Thursday, September 2, 2010

Lancaster Screw You Over? Here's How To Deal With Them:

I continue getting emails on a weekly basis, and this blog continues getting user posts, where current Lancaster Arms customers are claiming some familiar things: Either they ordered their rifle months ago and it still hasn't been delivered (even though they were given a delivery date of weeks instead of months), or they called Lancaster to get a status update, were told "Your rifle is shipping tomorrow", and then 3 weeks later they still mysteriously don't have this rifle. In other words, nothing of substance has changed at Lancaster. Still the same ol' BS.

Since I am getting a lot of "What should I do???" emails, here is what you should do if you have become one of Lancaster Arms and Chet Durda's most recent victims:

1. IMMEDIATELY call Lancaster and demand that your money be returned to you within 48 hours. Explain to them that you are a reasonable and patient person, but that you don't appreciate being blatantly lied to, and that Lancaster will need to return all of your funds without further delay.

2. At this point, Chet or Shane will themselves immediately switch into damage control mode. Chet or Shane will try to "feel you out" on the phone, and will tell you whatever they think you want to hear so that you don't cancel your order. They will throw out every excuse in the book..."the CNC machine is broken", "everyone has the flu", "the wood isn't finished yet", "the dog ate your AK", "blah blah blah".

But don't buy any of it...Chet's word means nothing, and Shane isn't much better. At this point, they will take one of two tacts with you: either they will continue trying to "sweet talk" you into waiting just a little bit longer (they'll give you another empty promise of a delivery date they again won't meet), or they'll be outright rude and tell you that you can't cancel, or in some other way they'll cop an attitude and try to bully you. Don't fall for either of these tricks! A person who has already lied to you once, will have no problem lying to you again. When dealing with Lancaster Arms, don't forget this! Chet knows that you probably still want the rifle, and he will use your own emotions against you. He's very manipulative like this. But make peace with the fact that you've been screwed over and lied to, and demand your money back. Not doing so, only sends the message to Lancaster that "Yes, in fact, you CAN get away with lying to your customers!". That is not the message Lancaster needs to hear. Stay strong. Do not "wimp out". Get your damn money back! (And BTW, document this phone call you make to Lancaster. Note the time, who you spoke with, and the outcome. You can even use a cheap service like SpoofCard.com to record the phone call. It's completely legal to do, and I would advise that you do it so that there's no "confusion" later on as to who said what.)

3. If you were smart enough to have paid with a credit card, call your credit card company 48 hours after your phone call with Lancaster, and make sure your money has been refunded. If not, do a chargeback. Your bank will credit you the money, and will notify Lancaster of what has happened. (Lancaster will lose its ability to accept credit cards if they get too many chargebacks. And in fact, Lancaster currently claims they won't take credit cards...although at least one person has told me they will if you demand it.)

If you were foolish enough to have sent a check or a money order to Lancaster, things will be more difficult, as Lancaster knows your options are more limited. They HAVE been known to tell you "We'll refund your money", only for weeks or months to pass by with no refund in sight. Here too, if Chet Durda's mouth is open...he's probably lying. So, again, give them only 48 hours to have a check back in your hands. Notify Lancaster that if this does not occur, you will immediately contact law enforcement. And do NOT, under any circumstances, accept any excuses from Lancaster.

4. If you were told you were getting a refund and it doesn't appear, or if Lancaster refuses to give you 100% of your money back, your next step is to contact the Attorney General's Office in Arizona. I've spoken with them myself, and unfortunately, they are already familiar with Lancaster Arms. Nonetheless, they will help you get your money back if Lancaster exercises its common habit of not doing what they say they're going to do.

There you have it, folks. If you're tired of excuses and lies from Lancaster Arms and Chet Durda, the above steps are what need to be done to get your money back. And I can't emphasize enough: When dealing with Lancaster Arms, do not let Lancaster call the shots. After all, trusting Lancaster is what got you into this mess to begin with. Do not try to be a "nice guy" when dealing with Lancaster, as Chet Durda will smell your weakness a mile away and will play it for all its worth. Do what you need to do, and send a message: "Lancaster, you can't expect that when you repeatedly lie to customers and constantly give them the run-around, that those customers are simply going to put up with it." No more.

