Tag to see if OP grows a pair.

You need a NIB M4. They screwed the pooch on this one.

YOU DO NOT NEED A LAWYER TO SUE SOMEONE IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT. IT IS A WASTE OF MONEY AND IS COMPELTELY UNECESSARY.

Sorry for shouting, but this thread is a black whole of legal ignorance. I've sued people twice in small claims court (and made many other threats to do so) and I've never once used a lawyer. All you have to do is conduct about 3 hours of research on the relevant laws, get your crap together, and let the pawn shop know that you will be suing them and why. However, if you take them to court, be sure to have any claim that you make BACKED UP IN WRITING. For example, if you say that the pawn shop loaned you 500 dollars, be sure that you are able to produce a receipt to back it up, and so on and so forth.

Honestly...small claims is a piece of cake.

Re-sized so you won't miss it OP. This is BS you need to get this tajken care of and DEMAND your shit back. Stop being a pussy and giving them a chance. Every business I gave a 'chance' to make things right only used that time to build up their case against me. There is no honor among thieves and that is exactly what you are dealing with right now. The more time you let pass the harder it is going to be to prove your case.  

He's probably not getting his gun back.

JESUS.......TALK TO CORPORATE AND FILE A POLICE REPORT.

ost    

You need to grow a pair and man up.


They owe you, not the other way around.  You're getting soaked by jackasses and you're allowing them to do it.

He's not even acting like he wants it back.

Pawns shops in Texas are regulated by the State, need to find out which dept handles that and file complaint with them.

Well this is probably a troll thread, but nevertheless, if they sold it to an innocent 3rd party he ain't getting it back.

Their fuck up equals their loss.  I wouldn't take the M2 they are offering.  

The only thing I would be interested in is the exact model in the exact condition as the one I pawned.
or
At least 100% current replacement value.
or
Benelli M4, just because I want one

In Texas, they are regulated and inspected by like the Texas Consumer Credit agency and they are bonded for colossal fuck ups like this.

If they don't make it right and serve up a replacement to your specifications, there will be a 1-800 number posted in their shop and on the back of every pawn ticket to call for filing complaints.

When I used to work at one in college, we had a robbery and had some customer guns get stolen. My boss kissed major ass to keep those people happy. One guy lost a cz-75. My boss gave him a Belgium Browning Hi Power to keep him satisfied and not complain. But they all had to pay off the loan first.

And as a former pawnbroker..that's what I said.

Tagging this one.  Find out the MSRP for a new M1 and they owe you that.  If not, call your local ATF office, and the local sheriffs department and report a stolen gun.

Well, actually, they shut down an old pawn shop several years ago because the owner's son couldn't keep his hands off of other people's stuff.  Pot of Gold was the name of the shop.


Not saying that's the case here (badfish's suggestion that this is a troll thread is sounding better).  The BATF did come in, shut the place down, took their FFL, and charges were filed.

Probably not but what he doesn't realize is that he will get the original value of his gun back and then some. If you are smart you include court fees and lost wages in your claim for small claims court and as long as it is a reasonable claim you will get what you ask for. That M2 they are offering him is probably defective in some way shape or form. It will probably end up costing him money. He is about the only person I know who pawns their good stuff.

so OP pawns it, they have to hold on to it for 60-90 days or so.
he goes back a week later to get it.
finds out its been sold out of state.     even though OP still owns it.

they are a nat'l chain,...there is no way they would have posted it on their site that quickly, if it was pawned.

even blaming a new guy @ pawn shop...there are a lot of processes that have been bypassed @ pawn shop
there is a lot of missing or improper info in this one.  multiple things are hinky.


OP, i bet you get taken advantage of a lot.

Small Claims court.



No Lawyers.



 

You want cash.

Store credit only costs them a fraction of the cash value.

OP, if this is indeed not a troll thread..... you need to be proactive on this.  I would demand nothing less than another new M1.  Like others have said, pawn shops are heavily regulated.  A couple of phone calls to the right people might be in order.  

At least demand to speak with Corportate on the matter before you fold.

You would think...

Most of you folks really have no clue.  I'm not sure why you're even posting.

What you think 'stolen' means, and what it means in the real world are obviously two different things.


To try to frame this in a different perspective, think of this:
You own a computer repair store.  One of your technicians isn't up to speed on the proper way to fix a computer, and fucks up, destroying all the data on the hard drive.  

Customer posts on AR15.com's GD, and they tell him your data is stolen and to call every alphabet agency they can think of, whether they have jurisdiction of any sort on any issue involved.  


