foolish move

[waidmann 105]

i sent my cert away for change of address a few weeks ago(gave it to the feo on his visit,and asked him what the crack is when its away,and was told " make sure you have enough ammunition to tide you over for a couple of weeks" this to me means you can carry on using the firearm? if no "chit in lou" is given then what are we supposed to do?)

 

the feo is obviously happy with you not having a cert with you,the police know you have the cert and presumably that its away for modification (by monday).

 

a waste of tax payers money,do they not know that the roads need repairing??????????????????????????????????????????

 

someone will get a browny point i expect.

[bignoel 14]

you are right i have had this said to me a few times when my license has gone in for variation ? my guns are my liveing . i have live catch fox traps out all over sw london at the moment which now means i cant dispatch till license is back ? this is going to be costy to me both ways .

[waidmann 105]

alone the fact that there is any doubt whatsoever is ridiculous.

an absolute joke.(if it were funny)

[CharlieT 32]

On your fac are printed the statutory conditions with which you must comply. Failure to comply with these conditions is a prosecutable offence with a maximum penalty of 6 months in prison and/or a fine.

 

Nowhere in these conditions does it state that you have to carry your fac. These chaps are taking the piss and first thing tomorrow you should phone your firearms licensing manager, politely complain and request that he gets the matter sorted out forthwith and that your rifle is returned immediately.

 

Also you should report the matter to your shooting organisation.

[Leicester hunter 0]

On your fac are printed the statutory conditions with which you must comply. Failure to comply with these conditions is a prosecutable offence with a maximum penalty of 6 months in prison and/or a fine.

 

Nowhere in these conditions does it state that you have to carry your fac. These chaps are taking the piss and first thing tomorrow you should phone your firearms licensing manager, politely complain and request that he gets the matter sorted out forthwith and that your rifle is returned immediately.

 

Also you should report the matter to your shooting organisation.

 

[flytie 1]

And another kick in the teeth for all of us is that your rifles now appear in the "Official" figures for firearms siezed by the police. When you are given them back, the figure is not adjusted downwards.

 

I always carry a photocopy of my license, shotgun or FAC, not the real thing. That lives in the safe at home. I have in the past fallen over when wildfowling and ruined my shotgun certificate, so I carry a copy.

 

I am interested in your predicament though, because my FAC is away for variation. It is now making me nervy.

 

The advice given about a solicitor is spot on, you should be entitled to a free half hour consultation at any solicitors. I should pop in and see one in the morning!

 

Atb, ft

[JonathanL 4]

popt out for a couple of hours last night lamping and on the way home at 1am i had a brake light out and guess who pulled me the armed response unit and they told me off with a slap wrist ? but then asked what guns i had which was the 243 then they asked for my license and guess what its in haveing a section 5 added to it so i was told i had a unlicensed firearm ? and they confronscated [sp] it and ammo and i have to go to cop shop as soon as i get my license back to see what is going to happen .anyone else had this and what outcome was there .

 

It isn't unlicensed but the Firearms Act allows a constable to sieze a firearm if you don't produce a certificate.

 

J.

[coldweld 65]

Last time my cert went in i asked for a temp one as i was booked to go stalking, Derbyshire said just go everything is in order .

I was not convinced so i phoned Northampton to ask their Firearms dept and they said there is no need to ever carry one of the NEW type certs as all my details are on the PNC !

I have confimed this with two serving officers one who is an ARV driver.

 

Contact the police and BASC and make a complaint to both !

 

ATB coldweld

[JonathanL 4]

i did ask him how he knew i had firearms on board and he said the pnc check told him ? so i said well then you know i have a license his reply was you should have it on you at all times that this offence was a license revoke if they want to take it further ?? and yet they were fairly decent about it thats the odd bit

 

It isn't an offence - there is no offence of failing to have your FAC with you and I can't see that it's any reason to revoke.

 

J.

[JonathanL 4]

they had a firearm and ammo, god knows what happens when you hand it over...always insist on keeping the bolt if you are in a stickle....... best of luck.Snap.

 

The bolt is a component part in law which means that techinally speaking it is a firearm in its own right.

 

J.

[JonathanL 4]

OK so further comments make it clear that you may have a problem. You should be able to get a half-hour session with a solicitor without a prior appointment. Make a few phone calls first thing tomorrow and check out your legal position. It'll cost nowt and could save you a lot of shite down range.

 

ATB

 

Ric

 

As long as he's got an FAC to cover the rifle then he won't have a problem. The police will have t give it back.

 

I fail to see why they took it actually. Yes, the Act allows them to do it but what's the point; they obviously know he has an FAC for it or they would have nicked him and charged him with unlawful possession.

 

J.

[some bloke 60]

After an excessive wait for a variation to centrefire and land clearance dispute I requested my licence back so that I could take my rifles out of the County for a shooting trip to Cornwall. I was advised by firearms reception that if I am stopped or checked that I should indicate my licence is "in for a variation"

I pointed out that I had heard all sorts of grief about this issue on some forums and they sent it back after I also indicated I needed to buy some ammo as I had run out due to the lengthy dispute which eventually got me what I was asking for.

 

The point I'm making is that not only was I advised that I could carry my guns about the Country - but that I had effectively admitted using the rifle without possession of my ticket.

 

I rather think the patrol officer who "had" you is due for some training in that he ought to have called out an ARU that would have some one clued up on this issue.

[danebrewer10 6]

the way I understand it is that it's like a driving license, you don't have to have it on you but if stopped, you have to present it to the police within a set time, I have got my license photocopied in colour for this reason, I can fold it up and tuck it away or leave in my car (covered of course) so that I don't have to carry round my actual certificate and possibly lose it...

I don't think you'll have much of an issue getting them back, or at least you shouldn't have, as others have said, if you're a member of BASC then I'd phone them and tell them what happened.

 

DB

[JonathanL 4]

 

I was not convinced so i phoned Northampton to ask their Firearms dept and they said there is no need to ever carry one of the NEW type certs as all my details are on the PNC !

I have confimed this with two serving officers one who is an ARV driver.

 

 

 

This is a very good point and, quite honestly, is the way it should be. The system of issuing physical paper certificates is woefully out of date in this day and age and totally unnecessary. Admittedly, I don't know if the details of all your individual guns is on the PNC or just the fact that you have an FAC but it can't be that difficult to do.

 

To be honest, the main problem I have with a paper certificate is the fact that it's a potentialy huge security risk if you lose it. It has your name and address on it along with the details of all your guns and even your picture! They even send it to you in a window envelope which allows the postie to see the words "Firearm Certificate" on the cert its self. The other thing is that I'm amazed that someone hasn't worked out to fake FAC's as they are pretty low-tech things.

 

An FAC (or SGC) should be a plastic credit card with no identiying features on it. Dealers could have a swipe machine when you buy stuff to check you have authority for it, alternatively your details could be accessed on a secure website. The cops could just put the cert number into the PNC to bring up your details if you get stopped. I suppose you could also have a paper counterpart, like a driving licence, if you wanted to do a private sale.

 

J.

[bignoel 14]

thanks guys for all your input gratefully received and i will keep you all informed as to the out come once i do a lot of running around and phoneing tomorrow .thanks noel