to serve the public wholeheartedly”.  Linda goes to the hospital room where the patient / signer is.  The patient is high on morphine and in a stupor, barely able to keep his eyes open. Linda says, “Sorry, but according to Illinois notary laws, I am not authorized to notarize someone who is not capable of thinking or communicating coherently.  I can not notarize this person in this condition, ID or no ID.  The caregiver (the daughter of the signer) said, gee, thats too bad.  Linda says, my travel fee is $60 for hospitals please.  The daughter says, “BUT, YOU DIDN”T DO ANYTHING”.  Linda Liberty says, “Excuse me, but I drove an hour and a half here in traffic, paid a toll for the bridge, sat here talking to you for twenty minutes, paid $15 for gas, and have an hour drive home. I did quite a bit and I want to get paid!!!”  The daughter said, sorry, but we can not pay you.  We are very sorry.
 
(3) Ralph Machiavelli, a notary in Florida (no relation to Niccolo… at least not by blood), got a call to do a signing of a power of attorney in a hospital in Tampa.  The power of attorney would be for the signer’s son in law to take over all of his banking and real estate transactions. Ralph had lots of experience and thought ahead.  This Florida notary public had had his fingers burned a few times and knew the techniques for keeping out of trouble and getting paid.  Ralph told the client that he collects a $75 travel fee at the door BEFORE he sees the signer.  He, then charges $10 per for stamp for an acknowledged signature which is the maximum allowed fee in Florida.  The son in law of the signer agreed, and they set the appointment for the next day at 10am.
 
Ralph gets to the appointment.  Collects his travel fee in CASH, and says, “Thank you very much”.  Lets see the signer now.  The two of them proceed to walk down the long corridor, around some bends, up an elevator, down another corridor, past a nurse station, to the left, to the right, and then into a room.  They found the signer was drugged, sleeping, and in no condition to sign or even talk.  The son in law tried to wake the signer up.  The signer eventually woke up after twenty minutes of blinking and saying, “mmmmmmm?”.   Ralph said, can you ask dad to sign this form?  The son in law said, I’ll try.  After twenty additional minutes of wasting time (a result of the medication), the son in law said, its no use, they drugged him this morning.  Maybe I have my $75 back?  Ralph says, “I’m sorry, but in addition to traveling, I spent forty minutes here waiting for your signer to sign something.  This was a complete waste of time.  Next time please make sure your dad is ready to sign at the appointed time. That means…. NO DRUGS”.  Ralph returns home with his money.  He pleasures himself with a nice baby back rib dinner, and then returns home.
 
(4) Sharisse Washington, Pennsylvania Notary Public at large, doesn’t stand for this type of nonsense or bluntness that happened in the above three stories.  She has thirty years of experience, and carries a handheld database of how to handle each situation with all its variations and pitfalls.  Sharisse minds her p’s and q’s, dots her i’s and crosses her t’s.  She informs everybody in a polite way, and doesn’t put herself in a position that anything will go wrong either.   This notary in Pennsylvania gets a call to go to a Philadelphia hospital to do a notarization the next day.  She politely asks the client if they have an ID for the signer.  She asks if they could read the ID to her, so that she can verify that they have the ID, and that its current.  She asks if the patient EVER recieves medication or is likely to receive it during the day of the signing. She asks if its possible that they could provide a “WINDOW OF TIME”, where they could be sure that the signer wasn’t going to be drugged.  She asks what the name and type of the document is.  She asks if it is in their possession and if they can read the document to her (so, she can verify that they really have it).  After she asks all of the questions on her database’s check list, the cordially thanks the client for answering her questions and assures them that she will be at the hospital lobby at 10am the following day. 
 
This Pennsylvania Notary calls at 9am to verify that they have the identification handy and that the signer is not drugged. Sharisse shows up at the hospital at 9:55 just to be on the safe side.  The client is there, thanks her for being early.  They go up to the room.  The signer is awake, sober, and conversational.  The signer signs the document and journal. Its a bit if a struggle being old and being weak, but the signer does it… because she is sober and awake… and sober…not drugged.   Sharisse does all of the remaining necessary paperwork, thanks everybody, collects her fee, and is off to her next appointment which she allowed a sufficient amount of time to get to.
 
Now that you have read how each of these four notaries handled a hospital job, its up to you to decide how you want to handle this type of job. Remember, that hospital and jail notary jobs and many more potential pitfalls and things that can go wrong than a regular office or home notary job.  Do your homework, be polite and stay out of trouble, and that way, you will be able to make a living. Otherwise, it is you who will be sorry.

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Power of Attorney in a nursing home
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=2305

Do you like your job? A story of being kept waiting forever at a hospital.
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=617

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June 20, 2021

Who is SnapDocs best suited for?

Filed under: Signing Company Gossip — Tags: — admin @ 8:52 am

On a regular basis, I hear Notaries complaining about Snapdocs. Yet, Notaries keep signing up for it. Notaries complain that:

1. Jobs are too far away (sometimes or often)
2. Jobs pay too little
3. You have to be fast getting back to people or you won’t get the job
4. They don’t get texted at all
5. They get texted too much only to find that they don’t get even one job.
6. The type of company that hires them micromanages them too much.