22 comments:

  1. Thanks for the info. I recorded 3 calls and printed emails already. All lies. Waiting for one more and Law enforcment, my lawyer, and AZ attorneys office are going to be informed immediately. On top, either my money or a quality built AK will be in my hands very soon.

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  2. I wish I had seen this blog before I placed my order with Lancaster Arms on August 5th. I was in the market for a AK74 and was told by a local gun dealer that Lancaster makes a good product and has a lifetime warranty. I went home and searched on line. I saw some Lancaster milled AK74’s on Atlantic Fire Arms, and Arms of America, and decided to buy from Lancaster direct. They looked legit! I called Lancaster and spoke with Chet Durda for about 20 minutes he gave me a great song and dance. He told me that if I sent my money via cashiers check before that next Monday I would get my rifle within 2 weeks. Reflecting on my decision to send my money this way I know now that it was very naive of me, but with the recommendation and seeing these guns on other sites, I assumed that Chet’s company was reputable. Three weeks passed without word of my rifle so I emailed Mr. Durda. He replied I’ll call you in a day or 2. Well, the 2 days passed without word, so I started researching problems with Lancaster and saw all the bad reviews. My stomach sank. I sent Chet another email stating that I wanted him to cancel my order, confirm by email, and refund my money. This request went ignored. Since then I must have sent him 30 emails requesting cancelation and refund. I have left phone messages requesting the same thing with Marsha and Shane but Mr. Durda can never be found, is in the shop, or is not a work. Now I think they have caller ID because I just get voice mail. I finally sent a consumer complaint to the Arizona Attorney Generals consumer fraud department, and I am still waiting for action. It angers me that I could have been so trusting, and I angers me that this man can be so low. I work very hard for my money, 2 jobs, and I feel that I got cheated. I hope the attorney general’s office will resolve this for me because it took me a longtime to save the $692 I sent this company. I should have bought an Arsenal and I wish I had searched online with Google instead of yahoo, because with Google this blog showed right under Lancaster’s website, Yahoo had nothing. I hope this will help future customers stay away from this terrible company.

    Thanks for leting me vent,
    Chris

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  3. I wish I had seen this blog before I placed my order with Lancaster Arms on August 5th. I was in the market for a AK74 and was told by a local gun dealer that Lancaster makes a good product and has a lifetime warranty. I went home and searched on line. I saw some Lancaster milled AK74’s on Atlantic Fire Arms, and Arms of America, and decided to buy from Lancaster direct. They looked legit! I called Lancaster and spoke with Chet Durda for about 20 minutes he gave me a great song and dance. He told me that if I sent my money via cashiers check before that next Monday I would get my rifle within 2 weeks. Reflecting on my decision to send my money this way I know now that it was very naive of me, but with the recommendation and seeing these guns on other sites, I assumed that Chet’s company was reputable. Three weeks passed without word of my rifle so I emailed Mr. Durda. He replied I’ll call you in a day or 2. Well, the 2 days passed without word, so I started researching problems with Lancaster and saw all the bad reviews. My stomach sank. I sent Chet another email stating that I wanted him to cancel my order, confirm by email, and refund my money. This request went ignored. Since then I must have sent him 30 emails requesting cancelation and refund. I have left phone messages requesting the same thing with Marsha and Shane but Mr. Durda can never be found, is in the shop, or is not a work. Now I think they have caller ID because I just get voice mail. I finally sent a consumer complaint to the Arizona Attorney Generals consumer fraud department, and I am still waiting for action. It angers me that I could have been so trusting, and I angers me that this man can be so low. I work very hard for my money, 2 jobs, and I feel that I got cheated. I hope the attorney general’s office will resolve this for me because it took me a longtime to save the $692 I sent this company. I should have bought an Arsenal and I wish I had searched online with Google instead of yahoo, because with Google this blog showed right under Lancaster’s website, Yahoo had nothing. I hope this will help future customers stay away from this terrible company.

