Chet -

I hope everything is going as smoothly as possible for all of you at Lancaster Arms. When we spoke on the phone 2 weeks ago, it was clear that there are some difficulties being experienced at the company. However, I would like to recap and explain some difficulties that I am experiencing with Lancaster Arms as a loyal customer.

On July 10th, 2011, I contacted Lancaster Arms via telephone and obtained the necessary information as to where to send my Russian Red wood furniture from my Lancaster Arms AK47 for warranty work due to imperfections in the red finish. I was instructed to pack each piece of wood into a box and include a note with my serial number and explanation of the problem/s I was experiencing. I was also informed that I could make the request to have a "palm swell" style lower hand guard if it was included in the note. When I inquired as to what the turn around time was for warranty work, I was told "about 3 weeks, but maybe sooner as wood repair doesn't take very long." I was quite excited about this and thanked the person I talked to up and down for the incredible customer support!

On July 12th, 2011, I shipped all of my Russian Red wood furniture to Lancaster Arms via USPS with delivery conformation. The items included were my butt stock with all accessories still attached, my lower hand guard, my upper hand guard with gas tube, and my wood pistol grip. I also included all mounting hardware, screws and or bolts/nuts. I also included a very descriptive and detailed letter which was in an envelope labeled "READ FIRST".

On Mon, Aug 1, 2011 at 1:11 AM CST, I sent you and email confirming, with a picture, the style of lower hand guard that I requested. After that I had contacted Lancaster Arms via telephone asking for an update which is when I was told that it would be a couple days and it would be sent out. My name, address, phone number and email address were all confirmed with me and I was told that I would be sent a tracking number after it had been shipped.

On Tue, Aug 9, 2011 at 5:41 PM CST, you, Chet, replied to my email that I had sent on the 1st of August and stated: "Hi, Yes it is bulged as requested - Lancaster"

On Wed, Aug 10, 2011 at 1:58 AM CST, I replied to your email by stating: "Awesome! I really appreciate you guys doing this for me! I am getting married in September and my bachelor party will more than likely include some shooting events. Do you think I will have my furniture back before the end of August? Thank you - Nate"  **THIS EMAIL WENT UNANSWERED**

I waited.......

On September 7th, 2011, I contacted Lancaster Arms via telephone. I told the very nice woman (who I had spoken to in the past) who I was and she placed me on hold for 4 minutes. You, Chet, then picked up the phone and asked how you could help me. I explained that I had been waiting for going on 8 weeks for my furniture to be refinished and you apologized for the wait, explained some unfortunate difficulties that were being experienced at Lancaster Arms and told me that you would see to it that my furniture get finished soon. You also told me, as I calmly explained my frustration, that you appreciated my attitude and would include a free sling for my AK47 as a thank you to me for being patient. You confirmed my name, address, & phone number. I thanked you and our call ended. About an hour later, I called Lancaster Arms again and requested to speak to you directly as I had just talked to you and had forgotten to ask for an estimated time of arrival for my furniture. I was told that you would call me back. You called me back shortly after that and told me "it will go out in a few days, and I will call you to let you know it has shipped."

Chet, it is now September 21st, 2011, and it has been 2 weeks since that phone call with you and I have still not received my wood furniture, nor have I been contacted by anyone at Lancaster Arms to notify me of a possible delay. It has been roughly 10 weeks that I have been waiting, patiently, for my items to be returned to me from getting the warranty work done. I would really, truly appreciate my items be shipped out. I have been more than patient and have done everything that I was requested to do by Lancaster Arms to make this a quick and easy fix.

Please respond to this email, or call me at phone-number-here as soon as possible.

Thank you,

Name Here

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Acceptable in my opinion...

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What kind of blems did your RR furniture have?

Pics?

.

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You're not out of line at all.  In fact, you're probably being more patient than I would be at this point.

ETA:

http://lancasterarmssucks.blogspot.com/

Same people I assume?

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Great! So, I am screwed! Well there goes all the value that my rifle did have. I am sure I will never see that wood again.

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Some bubbles (not caused by heat from being fired) and the finish was flaking off at the rear of the butt where it met the metal butt end.

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What happened with Henderson firearms?

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

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Am I out of line here? Would you be frustrated as well? Any advice?

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Looks like you are handling this in a professional manner, more so than others would I'm sure.

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You are basically screwed.  Lancaster is bad news.

To get anything from them you are pretty much going to have to get the Arizona Attorney General on their ass.  Chet is the biggest lying piece of shit in the AK world.

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All I got out of this is that you asked some guy named Chet to help you get bulging wood for your bachelor party.

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I thought about just getting new furniture from somewhere else but then I remembered that I sent them my gas tube with the upper hand guard still attached (per their instruction).

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Some bubbles (not caused by heat from being fired) and the finish was flaking off at the rear of the butt where it met the metal butt end.

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Gas tubes are cheap.
 

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I understand, but the finish won't match. Not only that, but I shouldn't have to purchase a new one or even a new stock set as Lancaster should've already had everything back to me.

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All I got out of this is that you asked some guy named Chet to help you get bulging wood for your bachelor party.

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You're not out of line at all.  In fact, you're probably being more patient than I would be at this point.

ETA:

http://lancasterarmssucks.blogspot.com/

Same people I assume?

