Warranty Repair Shipping Question

[TomJ]

I've sent guns to Ruger, Smith and Wesson, Dan Wesson, CZ, Springfield Armory and Sig for warranty repairs over the past couple of years. When sending the guns back Ruger, S&W, Dan Wesson and CZ all shipped them to my home address but gave me the option through Fed Ex to have the gun held at a local Fed Ex location as opposed to having to take the day off and wait for it to be delivered. It's been a while since I sent anything to SA so I'm not sure what their pollicy is. Sig is the only company which does not allow me to do so, meaning I need to take a day off of work and if I miss the Fed Ex driver because I need to run out for a while, which happened today, I either need to take another day off of work or go to their depot later in the day to pick it up.

I've asked Sig at least twice to allow me to have the gun held at a local Fed Ex location and have been told that it's their shipping policy, and today was told that those are the ATF rules. It doesn't make sense to me that four major manufacturers are violating ATF rules and Sig is the only one of the group which follows them. I'm curious as to whether this truely is an ATF requirement or if the Sig rep is telling me stories.

 

[herrwalther]

Sounds like a story to me. Or how Sig's lawyers have instructed the shipping department to return firearms after repair.

From the ATF FAQ page

6.May I lawfully ship a firearm directly to an out-of-State licensee, or must I have a licensee in my State ship it to him? May the licensee return the firearm to me, even if the shipment is across State lines?Any person may ship firearms directly to a licensee in any State, with no requirement for another licensee to ship the firearm. However, handguns and other concealable firearms are not mailablethrough the United States Postal Service and must be shipped via private common or contract carrier ( 18 U.S.C. § 1715). The USPS and private common or contract carriers may also have additional restrictions on firearms shipments by unlicensed persons. Firearms shipped to FFLs for repair or any other lawful purpose may be returned to the person from whom received without transferring the firearm through an FFL in the recipient’s State of residence. FFLs may also return a replacement firearm of the same kind and type to the person from whom received (18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(2)(A)). An ATF Form 4473 is required for the return of the firearm, except in instances when a firearm is delivered to a licensee for the sole purpose of repair or customizing, and the same firearm or a replacement firearm is returned to the person from whom received (27 CFR § 478.124(a))

One thing you can try to do is contact Fedex, especially if you have the tracking number. See if they can hold the package for you on their end, considering you have been able to do that in the past from other makers.

 

[TomJ]

One thing you can try to do is contact Fedex, especially if you have the tracking number. See if they can hold the package for you on their end, considering you have been able to do that in the past from other makers.

I've done that in the past. Their website does not allow it and their cusotmer service reps told me they can't due to Sig's instructions.

 

[Jim Watson]

I've sent guns to Ruger, Smith and Wesson, Dan Wesson, CZ, Springfield Armory and Sig for warranty repairs over the past couple of years.

Darn, you have been unlucky.

 

[Riomouse911]

Sig has been jerking my buddy around for weeks. Ca has the idiotic roster of “safe guns,” and Sigs 320 isn’t on it...but LEO’s can buy “off roster” guns for duty use. He bought a 320 and qualified with it for duty use, but it had an issue and It needed a warranty repair so he called Sig. They insisted a FFL had to do the transfer to them, and also receive it back after it’s repaired, because it is “off the Ca DOJ roster and therefore can’t be sold to civilians”. (Remember, he is a LEO and already owns the gun!)

When the FFL called to get the repair order number do he could ship it, Sig wouldn’t talk to him because he isn’t the owner. It’s been sitting for two weeks in limbo; Sig won’t accept it directly from him and yet they don’t discuss the repair with the FFL sending the gun because it isn’t the dealers gun. Plenty of calls to Sig from both and it’s still sitting there.

Truly a prime example of piss poor communication between the legal yahoos who run corporate life and the boots on the ground trying to decipher their instructions.

Hopefully they get it together for you better than they did for my buddy.

Stay safe.

 

[TomJ]

Darn, you have been unlucky.

I'm not sure if I am or not. When you add the number of guns I currently own and the one's I've sold off, I'm guessing I've sent somewhere between 5% to 8% of them in for repair. I don't know how that repair % rates.

Hopefully they get it together for you better than they did for my buddy.

I picked it up from Fed Ex's terminal yesterday evening. I couldn't take another day off of work. I hope things work out for your friend.

 

[Texas10mm]

I'm not sure if I am or not. When you add the number of guns I currently own and the one's I've sold off, I'm guessing I've sent somewhere between 5% to 8% of them in for repair. I don't know how that repair % rates.



I picked it up from Fed Ex's terminal yesterday evening. I couldn't take another day off of work. I hope things work out for your friend.

5%-8% is pretty high. I've never had to send a gun in. Either you're unlucky or picky.

 

[TomJ]

5%-8% is pretty high. I've never had to send a gun in. Either you're unlucky or picky.

I guess that makes me unlucky. I won't send a gun in for repair unless there's a real problem with its as I don't have time to ship working guns.

 

[Riomouse911]

I’ve sent in three Rugers; a Standard, a MkII and a Redhawk, and one S&W m-66 went to Smith...but all were at least 25-30 years old before they went in. All needed to be resprung or something similar due to use/age.

I have yet to need a warranty repair on a newly purchased gun (knock on a walnut stock!!)

Stay safe.

 

[cjwils]

Back to the original question. I think once the shipper has the gun, you can make a request to the shipper for them to hold it for you at certain shipping terminals. You can probably make that request easily on-line. If they try to deliver to your home when you are not there, they will leave a notice that will have information on it that you can use to request rerouting to a local terminal.

 

[wally]

Darn, you have been unlucky.

If you've never broken a gun, you just ain't been shooting enough!

 

[Texas10mm]

If you've never broken a gun, you just ain't been shooting enough!

I've replaced parts in guns many times. I've never had to send one back to the company.

 

[TomJ]

I received a call from a supervisor at Sig this morning. They had the option to allow Fed Ex to hold guns being shipped back from warranty repairs at local Fed Ex hubs, but they received more favorable terms with Fed Ex by not doing so. He said the customer service rep I previously spoke to blamed it on the ATF because "it's sometimes a difficult conversation to have with customers." They're inconveniencing their customers in exchange for more favorable shipping terms and then lying about it. I currently own 10 Sigs, so I've obviously been a fan, but this doesn't exactly inspire continued brand loyalty.