Atttorney needed - Worth County, Missouri

[Naphtali]

Being uncertain whether filing in Small Claims Court, filing criminal complaint, chatting with BATFE, or other procedure to begin, I request the name and contact information for an attorney in Worth County, Missouri.

Problem to be resolved: Shipped USPS one rifle plus payment-in-full to a gunsmith. Completion was confirmed by gunsmith by telephone as being the end of June. Having communicated by email only since the end of October, gunsmith furnished USP tracking number. USP never actually took possession of rifle to ship. Gunsmith has not respond to anything since November 6.

No rifle. No refund. No communication.

Solution?

[rancher1913]

maybe call the local sheriff and see if he will go talk to said gunsmith.

[jonp]

USP or USPS? If USPS and they furnished a tracking number then a complaint filed with them. The USPS maintains it's own law enforcement and they are quite serious as messing with the US Mail is a Federal Crime right off the top.

In Trucking, which is my employment, State Scale Houses, Law Enforcement etc can order any trailer opened for inspection except 2. Customs sealed and bonded shipments and the US Mail. No one can break that seal

[knifemaker]

You might try contacting the law enforcement agency that has jurisdiction where the gunsmith is doing business. Explain the problem and see if they will be willing to take a criminal report concerning the theft of a firearm. If they say no, then look for an attorney to file civil court action which may cost you more then the firearm is worth. Another thing to consider, maybe the gunsmith died before shipping your gun.

[ShooterAZ]

https://www.martindale.com/

[HATCH]

This is what I would personally do. This doesn't reflect Cast Boolits, its owner, staff or members but what I would personally do.

(1) send a certified letter requesting A) status of firearm, B) return of the firearm, and C) possible refund of money
(2) Contact the regional BATFE branch. ->https://www.atf.gov/kansas-city-field-division
(3) Contact the USPS concerning the status of the package. You need to explain that it was a firearm that was legally sent in for repair and it was being returned in accordance with Federal law.

If your certified letter is returned, DO NOT OPEN IT. keep it sealed. This is proof that you attempted to contact the FFL.
You might need this for legal action.

I would do #1 and #2 right away. Wait on #3 because you know that he never shipped it because if he did he would of responded.

[Naphtali]

USP or USPS? If USPS and they furnished a tracking number then a complaint filed with them. The USPS maintains it's own law enforcement and they are quite serious as messing with the US Mail is a Federal Crime right off the top.

In Trucking, which is my employment, State Scale Houses, Law Enforcement etc can order any trailer opened for inspection except 2. Customs sealed and bonded shipments and the US Mail. No one can break that seal I transposed letters. I intended to identify the shipping label without any corresponding shipment item as UPS - United Parcel Service. I shipped to the gunsmith by way of USPS - United States Postal Service.
***
There is substantial useful information here, and for that I thank all of you. My error that I just corrected caused a question to pop up. Having sent the package by USPS while receiving nothing, might this not be actionable as mail fraud - if I file a complaint?

[WILCO]

I believe it would be.

You can contact the Postmaster General's main office by calling the main United States Postal Service customer contact number, 1-800-ASK-USPS. The mailing address of the Postmaster General is 475 L'Enfant Plaza, Washington DC 20260.

https://www.reference.com/government-politics/can-contact-united-states-postmaster-general-1ab7e82c931b9cc1

[bedbugbilly]

I may be incorrect on this but just because the fellow furnished a USPS does not necessarily mean that the item is shipped. If he purchases postage online and prints his own shipping labels, I believe a tracking number is furnished and recorded by the USPS. I have purchased items where the seller purchases postage online and furnished a tracking number, but when I put the tracking number in when they have notified me, it shows that the number has been issued but the package has not yet been accepted by the post office for shipment. Whether the USPS Postal Inspectors would follow up on it would have to be checked out with the PO. A call to the fellow's local LE agency with and explanation of what is going on seems like it would motivate a visit by one of their officers to follow up on it - especially when you're talking firearms shipment and possible fraud where you don't know who has the possession the firearm or what it could be used for.

