I sent payment to a gun dealer for a rifle purchase. I have not heard from him for over a week. Unfortunately he is in another state so I can not go over there to find out what is going on. The payment was a USPS MO. What are my options? Call local ATF field office? State police? USPS (mail fraud)?
- Thread starter murray
- Start date
Re: Help...think FFL ripped me off
If you sent money for a rifle purchase, did you send a copy of an FFL? Unless you are buying a black powder rifle the guy you are dealing with will need to ship the rifle to a licensed dealer in your state.
Good luck
Jerry
If you sent money for a rifle purchase, did you send a copy of an FFL? Unless you are buying a black powder rifle the guy you are dealing with will need to ship the rifle to a licensed dealer in your state.
Good luck
Jerry
Re: Help...think FFL ripped me off
How long has it been since you mailed the payment?
Right now there was a major holiday last week, hunting season is in full swing through out the country, etc. Before you start barking up the LE tree and piss off a guy who might just have the shop closed for a few days it would be a good idea to just sit tight for a couple.
If you paid via USPS MO and he didn't ship the rifle and screws you a month from now then legal recourse is probably the way to go.
If you're just sitting there wondering why a business that sold something through the mail isn't jumping to your tapping foot while hunting season, holidays and everything else is happening I think you have the obvious answer.
How long has it been since you mailed the payment?
Right now there was a major holiday last week, hunting season is in full swing through out the country, etc. Before you start barking up the LE tree and piss off a guy who might just have the shop closed for a few days it would be a good idea to just sit tight for a couple.
If you paid via USPS MO and he didn't ship the rifle and screws you a month from now then legal recourse is probably the way to go.
If you're just sitting there wondering why a business that sold something through the mail isn't jumping to your tapping foot while hunting season, holidays and everything else is happening I think you have the obvious answer.
Re: Help...think FFL ripped me off
It has only been a week and last week was a "holiday" week for a lot of folks. Many gun shops in my area close for the entire week in celebration of both Thanksgiving and opening day/week of deer/gun season.
Keep up with your attempts to reach him via e-mail/phone (whatever methods you have) and if you don't get any satisfaction within another few weeks, then take the next step toward escalating hostilities. You can submit a fraud claim through USPS, have them trace the MO to determine if it has been cashed/deposited (and by whom), etc.
It has only been a week and last week was a "holiday" week for a lot of folks. Many gun shops in my area close for the entire week in celebration of both Thanksgiving and opening day/week of deer/gun season.
Keep up with your attempts to reach him via e-mail/phone (whatever methods you have) and if you don't get any satisfaction within another few weeks, then take the next step toward escalating hostilities. You can submit a fraud claim through USPS, have them trace the MO to determine if it has been cashed/deposited (and by whom), etc.
Re: Help...think FFL ripped me off
Holly cow, you sent it a week ago, and didnt have your gun the same day? Man I would be so pissed, Id call the attorny general, get the cia, nsa, atf and fbi all involved, that is just ludacrious. You should post all his info, address and everything else, flame and ruin the guys life, that he didnt drive it to your door step immediatly! I feel so bad for you, he is probably some huge con artist, probably doesnt even have an actual shop. Probably never has even seen a gun. Its to bad you fell for such a huge scam, I mean one whole week, really?! That is just purely unacceptable. I would call an attorny, get ahold of one asap, take out an ad in his local paper flaming him for not responding to your every whiney need.
Seriously, its been a week, mail didnt run on thursday, most places stay closed fri. Mondays most gun shops are closed, so its been one day maybe he was open. Give the guy a break. Plus I am sure ups and usps are swamped right now, if nothing in a month, then I would be nervous.
Holly cow, you sent it a week ago, and didnt have your gun the same day? Man I would be so pissed, Id call the attorny general, get the cia, nsa, atf and fbi all involved, that is just ludacrious. You should post all his info, address and everything else, flame and ruin the guys life, that he didnt drive it to your door step immediatly! I feel so bad for you, he is probably some huge con artist, probably doesnt even have an actual shop. Probably never has even seen a gun. Its to bad you fell for such a huge scam, I mean one whole week, really?! That is just purely unacceptable. I would call an attorny, get ahold of one asap, take out an ad in his local paper flaming him for not responding to your every whiney need.
Seriously, its been a week, mail didnt run on thursday, most places stay closed fri. Mondays most gun shops are closed, so its been one day maybe he was open. Give the guy a break. Plus I am sure ups and usps are swamped right now, if nothing in a month, then I would be nervous.
