Gun smith won't return my gun!

testuser · June 23, 2012, 12:29 AM

Long story short, I sent my M1917 S&W to an out-of-state gunsmith for restoration about 15 months ago. He claims the work was completed, but he hasn't had time to test fire it...at least that's what he's been saying since April.

I've been asking for the retun of my weapon since then. Two weeks ago I demanded it's return and he agreed to have it to me this week.

Keep in mind that all fees, return shipping, etc., were paid in advance!

What do I do? Do I give him one more chance?

If he still doesn't return my weapon after another demand, then whom do I call? ATF? The local authorities in his state? File a lawsuit?

**Aguila Blanca** · June 23, 2012, 12:42 AM

I would start with the police department in his city or town, and follow up immediately with the BATFE.

Bill DeShivs · June 23, 2012, 01:55 AM

Never, ever pay any craftsman in advance,

jeeplover1 · June 23, 2012, 02:01 AM

good advice ty

youngunz4life · June 23, 2012, 02:33 AM

call the local police dept asap...see first reply too

Rifleman1776 · June 23, 2012, 07:51 AM

Contact as many consumer protection agencies as you can locate. BBB, Attorney General, Chamber of Commerce, local police, State police, AFT. Write a letter to the editor of his local paper. Whatever you can think of. Bombard him with inquiries and other annoyances. Call him frequently and complain. Threaten legal action. Don't let up. As a former debt collector I know it can often be hard to get the message through, you have to be persistent. Demand action "now", but don't threaten physical harm.
Good luck.

darkroommike · June 24, 2012, 09:33 AM

Sounds to me like he might not have your gun done and might not have the funds to finish it.

kilimanjaro · June 24, 2012, 09:34 AM

He's had his chance. Your first phone call was enough for any honest person. Call the sheriff of his town. Call your own sheriff and file a criminal complaint for theft or conversion of property, give the serial number for the search warrant. They can sieze it and return it to you. Have your attorney call him and tell him he's going to be sued if the pistol isn't shipped within the hour. Complain to the media that runs his advertisements, and BBB, all of them.

I'm a nice guy, but I get tired of being ripped off.

oneounceload · June 24, 2012, 11:58 AM

If you paid with a credit card, you can get the charges reversed and let them pursue him for theft

johnwilliamson062 · June 24, 2012, 10:20 PM

After that long the CC reversal is not going to be simple.

I would call his local PD and talk with them. See if they know anything about him. Almost had a local gunsmith do some work for me a few years back. THen all the sudden it came out a bunch of rifles and handguns were missing and several people in his operation had long criminal records. Big mess.

Edward429451 · June 25, 2012, 06:00 PM

They will certainly reverse the charges, but may need some encouragement to actually work for a few minutes. Don't let them blow you off on that!

A similar incident happened to a friend of mine locally. He had two or three pistols in with this (nameless) smith and he just ups and closes shop one day, no sign, no forwarding addy, nothing. He wasn't too hard to track down and he took a Deputy over there to the mans house and collected his guns. They call it theft, and no amount of rationalizing it with details changes that.

I would make the trip on principle if it came to that. File with his local BBB also. Then others can easily check and see if there's any honor problems with the man. That will hurt him in the wallet. Perseverance is on your side.

**Aguila Blanca** · June 25, 2012, 07:31 PM

I had something similar happen a couple of years ago. Lots of promises, then after the promised completion date had long since come and gone, no more responses to e-mails, nobody answered the telephone, nothing at all. Did a bit of Googling on the name and discovered that the business had tanked and was in bankruptcy.

Call to the local PD, spoke with a nice sounding desk officer who understood the problem and was willing to see if they could grease the skids a bit short of having to get me to swear out a formal complaint. I think an officer patrolling the guy's residence neighborhood stopped by to ask how things were going. A few days after the phone call, I received a package with my guns and parts in it. All there, work maybe 50 to 60 percent completed. The only note in the package just said, "Sorry." My guess is that the officer explained to the gentleman that theft by conversion is still theft, and a crime.

Chuckusaret · June 25, 2012, 07:43 PM

It would be nice to know this gunsmiths name. Hopefully I never unknowingly select him to work for me.

Don P · June 27, 2012, 03:18 PM

Quote:

It would be nice to know this gunsmiths name

Dead Beat Gunsmith Inc. Sloth Slow is our motto.

June 23, 2012, 12:29 AM	#1
testuser Senior Member Join Date: September 8, 2010 Posts: 495	Gun smith won't return my gun! Long story short, I sent my M1917 S&W to an out-of-state gunsmith for restoration about 15 months ago. He claims the work was completed, but he hasn't had time to test fire it...at least that's what he's been saying since April. I've been asking for the retun of my weapon since then. Two weeks ago I demanded it's return and he agreed to have it to me this week. Keep in mind that all fees, return shipping, etc., were paid in advance! What do I do? Do I give him one more chance? If he still doesn't return my weapon after another demand, then whom do I call? ATF? The local authorities in his state? File a lawsuit?