Now, just think.... before you get spun up in righteous indignation... does the availability of recovery actually factor into whether or not this is theft?  Is the data stolen if it can be recovered?  Does the intent of the repairman or you (the shop owner) factor into if this is really stolen?  After you work through these questions, the determination of 'stolen' should become more apparent.  If not, please, please, please don't do business with any humans, as humans tend to have occasional mistakes, and sooner or later, someone might have one with you.  Your reactions are over the top.

Exactly.



Ring ring... ring ring...

NIBM1-new-owner: Hello?

Shop: NIBM1-new-owner-guy?

NIB: Yeah, what?

Shop: This is Pawn Shop... about that NIBM1, we weren't legally authorized to transfer that weapon.

NIB: Well, shit.

...





Of course, that assumes that the Pawn Shop actually sold it. I'd bet that they still have it or that they 'sold' it to an employee.





 

At this point, I would just involve the authorities.

Why do you care what it costs them to make right on their fuck up?  If he's entitled to $1000 cash, but they're willing to give him $2000 worth of store credit that is actually useful to him, whats wrong with that?  Who cares if it really only cost them $850 to cover their fuck up?

Also interesting.  They should not have taken your payment:

(b) Acceptance of payments. Any payment may not be accepted from the pledgor and the original pawn ticket must be returned when pledged goods are:

 (1) lost and not replaced;

 (2) damaged and not restored to the condition at the time pledged; or

 (3) unavailable for redemption.

This was one of a series of fuck ups.  I can see where they'd want payment before going through the effort of calling in NICS.  After the call to NICS they probably discovered that the gun was no longer in the shop.  They probably should have refunded his payment at that point, but were in such a cluster fuck, didn't really know what to do.  Whomever disposed of the gun is probably going to get fired.  Whomever was supposed to make sure that the gun didn't get mixed in to the 'out for sale' pile, will probably get fired.  The manager on duty, who didn't refund the OP's cash per this regulation will probably get fired if this moves from the local level to corporate.  Store manager is going to have a tough time on this one as well from Corporate.  All the more reason to keep working with the local store at this point, as they're well motivated to make you happy and go away without making too much noise.  This will probably equate to a better settlement then going to corporate, as corporate at some level will not want to be 'extorted' by a pushy customer, their fault or not.

Small claims court typciall allows limited discovery.  Find out who they sold it to and how much they paid for it.  If it was a third party, they likely sold it for a pretty penny, establishing your damages.  If they sold it to an "insider" like an employee, there is a good argument that this was a willful act of theft.

Tell 'em you'll call the cops unless the produce the 4473. Right now!

(and I'd also be on the phone to corp and any relevant regulatory agencies)

It sounds like you're rolling over like a puppy.

Here is a step by step way to handle it:

Step 1

Inform the pawn shop that the M2 is not an acceptable alternative.  Point out that it is a $500 weapon whereas the weapon you pawned was worth at least $900.  (at least that is my understanding from others posts).  Inform the pawnshop you want 1) your weapon, in the same condition it was left in 2) an equivalent weapon, or 3) a specified cash payout based upon the value of your weapon.

Step 2

If you do not get satisfaction, make a complaint to the Consumer Credit Commissioner of the State of Texas.  Note that one of the regulations quoted here makes that a prerequiste to legal action.

Step 3

Go to small claims court.

Other actions, like contacting the ATF or the local PD, are at your discretion.  If the problem persists, I would probably make a police report because it might be useful at a later date.

I think the OP needs to come back or we should abandon this thread.  It's becoming redundant.

So he gave them money AFTER they lost/stole his gun??

Apparently, but it'd be reasonable to assume that the clerk that took his payment and started the background check didn't actually know the gun was missing beforehand.  Pawnshops don't generally retrieve collateral from the back room until after the business up front is concluded.  The mistake made in this portion of this monumental fuck up is that they should have returned his payment right then and there.

This makes no sense....  


They sold a firearm that wasn't theirs to sell.  I'd contact the ATF and local law enforcement and report it.

They know who purchased the firearm because of the ATF form.  The shop, ATF, and local police can go right to that individual and get the firearm back and refund that person's money or trade.

OK - so he left with no gun AND he paid them $500??

He did.  By his report, when they initially couldn't find it, they told him they'd keep looking and would call him later when they located it.  I'd guess they didn't want him standing around wasting his time if someone shelved the gun in the wrong slot and they didn't have immediate access to it.  At that point, I'd be that they still thought the gun was in-house, and it took more investigating to determine that someone fucked up really bad and the gun was gone.

