Saturday, March 26, 2011

Lancaster Arms still up to it's old tricks...

I haven't posted in a couple months, but rest assured...it's not because things are better at Lancaster Arms. Reports are still pouring in across the Internet and on this blog from people who were promised a rifle or part in "weeks", only to still be empty-handed months later. Yes, you'd think the owner of Lancaster (Chet Durda) and his staff would get a clue and understand that lying to customers doesn't exactly help to rehabilitate their extremely poor reputation. But that itself is part of the problem: One gets the sense Lancaster Arms really, truly doesn't care. They'll continue with "business as usual" until they're either bankrupt or forced out of business.

If you're new here, please read all the blog posts from the past 18+ months, and in particular read the comments to each post! It is in the comments where you truly discover just how many people have been scammed by Lancaster Arms. Recent comments like these are still coming in:

"I was promised the guns in 8-10 business days back on November 8th, 2010. I got my guns Mar 8th, 2011. Thats 4 months of trying to get my guns. The barrels do not look to be chrome-lined. I was promised chrome-lined barrels. No invoice in the packaging. Had to call Lancaster to get one. Oh, and one more thing, the guns are not 922(r) compliant. They shipped them out with non-US pistol grips. Overall my experience with Lancaster would rate at a 2 on a scale of 1 to 10."

"Ordered a couple of AK-74 receivers from this little weasel [Chet Durda] back in January (Jan 05, 2011) and like all of you, nada, zilch, ZERO."

"The wheels of justice grind slowly, but they DO grind. It took me months to get my money, but I DID get it. If you follow these steps [contacting law enforcement], you will stand a much better chance of getting your money back sooner."

"I called the Goodyear police as well as emailing the mayor and city council. They put a detective on the case and the guns shipped 2 days later. No mags, scope rail or paper work." [Author note: When I ordered a Lancaster Arms gun myself a couple years ago, it was also sent without a magazine or any paperwork.]

In other words folks, the warnings remain. It is my strongly held belief, and the experience of plenty of people, that if you take a chance ordering a gun or parts from Lancaster Arms, you stand a high likelihood of regretting that decision. And even if you get your items, there's no guarantee what type of quality you'll receive. It became apparent to me a couple years ago that Lancaster Arms is in this business strictly for short-term monetary gain, and does not care what they send to you (or often, DON'T send to you). They've simply proven this too many times. It is unfortunate that the firearms industry has it's share of shady characters, and Chet Durda and Lancaster Arms are a shining example of this.

Read this entire blog, and if you still decide to order from Lancaster Arms, don't claim you weren't warned...

8 comments:

  1. I sent them my Ak74 (non rough rider model) in January for the SECOND time to repair the over drilled gas block. Numerous calls go unanswered, but when I do get through the nice lady tells me the usual, Chet isn't here, but I will let him know to call you. Bunch of thieves is all they are.

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  2. Well Gentlemen, I ordered a AK74 from Lancaster basically to see if all these stories are true. I really thought that these stories couldnt be this true. I was told on Nov 8th my order would be in hand before Xmas. I told them it was a gift for my oldest son and it was important obviously to have before the Xmas. Well January 9th I was told my gun was ready to ship send my check in. I sent check which cleared my bank on the 18th. When I didnt have gun on Jan 25th I called and was told the ATF was doing complete inspection on all guns and nothing could ship. I asked Chet when they started and how long this would go on. He said they came on the 21st and you know those shootings in Arizona effected us. I said to Chet well if they just came Friday why wasnt my gun shipped it cleared my bank on the 18th and was ready to ship awaiting check. He gave me the well we have a few days in shipping everything doesnt just fly out of here we have to be careful. Well I fought with them for several more weeks until I wrote him a demand email which you can read below. This is exactly from Lancaster Arms copied to here. This is how professional this company is. Yes I lost it after 4 months of unbeleivable stories and wasted time.


    The fucking rifle is gone!

    Operations

    GS


    From: Funk48@aol.com
    Sent: Monday, February 14, 2011 7:26 PM
    To: orderstatus@qwestoffice.net
    Subject: Order


    Again the file doesn't open as its to large for AOL to figure. You say my gun shipped Feb 12th and as of Feb 14th UPS doesn't show the gun has been scanned which means it hasnt been shipped. I know I worked for UPS for years. AGAIN QUIT FUCKING AROUND WITH ME AND SEND ME MY MONEY BACK NOW. THE gun hasnt been shipped like I was told today so send me my money right away please.