Good luck - hope it all works out for you.

[Petrol & Powder]

Not for nothing, but are you sure the gunsmith is still alive?

I think what you need is someone on the ground in the locality of the gunsmith to see if he is: alive, in business, not in jail, ran away with the neighbors wife and your money, etc. ?

If he is around, certified letter is a good place to start.

After that, a local lawyer may be the route to take. In any event - you're likely to spend WAY more money than the rifle is worth if the guy is just a deadbeat. Proceed with caution - it makes no sense to spend $5000 to recover a $1000 rifle. At some point it is not about principle but rather just the bottom line.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

I re-read your original post a couple of times now, and if I got it straight the gun was supposedly shipped back to you via UPS? I've shipped many firearms that way, and the tracking number is generated when the shipping label is printed. Stick the label on the box and hand it to the employee behind the counter. Might work differently in different locations, but overall they're pretty uniform. My suspicion would be toward theft, loss, or mis-delivery by UPS. May very well have happened right there at the depot and the gun never entered the system at all. The last time I shipped a long gun they insisted that the box had to be marked "Firearm". Not only does the size and shape of the box indicate the possible contents, but now they want it declared right on the box. Might as well stamp it "Please Steal Me". The gunsmith probably figures it's lost in the system and is hoping that it will turn up. The shipper and the carrier will have to resolve the problem between them, and eventually someone will probably pay you, but you may never see the gun again. :cry:

[Naphtali]

I re-read your original post a couple of times now, and if I got it straight the gun was supposedly shipped back to you via UPS? I've shipped many firearms that way, and the tracking number is generated when the shipping label is printed. Stick the label on the box and hand it to the employee behind the counter. Might work differently in different locations, but overall they're pretty uniform. My suspicion would be toward theft, loss, or mis-delivery by UPS. May very well have happened right there at the depot and the gun never entered the system at all. The last time I shipped a long gun they insisted that the box had to be marked "Firearm". Not only does the size and shape of the box indicate the possible contents, but now they want it declared right on the box. Might as well stamp it "Please Steal Me". The gunsmith probably figures it's lost in the system and is hoping that it will turn up. The shipper and the carrier will have to resolve the problem between them, and eventually someone will probably pay you, but you may never see the gun again. :cry: Shipping label dated November 6. Gunsmith's last email response to my repetitive requests for return of rifle was: (November 20) "will provide expedited shipping information with photos of your finished rifle by end of day. [his name] very sorry for delay."

[Geezer in NH]

Call the police or sheriff in his city or town. Have them investigate.

Ever think he may be in a hospital or funeral home? Again call them that is what they get paid to do.

[Soundguy]

Ditto.. I'd start with local law enforcement. If they refuse.. try BATF.. I have doubts that they will help, but never hurts to ask.

[Petrol & Powder]

Lots of possibilities but no certainty.

1. "Gunsmith" took rifle and money, sold rifle and ran away. The gun was never shipped back to the rightful owner.
2. " Gunsmith" shipped rifle back but to the wrong address and provided a false tracking number to hide his error. Then stopped talking to customer.
3. "Gunsmith" - died, suffered a debilitating injury, got arrested and incarcerated, went bankrupt and is hiding from creditors or just ran away.
4. Gunsmith repaired gun, shipped it and provided the correct tracking number and UPS lost it. Gunsmith got annoyed with repeated contacts and stopped responding to the customer.
5. Gunsmith hasn't repaired gun and is stalling for time to repair gun and lying about shipping it back.

[HATCH]

from my research, the gunsmith in question has a history of LONG ship times and delays.

I am not gonna post the gunsmith info as that is up to the OP.

[Petrol & Powder]

Long shipping delays do not excuse the lack of communication with the customer.

Per the OP, the "Gunsmith" provided a tracking number. UPS says they never got it.

