In March of 2024 I purchased a used LWRC SMG-45 with a pistol brace from Guns.com. The purchase process was smooth, the price was great and I was very happy.
I have pistol braces and decided to do a Form 1 SBR. I purchased $500 worth of upgrades for it and eagerly waited for F1 approval.
In June 2024 I received a DENIAL on my F1. It seems the previous owner had applied for a Form 1 under the pistol brace amnesty period. The response I received from BATFE was that the firearm was already in the NFA database.
In July I contacted Customer Service. After a month, after a nasty lawyer letter, I finally got a manager involved. A few days later I received a call back and was informed they had reached out to the original owner who informed them they had sent a letter to BATFE to have the firearm removed from the database. They were giving me a $100 gift card for my trouble. GREAT! I asked for a copy of the letter. None ever came. This is late August. I kept contacting them every other week through October to get an update and no response.
In November I reached out to a couple of BATFE agents I have dealt with in the past out of the Detroit Field Office and asked for assistance. They put me in touch with a senior analyst at the NFA Technical Division in West Virginia. The analyst stated, as far as he could see, the firearm had NOT been removed from the NFA database. The analyst stated that he believed I was in possession of an illegal NFA weapon. I disagree as there were multiple 4473s but decided I was done fighting this.
On December 5, 2024 I received an RMA number to return the firearm free of charge. I used a local shop to package and send it (shout out to The Firing Line in Westland for their assistance!). The firearm was shipped out December 6, 2024 and received by Guns.com on December 10, 2024.
On December 17, 2024 I emailed to check the status of my refund. I was informed they could not refund my original payment method and would be sending a paper check. On January 3, 2025 I emailed asking for an update on my refund. No response.
Today I emailed and called customer service. I have been promised they would overnight a check to me today. We shall see.