Can a notary get in trouble?
Notary trouble…
Do you know a notary in trouble? Have you ever heard of a notary losing their commission or getting fined for misconduct or neglegence? The answer is — yes, but they generally don’t get caught. If you are a notary public, it is your responsibility to know your state notary laws, and keep up to date with law changes. Notary laws change little by little, year by year. As a general rule, if you deliberatly do something fraudulent that injures another party, you could get in huge trouble or even jailed. If you make an honest mistake and someone else has a financial loss, you might get in trouble too. If you make a minor mistake or are neglegent in maintaining your certificates or journal, you could get in trouble, but there would be no pressing reason for the authorities to catch up to you. My advice is to be an expert in your trade and don’t goof!!! Don’t take liberties, and follow the law to the letter without going to excesses. Some notaries on our site go overboard and don’t want to advise someone to breath without consulting an attorney — those people are extremists!!!
Can a notary get in trouble for notarizing a family member?
Notaries can not notarize a document that they have a beneficial interest in, and family business might be of financial interest to you. I would avoid notarizing your spouse’s signature or close family member’s signature especially if the document has any financial overtones. However, distant family members where you have no financial entanglements might be okay. This is a gray area, and it is better to be safe than sorry. It’s more “kosher” to find a notary who is a third party who is not involved in your life.
Can a notary get in trouble for not witnessing a signature?
A notary must witness the signing of a document when performing a Jurat. However, the notary is NOT responsible for witnessing the signature in an Acknowledged signature. But, the notary MUST witness the signer signing the notary journal (if your state requires journals — and it is a good idea to keep a journal in any case). A notary is not exactly a witness except they can function as a witness as an official notary act in Delaware and New Hampshire as far as I know. The notary’s main responsibility is to identify the signer and be sure that the signer is the one who really signed the document.
Can I get in trouble for being a notary?
Just follow the laws and have E&O insurance, and you will most likely be okay.
Can notaries get in trouble? Can a notary be in trouble? Could a notary be in trouble?
Yes they can get in big trouble, but if they follow the law, then they will most likely be okay.
Can a notary get in trouble for goofing a signature?
The notary signs their own signature on the certificate form generally nearby where their stamp goes. But, it is the signer who signs the document, and it if the signer goofs their signature, they can sign again.
Can you get in trouble for signing a loan document?
Yes, the borrower is responsible for the loan that they sign. The notary is responsible for making sure everything is signed properly.
Have notaries ever got in trouble?
I have only heard of one serious case where a notary commited some serious intentional fraud and was put in jail. Most notaries do not know what they are doing and fill out forms incorrectly, but for some reason don’t seem to get in trouble.
How can a notary get in trouble?
If you engage in fraud involving real property you can be jailed, and that is the most serious crime that I have heard of for notaries. Assisting a party forge a signature and getting notarized is very serious in any case. If you send notary certificates without a party being notarized, that is a case where a notary can be fined and lose their commission. There are notary handbooks that go over several dozen types of violations and what the fines are. The fines are different across state lines, but notaries can be fined, and their commissions can be revoked, suspended, terminated, or their notary division could refuse to renew their commission, etc.
So, now you have learned a few of the ways that a notary can get in trouble.
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Things that get notaries complaints
Things that get notaries complaints
Complaints are taken seriously at 123notary.com. None of the notaries on board have voiced an opinion supporting our review system which allows browsers to post legitimate complaints about notaries. Many notaries on board feel that they have a license to cause trouble, and that I have no right to ask questions or do anything about it since they pay us for advertising. Many notaries want the right to harm others without being held accountable. My point of view is that if you cause misconduct while on our site, ITS MY BUSINESS, and you will be held accountable.
I want to take a positive approach to this problem and let the notaries know what the common things that go wrong are, so that you can avoid getting a complaint in the first place. I’m going to list types of complaints in order of how frequently they come up.
(1) Rudeness
Of all the complaints we have gotten, the largest category was rudeness which includes using bad words, hostility, hanging up on people, rude tones of voice, antagonism, harrassment, and threats. If a signing company doesn’t treat you the way you like, DON’T WORK FOR THEM. Don’t threaten to use their fedex account. Don’t threaten to put a lien on the borrowers house if you don’t get paid. Don’t withold a borrower’s documents until you get paid. Have a policy for what you accept from others. If others violate your terms, then stop dealing with them. Period!
(2) No Show no call
It amazes me that notaries think they can completely blow off a signing without even calling. Then, the excuses notaries give remind me of being a substitute teacher in eighth grade. The excuses are clevely worded so that you will feel guilty for asking them any more questions. Heartbreaking stories, grueling conditions, family crisises, and earthshaking emergencies. Many of these excuses are true, but there is no way to verify, because not once have I ever been offered a scan of a document that proves someone’s argument one way or the other. If you are offered a signing and you can’t make it, call at least two hours in advance. If you are having a family emergency, in a snow storm, in WW3, in a flood, or are almost dead, you better call otherwise you will get a complaint, and I am not too interested in the excuses.
(3) Notary Mistakes
Many notaries make mistakes. The good notaries triple check their work and are willing to go back if they made even one small mistake. But, not all notaries are good notaries. Many will be unwilling to go back to an appointment a second time to fix what they did wrong. If you make a mistake, fix it whether you get paid to or not, otherwise you will lose clients and get complaints.
(4) Failure to return calls or emails after a signing
This is another type of problem that people have every conceivable type of excuse for. Personally, when I’m on vacation, I answer emails. I had a vacation where I slept in my car, slept in a tent, and couldn’t find an internet cafe for half a day. I kept looking until I found it and answered as many emails as I could. Signing agents will go on vacation, or say they did, and use that as an excuse not to return phone calls or emails. I won’t accept this as an excuse. You have to be available up to 48 hours after a job is done in case there is a problem, and the problem could very well be the fault of the title company, but you still have to be available. No excuses.
(5) Slandering or sabotaging companies you work for
One notary said that the terms of the loan were not good. Another tried to sell the borrower a modification right at the signing. A third threatened to use the lender’s Fedex account # because she said she didn’t get paid enough. Another one sent porno spam to us and others.
(6) Other types of misconduct.
Some notaries just cause a lot of various types of trouble. Others are unwilling to fix mistakes they made. Once in a while a signer will outsource jobs to another signer and then not pay them. Last minute cancellations are completely unacceptable unless there is a documented health emergency or other type of uncontrollable circumstances. One notary has a habit of double booking appointments and then trying to reschedule them at the last minute. Two notaries walked out of an appointment. One had a family emergency and flaked. He forgot to even tell the borrowers who were in the other room that he was going to the hospital.
The moral of the story is to avoid all of these problems by being very careful to go to all your appointments, be polite even if others are not polite to you, and do a good follow up after the job is done. I’m personally tired of all the complaints, excuses, the dramas, and irresponsibility. We want good notaries on 123notary, and for the most part, the notaries on board are excellent. We do not want a few bad apples to cause a bad reputation for the others.
Tweets:
(1) Many notaries feel that since they pay us for advertising, we’ve no right to post bad reviews on their profile.
(2) Many notaries are rude to signing companies who manipulate them. Don’t be rude! Just don’t work for them.
(3) Many notaries just don’t answer their phone or email after a signing which can cause a nightmare.
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Bad notary reviews and the law on the internet
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=18866
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