This could easily be resolved by the "Gunsmith" communicating with the customer. I'll give the "Gunsmith" a pass if he is incapable of communicating (medical problem, dead, etc. ) but in the absence of a valid excuse, it sure looks like the "Gunsmith" is lying.

[MaryB]

And he is not dead, I looked him up too.


from my research, the gunsmith in question has a history of LONG ship times and delays.

I am not gonna post the gunsmith info as that is up to the OP.

[nvbirdman]

Petrol and Powder left out number 6. Maybe the gunsmith fell off the wagon.

[Petrol & Powder]

Good point, still needs to return e-mails, phone calls or send a letter.

[jonp]

Ok, UPS. Contact UPS to make sure they have no record of picking up the shipment. Just issuing a tracking number doesn't mean the Gunsmith actually shipped it. If UPS doesn't have a tracking you have some good advice above. I'd call the local Sheriff, tell him/her the story and ask for a wellness check to make sure the guy is still alive then proceed from there. A visit from local law enforcement might be all that is needed to get the guy moving.
If he hasn't responded by now maybe something is wrong with him.

[waksupi]

BATF takes a very dim view of missing firearms from an FFL.

[Soundguy]

BATF takes a very dim view of missing firearms from an FFL.

"IF" it's missing.

[salpal48]

My Experience with attorneys and the court. Is that even if You have a Good case. and You win . Most Likely you will never Get the Item back Or collect on It.. . The party is obligated to pay but most never do. Then go back to Court get The lean and still never get Paid.
The only One who will get paid Is your attorney. Most small attorneys are not cheap. expect at least $200.00 per
Hour +
Good Luck

[Thin Man]

I would like to hear a bit more detail about your UPS tracking number. Things like is the number assigned to the shipper, and is the delivery address to your destination (I think you stated you shipped direct to the 'smith) address. Just having a number and no details leaves a bit of air in this story. Thanks.

[Mr_Sheesh]

If it goes that way & you get a Lien, take it to the county Sheriff; You'll have to put a deposit in, but next - to get paid - you have them go in and confiscate every computer hard drive & piece of computer related media (floppies, USB Thumb drives, backup tapes, etc.) in their business, to the amount that covers the Lien. Used computer media is not high cost so you will be getting ALL their media; If they don't pay, it's sold at auction & you get the proceeds... Methinks the proprietor will settle in minutes rather than lose all their computerized records, perhaps forever... Friend has done this against spammers who he traced from their emails and made a small fortune doing that, sadly after I moved we lost contact. He does NOT like spammers!

[bruce drake]

Did the gunsmith send you photos of your completed firearm as he stated he would in your last message from him four weeks ago?

[Naphtali]

Did the gunsmith send you photos of your completed firearm as he stated he would in your last message from him four weeks ago? No photographs, no communication since November 20 email quoted in #12.
***
TAC14: If I wanted to work with any attorney, I can use search engines as well as many. If I want to put the "Old Boy" network to work on my behalf, I query as in #1. Furnishing superfluous information when I seek on-the-scene legal assistance wastes everyone's time. That legal assistance would be saturated with details that are relevant for the attorney to do the job.

[abunaitoo]

I'm not sure, but this could be a civil matter.
If it is, LE might not be able to do anything. In hawaii anyway.
Had a friend give a frame and pay for a job to be done.
Guy stopped answering calls. Moved.
Asked a cop to help. He said it's a civil matter and they can't do anything unless the courts tell them to.
This may just be here. I don't know.
I'm wondering if the post office would help. It is mail fraud. Even if not with them.
If this person is as bad as it sounds. We would all like to know who he is. Help someone else from having to go through the same thing.

[Geezer in NH]

What did the police in his town or city say? Still no answer on that whatever. IMHO it is a slam dunk for them so why not. It is criminal fraud not civil problem.

They do not want to help contact city manager or selectmen.

Do not sit and be quiet that does nothing.

[kingstrider]

Wow that sucks to hear. I used a gunsmith one time that took many months longer to complete a job than what he quoted. Fortunately he was only a few hours away in the same state but eventually came through. Hope you get this settled!

