Gun shop has sols a "forfeited" firearm

[mikecollinge]

Hi guys

I need some help please. A number of months ago, I saw a CZ75 for sale at a fairly well known gun shop just outside of JHB. My worker was looking for one, and the price suited him. He went to the gunshop to look at it. He was happy with it, and the gunshop told him to pay the owner directly, which he did.

I moved the firearm up to Tactical HQ, so my guy could shoot it while getting the paperwork sorted. Upon Tim trying to put it on their stock, it turns out that this firearm was "forfeited" to the state, so they cannot move it. Talking to the gunshop brought no luck.

My guy knows the area of the DFO who completed the forfeiture documentation of the gun. The DFO says that the gun was stolen and then found at the scene of an accident in Limpopo. He wants to know why the gun is in dealer stock, when it should have been destroyed.

I have tried to contact the owner of the shop numerous times, as well as sending messages, all of which are ignored.

Now the gunshop wants a SAP534 completed for a funny gun.

My DFO is adament that the firearm is to go back to the dealer, and the dealer must either refund him the cost price and storage, or the dealer must provide another gun to my guy. He is also VERY interested in how a detroyed gun got into dealer stock.

Some input is required here- my guy seems to be messed around by this gunshop. What is to be done? He saved for months to buy the gun, and cannot afford to walk away.

HELP

[oafpatroll]

What a nightmare. How about hitting the gun shop with a small claims court stick?

*edit* just noticed that you say your guy payed the owner of the gun not the gunshop. Assume that would mean the small claims stick should be waved at the owner as they sold something which wasn't theirs to sell.

[MSW2]

Your DFO needs to take the matter further. If he is aware of or thinks that something criminal has taken place he cannot just leave it.As for the money, the advice in post #2 seems worth a try.

[wrm]

I'magonna say it's not that a destroyed gun ended up in dealer stock, but that a dealer stocked gun ended up on the SAPS "destroyed" list. Maybe because of finger trouble, maybe in the place of a different gun... who know.

[A-R]

I actually know nothing about the particular CZ or it's history. What I do know is that administrative mix-up on the CFR database pop up very frequently.

To try and sort this out, you do need to find the gun shop it was bought from and see how it got into their books. Them avoiding you does indeed sound seriously suspicious...

[shooty]

Seems this dealer sold on behalf of a customer. So this was known to you as you were informed about this to pay the owner directly.

So not sure in this case what civil claim you could have against the dealer. As you did not buy it from them.

The 271 you have. I believe also possibly show the owner as the person you paid and not the dealer. Which if so. Further moves the dealer out of the picture.

I have actually never seen a dealer who stores a firearm. Who actually phones CFR or local DFO to check the ownership of the firearm. They merely check if the person has a license card and book in according to it.