Alabama UCC statement service fee causing filing delays - need alternative

The lender is requiring certified copies for their file, which is where most of the extra fees are coming from. Standard filing would be fine for perfection but their compliance department has specific documentation requirements.

Lender requirements can be such a pain. We've had similar issues where the paperwork costs more than the actual filing.

Wait, it actually checks for name mismatches automatically? That's been our biggest issue - manual comparison between corporate documents and UCC forms always seems to miss something.

Exactly! Upload your charter docs and UCC-1 PDFs and it cross-references everything. Way more reliable than trying to spot discrepancies manually, especially with longer corporate names.

How accurate is it compared to having a paralegal review everything? We've been burned by automated tools before.

OMG yes! Same thing happened to us last month. Filed on a Tuesday, status showed pending until the following Wednesday, then they claimed we needed expedited service to meet our deadline.

That's actually a known issue with their electronic filing system. If you call during business hours, they can usually push it through without the expedite fee, but you have to know to ask.

Wish I'd known that two weeks ago. Ended up paying the expedite fee because we couldn't risk the deal falling through.

Equipment is physically located in Alabama and the debtor is an Alabama LLC, so we're stuck with Alabama filing requirements. No choice on jurisdiction here.

That's the worst combination - Alabama LLC with Alabama equipment location. No way around their fee structure in that scenario.

Worth a shot. The relationship manager seemed pretty rigid about their compliance requirements, but maybe I can escalate to someone with more flexibility on the documentation.

Sometimes explaining the cost burden on a small business borrower can get them to waive certain requirements. Lenders don't want deals to fall apart over administrative fees.

Exactly. Frame it as a borrower retention issue rather than just a cost complaint. Most lenders would rather have a successful loan than stick to rigid paperwork requirements.

$2000 in refiling fees?? That's crazy. How many filings are you doing to rack up that much in mistakes?

We handle a lot of equipment financing and SBA loans. Even one rejected UCC-1 on a time-sensitive deal can cost hundreds in expedite fees to refile correctly. The automated verification basically pays for itself after the first prevented mistake.

It's like they're trying to make up budget shortfalls by nickel and diming everyone who files UCCs. Same thing happening in other states too.

At least Alabama still processes electronic filings relatively quickly. Some states take weeks for basic UCC-1 processing.

True, but the service fee creep is real. What used to be a $25 filing is now easily $75+ with all their recommended services.

Good point. We described it as 'manufacturing equipment and fixtures located at [address]' - think that's specific enough or should we list individual pieces?

That should be fine for most purposes. As long as you have the location and general category, Alabama typically accepts that level of description for equipment financing.

We always include serial numbers when available. Prevents disputes later if there's any question about what equipment is covered by the lien.

Where exactly is this fee calculator? I've been estimating costs based on their published fee schedule but a calculator would be way more accurate.

Under the UCC Forms section, there's a link called 'Estimate Filing Costs' - it's not very obvious but it lets you select exactly which services you need and gives you a total before you start the filing.

That's probably what we'll end up doing. The equipment supplier is getting antsy about release dates and the borrower needs this equipment operational ASAP. Thanks for the perspective - good to know others are dealing with the same fee frustrations.

Manufacturing deals always seem to have tight timelines. Better to pay the fees and keep the deal moving than lose the financing over a few hundred dollars in service charges.

Exactly. And once you get the UCC-1 filed and perfected, the rest of the deal usually flows smoothly. It's just that initial filing hurdle that causes the most stress.