Caught In Their Sights

moneysavinglee_2

Hi Everyone, I hope your all having a good 2013 :j

I was wondering if any of you stars have got any advice on how I might rid my latest headache

Its a bit of a strange one for this place, but as brief as I can....

I have an air rifle that needed its periodical 5 year service. It was shooting about 10% down on power, but extremely consistantly. As was the accuracy. It was, for all intent and purposes, in perfect condition. When I got it back from the factory that built the rifle, there were small scratches/marks/damage on the rifle. It didnt shoot straight either. The negative things about the rifle all pointed to it having taken a knock. I took it back and they replaced some parts FOC. But now there are new problems with the rifle as well as the original ones!

The factory have said they will help me ''scope the rifle in properly'' but I know for sure its not me doing something silly. But other than that, they are basically taking the stance now that when the rifle left them the first time it was perfect (their justification for charging nearly douible what the other gunsmiths charge for a service is that the rifle will come back ''working exactly like every other brand new rifle that leaves the factory''), as it was the second time. Even though they changed parts FOC!

On the phone they are saying that they are meeting me half way as it is. But surely half way isnt what i paid for?

I havent had time to go down yet, but will either tomo or next day. Im trying to figure out my options on what I can do next.

Im guessing that I need to give them the option to fix it and prove that it is within the tollerance limits that they claim it is. If they are correct on that then thats fine, but i know it isnt. If not they need to give a replacement?

The problems are A) getting them to do that. I assume i have little proof that it was them that did the damage. The thing is, its not like you can get the gun out and start firing away when you pick it up! I do have an invoice showing replacement of parts FOC, and I have 2 other people who know the rifle VERY well and are willing to testify that its worse than it was before it went in.

How many/what chances do i need to give them before I take further action? What further action can I take? I thought perhaps get a good gunsmith to try and repair it and sue the factory for the money I paid them and all other costs? Or shall I just sue them for a replacement? Or do I need to go to a gunsmith and get them to make a report and them sue the factory? Im really lost. I love this gun and its quite expensive too.

There are just so many issues now that I dont want to be a bore, but its becoming a right mess.... like they have given me back a different magazine, but claim that its impossible. Yet I know 100% for sure!

Thanks for any help

Looksguywalker

Scrap it please. It may save someone/an animal being shot with it.

My brother was shot in the head by a nutter with an air rifle many years ago and I'm still dealing with him as ongoing basket case. He says his problems relate to this..

squack

seeing as the o.p. has taken the trouble to have his rifle serviced I doubt he is the type of nutter to shoot someone's brother

he may well use it for shooting animals, that's perfectly legitimate as long as they aren't protected species, not all meat comes from tesco/asda you know

years ago every young lad saved up his pocket money for an air rifle, if parents managed it properly it taught respect for the weapons, and being able to shoot straight was a skill gained through the hobby

nowadays you are regarded as a potential psychopath, no wonder the country is over run with feral pigeons rats and rabbits while the current generation of obese kids are shut behind closed doors, killing virtual people on computer games :money:

moneysavinglee_2

squack wrote: »

seeing as the o.p. has taken the trouble to have his rifle serviced I doubt he is the type of nutter to shoot someone's brother

he may well use it for shooting animals, that's perfectly legitimate as long as they aren't protected species, not all meat comes from tesco/asda you know

years ago every young lad saved up his pocket money for an air rifle, if parents managed it properly it taught respect for the weapons, and being able to shoot straight was a skill gained through the hobby

nowadays you are regarded as a potential psychopath, no wonder the country is over run with feral pigeons rats and rabbits while the current generation of obese kids are shut behind closed doors, killing virtual people on computer games :money:

Don't get me going on kids nowadays!!!

Meat from tescos (from clean pest free farms!), picking up weapons and pointing them at people! IDK.... It's almost like they know they can't be trusted to be responsible! Lol

MamaMoo_2

I read the OP, and thought "hmm, how long before the anti-gun brigade are down his throat?" Very quickly, apparently.
OP, I'd advise that you allow them to do their tests, so they can see how off it is, then negotiate from there. Perhaps get statements from those other people who are familiar with your gun, stating the difference between pre and post servicing.
Unless the company made it clear to the contrary, you could argue that by replacing parts FOC they are effectively admitting liability.
Write them a letter listing any issues that were not present before servicing, and ask them to rectify it within a reasonable timescale.
If they refuse, send a LBA, and if necessary, follow through with court action.
You would be expected to mitigate your losses, though, so when coming up with a monetary figure for sorting your problem out (if the servicing company won't do it) then you'd be expected to get several quotes to find out if repairing it would be more financially economical, and if necessary, seeking the figure for repair rather than replacement.