Re: Help...think FFL ripped me off
ubet,
You forgot to add CSIS, the IRA, the PLO, and even the KKK. There, that about covers the "Alphabits" crew.
Oh yeah, and the RCMP. Can't forget them.
ubet,
You forgot to add CSIS, the IRA, the PLO, and even the KKK. There, that about covers the "Alphabits" crew.
Oh yeah, and the RCMP. Can't forget them.
Re: Help...think FFL ripped me off
He could also call the IRS cause the guy probably hasnt payed taxes, maybe all the HPs cause it will be on the road, and they could keep look out for him.
He could also call the IRS cause the guy probably hasnt payed taxes, maybe all the HPs cause it will be on the road, and they could keep look out for him.
Re: Help...think FFL ripped me off
Re: Help...think FFL ripped me off
Just wanted to find out what recourse is available in case things do not work out. I realize last week was a holiday and hunting season opened. Do not plan on getting excited till after some more time. Just cause for concern when people stop communicating.
No I did not expect an overnight barefoot hike through the snow by the seller to deliver my rifle. But thanks for the insight!
Just wanted to find out what recourse is available in case things do not work out. I realize last week was a holiday and hunting season opened. Do not plan on getting excited till after some more time. Just cause for concern when people stop communicating.
No I did not expect an overnight barefoot hike through the snow by the seller to deliver my rifle. But thanks for the insight!
Re: Help...think FFL ripped me off
Did you send the MO with delivery confirmation? That's one way to prove that someone at the destination address received the MO. I would give them a few more days, because of Holidays, hunting and all.
Did you send the MO with delivery confirmation? That's one way to prove that someone at the destination address received the MO. I would give them a few more days, because of Holidays, hunting and all.
Re: Help...think FFL ripped me off
The USPS will have a record of who signed and cashed the MO because if they cashed it in the Post Office, they will have required ID and would also note the license number on the MO. If it went to a bank for cashing, then you'll have the bank location, account, name and all that associated with it. The USPS will handle that should you file a claim, so you can feel good that you did the right thing by sending a USPS MO.
Unfortunately, this is the kind of thing you have to deal with when buying out of state (mail order, online, etc) and it's not too uncommon to have a perfect storm of events which lead to a transaction being delayed. I would give it at least another week - all the while trying to contact the FFL, before you get motivated to raise any flags, but I understand the frustration of sending off hard earned cash and having to sit and wait when you don't want to.
The USPS will have a record of who signed and cashed the MO because if they cashed it in the Post Office, they will have required ID and would also note the license number on the MO. If it went to a bank for cashing, then you'll have the bank location, account, name and all that associated with it. The USPS will handle that should you file a claim, so you can feel good that you did the right thing by sending a USPS MO.
Unfortunately, this is the kind of thing you have to deal with when buying out of state (mail order, online, etc) and it's not too uncommon to have a perfect storm of events which lead to a transaction being delayed. I would give it at least another week - all the while trying to contact the FFL, before you get motivated to raise any flags, but I understand the frustration of sending off hard earned cash and having to sit and wait when you don't want to.
Re: Help...think FFL ripped me off
There was a notice sent by my employer that took 30 DAYS to make it 360 miles. They couldn't figure out why I didn't like that especially since there was an effective date on it that I had to reply by.
There was a notice sent by my employer that took 30 DAYS to make it 360 miles. They couldn't figure out why I didn't like that especially since there was an effective date on it that I had to reply by.
Re: Help...think FFL ripped me off
As said. you can verify the MO..but it is gonna take longer than a week..I have bought out of state and it can( and usually does ) take a minimum of 3 weeks to complete the deal...
As said. you can verify the MO..but it is gonna take longer than a week..I have bought out of state and it can( and usually does ) take a minimum of 3 weeks to complete the deal...
Re: Help...think FFL ripped me off
three weeks is pretty average from what I've found. lots of snail mail involved. mail MO, recieve MO, cash MO, package firearm, ship firearm, recieve firearm, pick up from FFL. And everybody working at their own pace.
three weeks is pretty average from what I've found. lots of snail mail involved. mail MO, recieve MO, cash MO, package firearm, ship firearm, recieve firearm, pick up from FFL. And everybody working at their own pace.
Re: Help...think FFL ripped me off
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Sean the Nailer</div><div class="ubbcode-body">ubet,
You forgot to add CSIS, the IRA, the PLO, and even the KKK. There, that about covers the "Alphabits" crew.
