Purchasing handgun in California

hoho_leung · October 19, 2012, 03:34 AM

Hi all,

I just purchased my second handgun. This store charged me the gun plus $25 background check plus $5 admission fee. I never heard about that I am supposed to pay admission fee, so I asked the salesman. He said, "I have been working here for many years, you think I am fool." Well, I think he tried to fool me. I double checked my receipt for the first handgun. I wasn't charged for the admission fee. What do you guys think?

**Spats McGee** · October 19, 2012, 07:14 AM

I'm not a CA lawyer, but I've never heard of an "admission fee" in CA, nor of any store charging one. I think you got taken.

efield · October 19, 2012, 07:31 AM

Unfortunately I live in Kali as well and have made purchases for handguns many times here in the last few years. I was charged $25.00 for DROS (dealer record of sale) with each one but never an "admission fee" or any other fee for that matter........admission of what or to where I wonder?

tipoc · October 19, 2012, 08:38 AM

There is DROS and state tax. That's it. No admission fee is legally charged by any stores anywhere in the U.S. that I've ever heard of.

Did the store write on the receipt, "Admission Fee" ?

If it was me I'd return to the store with the receipt and ask for an explanation of the charge. Maybe have a friend with you as a witness. Be polite and calm. Ask to speak to the owner. Get an explanation of the charge. If they cannot explain it ask for your money back.

tipoc

hoho_leung · October 19, 2012, 11:10 AM

Yes.. it did say admission fee.. They tried to fool me. I will ask the money back and if they don't, I will contact my credit card company..

BrokenBottles · October 19, 2012, 11:07 PM

Yeah, that's some B.S. stuff. A lot of gun stores(read: crappy gun store eployies) try to screw people over out here because they think no one in California knows anything about guns aside from them.

sigcurious · October 20, 2012, 12:59 PM

Quote:

The State's DROS fee is $19.00 which covers the costs of the background checks and transfer registry. There is also a required $1.00 Firearms Safety Testing fee and a $5.00 Safety and Enforcement fee. If the transaction being processed is a dealer sale, consignment return, or return from pawn, the dealer may impose other charges as long as this amount is clearly shown as a "dealer fee" and not misrepresented as a state fee. In the event of a private party transfer, the firearms dealer may additionally charge a fee of $10 per firearm transferred.

When settling on the purchase price of a firearm and before completing the transaction, you may want to ask the dealer to disclose and identify any and all fees he/she is charging to complete the transaction.

You definitely got taken, the issue will be determining if you have recourse or not. The excerpt above is from the CA-DOJ faq, however it does not make clear if additional fees have to be listed as "dealer fee" or merely listed distinctly from the state imposed fees.

You could give the CA-DOJ a call, (916) 227-7527, they can probably clarify if the dealer is simply being underhanded or doing something unlawful.

propforce · October 21, 2012, 10:55 AM

I used to live in Kali and have bought several guns. I recalled they did charged me $5 for something other than the DROS fee. It was not called the "admission fee" per se. I will check my receipts and see when I return home (away on TDY).

October 19, 2012, 03:34 AM	#1
hoho_leung Member Join Date: September 11, 2012 Posts: 29	Purchasing handgun in California Hi all, I just purchased my second handgun. This store charged me the gun plus $25 background check plus $5 admission fee. I never heard about that I am supposed to pay admission fee, so I asked the salesman. He said, "I have been working here for many years, you think I am fool." Well, I think he tried to fool me. I double checked my receipt for the first handgun. I wasn't charged for the admission fee. What do you guys think?

October 19, 2012, 07:14 AM	#2
Spats McGee Staff Join Date: July 28, 2010 Location: Arkansas Posts: 8,821	I'm not a CA lawyer, but I've never heard of an "admission fee" in CA, nor of any store charging one. I think you got taken. __________________ I'm a lawyer, but I'm not your lawyer. If you need some honest-to-goodness legal advice, go buy some.

October 19, 2012, 07:31 AM	#3
efield Senior Member Join Date: July 7, 2009 Location: Peoples Republik of Kalifornia Posts: 125	Unfortunately I live in Kali as well and have made purchases for handguns many times here in the last few years. I was charged $25.00 for DROS (dealer record of sale) with each one but never an "admission fee" or any other fee for that matter........admission of what or to where I wonder? __________________ A man can never have too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition. -Rudyard Kipling-

October 19, 2012, 08:38 AM	#4
tipoc Senior Member Join Date: December 11, 2004 Location: Redwood City, Ca. Posts: 4,114	There is DROS and state tax. That's it. No admission fee is legally charged by any stores anywhere in the U.S. that I've ever heard of. Did the store write on the receipt, "Admission Fee" ? If it was me I'd return to the store with the receipt and ask for an explanation of the charge. Maybe have a friend with you as a witness. Be polite and calm. Ask to speak to the owner. Get an explanation of the charge. If they cannot explain it ask for your money back. tipoc

October 19, 2012, 11:10 AM	#5
hoho_leung Member Join Date: September 11, 2012 Posts: 29	Yes.. it did say admission fee.. They tried to fool me. I will ask the money back and if they don't, I will contact my credit card company..

October 19, 2012, 11:07 PM	#6
BrokenBottles Senior Member Join Date: September 16, 2010 Location: The worst Lancaster in the U.S. Posts: 119	Yeah, that's some B.S. stuff. A lot of gun stores(read: crappy gun store eployies) try to screw people over out here because they think no one in California knows anything about guns aside from them.

October 21, 2012, 10:55 AM	#8
propforce Member Join Date: October 9, 2011 Posts: 58	I used to live in Kali and have bought several guns. I recalled they did charged me $5 for something other than the DROS fee. It was not called the "admission fee" per se. I will check my receipts and see when I return home (away on TDY).