[Naphtali]

I filed mail fraud charges with Postal Inspection Service.

[Soundguy]

Keep us posted.

[Naphtali]

This afternoon I retrieved a package containing a rifle, unused parts, duplicate parts, and a refund-in-full. So far as I am concerned, my Mail Fraud complaint has been satisfied.

Having examined the work done on the rifle, I understand why he was extremely reluctant to return it - or acknowledge my existence. The rifle I sent was a Rossi Model 92 stainless steel carbine in 454 Casull. Including Braz-Tech parts and parts from other Rossi stainless steel 92s of the same caliber, I was to receive a lookalike of a Ceracoted® Winchester Model 1892 45 Colt [b]rifle with 24-inch octagon barrel within a dyed rosewood laminated birch stock, checkered. Of course there were many nuances I am omitting for brevity.

The acceptable work: I wanted a straight grip converted to half-pistol grip. My initial examination shows this to be done effectively.

Regarding the remainder of the work, it is - by at least one order of magnitude - the worst work and workmanship I've seen. Where to begin? Well, the rosewood laminated birch stock ain't. It is some garish mishmash of colors. How anyone who is not legally blind can mistake the stock blank from which he worked to the stock blank I identified for him by graphic, description, and specific vendor from whom to order is a mystery. I am not denigrating those with poor eye sight. I am accurately judging an impossible misidentification, for there is no other way to describe except as having been done deliberately. It goes downhill from this beginning.

The worst facet of my experience and upon my initial examination of my rifle is that it is so grotesque that my enthusiasm for my rifle-revolver combination has altered to a loathing. I hope my loathing will abate over time. Perhaps after a gunsmith whom I trust verifies the rifle is safe to shoot, and feeds cartridges without any problems, I'll pop a few caps and begin to accept it?

If you are a doubter that the converted rifle cannot be that poorly done, contact me to arrange to examine it and judge for yourself.

The name of the person with whom I contracted for my conversion is Regan Nonneman.

[Mr_Sheesh]

Dang. Sorry for your problems, at least you got something back; I don't know if it'd be worth it to sue them in small claims court over this, but if you do that I can tell you how to collect, given a judgement (Basically you go to their places' sheriff office or the like and go through a procedure there, and confiscate property if they won't pay, the sheriff then sells it to pay for your judgement's value - Usually if you pick the right items they'll pay promptly...)

[ShooterAZ]

Very disappointing to hear. That guy needs to hang up his hat and quit business IMHO. I'm glad you disclosed who it was so we can all avoid problems in the future. Very sorry for you Sir.

[Naphtali]

Moderator: If you think this kind've windy post should be a thread OP in LEVERGUNS subforum, please make it so.

I've had the thing for more than a day. The conversion of lever and bottom tang to half-pistol grip is not a good job, contrary to what I typed previously. It appears that the thing will need extensive surgery to metamorphose to my lookalike [Winchester] Rossi Model 92 rifle with shotgun butt. Many people out there claim to be competent gunsmiths - not merely parts' replacers. Those of you who have had metal work comparable with subtle reshaping of bottom tang and lever and making a rifle stock from a stock blank (unless someone can identify a source for stock sets for 1892 and clones having half-pistol grips) please make a recommendation whom I may call to chat. Smiths like Steven Hughes, John King, Steve Young are so backed up with work, I've ruled them out. Since I don't require a "great" job, merely a good one, I hope to hold down my cost while increasing the likelihood of my rifle's completion more quickly. I would even go so far as to have the existing garish wood adjusted to be functional - if that can be done. And I'm not confident it can be.

I'm experiencing a meltdown. That's the main reason for my jabbering at you by keyboard. What I need is a decent, reasonably priced, relatively speedy gunsmith who is really a gunsmith and not just a parts' replacer. I had believed I had one. I was wrong.

[Plate plinker]

Unfortunate and as you have discovered good gunsmiths are booked way out. I would get in the waiting que with one as the lines are not getting any shorter.

Best of luck to you.