    Of course I got the gun with no magazine and am still waiting for it to arrive. I sent 4 emails and no response at all. Now about the gun, I had my FFL check it over and he was impressed with the look and he said seemed well built. I havent shot it yet so time will tell.

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  3. Unfortunately I purchased one of the recalled AK-74's. I found this out when the top cover blew off, the rear trunion and rivets bent out and I almost lost my face. I contacted them and they requested that I send it in for repair. That was 30 days ago. After countless emails and phone calls I finally spoke someone who said repair was not possible and they would be shipping me a new rifle. Its been 30 days now and nothing but promises that it will ship this week with no confirmation or tracking numbers being provided. I am quiet certain I will never see my rifle again and if I do get a new one it will be the same garbage they sent me the first time. You have been warned.

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  4. Anon 11:55, sorry to hear about this.

    30 days is plenty of time to fix a defective firearm. Especially considering that Lancaster should prioritize fixing recalled rifles that have already been paid for.

    You should both call and send an email to Lancaster Arms and notify them that they have five (5) business days to get an operating replacement rifle in your hands. If they don't comply with this request, simply stop dealing with them and let law enforcement deal with it.

    Call the Goodyear Police Department and let them know that, as far as you're concerned, a business in their jurisdiction has defrauded you. They will already know about Lancaster Arms, because you will most certainly not be the first person to have contacted them.

    The police will investigate, and you SHOULD either get your rifle or your money back in short order.

    If that doesn't work, contact the Arizona Attorney General's office and file a complaint. They already have an open file on Lancaster Arms and have received multiple complaints about them. Here too, it is important that a paper record be established, documenting yet another case of Lancaster Arms not doing what they've said they would do.

    The worst thing you can do right now, is nothing. If you don't stay on Lancaster like white on rice, they will keep sandbagging you for as long as they think they can keep getting away with it. I know this both because it happened to me, and because it has happened to dozens of other people.

    Do not waste any time! I would not be surprised if Lancaster Arms simply went bankrupt one of these days, leaving a whole lot of people without rifles that they paid for. Don't be one of those people! It is incumbent upon you, and others who Lancaster screws, to show them that less-than-ethical behavior DOES have financial and legal consequences. Yes, it's a shame that Lancaster can't be relied upon to just do the right thing, but that's precisely why they have the reputation they have.

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  5. Calling Goodyear PD now...

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  6. Called Goodyear PD. They were well aware of Lancaster. They drove over to their place and I immediately got a call from Lancaster. Was told they only needed to know what color furniture I would take (I said any! Just ship it.) They called back a few minutes later and confessed they never did the barrel replacement and that they were waiting on new barrels to arrive Wed from Customs (which is crap because as we all know, replacement barrels have been verboten from import for over a year now). I was then re-promised it would ship out next Monday. I advised that Goodyear PD would be getting a call back if it did not, for what that's worth...

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  7. Yes, Lancaster has a thick book of excuses. It's as if Durda is physiologically incapable of just telling the truth.

    And last I heard, to the extent they had any foreign barrels, they were getting them from Copes or one of the other big distributors. As you correctly mention, it is now illegal to import them. Surprise, surprise...Lancaster lied! Who woulda thunk it?

    Hopefully you get your rifle. Just be aware, a Lancaster "promise" isn't worth a damn thing. I would be calling them Monday afternoon asking for that tracking number, and would call the Police right back if Lancaster is unable to give you a WORKING tracking number. (They've been known to give out bogus tracking numbers.)

    As for what kind of rifle you'll get, God only knows. I personally wouldn't buy ANY rifle from a company that is known to lie on a regular basis, and which has been known to put out defective products. They are just in it for the money, and I honestly don't think they care one iota whether they produce a quality product or not. They know that people will still show up with money in-hand regardless of what kind of crap they put into the marketplace.

    Best of luck. Let us know how it turns out.

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  8. Hey, guys I need help. I'm the same guy from the first post here in the comments. I have sent them numerous emails politely asking for any information on my rifle and received nothing. When I can get through on the phone, I either get Chet isn't in or if I catch someone other than the receptionist by pure chance, they say "Oh, we're waiting on some parts." My question is, what should I do? Is there anything? I'm worried I might never receive the rifle back.

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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...