Posted by FAN_IL on 8/18/09 1:10pm
Msg #300613

NNA Background Check Billing Question

On 11/16/2006, I printed the following statement off of the NNA's web site: "If your NNA NSA Certification expires four months to a year from now, you can apply for the background screening. . screening will be valid throughout the remainder of your current certification period AND will remain valid through your next two years of certification, after you re-certify." There was no stated deadline for when I needed to apply for background screening for this offer to apply.

At that time, my NSA certification expired on 11/30/2007 so I qualified for this offer. On 07/11/07, I purchased my NSA re-cert course & background screening. The sales rep confirmed on that date that the BGS would extend though my next re-cert period after I took the test. The BGS was completed in August, 2007, but I didn't plan to take the re-cert test until my NSA certification had expired in November, 2007. I was busy toward the end of the month, so I took the test on 12/03/2007 & received a certificate that said my certification & background screening was current through 12/2009.

Now the NNA is telling me that my background screening is expiring at the end of August, 2009, and that it isn't "valid through [my] next two years of certification, after [I] re-certif[ied]." They said that when I signed the background check authorization it voided the offer that appeared on their web site, but when I read through it w/ them, they couldn't tell me what language applied & constituted forfeiture. They said I should've taken my re-cert test when I authorized my BGS for them to run concurrently.

So I sent the NNA copies of what I'd printed off of their web site, my certificate, and the release authorization I signed to initiate the background check, and now the NNA tells me that they're reviewing it. Plus, I had an attorney look at all 3 documents & he didn't see where the initial offer had been voided by the authorizatioin release form either.

I feel I was induced to purchase something by an offer on their web site, but now I'm not receiving what I paid for; i.e., a background screening that extends through my current NSA certification. And, yes, I know, BGS's are usually good for only 2 years, but the NNA must've accounted for that when they first posted the information on their web site. The idea was that they were initiating BGS & accomodating the fact that not all NSA's have the same expiration period for their certification.

Has anyone else encountered this issue? Or, is there something I'm just not "getting" here?

Reply by TRG_wy on 8/18/09 1:21pm
Msg #300616

"...And, yes, I know, BGS's are usually good for only 2 years, but ..."

The time period that a BGS is deemed to be "good" is an arbitrary(sp) thing. Realistically, it is only "good" the instant it is completed. Who is to say you don't go out and go postal 24 hours later but it is still "good" for two years.

I completed one through the NNA then I learned my lesson about them have since canceled all matters of doing business with them.

Good luck with them coming to the logical conclusion that you are right.

Reply by MW/VA on 8/18/09 1:39pm
Msg #300621

Ditto. I came to realize they created the whole cert/bgc to ensure a steady income for their business.
They are the ones that decide the cert/bgc EXPIRES as of a certain date. I did not renew & declined their offer to do so at $99. You'd be amazed at how irritated the person on the phone was that I wasn't buying into this. They make their own rules & IMO really don't give a d@mn about the notaries they claim to represent.
Someone here on the board brought to light recently that you can contact LexisNexis yearly & ask for an update on the bgc for free.

Reply by FAN_IL on 8/18/09 2:15pm
Msg #300634

Ooh! Thanks for the Lexis/Nexis tip! I'll look into that.

As for my current approach to the NNA, I chose to renew my commission through a different entity. It's a quicker process, much less expensive & less hassle.

Plus, I have another background check through NotRot.

But in terms of my past NSA re-cert & BGS purchase, I don't feel a company can advertise one thing, whether it's on the internet, via a direct mailing, or through traditional print & broadcast media, and then not make good on the offer once the transaction's complete.

Reply by davidK/CA on 8/18/09 1:27pm
Msg #300617

Re: Billing Question

Yup, your aren't "getting it" for sure.

Sorry, but sometimes you need to do your research carefully before you purchase stuff over the internet.

JMHO.

Reply by Charles_Ca on 8/18/09 1:38pm
Msg #300620

Re: NNA BGC Billing Question, their way or highway! n/m

Reply by JanetK_CA on 8/18/09 8:09pm
Msg #300705

What many of us have "gotten" for a while now is that the programs the NNA offers (imho) are only good for relieving you of some of your hard earned money. Their sole purpose for those programs seems to be to line their pockets. I don't see anything remotely fair, supportive or reasonable about the way they administer their whole array of certification, BGC, and membership programs with mandatory prerequisites - again imho. I haven't paid them a plug nickel in several years and have no plans to do so at any time in the foreseeable future. But again, that's just my humble opinion (in case someone doesn't know what "imho" is short for...)