National Association of Professional Process Servers

National Association of Professional Process Servers


Following Procedure

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Welcome to the second quarter of the NAPPS year. During this period, this committee screened 31 cases.

Of the complaints received:

    • 4 have been Non-Payment Complaints with 2 closed and 2 pending.

    • 8 have been Unethical Complaints with 5 closed and 3 pending.

    • 24 have been Notices of Intent to File Complaint with 23 closed and 1 pending.

The Committee has issued one (1) Pattern of Behavior Warning Letter during this period.

This quarter we have reviewed cases regarding fees requested for unauthorized work, late fees being eliminated from payment, lack of communication, charges being billed for work not performed, and holding affidavits for payment. Here are some warnings regarding these issues for your reference and future review:

  1. Please make sure all work you perform and plan to charge for is expressly authorized by the other party. We screened two cases that fall into this category: charging for work not performed and charging for work not authorized. Make sure all work you are performing is known to the requesting party and has been authorized before incurring charges that may not be reimbursed.

  2. We don't get many cases involving late fees, but when they come through the Panel Review Committee members have routinely awarded all late fees so be sure to communicate this to all parties and expect to pay them if you are paying late.

  3. Communication is key. Many of the Unethical Complaint cases involve the lack of or poor communication between parties. Please be professional and courteous to each other and communicate your intentions. Ignoring another member is the worst behavior in these circumstances.

  4. Remember that holding affidavits for payment is not allowed as a NAPPS member. If you require prepayment, then ensure no work is performed until that payment is received (either in hand or via email/phone as per your policy). Communicating your policy regarding prepayment clearly to the other member will save time and hassle.

  5. Finally, as a NAPPS member you individually promised to uphold and be responsible for your office personnel as well as your participation in this committee. If you ever receive a complaint from another member, please take it seriously. It is very frustrating to all involved when a member expresses the inconvenience of having to answer a complaint as a “waste of time.” If being professional and proving your case civilly is a wast of your time, then your membership is also a waste of our time. When a member does not reply to this committee, the Board will revoke their membership. Please keep this in mind.

  6. You may only file a complaint against the individual NAPPS member(s). The company they work for is not a member and the person sending you the work may not be the member. Make sure you check their listing(s) either on the website or in the most recent book to ensure you are filing against the correct people or your case will be dismissed. You may file against all members associated with a specific company on the same complaint.

If you would like any material to be presented to the Board or discussed with the membership in the Arbitration & Grievance blog, feel free to reach out to me. We are here for the membership if you have any questions regarding procedure or validity of a complaint.

To view the current policy, please visit Inside NAPPS. To obtain any current grievance forms, please visit Members Only or email agc@napps.org