On the other hand, Notaries don’t have that many regular complaints about getting paid late for Snapdocs jobs, so that is a good thing.

So, who is SnapDocs best suited for?

1. If you like bells and whistles
If you like texts going off regularly throughout the day, you might like SnapDocs. You might be addicted to the action. Some people thrive on regular commotion, while some of us prefer peace and quiet.

2. If you like apps, portals and technology
You mean a stargate that takes you to the other side of the galaxy? Not that kind of portal. But, some people, even older people really like how well designed and intricate the SnapDocs software is. It keeps track of all of your accounts, reviews, stats, downloading docs is a snap (maybe they should call it DocsSnap), and texting back and forth is easy and partly automated. Personally, I only use technology when I have to, and I am generally far behind the times. On the other hand, I often master the effective use of certain technologies.

3. You are a beginner
I recommend SnapDocs to beginners regularly. It doesn’t work for all beginners, and beginners aren’t the only people who use SnapDocs in the long run. However, the people who hire from SnapDocs are not looking for the cream of the crop otherwise they would come to 123notary! SnapDocs is a way for beginners to sometimes get a lot of experience in a hurry. Some people get a heap of work all at once, while others get little or nothing. Business in general is unpredictable and often feast or famine, and feast sounds good if you get a Vegas style dessert buffet. Famine — not so good.

4. You like haggling
If you like to get $50 offers, and text the offerer back and say, “$125, and not a penny less. I have 20 years of experience, baby!” These experienced Notaries who wish they had been Moroccan and like to live as if they are permanently at a Bazaar love to bargain. If they answer enough $50 calls, eventually they get a few good offers from people who are either desperate, don’t care about the money, or are tired of novices.

SUMMARY
Snapdocs works well for some and is a disaster for others. My suggestion is that you try it if you love technology and need to pay your dues working for low wages while you get some experience. For all others, I recommend against it unless you like the excitement and you like to bargain.

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October 21, 2020

$14 more per signing

Filed under: Certification & Communication Skills — admin @ 8:20 am

We have learned through an email based poll that we administered a year and a half ago that 123notary Elite Certified members make $14 more per signing than those who are not 123notary Certified. They also get more title company work and get close to double the work in general. If you are tired of not getting paid well and want to up your education, 123notary is currently offering free education for signing agents. You can read our study guide.

Many elite members have also informed me that they are more popular with title companies because of their refined skills and also have a lot more self-confidence and feel better about themselves and their abilities.

Studying to be elite certified might take up to 30 hours of work studying from our free materials. It sounds like a lot, but it will benefit you for the rest of your life.

You might also like:

Elite Certification will benefit you for the rest of your life
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20770

Elite Certification Study Guide
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20118

30 Point Course
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=14233

Notary Public 101
http://blog.123notary.com/?cat=4561

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October 13, 2020

10 rules for negotiating Notary fees

Originally published in Nov 06, 2017

Many Notaries complain about how little they get paid. And then I complain about how little they know. The two tend to go together and the pay is not going to go up before the knowledge does. However, there are negotiating techniques that can help.

1. Let them name their price first
In a bargaining game, it is better to let the other person bid first. You can always raise your ask price if they don’t offer enough. But, if they offer far too much, you would never get it if you asked first and asked too low.

2. Start with a high ask price
If you ask for $125, you can always go down on your price, especially if the job is close or fast. You can ask how many pages, fax backs, and notarizations are in the package. If it is quick, then give them a quick price.

3. Never whine
If you whine about the condition of the industry or how low the fee was, people will think you are a low life. Professionals don’t whine. Professionals operate! So, if you are offered $60, ask for $85 and see what happens.

4. Decline the low-ball offers
If you spend all day working for peanuts, then when the good jobs come, you won’t have time. Decline bad offers so you are free for good offers.

5. Answer your phone
If you only offer when you are not in a signing and not driving or cooking or thinking, you will miss 80% of your calls. How can you negotiate a good fee if you don’t take the call in the first place?

6. Act professional
Try to impress them without trying to impress them. Most Notaries try to do a snow job and brag about how great they are. Seasoned operators don’t do this. Smart professionals will engage you in an intelligent conversation about the job, the industry and the state of the union. Ask them questions about the job, where it is, who it is for, what type of loan it is, and about their career and industry working in title or escrow. But, whatever you do, don’t talk about your zero percent error rate and how reliable and experienced you are — nobody can verify your claims and nobody wants to hear it.

7. Never say hello
Unless you work for an aloe vera companies, don’t answer the phone saying “aloe?” Answer stating your company name and personal name. It sounds professional. If you have screaming kids in the background that sounds horribly unprofessional. Have a quiet place to answer the phone and if you are in a noisy place, try to go to a quieter place and apologize about the noise. Just because you don’t mind noise doesn’t mean the title company enjoys barking dog and screaming three year old.