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  4. Sorry to hear of your problems, Anon 1:33.

    There are rumors swirling around that Lancaster has financial issues. And while I don't know if those rumors are true, Chet Durda's behavior is certainly consistent with that of someone who is barely keeping it together.

    If you don't get satisfactory resolution from the AG, simply call the Sheriff's office in Arapahoe County and file a theft report.

    As far as I'm concerned, your money has been stolen, and the authorities need to know what this company is up to. Chet Durda has screwed one too many people, and it needs to stop.

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  5. Its called mail fraud and you've got him cold. Durda needs to be turned in to the feds. I couldn't guarantee you'd get your money but Durda sitting in a little cell would be at least some satisfaction knowing he couldn't do it to someone else. BTW, all these online firearms dealers know about lancaster yet they still sell their rifles.

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  6. Let me first state that I am not an apologist for unsound business practices. My intention is merely to suggest that there may very well be other factors at play here that are not merely a direct intention on the part of said business to screw someone over. There have been a flurry of reports that suggest that gun sales are at an all time high. Certainly ammo has become more expensive and I've even heard of some instances of shortages. Thus the old supply/demand issue arises.

    I think it would not be in the best interest of the business to request the remittance of payment with a verbal promise that the product would be ready in weeks only to then sit on that payment (or spend it) and then not have said product ready for months.

    Lancaster has apparently addressed this issue as I know someone who placed an order recently but was told directly that they [Lancaster] would contact him when it was completed and ready to ship and to NOT send payment until he heard from them.

    Up until recently with this blog, the recall of the AK74's and the concerns of Mr. Locknload, Lancaster had a reputation for building quality pieces (hence this is probably why Mr. Locknload opted to purchase barrels from them right?).

    With gun sales up and more orders coming into Lancaster, isn't possible that natural delays occurred or are occurring?

    Granted this does not negate the lies and shady behavior of Chet and/or representatives of Lancaster, I'm just trying to get everyone's thoughts primarily on the demand issue (if there be one).

    Best of luck to you all.

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  7. Soapster,

    I appreciate you chiming in. However, I think your last paragraph accurately captures why the discussion in your prior paragraphs, doesn’t really matter.

    If the owner of a company and some of his employees are fundamentally dishonest, and lack even a basic understanding of business ethics, does it really matter what other problems they might have? I would say “No”, since everything a business does stems from the owner’s character, and his desire (or lack thereof) to “do the right thing.” If the owner demonstrates on dozens of occasions, as Chet Durda has, that his own character is questionable and that he appears to have no desire to do the right thing, then it is only reasonable to assume that the entire business is tainted with this pathology. Sure enough, all indications suggest that Lancaster Arms is still a total disaster.

    To address your individual points:

    1. I don’t accept that the demand situation has anything to do with Lancaster’s troubles. If that was it, we would expect to see every firearms manufacturer and dealer with the same problems. And yet, we don’t. Lancaster’s problems are uniquely their own.

    2. Lancaster has not addressed the issue of sitting on payments, and your one anecdotal experience does not prove otherwise. In fact, just as the first sentence of this blog post stated, I am still getting emails on a weekly basis from people who are having trouble either getting their money back from Lancaster, or getting a long-overdue rifle delivered. Durda ducks their calls, or tells them what he thinks they want to hear, and then doesn’t follow-up. Yes, this is still going on. Moreover, I received an email about two months ago from an anonymous source who claimed to know a great deal about Lancaster’s business. And this person confirmed that a lot of the allegations and suspicions on this blog are true. Chet Durda is in fact still up to his old, slimy ways. Which shouldn’t surprise anyone, since a leopard can’t change its spots. The factual record shows that Durda has lied to dozens and dozens of people, and I think it would be foolish to believe he has recently experienced a fundamental shift in character and integrity. That’s just not the way people work.

