Failed Background Check

[jakejake527]

Am I entitled to get my money back from the seller if I fail a background check when I buy a gun through ppt?

Can I take the seller to court?
What if I cant provide evidence of the exact amount of cash given to the seller?

How can I protect myself from this happening to me in the future other than having a clean background?

[unusedusername]

Am I entitled to get my money back from the seller if I fail a background check when I buy a gun through ppt?

As far as I know, no. The gun is considered 'yours' when you start the background check, however you can not take possession of it until it finishes.

If you fail the background check you can not take possession of the firearm, however it is still "your" firearm. I recommend you sell it. Whomever you sell it to will need to make arrangements with the FFL that has it in order to pick it up.

You might check with the seller, as they may decide to reverse the transaction anyways, but I have nothing that makes me believe that the seller is obligated to undo it.

Can I take the seller to court?
What if I cant provide evidence of the exact amount of cash given to the seller?

You can sue anyone for anything. You might check with a lawyer to see if it is a good idea though.

How can I protect myself from this happening to me in the future other than having a clean background?

Maybe don't buy firearms if you will fail a background check?

If you are worried about failing, file a Personal Firearms Eligibility Check form with DOJ first and they will tell you if you pass or not.

Generally, you will know it if you have a prohibiting criminal background, barring errors in the background check system.

These errors can be appealed.

As always, I am not a lawyer and this advise is worth exactly what you paid for it.

EDIT: fixed my link. sorry about that.

[E92335i]

+1, people sell their firearms to fund something or pay debts. Most likely the money is gone.

[PsychGuy274]

Not sure about CA, but out here in CO, most FFLs will charge you if you fail a BG check.

But like Unused said, file a PFEC.

[Powder_Keg]

You also need to consider the sellers point of view. It was your responsibility to make sure you would pass the background check, NOT his.

Are you considering pulling him into a lawsuit because YOU didnt do YOUR homework?

If something New popped up in your background thats keeping you from owning firearms and you already own other firearms, I would get that sorted out fast and make it your #1 priority.

[troysland]

Bain & Davis in San Gabriel has a sign that says you'll be charged $125 if you fail a background check. Turners will charge 33% of purchase price if bought from their inventory & can't complete transaction. Background check begins after paid in full.

[jakejake527]

So its considered mine even if I cant take possession of it?

As long as I can sell it and get my money back I would be happy.

[E92335i]

Consignment maybe an option.

[RTE]

This not passing a background check thing
is certainly not a sellers problem.

This would be like asking a buyer to eat the money IF the gun was found to be stolen.

Consignment shouldn't be a problem at all.

[Chaos47]

I don't know why people always post their opinion on this about who owns it when, the law is quite clear.

When DROS fails on the buyer a check is automatically done on the seller. If the seller is not prohibited and the firearm is legal to transfer it goes back to the seller immediately.

12082. (a) A person shall complete any sale, loan, or transfer of a firearm through a person licensed pursuant to Section 12071 in accordance with this section in order to comply with subdivision (d) of Section 12072. The seller or transferor or the person loaning the firearm shall deliver the firearm to the dealer who shall retain possession of that firearm. The dealer shall then deliver the firearm to the purchaser or transferee or the person being loaned the firearm, if it is not prohibited, in accordance with subdivision (c) of Section 12072. If the dealer cannot legally deliver the firearm to the purchaser or transferee or the person being loaned the firearm, the dealer shall forthwith, without waiting for the conclusion of the waiting period described in Sections 12071 and 12072, return the firearm to the transferor or seller or the person loaning the firearm. The dealer shall not return the firearm to the seller or transferor or the person loaning the firearm when to do so would constitute a violation of subdivision (a) of Section 12072. If the dealer cannot legally return the firearm to the transferor or seller or the person loaning the firearm, then the dealer shall forthwith deliver the firearm to the sheriff of the county or the chief of police or other head of a municipal police department of any city or city and county who shall then dispose of the firearm in the manner provided by Sections 12028 and 12032. The purchaser or transferee or person being loaned the firearm may be required by the dealer to pay a fee not to exceed ten dollars ($10) per firearm, and no other fee may be charged by the dealer for a sale, loan, or transfer of a firearm conducted pursuant to this section, except for the applicable fee that the Department of Justice may charge pursuant to Section 12076. Nothing in these provisions shall prevent a dealer from charging a smaller fee. The fee that the department may charge is the fee that would be applicable pursuant to Section 12076, if the dealer was selling, transferring, or delivering a firearm to a purchaser or transferee or a person being loaned a firearm, without any other parties being involved in the transaction.You don't need to re-DROS it, you just hand it back without waiting for the ten days.

Sure if the seller has both the money and the firearm you could take them to court.
You should have a bill of sale that states the exact amount.

How would you protect yourself from this in the future?
Well IMO as the Seller you should have an agreement on the Bill of Sale that states what would happen in such a case.
IE have a clause that states that the buyer will be refunded if they are denied minus XX% of the total. Or however you want to go about it.
As a buyer? Thats easy don't buy a firearm if you are unsure if you can legally own one!

OP why are you concerned about this?
As others have stated if you have anything you are worried about you should do a Personal Firearms Eligibility Check.

[PolishMike]

Yep, when a PPT buyer fails BG, I have to return pistol to seller.

Tough situation, as a seller I would have probably already spent the money. I think it would be fair for the seller to give you your money back minus his time and travel expense.

Not sure how a failed buyer would do in court if the seller told him to pound sand. Not too many judges are going to be sympathetic to a prohibited person purchasing a firearm.

[jakejake527]

I just wanted to know what would happen.

My background is clear

[Chaos47]

How does something just change in your background without knowing it?

Sorry, this doesn't look to be all a hypothetical situation. Sounds like you are holding back what really happened. Sounds like the recent DOJ delays got you.

If it was just all for learning "what if" then you could have just done a google search with this:
site:calguns.net dros denied

[joepamjohn]

Am I entitled to get my money back from the seller if I fail a background check when I buy a gun through ppt?

What if I cant provide evidence of the exact amount of cash given to the seller?

How can I protect myself from this happening to me in the future other than having a clean background?

Don't be a criminal, and buy the gun at a reputable gun shop vs. PPT.

[bkk6869]

" If you fail your background check, I'll be keeping half of the sale price for my time and energy wasted. "

straight from my ad i currently have running on armslist. i'm not a complete *** so i'm not going to keep all the money. but my gas wasted driving to and from (twice) and the time i lost with my wife and kids is worth a lot to me. if you fail, i'll give you some time (maybe a week or two) to see what the problem is and if its an easy fix. if you fail for a reason that isn't an easy fix, i'll give you half of your money back.

its clearly stated in my ad so that HOPEFULLY people will give a quick second to think about if they'll pass or not.