I am having a problem with two clients and I wanted to see if it was a trend or just these two clients.  Both are national title companies, SOT members and both posted here desperate for abstractors in my areas.  I KNEW they didn't want to pay much so I didn't contact them until after repeated pleas here for abstractors.  I figured if they were in that much need, they'd finally be willing to pay my fees, which they had indicated previously were "awful expensive".  Both companies agreed to use me--at my prices--and to not use me in the counties where my prices were "awful expensive".  Which is how negotiations are done.  However....

I need to add here that both of these companies are ones that require the abstractor to notify them PRIOR to doing the search if the price on the request is not right.  My problem?  I have submitted to them my fees REPEATEDLY but daily receive orders with--not only the INCORRECT price, but an ABSURDLY low, incorrect price.  I am starting to think they are doing this INTENTIONALLY to see if they can slip it past me and commit me to that price. 

Here is an example.  Today, I got into a bit of a pi***** match with one of the companies.  They sent me a doc ret request in a county where my MINIMUM price would be $45.  That may seem like a lot for a doc ret but it ISN'T my home county and is an hour away.  Additonally, I have to pay $5 to park at that courthouse AND they didn't provide a deed book and page but wanted a search of the index.  The price they cited?  $10!!  I called to correct it. 

Not only did they want the $10 price but their instructions basically required me to search the chain of title.  They wanted a mortgage from X company from 1977.  They wanted all the assignments and modifications of said mortgage.  That's fine, they are indexed with the mortgage and we provide this service within the doc ret fee all the time.  BUT they didn't know if the current debtor was the actual mortgagor on the original mortgage or if they had subsequently assumed said mortgage.  Well, forgive me if I'm wrong, but if I check X company in the index for that time period and they DON'T have a mortgage listed, I have to take the property, determine who was in the chain during the time period and then search them forward to see how X company acquired the property/mortgage.  Sounds like a SEARCH to me.  

So I indicated during our call that I could do the DOC RET for $45 in that county BUT if it required a search of the chain of title, it would be a 30 year search and the price would be a minimum of $105.  I was told to put it on hold--duh! 

Then I get a call saying that I AGREED to the $10 fee in that county by phone!  First, I don't do ANY doc ret for $10, much less in a courthouse an hour away.  Second, I have to pay $5 to park at that courthouse--you do the math!  This person proceeded to advise me of the fees I AGREED to---which were sooo absurd I laughed.  Probably shouldn't have done that since it seemed to pi** her off. 

So I'll not be getting any more orders from the company---first, duh and second good riddance!  Since they are so desperate for abstractors and they don't want to pay enough to cover parking and gas--it would appear that the problem is NOT with SC abstractors but with THEIR pricing.  Just my opinion.  If they would re-examine their internal business policies they'd probably see why they are so desperate.

The reason I post here, aside from the much needed venting, is that I'm interested if others are seeing the same thing:  i.e. companies requesting YOUR info and then just sending what they want anyway in an apparent attempt to slip the absurd price or unreasonable requirements past you.

If so, then this is an issue I think we need to discuss.