    3. It is not correct to say that “up until recently”, Lancaster’s reputation was good. Lancaster’s problems started cropping up en masse almost 18 months ago. But if you read the very first posts on this blog, where people talk about their negative experiences with Lancaster, it’s clear that Lancaster’s major problems actually date back to at least 2008. And really, if Mark Smith is to be believed (the owner of Arizona Response Systems, 2007 Small Arms Review Gunsmith of the Year, and one of the most respected builders in the AK community), Lancaster’s rifles were never as good as people thought (He has described why on another forum). He also said that while on the premises, he couldn’t tolerate listening to Durda lie on the phone to customers all day long. So, Lancaster’s prior reputation is itself questionable. Sometimes, it just takes awhile for the truth to leak out.
    But even if Lancaster used to make decent rifles, it doesn’t matter anyway. No one cares what kind of rifle they might have gotten 3 years ago. They care about what they’re going to get now. And given the recent catastrophic failure of a NON-RECALL Lancaster rifle (see the Sept. 2 blog post), potential buyers have every reason to question Lancaster’s current quality. (Assuming they can first get past all the other issues.)

    So Soapster, again, I appreciate your participation. But what you’re doing looks, to me, an awful lot like putting lipstick on a pig. You give only passing mention of lies and shady behavior at Lancaster, as if that might be a secondary concern instead of the primary concern it really is.

    Honestly, it may be too late for Lancaster anyway. Once you establish yourself as a dishonest business…it’s a really long road back.

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  8. I totally respect your comments and you know, as a free-market loving Libertarian, I think we can see how the free-market resolves this issue by letting Chet and Co. fall by the wayside.

    I was just putting the questions out there.

    The $64 Trillion question though I think everyone wants to know is this.....

    If someone wants a decent build and doesn't completely want to break the bank, who gets the nod??

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  9. Yes, hopefully the market will prevail. And I intend to continue doing my part to ensure the marketplace is an informed one. To be sure, if I was considering buying a Lancaster rifle today, I would definitely want to know about all the trouble people have been having with Lancaster during the last couple years. (I've received emails both from people who are glad they found this website before buying, and people who WISH they had found it prior to buying.) Thankfully, this blog ranks #2 on Google for searches of "Lancaster Arms". I hope Lancaster knows that people DO read this blog.

    And to think...if Durda had simply been honest with me, this blog would never exist. To quote Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, "If you make customers unhappy in the physical world, they might each tell 6 friends. If you make customers unhappy on the Internet, they can each tell 6,000 friends." Yes, that is the marketplace at work.

    As for acquiring a decent AK, there are plenty of options. A few of Century's rifles are fine. Arsenal makes a decent product. Vector AK's are pretty good. Any Chinese AK is a solid bet. And the auction sites and forums are filled with whatever type of AK you could want. And if you want a kit build (which is what Lancaster makes), there are plenty of reputable AK builders out there...In Range, AK USA, The Firing Line, Gewehr Werks, Arizona Response Systems, etc.

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  10. Well i went to hell and back with Lancaster arms and i believe i was one of the first unhappy customers to report Lancasters wrongs and this dated back in Dec of 2008.

    I was at their shop not too long ago and was talking to Mr.Durda. Lancaster sure does have a huge demand issue. They have a license to sell machine guns (class 3) and i seen an order from one guy for 100 machine guns (Security contractor i believe) and this takes a lot of their time but in no way does it justify to lie to customers on a normal basis.I think Lancaster puts most of their offort and time with their machine guns since those need to work flawless hence them being issued to military type personnel. Otherwise he's just a liar to the civilian customer plain and simple.

    On another note, their quality has risen some. Seen a Milled Lancaster AKM from 2008-2008 and the receiver looked like shit. Didn't have the 'Lightening" milled look on it( see here: http://media.photobucket.com/image/milled%20lancaster/ufg8rmike/125-2507_IMG.jpg) Now, to my knowledge, they do make the correct and authentic looking milled recievers. which is good and not a bad thing.

