ComplaintsforFreedom Firearms

• Initial Complaint

  06/14/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On 06/09/22 I went to Freedom Firearms to purchase a firearm for my husband. I was immediately greeted by a Representative named James whom was assigned to me through the whole process. I told James what I wanted and the price I was looking to pay. He understood my lack of knowledge on the different weapons and calibers of rifles and he immediately began exploiting my lack of knowledge on firearms design and calibers. He told me instead of the firearm I wanted he had something better and for cheaper. He insisted that the weapon he would order for me was equal to and compared better than the original gun I wanted. I did not understand the firearm he was talking about and relied solely on his representations and proclaimed expertise as a firearms expert to help guide me in the right direction. After he verbally told me and my son a price of (2400.00) and he said the caliber is the same as I came in to buy. I wanted a .50 Caliber rifle he ended up telling me that a .223 Caliber was the same caliber and he sold me the firearm for what I thought was the price we agreed upon (2400.00). After he processed the credit card I wasn't given a full receipt until the firearm came in on 06/13. After I picked up the firearm I immediately saw the caliber difference and the firearm design was totally different than what he originally showed me on 06/09. I told him this isn't the same firearm he showed me and its not even the same caliber or size or color and the final sales order reflected I was charged a price of $12,217.17 NOT $2,400.00. as I was originally told as sales price. I talked to both James and Dave whom identified himself as the owner of Freedom Firearms as the receipt also states they take full refunds if the firearm was new in the new box as it was. Dave the owner said he did not care and he would not refund or exchange or give credit for the firearm that he used deceptive business practices to represent both a firearm which was the wrong firearm and false price

  Business response

  07/13/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2022/06/15) */ Hey Marc, My name is Mike as I told you on the phone, not Dave and I'm going to address some of your complaint here with some facts. Sorry for the delay as I have spent some time talking with the team and watching the store video to better understand what took place. We have a total of 56 minutes of video to further support our statements here. Your wife came into the store on 06/09 at approximately 12:02. We were busy so she waited about 10 minutes to be helped. She told the team member that she was looking for a Barrett 82A1 and showed him a picture on her phone. He told her that due to GOV contracts Barrett rifles were not readily available and haven't been for a while. We are a direct Barrett dealer and have been for about 7 years. He told her that we had another cool rifle in the same price range and showed her the FN M249s Para as an option. He did explain to her that Barrett was a .50 Caliber and the FN M249s was 5.56mm/.223 firearm. She did not state to him that the firearm had to be .50 Caliber but more that she was buying a gift. She looked at the rifle and also compared it to pictures on her phone. Your son picked up the rifle, they were both excited, and she said she would take it, and she started the paperwork. You state that there was a $10000 difference in price but the facts are current Barrett 82A1 rifles are priced around $10000 and the FN M249s Para is $10500 as reflected on your receipt. You also state that we are "Deceptive and Dishonest" because our printed return policy states we accept returns, but that is also untrue. While many items are returnable up to 30 days, the deposit receipt that she was reading as she walked out of the store clearly states that all sales are final on firearms, NFA Items, ammunition, body armor as well as a few other items. This is an industry standard and is printed on both her deposit receipt as well as her final receipt when she came and picked up the items. I can post copies of your receipts here showing that if you would like. Your wife called the store on 06/13 at approximately 3:15 and told us that she had planned to come in and pick up the FN M249s Para but that she had a gun that was purchased online transferred to us and that it had been delivered. It was a gold plated AK47 and she was hoping to pick them both up at the same time. We told her that it had arrived, we were processing it in and she would receive a call shortly. She was called a few minutes later and arrived back at the store, with your son at approximately 4:30 to pick everything up, added some accessories, paid the additional amount due and we helped her carry everything out to the car at about 4:56. She called the store asking for the team member who helped her about 40 minutes later. She stated that she thought the firearm was $1500 and why was it so expensive. The team member explained to her that it was a higher end military style rifle similar in price to the Barrett 82A1 she had requested. She said that she thought they are around $800. He advised her that Barrett rifles were anywhere from $9000 - $15000. She stated that he'd better like it and they ended the call. She did confirm the total amount of the purchase on the credit card terminal before she entered her PIN number and read the receipt as she walked out the door that day. She called back again at approximately 5:55 and said that she thought the FN M249s Para was .50 Caliber. The team member told her that he had explained the difference and had also sold her a case of the .223 ammo during the purchase. During that conversation you took over the phone call and began to yell, swear at and threaten our team member demanding he allow the firearm to be returned. He can't authorize out of policy returns and after listening to your abusive language for a few minutes without being able to get a word in, asked me to please take the call. He gave me a quick brief on what was going on and my intention when I took the call was to allow your Wife to return the firearm, ammo, and accessories but as soon as I picked up the phone you immediately began to make accusations and threats. Accusing us of forcing and tricking her into buying this firearm. The store video clearly shows a different story. You made threats that you were going to have us investigated by the Attorney General, I'm sure with the help of your friend Brent F*****. We welcome that investigation. You said you would tell all the local LE not to shop here. We do more business with LVMPD and other local agencies than any other store in this valley. 1000's of satisfied LE customers, not to mention friends and family that have been on the departments for decades. You made threats that you would contact all the media outlets and tell them what bad people we are and that we are deceptive and dishonest. You have already began to defame, libel, and slander our business. We are currently the highest rated and reviewed gun store in the nation and that didn't happen by being deceptive and dishonest. All these threats and attempted intimidation and the one thing you never bothered to do was ask me to help you, which is what I was prepared to do. A simple "my wife didn't realize what she was getting into can you help us out". It's a high end specialty firearm and I don't want anyone stuck with something like that if they didn't want it. We would have it sold to another customer within a few days. With all this being said, we are still willing to help you with this. If you would like to peruse returning these items, you or your wife can reach me at the store and we can work out the details. If you want to make it a fight, we can do that also. It's really all up to you.

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