June 23, 2012, 01:55 AM	#3
Bill DeShivs Senior Member Join Date: April 7, 2006 Posts: 10,988	Never, ever pay any craftsman in advance, __________________ Bill DeShivs, Master Cutler www.billdeshivs.com

June 23, 2012, 02:33 AM	#5
youngunz4life Senior Member Join Date: November 15, 2010 Location: United States of America Posts: 1,877	call the local police dept asap...see first reply too __________________ "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" -Admiral Farragut @ Battle of Mobile Bay 05AUG1864

June 24, 2012, 09:33 AM	#7
darkroommike Senior Member Join Date: August 27, 2011 Location: western Iowa Posts: 205	Stonewalling Sounds to me like he might not have your gun done and might not have the funds to finish it.

June 23, 2012, 12:42 AM	#2
Aguila Blanca Staff Join Date: September 25, 2008 Location: CONUS Posts: 18,477	I would start with the police department in his city or town, and follow up immediately with the BATFE.

June 23, 2012, 02:01 AM	#4
jeeplover1 Member Join Date: June 22, 2012 Posts: 24	good advice ty

June 23, 2012, 07:51 AM	#6
Rifleman1776 Senior Member Join Date: April 25, 2010 Location: Arkansas Posts: 3,309	Contact as many consumer protection agencies as you can locate. BBB, Attorney General, Chamber of Commerce, local police, State police, AFT. Write a letter to the editor of his local paper. Whatever you can think of. Bombard him with inquiries and other annoyances. Call him frequently and complain. Threaten legal action. Don't let up. As a former debt collector I know it can often be hard to get the message through, you have to be persistent. Demand action "now", but don't threaten physical harm. Good luck.

June 24, 2012, 09:34 AM	#8
kilimanjaro Senior Member Join Date: November 23, 2009 Posts: 3,963	He's had his chance. Your first phone call was enough for any honest person. Call the sheriff of his town. Call your own sheriff and file a criminal complaint for theft or conversion of property, give the serial number for the search warrant. They can sieze it and return it to you. Have your attorney call him and tell him he's going to be sued if the pistol isn't shipped within the hour. Complain to the media that runs his advertisements, and BBB, all of them. I'm a nice guy, but I get tired of being ripped off.

June 24, 2012, 11:58 AM	#9
oneounceload Junior member Join Date: April 18, 2008 Location: N. Central Florida Posts: 8,518	If you paid with a credit card, you can get the charges reversed and let them pursue him for theft

June 24, 2012, 10:20 PM	#10
johnwilliamson062 Junior member Join Date: May 16, 2008 Posts: 9,995	After that long the CC reversal is not going to be simple. I would call his local PD and talk with them. See if they know anything about him. Almost had a local gunsmith do some work for me a few years back. THen all the sudden it came out a bunch of rifles and handguns were missing and several people in his operation had long criminal records. Big mess.

June 25, 2012, 06:00 PM	#11
Edward429451 Junior member Join Date: November 12, 2000 Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado Posts: 9,494	They will certainly reverse the charges, but may need some encouragement to actually work for a few minutes. Don't let them blow you off on that! A similar incident happened to a friend of mine locally. He had two or three pistols in with this (nameless) smith and he just ups and closes shop one day, no sign, no forwarding addy, nothing. He wasn't too hard to track down and he took a Deputy over there to the mans house and collected his guns. They call it theft, and no amount of rationalizing it with details changes that. I would make the trip on principle if it came to that. File with his local BBB also. Then others can easily check and see if there's any honor problems with the man. That will hurt him in the wallet. Perseverance is on your side.

June 25, 2012, 07:31 PM	#12
Aguila Blanca Staff Join Date: September 25, 2008 Location: CONUS Posts: 18,477	I had something similar happen a couple of years ago. Lots of promises, then after the promised completion date had long since come and gone, no more responses to e-mails, nobody answered the telephone, nothing at all. Did a bit of Googling on the name and discovered that the business had tanked and was in bankruptcy. Call to the local PD, spoke with a nice sounding desk officer who understood the problem and was willing to see if they could grease the skids a bit short of having to get me to swear out a formal complaint. I think an officer patrolling the guy's residence neighborhood stopped by to ask how things were going. A few days after the phone call, I received a package with my guns and parts in it. All there, work maybe 50 to 60 percent completed. The only note in the package just said, "Sorry." My guess is that the officer explained to the gentleman that theft by conversion is still theft, and a crime.

June 25, 2012, 07:43 PM	#13
Chuckusaret Junior member Join Date: December 5, 2008 Location: Florida Posts: 708	It would be nice to know this gunsmiths name. Hopefully I never unknowingly select him to work for me.