Oh yeah, and the RCMP. Can't forget them. </div></div>
HAHAHAHAHA F*ckin KKK that is some funny shit
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Sean the Nailer</div><div class="ubbcode-body">ubet,
You forgot to add CSIS, the IRA, the PLO, and even the KKK. There, that about covers the "Alphabits" crew.
Oh yeah, and the RCMP. Can't forget them. </div></div>
HAHAHAHAHA F*ckin KKK that is some funny shit
Re: Help...think FFL ripped me off
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: mariner</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I sent payment to a gun dealer for a rifle purchase. I have not heard from him for over a week. Unfortunately he is in another state so I can not go over there to find out what is going on. The payment was a USPS MO. What are my options? Call local ATF field office? State police? USPS (mail fraud)? </div></div>
Make every attempt to contact the dealer, sometimes people have emergencies come up and have to leave town for a short period of time. You can also look up the gun dealer in the FFL database and get their phone number. I bet even websites like Gun Broker will have them listed as transfer dealers and have all of their contact info available. If you haven't heard from the dealer or don't have your gun in the next 7 to 10 days you can call your local BATFE enforcement agent and have them contact the dealer, don't talk to a licensing agent.
The only real problem I ever had was with a well known dealer in expensive guns from central MS. He advertises in all the big publications and sells on Gun Broker. He sold me a very rare pre-64 Winchester model 70 .338 Win Mag. The gun was advertised as mint original and had a presentation plaque on the bottom of the grip stating it was a gift to a prominent professional hunter in Africa, it also included a copy of the PH's book. When I got the gun it was an obvious fake, the bolt face had been machined from standard to magnum bolt face and not reblued. The barrel had the correct markings but was not roll stamped it was cut on a pantograph. To top it off the .338 Win Mag caliber was not introduced until 1958, the serial number on the receiver was dated to 1954. I immediately called the dealer in MS, he would not take my calls personally and never returned a call when I left a message. I returned the gun and never heard a word from them. I was patient for about two months, making calls, leaving messages, getting no response, finally I called my local BATFE enforcement agent, he made one call to the dealer in MS and I received a USPS money order the next day via FedEx. The dealer in MS told the BATFE agent he didn't have an address to send the money back to, the BATFE agent told him to send it to the address on my FFL and if I didn’t have it back shortly he was going to make sure the dealer in MS was audited because he was apparently not keeping accurate A&D records.
Don't waste your time call the post office, they will not get involved over a single incident, they only want to get involved if there is a pattern of behavior or very large amounts of money involved.
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: mariner</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I sent payment to a gun dealer for a rifle purchase. I have not heard from him for over a week. Unfortunately he is in another state so I can not go over there to find out what is going on. The payment was a USPS MO. What are my options? Call local ATF field office? State police? USPS (mail fraud)? </div></div>
Make every attempt to contact the dealer, sometimes people have emergencies come up and have to leave town for a short period of time. You can also look up the gun dealer in the FFL database and get their phone number. I bet even websites like Gun Broker will have them listed as transfer dealers and have all of their contact info available. If you haven't heard from the dealer or don't have your gun in the next 7 to 10 days you can call your local BATFE enforcement agent and have them contact the dealer, don't talk to a licensing agent.
The only real problem I ever had was with a well known dealer in expensive guns from central MS. He advertises in all the big publications and sells on Gun Broker. He sold me a very rare pre-64 Winchester model 70 .338 Win Mag. The gun was advertised as mint original and had a presentation plaque on the bottom of the grip stating it was a gift to a prominent professional hunter in Africa, it also included a copy of the PH's book. When I got the gun it was an obvious fake, the bolt face had been machined from standard to magnum bolt face and not reblued. The barrel had the correct markings but was not roll stamped it was cut on a pantograph. To top it off the .338 Win Mag caliber was not introduced until 1958, the serial number on the receiver was dated to 1954. I immediately called the dealer in MS, he would not take my calls personally and never returned a call when I left a message. I returned the gun and never heard a word from them. I was patient for about two months, making calls, leaving messages, getting no response, finally I called my local BATFE enforcement agent, he made one call to the dealer in MS and I received a USPS money order the next day via FedEx. The dealer in MS told the BATFE agent he didn't have an address to send the money back to, the BATFE agent told him to send it to the address on my FFL and if I didn’t have it back shortly he was going to make sure the dealer in MS was audited because he was apparently not keeping accurate A&D records.
Don't waste your time call the post office, they will not get involved over a single incident, they only want to get involved if there is a pattern of behavior or very large amounts of money involved.