    I did see him ignore a few calls and i know how those people behind the line feel because i fell victim to that ignore frenzy with Lancaster plenty times.

    On a good note, I saw him work with his gunsmith to match and go over 2 orders to make sure they are putting correct furniture on the rifle. Atleast they double check for correct order.

    So there is still some quality with them but overall their customer service reamins the most notorious issue with them and it seems for an ex-military-vietnam veteran, Mr.Durda doesn't give a damn.

    Overall, quality is still good and customer service has gone to hell.

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  11. I'm going to let the post from "Anonymous 12:54" stay, but several things about it seem..."off".

    Why would someone who "went to hell and back" with Lancaster, be chatting it up with them now, and be privy to confidential order matters? (When actual contractors order "100 machine guns", that is not information that is freely shared with any ol' person who walks through the door.)

    And how could Lancaster be capitalized to make "100 machine guns", when all indications suggest they are barely scraping by, and when Lancaster is still stalling on issuing order refunds?

    And why would ANY security contractor seek out Lancaster, given the generally poor reputation they maintain?

    And if they supposedly had large orders like that, why would the owner still show up at rinky-dink gun shows to sell a few AK's?

    And what was this poster doing at Lancaster, that he was privy to: confidential order information, watching Chet working with a gunsmith, and making observations about Chet's telephone habits? This, remember, from a person who "went to hell and back" with them?

    Why am I adding up 2+2, and getting 3.7? A few things in that post just don't add up...

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  12. i ordered n sent a check to them tonight,,,im canceling check now thnkx,,,,

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  13. Here’s an update to my comment posted on September 15th. The AG’s office sent me a letter that didn’t give me much confidence. It basically stated that they will try and help get my refund, but they are under staffed, and under budgeted. I was frustrated so I called the Goodyear PD for advice. A very nice officer actually drove to Chet’s shop while on the phone with me, and made contact with Chet. The officer told me that he would call me back and hung up. A short time later, he called back and said that he accidently startled Chet because he walked into the back shop after hours. He said that Chet knew exactly who I was, and that he had my order posted on the wall. The officer asked, “why haven’t you contacted this man” and Chet said he was busy. Chet also said that he got the letter from the AG and was aware that I wanted my refund. Long story short the officer made a report and told me to call again and refer to the incident # if I didn’t get satisfaction in a few weeks. After I got off the phone with the officer, a miracle happened, I had an email from Chet stating that I would get my refund by Thursday. I should have known that even this statement was a lie. Later that night I got another email from Chet that stated that he was sorry for the miss understanding but my order was never entered into the computer and if I wanted the gun he has it and he could ship it immediately. I said I want my refund. Your blog has helped me with the tricks Chet uses so I was ready for this response. I sent him another email saying please no more games just send my money. Thinking that Chet might just send the gun anyway, I contacted my FFL the next day to inform them not to accept this rifle. They responded that the company sent them a tracking number and the gun was on the way. They told me that they would not accept it when it gets there. I was livid because I must have left 20 phone messages and sent Chet 30 emails over the last month stating that I wanted refund and not the gun. I even sent 25 back-to-back emails stating this so that he couldn’t miss my request. Up to this point, all of my correspondences have been civil and respectful but after this turn of events, I lost it. I vented with an email asking Chet if he is stupid and could he read. I wrote that I didn’t want the gun because I was scared of it and that I didn’t want it to blow up in my hands and have it kill me. I think this got his attention because within 15 minutes I got a response from Chet stating that after reading my words he didn’t think I should have his gun and he would turn the order around and give me my refund. He also put that he was not stupid and to have a good day sir, funny! It turned out that my local FFL had a mix up with a tracking # and he didn’t actually get a tracking # from Lancaster, oops his/my bad. The good thing about this mistake was that it got me to lose my cool and send Chet this nasty email which in turn got him to reply. Finally, I got him to confirm my order cancelation and get him to put in writing that he would issue a refund. I received most of my refund a few weeks later minus sixty dollars. I sent Chest another e-mail stating that I wanted the whole thing and if I didn’t get it I would contact the same officer and follow through with charges. The rest of the refund arrived a week later. I bet Mr. Durda gave me what was in his bank account at the time but couldn’t make to total so he had to give it to me in the two separate checks weeks apart. I hope this helps others that are in the same boat.