8. Talk about real life
Sometimes I talk to Notaries who tell the Title company that you can call me to clean up the mess after you hire one of those $50 signers. Over half my work is clean up work. That sounds real to title companies unlike all the nonsense about how experienced and knowledgeable you are which just sounds like fluff. Tell real stories about how you handled complicated situations that others might have goofed. Mention that split signing where you did some complicated manouver on the Acknowledgment certificate and how you went out to sign the wife at 3am because she could only see you at that time due to her busy schedule as a nurse. This is impressive and much better than fluff.

9. Negotiate timing
You can offer a better rate if they get you late after rush hour. They might prefer to just offer you more and get the job booked.

10. Double book and get a bad review
Yes, you’ll get bad reviews from this, but double booking makes sense. People cancel jobs all the time when they hire you, so why can’t you cancel a few jobs. If you book jobs tightly, the other person will cancel 20% of the time — at least. So, if you book a job for $60 and someone else offers you $150, you can ditch the first job and take the other. You will probably get a bad review that will last for three years, but you will have $90 extra in your pocket. It’s a dirty technique. Not recommended, but food for thought and great blog material.

11. Never let them see you sweat.
Appearing calm and collected are the way to go. If you seem flustered, that is bad. Oops, that was eleven rules and I promised ten. Okay, disregard point eleven and just use antiperspirant.

You might also like:

How to negotiate fees like a pro
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19198

Can you negotiate prices with SnapDocs?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16236

Notary Marketing 102 – Negotiating Fees
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19784

A complete guide to getting paid
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19794

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May 30, 2020

Are you in a good enough state of mind for Notary questions?

Filed under: Certification & Communication Skills — admin @ 10:10 pm

If you are a professional, you should be able to handle professional questions in your sleep. Particularly if they are routine questions.

I have stopped phone testing people partly because people hate it so much, partly because it is so disturbing to me, and partly because it is so time consuming. Last, the companies that use 123notary care about the knowledge level of the notary, but they don’t care enough for me to merit training and testing people who didn’t pay for a program.

During the days when I was testing, people got mad because I called when they were not in a good state of mind. They were sleepy, busy, with friends, going to the hospital, and this was somehow my fault. They are “professionals” and they answered their phone, yet they could not talk about intelligent topics with me.

Is the problem your state of mind or is the problem that you don’t know your stuff and don’t have the discipline to learn your stuff or act professional over the phone.

Notaries want to get paid more, but I can make a list of Notaries who merit getting paid more. Those are people who are elite certified by us. It takes discipline to master Notary knowledge the point that you can pass that test. Those who are faking it will fail miserably. Getting 95% on Notary questions under time pressure narrows the population down to a fraction of a percent. Why the others cannot function with that level of knowledge is beyond me — after all, that is their profession.

Take your profession seriously and professionally. Don’t just claim to be professional because that sounds phony and corny. Master Notary knowledge. There is not that much to know, and if you got through college, this is much easier than college.

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February 7, 2020

Marketing Article Resources

Filed under: Marketing Articles — admin @ 11:01 pm

Here are some of our better marketing related articles that have been
published. Many of these got buried in the list, so this is my way of
reviving them.

Index of best posts about Notary Marketing
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20284

Compilation of posts about Notary Business Names
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=21760

Five things a notary can do worth $1000 per minute
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20521

How to write a notes section if you are a beginner
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=16698

10 rules for negotiating notary fees
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19620

Getting paid, a comprehensive timeline
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=22643

He took Jeremy’s advice and got new title companies
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=22277

A lot of information he knew but forgot about says on 123notary client
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=22225

Your number of loans signed just went down?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=21236

Do you invest in your notary business?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=22129

Why you should consider getting 123notary elite certified
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=20094

Does knowledge matter any more as a signing agent?
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=19887

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December 7, 2019

Social Media Site for Notaries – JuratBook

Filed under: Social Media — admin @ 7:39 am

Welcome to JuratBook, a social media site for Notaries. Notaries typically use this to complain about slow paying signing companies, and boast about how good their 123notary listing is doing.

With JuratBook, you can post an unlimited amount of special notary emoji’s on your posts. The surprised emoji would be if you got paid on time. The sad emoji would be if there were too many fax backs. A heart emoji would be because you love Jeremy and Carmen. A thumbs up (or thumb prints up) would be if you either liked a particular signing company, or if you thumb printed someone.

You can take selfies of you and your customers and post them. You can talk about what you do when you are not notarizing.

The problem with JuratBook is that it makes people more competitive about how popular they are. It makes you think your life isn’t as full as all these other people with lots of postings who celebrate life every day.

Unlike Facebook, you can use hateful speech on JuratBook. It has to be allowed, because Notaries are so frustrated by not getting paid on time. JuratBook believes in freedom of speech.

The algorithm used for JuratBook helps promote posts more about the social aspects of being a Notary rather than dull work related posts.

What constitutes JuratBook friendship? Do you have to notarize each other? Or have each other’s thumb print? The rules keep changing as the owner Sam Zuckerberg — Mark’s lesser known and less successful brother.

JuratBook — your social media venue!

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Affiant – a social media site for notaries
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=6410

Yes, it’s the Notary dating show
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=15312

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