Recent NFA check delays increasing?

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Arizona_Mike

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I'm still waiting on my 3 Form 1s from early February. Those checks were cashed almost immediately. My last 3 Form 4s are not off to a great start.
You used to at least be able to count on them to take your money quickly.

Check written and sent---Cashed
5/31---6/11: 11 days
6/4---6/13: 9 days
6/25--7/15: 20 days!

The first and third were suppressors ordered by the dealer on Feb 8! If 6 months from check cashing is still a valid estimate (I doubt it is), I am looking at well over a year to take possession.

Any way you look at it, this is very poor customer service.

Mike
 
Blame Congress and everyone who submits a Form......

Arizona_Mike ....Any way you look at it, this is very poor customer service.
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I disagree.....their customer service has not changed one bit. What HAS changed is the volume of NFA forms swamping ATF.

They are operating under the same number of document examiners as they were last year, but the number of forms submitted have increased. Sequestration and budget restrictions have prevented the hiring of additional examiners (which was in the plans).
 
How is not having the staffing to meet demand not a component of customer service?

Mike
 
Arizona_Mike How is not having the staffing to meet demand not a component of customer service?
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1. "Customer service" usually means a business is involved.
2. ATF is a government agency, not a for profit business.

It's relatively easy for businesses to add staffing when business operations demand it. Government doesn't work that way.;)
 
Any way you look at it, this is very poor customer service.
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The whole point of the NFA was to make it difficult or impossible to get title 2 weapons. Good customer service isn't really a priority when that's your mandate.

As far as wait times, I'm hearing 9 months. I'm not sure if that's from submission or from pending, but it's not good news for those of us who are waiting on transfers... :uhoh:
 
Mailed mine jan 4th, check cashed on the 21st. Still waiting. Form 1 SBR.
 
Sara Jones, who was the sole examiner for Texas was promoted and her paperwork went to other folks, namely, Jason Bowers. One less examiner for the largest NFA weapons purchasing state; yeah, that will slow down the process a bit.
 
I just got off the phone with the ATF. 3 Form 1s sent mid-February went pending April 30, end of Jan/early Feb at the earliest. Guy said 9 months from pending is standard.

Mike
 
just heard that the ASA has been pushing hard with the ATF and they are going to bring 10 more examiners online within the next 2 months. The contractors they hired last year were nixed due to sequestration, but 10 examiners are being shifted over from the licensing center.

i think this will bring wait times back down significantly.
 
Charger442 just heard that the ASA has been pushing hard with the ATF and they are going to bring 10 more examiners online within the next 2 months. The contractors they hired last year were nixed due to sequestration, but 10 examiners are being shifted over from the licensing center.
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This rumor has been going around for four years now.
 
Charger442
Quote:
Originally Posted by dogtown tom
This rumor has been going around for four years now.
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Yeah sequestration wasn't going on 4 years ago and the ASA was just formed in the beginning of 2012.
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No, the rumor about ATF adding or transferring additional NFA examiners is a long standing rumor.

Kinda funny when people blame sequestration or credit ASA..............neither has changed anything.
 
Charger442 This was also a long time rumor and has now come to fruition.

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/201...nfa-transfers/
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Why do people believe some of the nonsense on that site?

The author just propagates the myth of ATF having electronic copies of the 4473...............wholly and completely wrong. The E4473 or Electronic 4473 is form filling software only and does not send a copy to anyone. Yet internet numbskulls continue to spread this myth.
This is bound to raise some privacy concerns, what with the ATF now having an electronic copy of not only the NFA stuff but your form 4473 as well.
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Just spoke to NFA. 9 months from pending is standard. My checks were cashed July 25th, transfers expect to complete in April 2014. He stated the increase was due to more work and less people. Wish I would have known this when I spent all that money in December of 2012...
 
Arizona_Mike said:
I'm still waiting on my 3 Form 1s from early February. Those checks were cashed almost immediately. My last 3 Form 4s are not off to a great start.
You used to at least be able to count on them to take your money quickly.

Check written and sent---Cashed
5/31---6/11: 11 days
6/4---6/13: 9 days
6/25--7/15: 20 days!

The first and third were suppressors ordered by the dealer on Feb 8! If 6 months from check cashing is still a valid estimate (I doubt it is), I am looking at well over a year to take possession.

Any way you look at it, this is very poor customer service.

Mike
Click to expand...

Customer Service? Huh? The NFA branch of the BATF does not exist to make money or service customers.

Anybody looking to purchase an NFA item should know up front what they are in for, there are plenty of resources available online that provide very accurate NFA form time estimates. If you aren't willing or patient enough to deal with the wait, don't play.
 
It sounds like you find your knee pads comfortable.

Mike

PS. Besides querying the database at NFATracker.com back in January and finding the average wait was 180days from check cashing to stamp received in the mail, exactly what else are you suggesting I should have done?
 
Six months ago F2's were taking 7-10 days, now it's five weeks.

Sequestration has had an effect, not just at the ATF but also at the FBI, which does the background checks. Checks being done for NFA transfers have a lower priority than those for security clearances, and as was pointed out, there are now a lot more in the pipeline.
 
at $200 a stamp, the NFA branch should be self funding.
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The VAST majority of transfers that the NFA branch completes are transfers/registrations on form 5s, and form 3s that are not taxed individually. Things like dealer to dealer, and dealer to police transfers.
 
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