Posted by A S Johnson on 5/2/13 11:18am
Msg #468271

xyz cost

I just checked xyz website. Membership in xyz, NSA and a background check package deal is #169. You are not listed in the signing agent registry until you are certified with xyz which mean you have xyz background check and have passed their Notary Signing Agent course at an additional $129.
Right now they xyz is promoting to do this at the Austin convention for an additional $550. A total of apronx$850.
PS Yesterday when on the phone with xyz, I ask if they could answer a concern about Texas Notaries. 1st time in my 15 yrs a a Texas Notary I was asked to do a proxy wedding at our county jail. The xyz person answer was yes I could. I just checked with our SOS Notary office and their answer was NO Wedding at all for Texas Notaries. And the xyz wants to educate me! And for $300 to $800!

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 5/2/13 11:32am
Msg #468278

Back in November 2012 I paid $99 for their

BGC and certification - 1-year membership was thrown in free.. Have made that cost up already in work from one company that requires their BGC.

$550 at the convention?? Good grief!

I don't rely on them for info at all - have had bad info before -

Reply by A S Johnson on 5/2/13 12:08pm
Msg #468297

Re: Back in November 2012 I paid $99 for their

Please understand I learned the hard way along time ago xyz uses people who are not Notaries on the phone to answer your questions and any answers are based on California law NOT you states laws.

As far as convention cost, remember you are paying for all the bloted xyz staff to be in Austin includeing hotel, food, travel and salries. Oh! What incentives have the provided the vendors with to attend?

Remember xyz is NOT your association BUT a for profit Sacromto based Califorina business.

Reply by James Morgan on 5/2/13 12:24pm
Msg #468303

Re: Jail Weddings

Here in California, San Diego County, to be able to do weddings in jails, you have to be on a list of Notaries at the County Recorders Office. Unfortunately, it is a "closed list" and the waiting line to get on that list is "more than a mile long".
One should check with the SOS and County Recorder for these kind on questions. I got "stung" 7 years ago by a wrong answer from xyz. Now, I do my own research and never have had a problem since.

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 5/2/13 2:03pm
Msg #468340

Re: Jail Weddings

I have done weddings at a correctional facility. They are interesting, especially with an armed guard present. Never figured out why someone serving a life sentence would be getting married.

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 5/2/13 2:06pm
Msg #468343

Re: Jail Weddings

Hehe... it's a pretty popular thing in California, Sylvia... many of them do it for immigration reasons, or for protecting immigrations status of their child or spouse.

Others do it for financial reasons, so spouses and children can get public assistance.

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 5/2/13 2:04pm
Msg #468341

Re: Jail Weddings

Is it "weddings" you speak of or the ability to issue confidential marriage licenses? Those are two different things. issuing the certificate is not the same as officiating a ceremony. Each county in CA can allow notaries to issue confidential licenses. It's nearly impossible to do that now, though... as you said, a lot of counties limit the number of notaries who can do this. The ones that can are usually also wedding officiants, or work with officiants... but not all. Other counties won't allow it at all. Kern County is one of them. If you want a marriage license in Kern county you have two options: Go to Bakersfield or go to Ridgecrest, in person. They haven't allowed notaries to issue confidential certificates for years.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 5/2/13 4:18pm
Msg #468389

Re: Jail Weddings

Last I checked (which has been a while - and I need to run soon, so this is from memory), you also have to be a member of the clergy to do weddings here in CA. I suspect someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 5/2/13 1:29pm
Msg #468332

Just because they're in CA doesn't mean...

they give accurate CA advice, either.

Just this morning I called them out on their FB page about bad information published in their monthly magazine... a "spotlight" from their "Hotline":

They published (page 24):

=====
"If I don’t have my journal with me when performing a notarial act, can I have the signer sign a photocopy of my journal page? If so, how would I attach it to my journal? G.B., Los Angeles, CA

In a situation where you do not have your bound journal, you should not proceed with the notarization. California Notaries are required to keep one active sequential journal of all of their official acts. A permanently bound record book (not loose-leaf) with numbered pages and entry spaces is best for preserving the sequence of notarial acts and for protecting against unauthorized removal of pages or tampering (Government Code, Section 8206). The same rule generally applies to Notaries in other states with journal requirements, as well. As always, we recommend consulting your state laws for guidance. "
=====

They quote CA Gov't Code 8206 and imply that state law says we can't use loose-leaf journals. That's NOT true!!! They also tell the notary not to proceed. Hogwash!!

Anyway...here's my long-winded response. I'm not afraid to call them out.

