The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

I always keep hold on my current one too and add a note for them to ring me when the new one is ready and I swap them over in person at the firearms licensing office. This also means you can check it over and make sure nothing has been missed off.

Once a couple of years ago they did forget to ring me and just posted the new one out, without even asking for the original one back. I just posted it off the next day though.

All forces are different with timescales. I am also Thames Valley this is what you should expect:

I submitted a variation in Feb this year, got back last week in August. During this time I requested and was sent my FAC to purchase ammunition twice.

Was told renewals priority over variations.
Have sent another variation in without FAC, expecting it to take at least 6 months.

Irony of the Feb variation... Having been in for months I sold a rifle and sent in one-for-one to replace it. Day I posted it they had posted my completed variation back to me!!

I sent my FAC back to TVP for a variation in May and the new one arrived seven weeks later.

The following week I received a letter advising of high workload and asking me to apply for my renewal (due in November) ASAP.

They acknowledged receipt and sent me a temporary permit to run for six months from the expiry date.

Needless to say I'm keeping my ammunition safe topped up ...

Cheshire have slowed down a lot. I put two variations in late last year - one in November and one in December - and they both came back within 8 days, but they are taking around 4+ weeks at the moment. Frustrating, coz I have a new rifle waiting for me to collect, and I want it NOW!!

fra150l wrote:All forces are different with timescales. I am also Thames Valley this is what you should expect:

I submitted a variation in Feb this year, got back last week in August. During this time I requested and was sent my FAC to purchase ammunition twice.

Was told renewals priority over variations.
Have sent another variation in without FAC, expecting it to take at least 6 months.

Irony of the Feb variation... Having been in for months I sold a rifle and sent in one-for-one to replace it. Day I posted it they had posted my completed variation back to me!!

On reflection I think I'll send in a copy with a cover letter asking them to notify me when the varied FAC is ready for handing over - not sending in the original doesn't seem to have caused you problems. Quite the reverse. There's so many conflicting experiences that I can't see the woods for the trees now. :)

The main point to note: they KNOW what guns you possess, etc., so they do not NEED to have the physical paper copy of the FAC in hand while doing the variation.
The FAC guidance backs this up - their concern is that you cannot have two valid FAC's at the same time (aside from also being on a club FAC, for example) - so to make sure that us shooters don't make the same admin errors they themselves are prone to, they ask for the paper FAC up front...

I had one 1-4-1 take over a year = more than 20% of the lifespan of the FAC = and they NEED to keep my FAC for all that time? Er, no thanks....unless they start sticking a few extra months on the expiration date.

saddler wrote:their concern is that you cannot have two valid FAC's at the same time (aside from also being on a club FAC, for example) - so to make sure that us shooters don't make the same admin errors they themselves are prone to, they ask for the paper FAC up front...

Well that and so some unscrupulous person doesn't buy twice the number of guns and ammo that they're permitted to. In fact if you were minded to you could for example go to an RFD who has two of the same make/model gun and similar serial number, buy one from one sales rep, then later the same day buy the other one. That person then only puts in one transfer notice and claims the shop has made an error. If they got away with it they'd then have an off-ticket gun...

Blackstuff wrote:

saddler wrote:their concern is that you cannot have two valid FAC's at the same time (aside from also being on a club FAC, for example) - so to make sure that us shooters don't make the same admin errors they themselves are prone to, they ask for the paper FAC up front...

Well that and so some unscrupulous person doesn't buy twice the number of guns and ammo that they're permitted to. In fact if you were minded to you could for example go to an RFD who has two of the same make/model gun and similar serial number, buy one from one sales rep, then later the same day buy the other one. That person then only puts in one transfer notice and claims the shop has made an error. If they got away with it they'd then have an off-ticket gun...

I think that would be very hard to pull off though.
The racks often only have one of each new gun on display and the new gun is usually taken from a safe in the back room in most shops I've bought from.
Then there's the inconvenience of many gun shops having recording CCTV on the premises.
Also sales of new guns aren't that brisk in any one shop - and staff are generally one or two guys and would notice the same guy buying the same rifle in the same week let alone day.
And the moment the shop and / or the firearm department notices the discrepancy - and they will because the FAC number will be the same on both tickets - then the police are going to 'spin your drum', in the parlance of the times, thoroughly.

A plump, official looking, white, business envelope plopped onto my doormat this afternoon looking suspiciously like my FAC had arrived.
"That was quick! It's only been three weeks."

Imagine my disappointment to find it was just some Liberal Democrat grubbing for votes. :(

Durham use very distinctive envelopes for certificates so its easy to recognise. The only problem is the envelopes also blatantly let anyone see its a FAC/SGC