Sending a signed attest statement without seeing your application
So yesterday, when I was talking to a new client who handed over $900 to a licensing service to handle is grandfathering application and hasn’t heard back from them for over 4 months, something struck me odd. He said that he signed the attest statement from the application, affirming that all the information provided in the application was truthful.
How can he be asked to sign that paper before he read the application? I’m not an attorney, but that’s pretty much a no-brainer for people who prepare documents for others.
These applications are legal documents. The ONLY thing a licensing service should be doing is putting the pieces together based upon information you give them. It is the client’s responsibility to read the application prepared to be sure that the application is exactly accurate and contains no embellishments or fraudulent information. You should receive a copy of the application sent to the state in its ENTIRETY, including supporting documentation and credit reports.
Perhaps it doesn’t seem like a big deal, but…About 5 years ago, I was “babysitting” another licensing service here in Sarasota (now out of business) while the owner went to the Philippines. There was a woman who signed her attest statement before seeing the application. For what ever reason, when he (the owner of the service) got back in the country, made up experience because he was too lazy to contact the client, and sent the application up to the state without her knowledge. She contacted me via Facebook upset about the situation. We got a copy of her app, removed it, and submitted a new application, but she had to pay fees again to the state and credit reports again because he never provided her a copy of the credit reports or the application that he sent with her signature because she signed the attest statement without seeing the application.
If anyone asks you to sign a signature for a document you haven’t seen, get your money back and call us at 941-706-2336.
