Posted by Marian_in_CA on 1/11/11 6:39pm
Msg #368123
Complaining to the Sec of State really DOES work, apparently
Now, it might take forever, but.... the CA Sec of State absolutely listens.
Last February I posted about an experience my husband had with a local notary.
Basically, we had to have some estate paperwork (an affidavit) signed and notarized for a court out of state. I prepared the statements, with jurats, as our lawyer directed. He knew I was a notary, so he told me to insert the proper CA wording for a jurat in the file before printing. Easy enough. Of course, I put the proper wording on there! 
Anyway, the notary told my husband (and the two witnesses who were also swearing to the contents of the affidavit) that the wording was "all wrong" and crossed out the jurat wording and...no joke... attached an acknolwedgment instead. She never issued an oath, either. I was not there when it happened or I would have blown a gasket... but my husband knew it was wrong. He came come and even told me it was a good thing I wasn't there.
We filled out a complaint and sent it to the Sec of State. Yes, I really do this. I believe that if nobody speaks up, nothing will change. We included copies of the paperwork showing her error.
In investigator with the Sec of State's office called him today and confirmed that she was investigating our complaint and is going to audit this notary's journal. She told my husband that the wording I put on the document was correct (duh) and since it was an affidavit, it was clearly a jurat and an oath should have been issued.
She told us that we likely won't know the outcome of the investigation, but he was left with the distinct impression that this notary is busted.
Here's the thing, though... if it weren't for the fact that I was a notary with a big mouth, this error may never have been caught.
Speak up, folks. When you see something you know isn't right... let them know. It's been nearly a year, but they did listen and confirmed that they are investigating/auditing this notary.
It's also a reminder that we should keep our journals in top notch shape!
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Reply by Marian_in_CA on 1/11/11 6:50pm
Msg #368131
Heh. Yeah, I was pretty annoyed. We had to have it fixed.
I do feel bad that this notary is going to get blindsided with a letter and phone call from an investigator. That's scary.
But... as notaries, we should be aware that this is a real possibility if we screw up. I think some notaries simply do not understand the consequences of their actions, and the relatively simple act itself can really mess people up if done wrong.
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