First FAC Application - Not Going Well

[Toxster]

Download the form from the Met's website. No mention of where to post it to or whether it gets handed in at a Police station....

Check on website, no mention there either. Call the Firearms Enquiry Team (FET)..... phone rings and rings.....finally goes to answerphone where it says we are open 9-5..... please do not leave a message. Call back again and again, no answer. If you wait long enough it says "please do not leave a message" followed by "please leave a message...."

Email the FET asking where to post the form...no reply after two weeks......

Decide to post to the Firearms Enquiry Team (FET) as that is the only address shown.

Post form to referee for signature, referee says he has posted back to FET but may not have put on enough postage.....great.....what's the bet I have to start again...

 

[Naseby]

Toxster,

I was previously with the Met and found them a dream to deal with.

Btw I went to the website and found the address in seconds under 'Contacts':

6th Floor
Empress State Building
Empress Approach
London
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]SW6 1TR[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]Regarding Referee's Forms I always hand to them with pre-addressed, stamped envelopes.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, sans-serif]If you can turn on the charm and get them to complete and seal the envelope then you can mail them in.

​Hope that helps
[/FONT]​

 

[Pine Marten]

You want the Firearms Enquiry Team North for Ealing, Empress State Building, 6th Floor, Empress Approach, Fulham, London SW6 1TR. Make sure you send everything by recorded delivery. They state that they'll deal with it within eight weeks, so if it hasn't been that long yet, you'll have to wait a bit longer. Ah, and they won't do anything until they receive the forms from the countersignatories. Also, if you call them, only discuss admin matters with the admin staff. Only talk firearms with the actual FEO.

 

[Toxster]

Phew, at least got the address right. The "North" bit I guess they will figure out. Recorded....ah, didn't do that..... Referee forms probably arrived a day or two before the main bit.

Thanks for that.

 

[8x57]

Phew, at least got the address right. The "North" bit I guess they will figure out. Recorded....ah, didn't do that..... Referee forms probably arrived a day or two before the main bit.

Thanks for that.

It doesn't need to be sent recorded delivery that is just Pine Marten playing safe. It would have been good manners for you to have paid the postage for the referee after all they are doing you a favour, it shouldn't have to cost them to do so. When I was the secretary of a rifle club I would receive several renewals a month to sign along with acting as the one referee. It was surprising the number of members who would hand me their applications and would expect me to have to pay the postage.

 

[Toxster]

Pints bought.

 

[Cris]

Hey Colin

What call did you go for in the end? One week left in India then back to the Roe and Unties.

Cris

 

[Buckaroo8]

If you wait long enough it says "please do not leave a message" followed by "please leave a message...."

That is just typical

 

[Toxster]

Hey Colin

What call did you go for in the end? One week left in India then back to the Roe and Unties.

Cris

I've put down for three .22s (One peep sighted match rifle, one other match rifle scoped for benchrest - prob. an old BSA - and one scoped rifle for LSR competitions and general plinking) and .308.

 

[Toxster]

That's nearly two weeks. When is polite to call and check they received the form?

 

[sonny2dap]

That's nearly two weeks. When is polite to call and check they received the form?

that's where recorded comes in handy, I'd suggest 6 weeks before phoning thats the time it took first time I applied for my SGC, response seems to go quicker if you had a recent dealing with the force for another matter I.E a shotgun certificate. when I was waiting for my FAC I had a response inside 3 weeks but I had recently been granted my shotgun cert (6 months earlier), bearing in mind I was dealing with Devon and Cornwall and they seem to be one of the better forces to deal with.

 

[Toxster]

My FEO is meant to be a good guy, just guess that I can't email him direct as we haven't been formally introduced. I didn't do recorded as they say they don't accept couriers, guess I took it a bit too literally....

So they don't send back a comp slip saying "Received with thanks..." or somesuch...?

 

[palmer_mike]

My FEO is meant to be a good guy, just guess that I can't email him direct as we haven't been formally introduced. I didn't do recorded as they say they don't accept couriers, guess I took it a bit too literally....

So they don't send back a comp slip saying "Received with thanks..." or somesuch...?

No You won't get a confirmation, just give the office a quick call to check they have relieved it. Sure they will be able to tell you and won't be a problem to ask.

 

[Pine Marten]

My FEO is meant to be a good guy, just guess that I can't email him direct as we haven't been formally introduced.

He's a good guy, but he doesn't do deal with the admin, so he wouldn't necessarily know anything about your application until the office tells him. Once they give him all the paperwork, he should be pretty quick about it. They usually have a bottleneck somewhere around August/September when a bunch of people try to renew their SGCs before the shooting season.

 

[Hotdog]

same old

 

[Tim.243]

With my last variation I took it in to Essex Firearms Department just to get one of the staff to check all was fine with the covering letters as I was applying for an open ticket.
Previously my first FAC application went in the internal post of my local police station addressed to the FAD.

Tim.243

 

[Toxster]

Cheque was cashed today, so no need to call - yay!

 

[Toxster]

Had an email on Friday, it's now gone "Upstairs for final signature...". Hopefully it'll be here for payday on Friday...!

 

[teabag_46]

You're going to be like a five year old kid, just before his sixth birthday, waiting for the postman to deliver birthday cards everyday

 

[Toxster]

Indeedy - doubtless followed by feeling like a bankrupt...

Got knocked back on one of the .22s which is fair enough as it was my "extra" rifle for starting a benchrest comp. I can get the comp. started with my LSR rifle then stick in a variation next year.

There's an old club Match 54 that I'll buy; followed by a .308 and a matching .22LR for stalking and practice/LSR respectively. Want to keep the spend to less than £1500 so it'll be 2nd hand all the way this time.

Off to Bisley every weekend this month to sign up with the BSRC, do the Open day and various other admin. bits and bobs. Then I'll get some stalks booked.