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  14. this is why I always buy from a dealer...

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  15. I was promised by Mr. Durda IN PERSON IN HIS OFFICE that the rifle I ordered was to be sent to an FFL later that week. That was three weeks ago - no rifle and no return of three phone calls. They have $650 of my money and I intend to pursue every avenue available to seek an appropriate remedy. I sure wish I had seen this site and not relied on their former reputation. What a shame.

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  16. It's real simple...Durda is a scam artist and a con man. It's just what he does.

    People can sugar-coat it any way they want, but at the end of the day this guy is simply a crook.

    If I was you I would go back to their office, and demand your money back. I would refuse to leave until they gave me back my money. And if they didn't give you your money back and if they threatened to call the police, I'd invite them to go ahead and do so. It's not as if it would be the first time that the Goodyear Police had to deal with Lancaster and Durda not making good on their promises.

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  17. I was suckered in at the end of November 2010. Ordered a AK-47 (3060MB) through my FFL Dealer. They have an underfold Lancaster in the case to shoot. It's fit, finish and quality are far better than a Romanian. I was impressed and decieded to order an AK from them. Still have not received the rifle. They did that whole "Don't send the payment until we call and let you know it's ready to ship" statement also. That was back in late December.

    Everytime I do get a person to answer, which is extremely rare, it's always an excuse. The last one I got was there was a break in and some inventory was damage which means nothing goes out until next week and that was after I got put on hold that this was new information to her. Again, another new girl. All I wanted to know is if my rifle was one of the ones that was damaged or going to ship next week.

    Which BTW, ever notice there is always a "NEW GIRL" anwsering the phone that can't answer any questions or get someone who can. What are they there for? Maybe next time I will pretend I want to order something so I can get Chet or Shane on the phone and ask for my rifle I ordered.

    I did order a Lancaster AK-74 from Arms of America. It's not on the recall list but I am having trouble with failure to feed. The bolt is hitting the the milled frame as it goes forward and sometimes the bolt won't rotate and chamber the round. I really don't wanna send it back and wait months to get it back or not at all.

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  18. Yeah, if you call Lancaster Arms and say you want to order something, and ask to speak with someone about that, Chet or Shane will magically appear every time. But call to ask about an order already placed or to complain? Then, everyone will be in “meetings” or otherwise unavailable. Funny how that works, isn’t it? (And yes, I know a couple people who have not been able to get help, who then called right back to say they wanted to order something and were immediately forwarded to Chet.)

    And yes, the excuses become tedious after awhile. Lancaster Arms ALWAYS has an excuse. And not surprisingly, the excuse they offer is never their fault. It’s always some allegedly external event. They just can’t bring themselves to admit what everyone already knows: that as a business, they’ve bitten off more than they can chew. You should contact the Goodyear Police and ask for details about the Lancaster Arms break-in. $100 says they won’t have any idea what you’re talking about. It’s almost funny how the people at Lancaster constantly lie through their teeth and don’t even think twice about it. Funny until you have to deal with them, that is.

    As for your non-functioning Lancaster rifle, you’re correct to not want to send it back. If you do, you’ll get it back just as the weather starts to turn for the worse this fall or winter. And even then, it might be fixed…it might not. Once Lancaster has sold a gun, they’re done with you. Any additional needs you might have just cost them time and money, and you will be the very lowest priority for them.

    All I can advise is, warn others about your experience with Lancaster, as you’ve done here. It has taken awhile, but word has gotten out that Lancaster is not a reputable operation with which to do business. This word has gotten out because people like you are willing to speak up and tell it like it is. Good on ya.

