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Xferring SOT burns. now what?


DGinGA
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My 1921 Thompson is in jail, waiting for approved Form 4. Yesterday, they had a fire which has closed the business. The fire started on the rifle range when some bonehead fired tracers into the shredded tire backstop (is there no lower limit on stupidity?) From the media pictures, it looks like the front portion of the building where the offices and guns are is intact, so Im (wishfully) thinking my gun is OK, though possibly exposed to water.

 

Ive got a call in for the Class III manager to get more information, but meanwhile a few questions:

1. Is the dealer financially responsible for buyers property being held on their premises for transfer, gunsmithing, etc?

2. My intent is to demand to inspect my gun, and clean it if necessary. Hopefully today, as rust can form quickly. If he says no, can I involve the police, or will an attorney have to be hired?

3. Is there any (good) reason to involve ATF? No doubt theyve been notified by now by the dealer or local cops.

4. Should I get the dealer to Form 3 my Tommy to another SOT? Or will that reset the Form 4 transfer clock? ATF cashed the check in October.

 

Any advice or experience others have had is welcomed. This is the sort of circumstances that can become a bureaucratic nightmare.

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Off the top of my old head:

 

Very sorry to hear this. Have some experience with a fire in my shop so here're my thoughts.

His main business concern is protecting his firearms from theft, as well as damage,doing cleaning etc, etc and finding a temporary and legal and secure storage location, which will have to be done immediately. Hopefully the building can still function in this regard.

As soon as possible request of the dealer access to your property for inspection and ask if there are any conditions that might prevent this. It might not be possible yet due to damage, fire inspector restriction, etc, etc. There may be issues about safety of the building or other issues with access to the property so ask about this or consult with the FD. There may be issues with local ATF since it is a licensed gun dealer's property. Dealer must be with you for legal access to the gun. Keep in mind that the dealer has a huge amount of stuff to deal with right now and your problem is one of many. From what you say, the building sounds like it was not badly damaged which may bode well for your gun. Moisture is the devil here, as you note and even if the gun was not burned directly it might have been exposed to hot humid air, ash, chemicals in the atmosphere, etc.

His main business concern is protecting his firearms from theft, as well as damage, etc, etc and finding a temporary and legal and secure storage location, which will have to peen immediately.

 

Insurance should cover losses for assets on the property and I doubt he would not have insurance. Adjusters show up very quickly for a claim and will make every effort to settle as quickly as possible. Assessing damage will take some time. Make sure your claim is properly established and documented. If his books are OK then the presence of your gun on the premises will be documented. ATF is OK with an MG being stored at a different but completely secure location other than the premises with the registrant having sole access to the lockup. This means he can store the NFA somewhere that meets those requirements until he can take it back to the shop. This includes his home as well where he can legally keep NFA as long is it meets the security requirements.

 

Police will not have any interest except maybe to safeguard the premises from theft, etc assuming that the fire was an accident as you stated.

 

If the SOT feels he cannot be responsible for the transfer any longer due to this event then it would be best to ask him to cancel the transfer and transfer your gun to another SOT. E-file is a matter of days between dealers. However, since the F4 is in process and nothing has changed with his SOT, and the transfer is months away, by the time of approval he could be up and running again. Again, he is up to his ears in problems and might not be able to take care of your issues immediately.

 

All I can think of. Good luck!

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I recently went through this with a local gun shop where i had a $1500 HK pistol being gunsmithed. Doors locked, a phone number that no one answered on the door.

 

took 2-3 weeks before they returned my phone call. Im sure they had 50+ customers bugging them for the guns. They were unable to hand any guns over until the insurance assessed everything. When i came to get my gun the smithing was done. my gun had not been damaged, but i saw many guns that were rusted to hell from the water. total loss on them.

 

all i can advise you to do is be patient, contact them and wait. Realize it takes insurance companies time to look at everything. hopefully your gun is ok...if not of course they have insurance. I would also recommend you get firearms insurance yourself. Its not that expensive.

 

maybe another NFA item off the list? hope not

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UPDATE: NFS dealer fire

 

The NFA manager said the retail and offices were not involved. Range is in a connected yet separate building with a 3 foot thick brick and stone wall between (these are very old buildings). No fire, smoke, or water entered this area, so all firearms are fine. The store reopened today, so except for shooting, business as usual. The range will take at least 6 months to reopen, if at all (Lawrenceville has become hip and gentrified; won’t surprise me if ‘environmental’ or other excuses stop reopening for shooting).

Thanks for the advice. This is a serious wake up call to get insurance and my NFA records in order ASAP.

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Insurance on something you do not have in your possession, at your insured premises, may be a problem.

 

I'm sure different carriers grant coverage differently, and I have Collector's Insurance. They require that every item over $5000 be scheduled. After a purchase of a C&R gun, I called them to inquire about coverage and schedule the item. I told them that I now owned the gun, but could not take possession until the transfer was approved by the ATF. I was told there could be no coverage under my policy, as I did not have the gun at my insured premises (listed in the policy and rated based on fire and burglar protections), and it was not in a Bank or Safe Depository. There is a Coverage for Property Away for the Scheduled Premises, but this is "temporary as for travel, in your personal possession or that of your authorized personal representative." The Company clearly didn't believe this coverage would apply. There are also coverages for items being shipped or at a show or exhibition. These, too, did not fit.

 

I suppose I could have scheduled it and paid for the coverage, and tested them in court if I had a loss, but the policy language didn't look very favorable to my side of the argument. And, I'm sure they can afford more lawyers than I can. Basically, I schedule and insure my NFA guns when the transfer is approved, and they are then covered during the shipping, and when they get here.

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