Shipping / Warranty Work???????

[rbail1]

My son just purchased a brand new shotgun in CA. After his 10 day he picked it up and went shooting. He discovered several issues with the gun such as feeding issues and failure to fire every few rounds. He tried to talk to the dealer about warranty and was instructed to contact the MFG. After contacting the MFG he was emailed a copy of a repair tag and a copy of the MFG's FFL. He was instructed to take the gun back to the dealer and have the dealer record his FFL on the return slip and send the gun with the shipping label provided by the MFG out of state. When he tried to take it back to the dealer (they will remain unnamed for now) they seemed to want no part of helping him out with this issue. Their response was to pack the gun good with some bubble wrap they so graciously provided and take it to Fedex himself to ship it. Oh yeah, and don't tell them there is a firearm in the box.......because if we help you out we will have to charge you over $100 to ship it for you. This brings me to my questions. Does this sound correct? Is there some issue involved where it would be necessary to charge for? As far as I can tell it is legal for a non licensee to ship a long gun out of state as long as the receiver possesses an FFL. How does he receive the gun back from the MFG? Would it have to be shipped back to an FFL in CA? Could this be what the dealer is charging for? Seems it may be cheaper to just take it to a local gunsmith.......Any input is appreciated. Thanks!

[acespawnshop]

Theres nothing that says you cant ship the firearm back to them. So yeah it sounds correct. Dumb question did you try cleaning it before you shot it?

[SkyHawk]

Ship it to the mfg yourself and they can ship it straight back to you after repair - so long as it is the same gun and not a new gun.

Who is the mfg and what is the gun model?

[Tyke8319]

It is not uncommon for "some" firearms not to work properly, especially those manufactured/assembled out of country. You didn't mention the make and model, calibre, etc., so it's hard to give any sort of evaluation as to what the problem could be. I know you didn't ask that but, sometimes additional information is helpful in directing an individual to as course of action.
Quite typically, firearms that are under warranty MUST be returned to the mfg. for repair, not the dealer. The dealer is not responsible for returning the firearm. That's the responsibility of the consumer (as is typically mentioned in the owners manual).
Yes, some dealers might drop everything they're doing, spend time preparing the packaging and driving the shipper. But that's not practical given "time is money" in the business world. So yes, I would charge the consumer for my time and effort. The amount is subjective.

[rbail1]

Yes it was cleaned thoroughly. Problem is it's a POS that I wish he would have asked about before the purchase. It's a Hatsan Escort Aim Guard 12ga. Since it came from Turkey I told him to make sure it was cleaned really good before he went shooting. I explained to him that it could have been sitting for who knows how long. No argument on being paid for time. It was just confusing instructions from the MFG. If he can ship it himself he will. We just wanted to be sure that there were no legal issues with it being returned. As long as we have a copy of the MFG's FFL he is good to ship it directly himself if I read the law correctly. Not sure why the MFG would instruct him to return it to the dealer if it's not necessary, especially since they provided a shipping label.

[morrcarr67]

Yes it was cleaned thoroughly. Problem is it's a POS that I wish he would have asked about before the purchase. It's a Hatsan Escort Aim Guard 12ga. Since it came from Turkey I told him to make sure it was cleaned really good before he went shooting. I explained to him that it could have been sitting for who knows how long. No argument on being paid for time. It was just confusing instructions from the MFG. If he can ship it himself he will. We just wanted to be sure that there were no legal issues with it being returned. As long as we have a copy of the MFG's FFL he is good to ship it directly himself if I read the law correctly. Not sure why the MFG would instruct him to return it to the dealer if it's not necessary, especially since they provided a shipping label.

My guess is because Hatsan is really an airsoft/airrifle company. They have just really gotten into firearms this past year with importing the Excel Shotguns. Also, just my guess is that they may fear that the shotgun is such a POS and can't be repaired, in which case they would need to send a new shotgun. If it was sent with the LGS's information they could send the replacement back to them for the new DROS. If you send it back and it needs to be replaced they will have to contact you for the name of a dealer to send it to.

If it comes to this make sure to shop around for a dealer that won't charge your son an arm and leg to receive the new shotgun. I would encourage your son to tell the FFL's he talks with what has happened and see if someone would cut him a deal for this transfer. I would also recommend you letting us know where your son is and someone could recommend good dealers to use.