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  19. I placed an order with Lancaster In late 2010. Since then I have heard so many excuses (blatant lies!) it's staggering. Just 2 weeks ago I was given a (another) ship date of 5/10 and tracking number; surprise, surprise another lie.

    Now the worst part is I can't even reach anyone at the office. I've been calling at all hours since last week with no answer and no resoponse to the many voice or emails I've left.

    Need help on what to do next.

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  20. Anon 2:52...

    What to do next, you ask? It depends.

    If you haven’t already paid them, the solution is simple enough. Call them and tell them you’re canceling the order. Follow this up with an email, just so you have written verification that you did indeed cancel. If they still eventually ship the rifle to your FFL, just refuse delivery. It’s really that simple.

    If you’ve already paid them, follow the instructions outlined in the post above. THE SITUATION YOU DESCRIBE, IS EXACTLY WHY I WROTE THAT POST! Demand your money back, and be persistent until that happens.

    Part of the problem customers have in dealing with Lancaster, is that those customers keep letting Lancaster jerk them around. Don’t be that guy! It sounds like they’ve already lied to you a few times. How many more times do you need to be lied to before you decide to follow the steps outlined above? You need to make peace with the fact that this situation isn’t going to get resolved until YOU decide to get it resolved. Again, there are clear instructions above to make that happen.

    Since Lancaster has not returned your phone calls or emails, just leave one more voicemail and send one more email letting them know you're cencelling the order. And if you've paid them already, let them know that they have 48 hours to get a refund check in your hands. (Make sure you send this demand by email so that they can't claim they didn't get it. Put "Request for Refund" or "Order Cancellation" in the subject line. If calling, you may also want to record the phone call and voicemail you leave for them, for similar "proof" purposes. You can record this call cheaply by using a service like Spoofcard.com)

    If you have already paid them, and they don't send the refund check (there's a very likely chance they won't send it) as you requested, you will unfortunately need to contact law enforcement at that point. While I hate to say that, the fact of the matter is that if Lancaster is just going to ignore and ignore and ignore repeated communication attempts, and not refund monies owed, they leave customers with little choice but to contact law enforcement.

    Nobody LIKES to call the cops on a company like this, but at a certain point, when it becomes painfully clear that they have just blown you off, you have to take action to ensure you get your money back. The Better Business Bureau is toothless, and Lancaster ignores them anyway. The Arizona Attorney General's office can be helpful, but they are overworked and understaffed. This means you need to contact local law enforcement (the Goodyear Police Dept.), who will visit Lancaster and remind them that they owe you money.

    Yes, it sucks that people might actually need to call the police on this company in order to get through to them, but that fact is a testament to just how much Chet Durda (the owner of Lancaster) really, truly does not give a shit about how he conducts his business.

    Come back and let us know how it turns out.

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  21. Update:
    1 more voice mail and email sent. (unanswered of course)
    So I went to the next step with the PD.
    I'll keep you updated as to how it goes.

    Side note BBB contacted them twice and they have yet to respond to them as well.

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  22. Anyone know Chet's cell number? I had it and deleted thinking the AG was actually helping me!

    billb15@ymail.com Thanks!

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You are welcome, and in fact encouraged, to leave your comments about experiences with Lancaster Arms. The only requirement is that you stick to facts, or well-documented opinions.

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About Me

But quite willing to "help" Lancaster Arms fully understand why the way they run their business, is completely unacceptable.

Welcome to LancasterArmsSucks.blogspot.com

This site exist to help police a firearms manufacturer that has decided to run its business using questionable ethics. Too often, there is not enough complete, accurate information on the Internet about companies engaged in the manufature of firearms. It is my hope that this blog shall serve as a useful tool to help guide potential customers of Lancaster Arms to a fully-informed decision. As of the start date of this blog, many, many people feel as though Lancaster Arms does not run an honest business. We'll let the chips fall where they may...