Re: What to do about impending dispute with gunsmith?


"Howard Beale" <mobocracy@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:fnqu6i$k6j$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
# [Up front note: I'm avoiding giving out too many identifiable specifics
# right now, both to avoid unfair criticism of the gunsmith and to protect
# my
# gun, which I have not gotten back yet.]

#
Remind me never to have any disputes with you.
I don't see anything in your post that would lead me to believe that you're
in any danger of losing your firearm. I'd have to guess that the guy on the
other end just doesn't want to get another telephonic ass beating from you.
It's been my experience that people are almost always behind schedule.
There's this foul up or that snafu or maybe it's a small operation and his
head chrome dipper quit. I'm never surprised or outraged when it takes
longer than the timeframe originally quoted.
In business or in my personal life, I've just come to expect delays. All
sorts of red flags would have gone up when this guy quoted a timeline that
was so much shorter than the competition.
Forget about any kind of legal action, even something as simple as contact
the State Atty. General's office. Those agencies have real fraud cases to
combat. I don't see any attempt to defraud here. The guy's just late at this
point. It may turn into something more if you don't have your handgun back
in July but right now it's an inconvenience, not a crime.
I would be very careful about alienating this guy. Screaming at a vendor,
threatening lawsuits or suggesting that you're going to "punish" him by not
paying a portion of the amount due is likely to get your gun placed at the
back of the line.
I would first and foremost, write him a letter sending it regular mail. Be
dispassionate in your phrasing, don't exagerate or try to be dramatic. Just
recap the facts, tell him that you know how tough it can be to run a
business and set some kind of reasonable deadline for completion of the job.
Ask him to contact you if there will be any delay beyond that. The goal here
is to get your property back with the work completed on it.

If you get no response, I would then send a little more strongly worded
letter. Send 1 copy "registered, receipt requested" and another copy regular
mail. If he refuses to sign for the registered letter but the letter sent
via regular mail isn't returned to you, most courts will consider that
sufficient proof that he did receive a copy of the letter. This could prove
to be invaluable in the event that he has no intention of returning your
property

I don't recall if you mentioned his location in relation to yours. If you're
in the same state, you may have the opportunity to utilize the small claims
courts to make a claim (in the event that it becomes clear that he has no
intention of returning your gun). If he's in another state, it's very tough
and costly to pursue him in his jurisdiction. I have to think that
"stealing" your handgun is not like stealing the IPOD that you sent in for
service. Some agency, state or federal will want to get involved.

Hopefully it won't come to any of that. It's likely that he's just way
behind in his workload and doesn't know how to explain that to his
customers.

Threatening, browbeating or exagerating the harm that you've suffered due to
his negligence seldom get's you what you want with a mom and pop business.
They know you're never going to use them again so they concentrate on the
customers that they CAN salvage.

I do hope this all works out for you.


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