Essex SC waiting times

[Moley1508]

hello all,

 

having decided to apply for my SC in Essex can anyone recommend anything that can be done to make sure everything runs as smoothly as possible just to reduce the risk of any unecessary delays.

 

I appreciate the wait is lengthy to say the least but are there common issues that can be overcome from your experience?

 

I am not expecting to queue jump or anything of the like but simply want things to go as speedily as they can.

 

any input would be much appreciated.

 

thanks, Moley

[Me matt]

I found crying into a pillow, praying, duct tapping my fingers crossed, eating all my greens & helping every old person I could cross the road made no difference what so ever.

Essex police operate an appalling service for grants and renewals.

But you can take comfort in knowing- the cheque will be cashed in a matter of hours 🙄

[Benkent]

Unfortunately it would appear that Essex are one of the worse for time in issuing sgc. If I was you is wait say 6 weeks from sending off your application then find out who your local feo is and give them a call you might get lucky and he will book in your visit that's what I done after waiting about 5 weeks and he booked my visit when I called. Hopefully you don't have to wait too long.

[Moley1508]

cheers guys, I think! I will wait for the cheque to be cashed then take your advice BenKent

[ElvisThePelvis]

Straight forward FAC took me 330 days under Essex, you are in for one hell of a wait..

[ninja_fox]

Yep - expect it to take about a year.

 

You can give them a call, ah, except you can't any more because they don't answer the phone to be more efficient.

 

Best thing is to wait for 3 months and them email them every month to see how it's going...

 

Saying that - friend of mine had a variation through in 6 weeks, which is half the time that it used to take. So, you might be lucky!

[Moley1508]

I'm never lucky.

 

only blessing is I can keep shooting over my perms with my air rifle and an occasional day out with an uncle with a SC

[Geo]

Moley,

 

My grant took months , I applied in January 2016 and got my SGC in December 2016 . I was eventually helped by some advice from the Countryside Alliance and an e-mail to my local Police and Crime Commissioner .

 

As a result of this I soon had an e-mail from the Chief Superintendent apologising for the state of the system and within a week of that I had a visit from the FEO. I just wish I hadn't waited so long before doing something . Having sat around waiting for the best part of a year it took 2 months from contacting the PCC to receiving my certificate.

 

My advice would be to contact BASC or CA (they armed me with statistics and other words to put in my e-mail to make it look like I was an expert) and then contact the local PCC , they are elected to represent you and should help you get a decent service from you local Police force.

 

In my experience It pays to go through the correct channels and use the system to your advantage, don't pester the Firearms dept , they will not respond, take it to a higher level.

Good luck.