Also, if they're guaranteeing that post-servicing the gun will be "as-new" you have a fairly good case if their tests prove the gun does not operate within expected tolerances.

shaun_from_Africa

Looksguywalker wrote: »

Scrap it please. It may save someone/an animal being shot with it.

My brother was shot in the head by a nutter with an air rifle many years ago and I'm still dealing with him as ongoing basket case. He says his problems relate to this..

As there were approx 30,000 recorded instances of knife related crime last year, I assume that you have scrapped all of your kitchen knives, work and garden knives, and all other assorted implements that could be used to harm anyone.

If not, why not?

OlliesDad

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

As there were approx 30,000 recorded instances of knife related crime last year, I assume that you have scrapped all of your kitchen knives, work and garden knives, and all other assorted implements that could be used to harm anyone.

If not, why not?

Also I'm sure car related injuries are a lot higher than gun related injuries.. maybe all cars should be scrapped.

moneysavinglee_2

MamaMoo wrote: »

I read the OP, and thought "hmm, how long before the anti-gun brigade are down his throat?" Very quickly, apparently.
OP, I'd advise that you allow them to do their tests, so they can see how off it is, then negotiate from there. Perhaps get statements from those other people who are familiar with your gun, stating the difference between pre and post servicing.
Unless the company made it clear to the contrary, you could argue that by replacing parts FOC they are effectively admitting liability.
Write them a letter listing any issues that were not present before servicing, and ask them to rectify it within a reasonable timescale.
If they refuse, send a LBA, and if necessary, follow through with court action.
You would be expected to mitigate your losses, though, so when coming up with a monetary figure for sorting your problem out (if the servicing company won't do it) then you'd be expected to get several quotes to find out if repairing it would be more financially economical, and if necessary, seeking the figure for repair rather than replacement.

Also, if they're guaranteeing that post-servicing the gun will be "as-new" you have a fairly good case if their tests prove the gun does not operate within expected tolerances.

Thanks for the advice MamaMoo.

I actually went to the factory today. They have some something to the gun, but as of yet I can't test it out. If the accuracy issues are sorted out then I guess that's the end of it, but it's still not totally right. For example, the magazine slides in and out ok, but doesn't feel as smooth and 'nice' as it did...

As it's been back to them 3 times now I guess that's pretty much given them every opportunity to put things right. I think what I'm going to do is take it to a very well recommended gunsmith I have sought out and ask him to strip it down and inspect it. The reason being is that I suspect that there may be Internal damage that I can't see and won't be obvious right away (basically, there are screws that hold things in place and I think they may both be slightly damaged).

I'll have to test it tomo and then take it to the gunsmiths for him to have a look too :mad:

The only good thing is I am told this gunsmith (who is also a retailer) has had endless trouble with this manufacturers after sales and is the sort of guy who would be happy to write a letter for me if it comes to court action.

I'll update again when I know more :cool:

PS. The last thing we should do is scrap guns IMHO. Respect for weapons, respect for life, respect for humans (!), responsibility for ones actions...all these things are the things that seem to be getting scrapped these days.

CoolHotCold

squack wrote: »

he may well use it for shooting animals, that's perfectly legitimate as long as they aren't protected species, not all meat comes from tesco/asda you know

I'm not sure I can take a horse down with a air rifle.

moneysavinglee_2

Hi Again,

Im afraid the news is not good :mad:

My rifle is not shooting straight. I took it to a gun smith and they took one look at it and told me the barrel had some kinks in it.

I dont want to keep going back to the factory and getting fobbed off, so I was wondering what do I do next?

I am guessing a letter to the company with the options of fixing or replacing it, with the threat of court? (Bearing in mind its already been in 3 times) Is there anything specific I should say to give the letter more legal weight?

Should I get a solicitor involved at this stage?

Thanks

MamaMoo_2

Firstly, get the gun smith to write down his findings, preferably as a report on headed paper, and get him to give you quote to fix it.
Then, send a copy of this to the factory, along with a detailed resolution of what you would like from them (ie fixed and in a new condition, or a replacement) and that should they fail to do so with in 7/14/28/a reasonable number of days, that you will be having it repaired by the gunsmith and will be seeking £xxx to cover the repair.
Then, if you do have to go down the gunsmith route, you'd send them a bill after having it repaired. If they failed to pay that bill, then it's the small claims route.
Realistically, this is a fairly clear-cut case and you shouldn't need solicitor involvement at all, so you might as well save your money at this point