Many of you have concerns regarding Americas Notary Pro [ANP] recent history of slow pay/no pay. I did some scrounging on the Texas Comptroller’s site and found this [see attached screen shot]. As of 12/28.2022, ANP is no longer able to conduct business as a Texas business.
In Texas the SoS handles the business entity, while the Comptroller handles the franchise taxes. One must have both in order to conduct business as a Texas corporate entity.
I’m certain once this gets back to ANP my business relationship with ANP will come to an end. BTW I have several outstanding closing that are not paid. I’ll be contacting the Title Companies shortly.
I am in the same boat.
They have been lying for 3 1/2 month that they have mailed checks. I actually contacted the title company directly and they said they can’t help and they don’t want anyting to do with it.
Can anyone explain exactly what “Franchise Tax Involuntarily Ended” means. I have not seen this for about 15 years and vet all new companies and the ONE time I did not vet was this one as it was short notice and have not found any dishonest companies for so long.
I googled the question and it said :
Franchise Tax Ended. The entity’s franchise tax responsibilities ended because the entity has ceased to exist in its state or country of formation or has ceased doing business in Texas. Franchise Tax Involuntarily Ended.
So they are out of business now and there is no recourse for all the notaries they owe money to?
Is that correct .
Eileen10 has it right. In ANP is no longer allowed op conduct business in Texas. In Texas a business is set up through the SoS office. The comptroller handles the Franchise Taxes. There are no Franchise Taxes owed if the business income in less than about $11 Million annually. The business still needs to file an annual Franchise Tax Return even if there are no Taxes due as this lets Texas know the business is still in business. The involuntary status indicates the Comptroller has ended the business for non-compliance with Texas Laws.
There are a few tactics that have been used so Notaries get paid. First is to file a small claims law suit. If the business owners fails to respond or doesn’t show up in court you can ask for a summary judgement and a Writ of Execution. The Writ will authorizes the Constables Office to seize the companies physical assets for auction. You can also mail certified copies of the judgement to each of the credit reporting organizations. This will put a negative mark on their credit report. This may motivate ANP to file with their E&O carrier.
In Texas if the amount owed is less than $20,000 you can file in small claims court, aka Justice of the Peace. The tactic here is to file suit against everyone involved, Title, ANP, Mr. Garcia, ANP’s Accountant, and the home owners. This puts all parties in one room and let them work out how you’re going to get paid. Any legal action you take can tarnish your reputation in the community. This is something you’re going to have to decide on your own.
The second tactic is to contact the TC to see if they’ll cover your fees. As someone has already mentioned they usually won’t cooperate. If it’s a Texas TC contact the Insurance Department and let the know what happened. The Department of Insurance may help you with who the TC’s Insurance carrier is so you can file a claim with them.
Another tactic that’s becoming more popular is to place a lien on the property you closed on. The owners, our signers, paid for your services through Title and won’t be happy when they see the lien. They may put pressure on Title to get you paid.
If you’re stuck with a bad debt gather all your records and have a chat with your Tax Professional, as you may have a write down on your income that will reduce you tax liability.
I’m not offering legal tax advice as your situation is specific to you. My comments here does not establish a client relationship. Always seek the advice of a qualified professional. [my lawyer made me say this]
Battled with them for pay earlier this year for a March signing, guess I’m one of the lucky ones, got paid in July…never worked for them again.
Hope it works out with Title…as they don’t seem to take any responsibility in this area, unless you are specifically identified on the Settlement Statement, which was the push back I received from Stewart Title, in my recent experience with another SS that has gone OOB - AOE Signings .
Man, wish I would have seen this sooner. Not yet 30 days passed but was looking through my January signings and making note of the different SS payment terms, I came here when I couldn’t find payment terms on ANP.
This company just called me to do a job tomorrow morning. I’ve never heard of them so of course I came here to check them out. Thank goodness I did, I am going to email them back now and tell them I am going to have to decline. Thank you!
I just gpt a call from them today wanting a closing this afternoon. I could hear a child crying in the background. The child made me suspicious for some reason so i declined. Glad I did.
