While looking back at this, I should have thought to ask up front what their policy is on releasing firearms when they don’t receive a response within 10 days.  However, my local police department is extremely responsive and I had no doubt it would be completed in time.  I’ve had many interactions with the records clerk there and she is squared away.  But here is my experience…

On 12/14 my wife and I went into Sportsman’s Warehouse in Puyallup WA to purchase a semi-auto rifle for me as a Christmas gift.  (I know, awesome wife, right?)  I pick out the rifle I wanted, did the paperwork and paid up.  Now the wait begins.  I’m pretty well versed in the laws and processes around the current backgrounds. 

The 14th was a Saturday, so day 1 is the 16th, the 25th is a holiday so it doesn’t count.  Come day 11, which is 12/31 I call the store inquiring.  I am told that they are still waiting to hear back from the local law enforcement agency on my background check.  I explain the RCW for dealer deliver of firearms specifically states that the dealer “shall” release the firearm after 10 days if they do not receive a response.  They tell me that they do not do that because they are a “high volume” dealer, they won’t release anything until they have a proceed. 

I know there are more firearms purchased during the holiday, and that the local agencies have to wait for the mental health check to come back, and they may be a backlogged more than their usual.  So today 1/8 (business day number 16) I contact the records clerk to find out what’s up.  She informs me that she is working on it, and for some reason even though the paperwork shows I purchased it on the 14th of December, she didn’t get it sent to her until the 31st of December.  Hmmmm, surprise, they didn’t send it until I called them?  May have slipped through the cracks, why didn’t they tell me that when they talked to me on the 31st?  Maybe the PD misplaced the fax…  I’ll ask when I finally pick up the gun.  A little while later, the records clerk emails me and says, “I just sent the proceed to the store :-)”  Sweet!

I go into the store to take delivery of the rile, first they tell me “we haven’t heard anything yet”, I explain that they received the proceed a half hour ago.  They respond with, “oh, yes it’s here, they haven’t gone through the proceeds for today yet…”  Then I ask the person who identifies as the manager in firearms, if they had anything that showed when the paperwork was submitted.  He says, “yeah, it’s right here it was the day you bought it, on the 31st….  oh wait you bought on the 14th”.  Yeah…. I explain that I’m not happy about that and explained the 10 day RCW yet again.  His only response is, “sorry”.  Cool bro…  Then while I’m waiting to go up front, the person behind the counter says, “he’s back there looking for something that shows when we submitted it on the 14th.”  Okay I’ll wait.  Then the same clerk comes back and says okay let’s go up front….  Soooooo, you didn’t find anything.  He says “apparently not”.

I get it that mistakes happen, own them.  I understand stores have policies, make them known.  Now not following the RCW, not cool.  Even if you want to fall back on “we have the right to refuse business to anyone at anytime for any reason”, once you take my money and do all of the paperwork, you have accepted this business transaction.  I also have the right to take my business elsewhere.  You need to make right and follow the law for deliveries.

While 1639 sucks, that provision is good, the 10 days or release puts the pressure on law enforcement agencies to get their checks done within the 10 days or find a better method of doing them.  The retailer refusing to deliver, doesn’t allow that to happen and doesn’t support our second amendment rights.

After the issue with them not allow the gathering of signatures, then late in the game agreeing, and now this…  My business will be going elsewhere.
 

While my wife and I don't really agree on BGC rules in general, she can be a good source of info. She said it is VERY common for FFLs to send the paperwork to the wrong jurisdiction. She works for a city and gets paperwork for residents with a City address who actually live in the County pretty much daily. She faxes them to the County, but they're not required to. I suspect many PDs trash them and you continue to wait, while the FFL blames the PD for taking too long.

It doesn't sound like that is what happened here, but make sure the FFL knows what jurisdiction you live in! (County vs City)

When I was gathering signatures in front of Sportsman Warehouse last month, I had two guys tell me they waited 39 and 55 days for their firearm. I would buy elsewhere

Bought two revolvers at the same Puyallup Sportsman's Warehouse on 10 November. The wait began. The paperwork went to Pierce County 911.

Checked back in ten business days and they got nothing back on the background check. The wait continued with no contact from the store.

At just under one calendar month, 8 December, I got a call from Sportsman's Warehouse saying they still don't have the approval back and I would have to do the entire paperwork process from the beginning again. A 4473 is only good for 30 calendar days and then has to be done again if the firearm is not delivered. I went back in and redid all the paperwork. The wait began again.

Went on a business trip for two weeks and got back into town on 21 December. So ten more business days passed.

Went in on Sunday 22 Dec to check on status and nothing. The kid said he would call Pierce County 911 on Monday 23 Dec.

Went in on 24 Dec.......Nothing. I asked if I could get my money back. They said yes if I wanted it. They really don't care.

Went in on 26 Dec. Originally got a I Don't Know. How about check again. Oh wait here it is, you should have gotten a call on the 24th.