Wow, just noticed your in Irving. What pawn shop was it? My neighbor owns a few in town and he knows people.

This. Make them buy you an M4 Super 90.

Some comments on this thread:

1. Please, everyone, STOP with the “Call the ATF!” stuff.  The ATF does not involve itself in low-level consumer matters.  It just doesn’t.  So no need for anymore “Call the ATF!” cries.

2.OP, from what you’ve posted here, my guess is that you’re either 1.) Not telling us everything, or 2.) You’re not being proactive.

3.I agree…the “we sold it” bit sounds fishy, given the laws surrounding how long a pawn shop must hold something, and given the amount of time it takes to sell an item.  IF the timeline the OP gave us is accurate, I find it hard to believe they could have sold it online so quickly.

4.OP, assuming everything you’ve shared here is 100% accurate, you need to talk with them and be polite, but firm.  Speaking for myself*, I would calmly explain that they wrongly sold my gun, and that I will need either the gun or – if they can’t produce it in a timely matter - its fair market value.  If they balk, you need to calmly tell them that the resolution they’re offering is not acceptable, and that while you’d hate to escalate the matter to the police, a regulatory agency and/or small claims court, you will do so if necessary.

5.Here’s where it gets tricky: If you don’t get a proper resolution and you threaten to escalate the matter, you have to actually mean it.  You wouldn't be the first guy to make a threat of seeking legal recourse, only to never be seen or heard from again.  If you have to threaten to "go there" with this pawn shop, then you have to actually be willing to "go there".  Bluffing will not get you anywhere.

This entire situation reminded me a bit of the Lancaster Arms fiasco.  When Lancaster started telling people “Your gun is shipping tomorrow”, and months then went by with no gun arriving, I saw several people online write different versions of, “Well, it looks like I lost $500”, or “Looks like this was an expensive lesson for me.”  I was absolutely amazed that someone would let themselves be swindled and, for lack of being willing to expend a couple hours of effort, just resign themselves to the fact that they had been ripped off.  To this day, I still think the reason Lancaster swindled so many people, is that Lancaster’s owner came to understand that a lot of people will LET themselves be swindled.  Easily.

I mention this OP, because it sounds like the pawn shop may believe that you will just go away or accept a crappy (for you) resolution if they can simply drag this matter out long enough.  To the extent you allow them to do so, well…that’s entirely on you.  If you aren’t willing to expend the necessary effort to either get your property back or be justly compensated, let us all know so that this thread can die.  As others have mentioned, every time a business is allowed to get away with something like this…it only reinforces in their minds that they can.   Which is not good for you, or anyone else.

Otherwise, put on your big boy pants and resolve the matter.  Today!

And if there are some “other facts” about this whole matter that you haven't shared with us (because we all know that with these types of threads, we’re always getting 100% of the facts ), well…that would be another good reason for this thread to die.    

* I wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place, because I would not own a $900 gun while simultaneously not being able to meet my short-term financial needs.  Hopefully you will use this situation as encouragement to get your financial house in order.  First and foremost, that means shoring up your finances so that you never again have to go to a pawn shop to borrow $500 for a week.  In this sense (and not to excuse the pawn shop), this entire mess was created by your own lack of financial preparedness.  Let this be the last time you find yourself in a situation where you leave yourself open to being taken advantage of.        

Yeah... a rookie listed a new shotgun online... because everybody lets the new guy run the online site

If one in every 1000 reads called Cash America Corporate asking about this incident, specific pawnshop and if this is how CA does their business the OP will have enough corporate attention to resolve his issue to complete satisfaction instead of this pussy footing around where; well if you're only going in an inch I guess its ok. OP is being treated like the new guy in prison that takes a shot of coffee from Bubba and are shitting blood for the next week because you believe you owe him.

Waiting for let down from op

Damn tell these assholes you want your gun back! Do not settle for anything less. In Alabama a pawn dealer would be breaking the law if they sold a gun before 21 days even if they take it in on trade on another gun per state laws. Their out of state sell means nothing, if anything seems it then becomes a federal matter once the firearm crossed state lines. Don't settle for some corporate driven bullshit excuse. They are  sticking it in you and breaking it off and it appears you are going to let them. Act now!
If you get it back and it has been fired or is scratched sue the bastards still.

What the hell?!

















 

He probably took the deal for the M2 and doesn't want to show his face here for an update after the online bashing he took.

adjusted for reality.

ar-jedi