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I understand, but the finish won't match. Not only that, but I shouldn't have to purchase a new one or even a new stock set as Lancaster should've already had everything back to me.

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My experience as well.  Chet is a scumbag of the lowest form.

Good luck, hope you get your stuff back.


D.

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Wow... think this blogger is a just a little bit obsessed????  I mean yeah, this business seems crooked, what they are doing to customers is wrong and there may very well be intentional deception going on but whoever is blogging this stuff has way too much time on their hands to become so obsessively involved in spreading the word that Lancaster Arms is a screwed up business.  Assuming the person who writes that blog was personally ripped off by Lancaster, it is understandble that they would want to get the word out to the consumer, warning them to stear clear of this company.  At the same time though, it seems odd that someone would devote so much effort into proving that Lancaster is engaging in fraud.  I guess they are doing a service to the consumer by getting the word out there that Lancaster is shady, and for that I appreciate their effort.

"Sorry for the delay, We are finishing a complete Inventory control system that will help us keep better control of what comes in and goes out. I will answer your request on Monday when this thing finally up and running. - Lancaster"

"Chet -

That's unacceptable. Just send me my stock set back and I will just deal with the imperfections. Lancaster Arms has lied to me now on 4 different occasions.

I expect to have my complete stock set with gas tube sent out to me by Monday. I will have a representative pick my items up in person if this is not done.

I have been more than patient, and more than accommodating to Lancaster's situation."

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UPDATE: Chet responded with:



My response was as follows:



I still feel that I am being reasonable and not over demanding. Yes?

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UPDATE: Chet responded with:



My response was as follows:



I still feel that I am being reasonable and not over demanding. Yes?

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Op please post this in the Az Hometown fourm.


20

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Wow OP you have WAY more patience than I do.


You are doing the right thing by demanding your stuff back.  Stay on him.

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My experience as well.  Chet is a scumbag of the lowest form.

Good luck, hope you get your stuff back.


D.

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UPDATE: Chet responded with:



My response was as follows:



I still feel that I am being reasonable and not over demanding. Yes?

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If that guy had any scruples.......he would take the time to PERSONALLY resolve your problem and get your furniture back to you.

He is a lousy businessman and doesn't really care one whit about you apparently.

I wouldn't trust him to mow my lawn.

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I started that blog, XM.  

No, I don’t have unlimited amounts of free time.  On the contrary I work full-time, run a business on the side, tend to my family and have an active social life.  However, when I am defrauded by a business, and subsequently discover that dozens and dozens and dozens of other people are experiencing the same thing, it’s hard for me to just shrug my shoulders and say, “Oh well.”  The Chet Durda’s of the gun world exist precisely because they know that most people will allow themselves to be ripped off, and will just chalk it up to experience rather than complain about it publicly.  People like Chet Durda count on it that people like me won’t be “obsessive” about exposing their shady business practices.  

If you read that blog, it explains my own situation in great detail.  Chet Durda, the owner of Lancaster Arms, took $800 of mine for a gun he knew he couldn’t build because, as I discovered later, he didn't even have the parts.  He originally told me the gun would be delivered in two weeks.  But over a period of months, he blatantly told me bald-faced lies time and time again, including twice telling me “your rifle is shipping tomorrow”.  (It never did, because it never existed.)  I eventually did a charge-back to retrieve my money, but as I looked into things, more and more people were coming forward saying that similar things had happened to them.  To make a long story short, Durda managed to rack up about 60 Better Business Bureau complaints in a two-year period, and more than a few people have had to contact the Arizona Attorney General’s office and/or the Goodyear Police Dept. to get any resolution from Lancaster Arms.  Things got so bad that earlier this year, the Goodyear Police Dept. had to launch a criminal investigation due to the sheer number and nature of complaints.

So, this blog wasn’t started because of one disgruntled consumer who had nothing better to do with his time.  It was started because I was seeing a pattern that suggested something with Lancaster wasn’t on the up-and-up, and I didn't want other people to rely only on Durda’s pathological lying when potentially sending hundreds of their hard-earned dollars to Lancaster.  It is an unfortunate fact that the firearms industry attracts its share of vermin, and I think that as a community we have an obligation to out these players once we can establish that what they’re doing is far-removed (in a bad way) from normal industry practices.  I only wish more of us were “obsessive” when it comes to matters like this.  

BTW, for everyone I’ve seen who complains about this blog or questions it in some form or the other, I’ve seen 10 people who’ve said something along the lines of “Thank you for taking the time to put this information out there.”  Not surprisingly, it appears most consumers prefer to have as much knowledge as they can – good or bad - when contemplating a purchase.  When the party on the other side of the transaction (Lancaster) has a reputation for extremely poor business dealings, it unfortunately makes blogs like this necessary so that those people who are new to this hobby don't have to learn about Lancaster the hard way.  

ETA: I just looked at the BBB complaint log for Lancaster, and even AFTER being investigated by law enforcement earlier this year, it appears that complaints have still been steadily rolling in all summer.  In that link, click on the "+" tab for "BBB did not receive a response from business", and you'll see that well over a dozen complaints have been logged just in the last couple months.  This is a business that truly just Does. Not. Care.  Unbelievable.