=====
I'm completely confused by continuing number of incorrect, incomplete or misleading information that you guys publish. In this month's magazine, page 24, under "Hotline" answers, you guys told California notaries, "In a situation where you do not have your bound journal, you should not proceed with the notarization." This entirely FALSE. There are ways around this in an emergency. First, there is *no* legal requirement in CA that our journals be "bound" -- only that it be sequential. Not every notary uses a "bound" journal. I know of many excellent notaries who use loose leaf journals, carrying just a handful of journal pages a day, then adding them to a larger binder, in sequential order. There are many benefits to this, but I won't get in to that here. At any rate, I'm no sure where the implication comes from that a journal be "bound" --- because there is no such requirement.

If, for some reason, a journal is lost, stolen, misplaced...or even taken by legal authorities as evidence... a Notary simply needs to start a NEW journal. If it is temporary, a single sheet of paper would suffice as its' own journal provided that piece of paper/journal entry contained all of the elements required by CA law and that paper is kept in a sequential order with other journals. Now, that means, of course, that if the previous journal was recovered, the notary could NOT go back and use it. He/she would need to close that record out and file it...even if there are a hundred blank/unused pages. Just start a new journal!

Notaries, especially in CA should always have access to a spare, blank journal. I keep one in my car at all times... just in case. In fact, the CA Sec of State specifically stated on page 17 of their 2013 Workbook (http://www.sos.ca.gov/business/notary/forms/notary-education-sample-workbook-2013.pdf), "If a notary public surrenders the official journal, or if the notary public’s official journal is stolen, lost, misplaced, destroyed, damaged, or otherwise rendered unusable, the notary public must obtain a new journal. If the old journal is returned or found, entries must not be made in the old journal. The notary public must continue to use the new journal. (California Government Code section 8206(d).)"

On page 28 of that same document (the workbook) they tell us, "Any journal that includes space for recording all the required details is acceptable." In other words... ANY format of journal, is FINE as long as the required information is recorded and the information is kept sequential.

Even though I have an NNA membership for specific marketing purposes...because one specific well, paying local Title company requires it of me (and I won't get in to that here) it's advice like this that is the reason I don't utilize any of those services. I know so many notaries who have been given poor or inaccurate advice. Are the people who answer your hotline even commissioned notaries? Do they have any experience at all? It's obvious that they aren't terribly familiar with state law or the published resources put out by our governing authorities.
====

Reply by Yoli/CA on 5/2/13 1:04pm
Msg #468316

Same as Linda H/FL for me in Feb. 2013 n/m

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 5/2/13 1:35pm
Msg #468333

Same for me, too...

I begrudgingly renewed because of ONE local TC that I adore and pays well. They required the NNA BGC. I've been going the rounds with their CEO, but he's convinced... so I made him a deal. I posted about this previously.

I sent CEO of said TC a copy of both the NNA BGC and the one obtained here at NotRot, showing the difference and how the NotRot one was more accurate. He responded that he was actually open the idea of investigating this and he reimbursed me the cost of the NNA membership/BGC, per his word, when I proved that the NNA BGC contained errors and inaccuracies. He's now reconsidering his stance.

But when I did it in March, I paid $79.00 - covered the BGC, NSA section and a year of membership for free.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 5/2/13 4:37pm
Msg #468395

New fundraising drive?

Maybe their registrations are down for their next annual conference, 'cause in addition to that, they're out holding classes again and recruiting new people to become signing agents. I got an email from them the other day (in spite of not having been a member for many years) with a subject line that says "be in high demand"... At least they've moderated their income claims a little. It now says "Earn $75...$125...or More on Loan Signings". Over the next five weeks, they have five classes scheduled just in Southern California and one more in Sacramento.

So get ready. I suspect we're bound to see another onslaught of freshly minted NSAs coming here to ask how to get business, etc., over the next several months. Have they scheduled any near you? That should also provide the lowballers another fresh batch of newbies to prey on. Sigh...

(BTW, to whoever said they were in Sacramento, that's incorrect, for what it's worth. They're actually headquartered in Chatsworth, which is located to the northwest of Los Angeles, just for the record.)

Reply by BrendaTx on 5/2/13 6:17pm
Msg #468411

I am so flabbergasted at their push for TX notary

education that I have bad dreams.

That would have been a nice income stream.

Reply by Marian_in_CA on 5/2/13 6:22pm
Msg #468413

Re: New fundraising drive?

Yes, they are in Chatsworth on DeSoto... technically, it is within the City of Los Angeles, even if it is in the San Fernando Valley.

I drive by their offices about 1-2 times a week, purely out of necessity because it's on a route I regularly take. I never stop.