Firearm lost in shipping ...

I have a question regarding a possible firearm lost in shipping. Quick back story:

I bought a new firearm in February. A part came off after an outing. I contacted the manufacturer who said to send it back with a work order as it is covered by their warranty. It was shipped back to them via UPS Next Day Air. It is now two days past the scheduled delivery date, I called UPS, and they don't know where it is, so they opened an investigation to find it. If they can't, I'll have to "enjoy" the delight of filing a claim with them. I hope that they do locate the package and this question remains purely academic, but if it doesn't, I'd like to be ready to take whatever steps necessary.

I understand that an FFL must report any lost or stolen firearm to the ATF. Ditto NFA firearms by both licensees and non-licensees. I see nothing on their site that indicates that applies to non-licensees who have a lost Title I item, nor do they appear to accept such reports.

Question: If a non-licensee returned a regular, Title I firearm to the manufacturer for warranty repair, but the carrier lost the package in transit, what steps should be taken with any law enforcement agency? Presumably a report should be made with a local agency. I don't live within city limits, so I'd imagine it would be filed with the Sheriff's office. Beyond the legal requirements, what are some advisable additional steps?

Thanks much any guidance.

 

Are you asking, what steps SHOULD be taken, or MUST be taken? Because those could be two different things. Practically, you should follow up on this, but there might not be any legal reason that you must.

And I don't know what a loose gun in some other state/county would matter to the sheriff in your county. I don't presume that the manufacturer is inside your own county, otherwise you would not have shipped it next day air

First obvious question: What state are you in? And how about the manufacturer?

I'm an FFL holder, so I know the federal regulations over my business, but since I'm on my phone I can only venture a guess that you, a non-licensee, are not legally bound in federal law to notify anybody. Your state very well could require you to notify law-enforcement of any lost or stolen firearm.

 

Both.

I doubt they'd give a rip, but I'm reasonably sure they'd take the report. My state does not require such a report, but there would be a record of the fact that it was lost and no longer in my possession.

 

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but, was the gun insured to actual value? UPS only provides a basic level of insurance, $100 I think.

 

Yes.

 

good, so what's the status?

 

Good news is that it wasn't lost or stolen. UPS' assistance with this has been nearly worthless in every respect. However, when I contacted the manufacturer yet again and this time they confirmed it was delivered and it should be shipped back next week. UPS still shows it as disappearing into the ether. The working theory is the label was somehow damaged and/or the driver who made the delivery didn't log it and get a signature. I plan to press for a shipping refund because it wasn't next day delivery and the run-around has been pretty bad.

I also spoke with a family member of mine who was a local LEO for many years. He said while it is not required to report such a loss, he strongly recommend I file a report with either the Sheriff's office or our State Police. His reasons were:

1. It creates a paper trail.
2. While the locals, naturally, won't do anything about it, it does get submitted to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC). If the firearm ever turned up, it would be matched up to that report.

While what he told me may not be taken as gospel, he is generally knowledgeable on the topic and I would have filed a report, if necessary. I'm not going to now for the obvious reason.

Beyond that, over the decades I have had many firearms shipped via UPS for various reason and never had a serious problem. Ditto using them almost exclusively in my business life. This experience has inspired me to look into another common carrier moving forward, though, I'd imagine they all have their weak points.

 

If it were me I would have simply asked for a replacement part and done the work myself, I hate shipping firearms and very rarely do, the carriers have gotten so bad it just isn't worth the risk.

 

Tried that route. First time I talked to them they said the parts were on backorder. Called again and was told they had the parts, they shipped them to me, but it was for a completely different model. Annoyed, not wanting to waste more time, and realizing it was covered by their warranty, I just shipped it back. Other than UPS' incompetence, this appears to have been what to do as it will be back next week.