I filled out a 5320, checked box 2 for it being a permanent move (items not to be returned to current address).

Ended up not buying the house and moving.  Called ATF, explained things, sent them a business letter saying the address of my trust had not moved.  Thought all was well.

Last week, ATF form in the mailbox, requesting serial numbers related to my letter.  Now they had stamped my letter twice - Sep 25 2020 for when they got it, and March 2021 for when they responded to it.  Not what you would call fast service.

Call them today about it - they looked up my serial numbers, and said they had approved the 5320 - though I'd never gotten it.  

So now, ATF thinks I moved out of state, but I never did.

Anyone else been in this situation - filled out a 5320 for a permanent move, then didn't?  What did you do to clear things up?

I sent them today (another!) letter, with serial numbers from the 5320 forms (they said they don't track things by Trust name but by NFA item SN#), and tried to explain things.  Not sure if they are going to understand, or when they will get to it.  The 7 month dwell time last letter doesn't give me much confidence.  

At some point I'm going to move out of state this year, and need to get this cleared up, otherwise they won't approve my new 5320 I suppose, as they will have a different permeant address listed for me than my current one.

Thanks,

I don't know - I'd have to say I was moving them from where they are not (the place I though I was buying but didn't), to my home address, and then as you say, have them mailed not to the place they think they are at, but at the same place they've always been.  

Seems like it would make it even more complicated to understand.

Surely (don't call me Shirley), there's a process for cancelling / voiding a permanent 5320 - I can't be the only dude since '34 that ended up not moving out of state.

This happened to me last year

Two years ago I sent forms in for a permanent move and made the date range all of 2020 since I didn't know exactly when we would move. Toward the end of the year I knew the move wasn't going to happen till 2021 so I emailed them asking what to do. They had me send in new forms with the new range of dates. They didn't mention anything about cancelling the old forms

The annoying part is that both times they mailed the forms back to the address I was going to in stead of where I was moving from

I wonder if that's why I didn't get the 5320 forms - maybe ATF (or AFT as diaper wearer Biden slurred it out the other day), sent them to the new address.

That would be pitiful.  How can you deal with an agency that can't even do the simplest things, like follow the mailing addresses data on their own form?

For me, it took them 7 months to respond to my letter saying I wasn't moving, and that they needed the serial numbers.  I would have thought their database could be searched by owner as well - but apparently not.

Probably

The first time it happened I assumed I filled the form out wrong, checked a box (or didn't) that I should have

Second time I read through it thoroughly to make sure. Still went to the wrong address. Fortunately I'm moving back into Mom's basement so she forwarded the forms on to me both times...

In the future the 'Mailing Address of Returned Form' section should be filling out to make it clear since '(if different than item 1)' doesn't mean shit

Good idea, I'll do that next time.  But it's incredible that they can't mail out the form to the correct address. The Transporting To box is where the items are going - most likely you not there yet, hence the form.

It's as bad as if they mailed it to 244 Needy Road, as that's printed on the form too.