So, I bought the double barrel shotgun from Targa911S. The one he sawed off and refinished while he was doing Henry's LC.
He sent it to my FFL of choice. I used this FFL once before and it went very well.
*( Another Pelican uses the same guy, I suppose I had an inflated impression about this FFL )*
I get an email the gun is ready for pickup. I KNOW David sent it disassembled and packaged SECURELY. When they walk out with it, it's together and I immediately ( from 10 feet away ) see a scratch on the stock. The guy put it on the counter scratch side down and begins to the transfer process. I turn it over and I can see debris on and around the scratch. I point to it and say...
"What's this? This scratch looks new."
The guy says it probably happened in shipping. I said, " Hold on a sec, are you saying this was packaged poorly?"
"uh..." blank look.
I asked "Who assembled this?"
A voice from behind me said "I did. Why?" His name is Eric.
I asked "Was this scratch on it when you opened the package?"
Another "uh..."
I lightly touch part of the scratch and get some debris on my finger and show to the guys and say "Are you telling me this didn't happen here? Can you see this on my finger?"
Two more "uh..." and after a brief silence they both say there's no way it happened in their possession and must have happened in shipping. I added the gun came from a friend that happens to be a Gunsmith and it was recently refinished. There were a few more denials and "No ways." Eric adds he's been there 5 years and assembled many, many guns without incident. No way it happened there.
I said "Hold on just a sec" and walked out to my car to get my phone and call David. Left a vm for David, went back in.
Now Eric says he DOES believe it happened there. He went on to explain he assembled it and placed it on the counter. He added the owner walked over to measure the barrels and when he picked it up the stock dragged against the edge of their glass display case/counter.
* At this point, I'm pissed. They knew all along and were lying. *
The first guy then said "Yes, it was packaged very well and not there when I opened it. Eric went on to apologize and asked how I want to handle it. I said either the stock needs to be repaired or I need to be compensated.
He said, "No problem. We'll send it back to your guy for repair and we'll take care of it. Will that be ok?"
My phone rang, it's David calling me back. I excuse myself and step outside.
We discuss and David says it'd unlikely they'll agree to ship back and pay for repair. They're prob just throwing it out as a bargaining point. But if they want to, so be it.
Back inside.
I'm still ticked and all I could think of how this very simple transaction is going south, badly. I said, "So you're going to ship it back to David for repair and you will cover all associated cost?"
*I figured ok, maybe this is easiest. I don't like the scratch, would like it repaired correctly, they're actually agreeing to do it. Hmm, I'm fine if it goes back, I'm in no hurry.*
"Yes sir. We're very sorry this happened and we'll make it right."
Sounds good to me. So I left. I spoke with David and debrief him. He chuckles and said "We're not seeing a dime out of them."
Now it's my turn for the blank "uh..."
Judas priest on a unicycle. What a cluster f.
I called the owner, Clint the next day and sure enough, get a much different position. We had a very civil conversation but he maintains there's no proof and goes on to imply I bought some gun of some internet guy. I explain the seller is not a stranger and btw, he's a Gunsmith. He knows very well how to ship weapons. Clint said something like "How do you know it wasn't shipped that way?". Goes on about "I'm not paying for a repair that cannot be proven happened here and I'd never pay for a repair that was more that the gun is worth."
He said "Let me do some checking on the value of this gun and get an idea of repair costs. I'll call you later today."
Then I called David and debriefed that conversation. David called Clint to discuss directly. Turns out Eric answered the phone but tells David he's not allowed to discuss it. David asked to speak with Clint and got put on hold. I'll let him add his comments about that convo.
Btw, Clint never called me back.
Bottom line? I'm screwed. It happened there and they admitted it. I know I can work out a repair with David and that's not my concern. We all know he'll take care of me.
Aside from spreading the word on social media about this FFL's business approach, what am I to do?