So, your gat is stolen, & recovered by the Po-Po

[pneuby]

Do you HAVE A RECEIPT for its purchase by you, proving it's your's? Stay with me....

I was in one of our many small little LGS the other day. Fella walks in and asks if it's possible for him to get a copy of his receipt of purchase for his Glock. I jokingly ask, "What department stopped you and confiscated your gun?". However, it was a case of what I titled the thread. Glendale PD had recovered his gat, which he obviously had reported as stolen. (No, I didn't ask from house/car?). SHould be enough, me thinks...but, I guess not.

The FFL explained that the PD will require proof of ownership, by either a receipt or BOS. I said I keep photographic records of my shite. He replied, "How would they know you didn't buy it stolen, and merely have it in your possession?"

He said that he occasionally buys privately, not connected with the shop. If the seller refuses a BOS, he'll bring it into the shop, log it onto the books as having been received, and then 4473 it(log it out?) to himself. Now then, I didn't press it further, as I had other stuff on the brain. HOwever, when I buy private-party off the net, my FFL wants a copy of the D/L from the seller, or he won't release the gun. I find it hard to believe a guy that refuses to do a BOS would offer up his D/L long enough to record the information.

Suffice to say, have any of YOU had this happen? Anyone that can attest to such practice, or refute it, through their own police experience?

 

[Suck My Glock]

My experience has been that policies like the one with Glendale P.D. you describe are always and only just department policies, and NOT any sort of law precedent they need to follow.

Phx.P.D. for a long time simply saw to it that guns "disappeared" once delivered to the property division. It was their officially unofficial policy to not return guns if at all possible. The matter of having a receipt wasn't and isn't about you proving ownership; its about demonstrating enough evidence that your attorney could cause them problems, and the first step in the train of events is proving you even had it in the first place.

The police and their attorneys do not fear YOU. They know that you are unlikely to know enough about how things really work to be able to cause them any consequences. But they DO fear insurance investigators looking into details over a claim. Authorities are used to controlling investigations into themselves. But when investigations into them by outside forces they do not control happen, their reflexes are entirely different.

Whether your firearms are actually insured or not,...ALWAYS claim they are when trying to get them back from the P.D. If/when you don't get any action while trying to politely get them back through the regular process, demand to know who the officer in charge and point of contact is for your insurance company claim processor so they can follow up on your "collectible and unique" property. This is usually enough to make your previously lost item suddenly be found and reappear.

 

[TheAccountant]

It might be time to find a new FFL. A BOS/receipt is not required to establish title. Either someone got it wrong at the PD or there’s something fishy that’s bringing that guy’s ownership of the firearm into question.

As for the unrelated issue with the money transfers, the reported transactions are for goods and services and not friends/family transfers. Also, the TOS of all of those companies prohibits transferring funds for firearms/ammo and you’re at risk of having your account (and funds) frozen and potentially seized anyway.

 

[Shootist]

I've had Phoenix PD return 2-3 guns that were stolen, the rest are probably in Mx somewhere. No proof of purchase was required on my end.

 

[TheAccountant]

It might be time to find a new FFL. A BOS/receipt is not required to establish title. Either someone got it wrong at the PD or there’s something fishy that’s bringing that guy’s ownership of the firearm into question.

As for the unrelated issue with the money transfers, the reported transactions are for goods and services and not friends/family transfers. Also, the TOS of all of those companies prohibits transferring funds for firearms/ammo and you’re at risk of having your account (and funds) frozen and potentially seized anyway.

So you're saying that F&F PP is okay, but if not F&F or a zelle isn't? From what I was told, let's say I zelle a friend for a co op reservation of something, and it falls through. I get zelled back my money, it still will generate a 1099 despite no extra income being actually earned.

In regards to gun sales and the associated things like accessories and ammo, getting paid by zelle was super convenient. Now we're going to need receipts of everything as a just in case should we decide to ever sell, or just do cash only to alleviate the entire mess.

It may be convenient but they will shut you down as it’s a violation of their TOS. The reporting is for business transactions. Pooling money or repaying part of a dinner expense doesn’t generate a 1099-K.

 

[Cmoor]

If you report it stolen and provide the make model and serial number in a police report there should be no problem getting it back.

 

[XJThrottle]

I had to recover one of my pistols from the po po.

Some BS went down at my house, I'll save you all the BS..., and someone surrendered one of my pistols to cops at my house while I wasn't there. I just went down to the property unit, showed my ID, and they handed it over. I did have the original box with the matching serial number, but it wasn't needed.

 

[pneuby]

Well, at least one common-sense success story with Phoenix PD. Hoping for some others.

Think about your Grandad's class ring, stolen from your jewelry box. You've had it for years,
and could sketch it out from memory. It's recovered from a pawn-shop, after the perp unloaded it.
You have no receipt, nor other way to prove it's your's. Are they going to keep the ring? Me thinks not.
WHY should a gat be any different than the ring, your old tube TV-set, or Victrola vinyl player?

 

[Flash]

Just another rumor for the gun culture to go nuts over.

 

[TheAccountant]

Well, at least one common-sense success story with Phoenix PD. Hoping for some others.

Think about your Grandad's class ring, stolen from your jewelry box. You've had it for years,
and could sketch it out from memory. It's recovered from a pawn-shop, after the perp unloaded it.
You have no receipt, nor other way to prove it's your's. Are they going to keep the ring? Me thinks not.
WHY should a gat be any different than the ring, your old tube TV-set, or Victrola vinyl player?

Exactly. Under the FFL’s logic, anything that was gifted, inherited, or didn’t have a serial number could be stolen without recourse.