I'm glad they were not Christmas presents, I would have really been pissed. I have bought a lot from them, I don't know now.

Looks like the stores system is really broke along with Pierce County.

Too make things worse, The day 10 November that I bought the revolvers, I bought a bolt action .22 rifle and took it home same day. This whole mess makes no sense.

Finally, I was so mad with the whole process that I wrote a letter to my State Senator Randi Becker to let her know how I felt about the law and entire situation. Believe it or not I got an answer back today from her Executive Legislative Assistant. Just wanted a state politician know about my and others displeasure on what's going on in Washington. The response was not totally canned, but had some more personal comments pertaining to my comments. Maybe there is a little hope.

A few mentioned their paperwork being sent late too. Remember the one guy who just said "screw this, I want my money back"?
He got a gift card, not the real money he paid.

If they would have said something on the 31st, like hey we accidentally sent it to the wrong agency or somehow we misplaced the paperwork and didn’t get it submitted, I would have been okay. Not happy, but understanding that mistakes happen. No ownership of the error, no support of the RCWs as they are written. I’m highly disappointed in my experience with them. They wanted to blame the PD who was doing everything they could to make sure the backgrounds are not delayed. Frustrating to say the least.

I filed a consumer complaint with the AGs office today. I doubt it will go anywhere but it will spread the word about the unlawful business practice here.

Your transaction would have been simple if they followed the RCW and released after the 10 days. Process sucks, but Sportsman’s Warehouse is making it worse. Wife purchased at another FFL, 10 days no answer and they’ll deliver. But I’m certain my PD will have the response to them well before that. Taking my business to other shops even if it costs me a little more.

I'm sure the AG (Good ol Fergie) will praise them for pissing off gun owners and placing as many hurdles in their way as possible. I wouldn't expect anything positive out of that interaction, despite state law stating otherwise.

Unfortunately you’re probably right. Only glimmer of hope I had was when he stood up for the repeal of the car tabs. Like there was a glimmer in there that he would side with the will of the voters and since this is the law that was voted in, they would back the verbiage that is on the books.

I’m certainly not holding my breath.

1% worried about Sportsman's Warehouse forgetting to the send the paperwork for 15 days.

99% worried about the 8 day wait for the local police to complete a background check.

I don’t like it either but mental health checks were taking about three days to come back pre holidays. If my PD got it on the 31st, the 1st was a holiday, give the health care authority their average three days. That would put them at the 6th... given the holidays I’d imagine HCA is probably pushing that three days out a bit further. My PD wasn’t any part of the major delay in this. The process sucks, Sportsman’s doesn’t need to be making worse.

He stood up for the tabs because he was required to — but he did a shitty job of it, and deliberately failed. He does not deserve praise or admiration for the tabs issue.

I wouldn’t send ANY firearms-related complaints to Ferguson. He will absolutely stab us in the back.

Regardless of the price, before you buy a gun ask your FFL if they release after ten days. If the answer is no, take your business elsewhere.

To all of the above: Fuckin A right!

Received an email reply from the AGs office...


RE: Sportsman's Warehouse - Puyallup
File #: ######

Dear ************;

Thank you for contacting the Consumer Protection Division of the Washington State Attorney General’s Office. Consumer complaints provide valuable information that our office uses to identify patterns of unfair or deceptive practices that may warrant enforcement of the Consumer Protection Act.

The complaint you submitted to our office regarding Sportsman's Warehouse - Puyallup was reviewed and determined to be appropriate for the informal complaint resolution services offered by our Consumer Resource Center. This is an informal, voluntary process. Our office acts as a neutral party to facilitate communication between consumers and businesses to assist in resolving the complaint. We are prohibited by Washington State law from providing legal advice or representing either party.

The following information describes our informal complaint resolution process:

Informal Complaint Resolution Process:
The process takes approximately four to six weeks to complete. A copy of your complaint was sent to the business(es) with a request to provide our office with a response within 21 calendar days. If a response is received, you will be notified and a copy of the response will be provided to you. If our office has not received a response from the business(es) within 14 calendar days, a courtesy reminder will be sent to the business(es) reminding them that their response is due within the next 7 calendar days. If the business(es) do not respond to our request, our office cannot compel the business(es) to respond.

If the business does not respond or does not resolve your complaint to your satisfaction:
If the business(es) do not respond, or your complaint is not resolved through our informal complaint resolution service, your complaint will be closed. However, you will be notified of additional options and resources that may be available to assist you in the event you wish to pursue the matter further.

If you contact our office regarding your complaint, please reference the assigned complaint number referenced above.

We hope this information is helpful. If you have questions or would like to submit additional information regarding this complaint, our email address is CRC@ATG.WA.GOV.



Curious how this will play out.... I suspect they will send them a letter, Sportsman’s Warehouse won’t respond, and the AGs office will tell me to hire a lawyer if I want to pursue it. With the negative reviews and people upset about delays I sure hope others have filed similar complaints.