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Diary of my SGC grant


jan8p
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3 hours ago, Mightymariner said:

They sound very good.

Lincolnshire FLO is currently operated by G4s and I can't get them to respond to an email.

So far they have been good. Replied to emails generally within a day and have been very helpful.

Hopefully I can keep praising them with the time it takes to actually get the SGC 😆😆

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Cabinet is now fixed to the wall above skirting board......next job is to make the solid wood base which will be screwed on from the bottom of the cabinet....luckily it already has pre drilled holes at the bottom!

Cue many comments about not being big enough for the expanding gun collection.....😂

35E83E87-D0C2-43D5-BCD4-68F4B45F86C2.jpeg

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36 minutes ago, Strawbridge said:

Wow, I put my application in at the beginning of August and haven't heard diddly squat so far, I know my GP has sent the report back but other than that no contact at all, no reference contact or anything 😞 6 months and counting

I'd have chased that after a couple of months of hearing nothing.  I know everyone is busy, pandemic and all, but as far as I'm concerned we're paying for a service here, and when you don't get it then you need to complain.

"This is how long it's currently taking, like it or lump it" doesn't fly with me.

Edited by jan8p
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2 hours ago, jan8p said:

I'd have chased that after a couple of months of hearing nothing.  I know everyone is busy, pandemic and all, but as far as I'm concerned we're paying for a service here, and when you don't get it then you need to complain.

"This is how long it's currently taking, like it or lump it" doesn't fly with me.

exactly how it should be don’t rock the boat attitude is why we have more restrictions than ever before and more to come before they finally ban private ownership 

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19 hours ago, clangerman said:

exactly how it should be don’t rock the boat attitude is why we have more restrictions than ever before and more to come before they finally ban private ownership 

Couldn't agree more.

 

I applied for SGC in October - nothing heard and chased a few times. They are polite enough - but as jan8p put it so well - "we're paying for a service".

A lot of other businesses and services have remained operational and have found ways around CV19 to keep things moving.

I'm worried about the impact grants and renewals being suspended will have on the rest of the shooting economy down the line. Clay grounds and shoots need all the guns they can muster to keep afloat in these trying times.

It's been mentioned on this forum before - but I will say it again. Licensing needs to be made independent from the police. DVLA style. The police are stretched and busy enough. Coming and fiddling with cabinets and picking up our emails is not a good use of their time.

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The disparity between forces is also astounding - surely there should be some sort of national service level agreements here.  Just seems to be as it's a public service (despite paying a fee) it's treat as such, you've no choice but to put up with what they tell you.  Private businesses are less likely to get away with it as people can vote with their feet/contracts would be breached if it's outsourced etc.  Not quite sure it works in practice with those outsourced to G4S but still 😄 

During the pandemic, some forces have stopped issuing grants altogether, some are full steam ahead and have gone from application to issue within 4 weeks, and some are somewhere in between (like mine it seems).  Baffling.

 

Edited by jan8p
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4 minutes ago, jan8p said:

The disparity between forces is also astounding - surely there should be some sort of national service level agreements here.  Just seems to be as it's a public service (despite paying a fee) it's treat as such, you've no choice but to put up with what they tell you.  Private businesses are less likely to get away with it as people can vote with their feet/contracts would be breached if it's outsourced etc.  Not quite sure it works in practice with those outsourced to G4S but still 😄 

During the pandemic, some forces have stopped issuing grants altogether, some are full steam ahead and have gone from application to issue within 4 weeks, and some are somewhere in between (like mine it seems).  Baffling.

 

To that point- is anyone aware of a petition (change.org / GOVuk etc) that can raise this and get our voice heard?

I'd happily pay more - to know that I was being:

1. Treated fairly and not in a postcode lottery.

2. Given a reply/service this century.

 

Need i remind them that they just lost 400,000 criminal records  - I don't think they are a beacon of best conduct/security!

 

 

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My SCT came in the post this morning (28th Jan). I think that's not too bad going for having applied mid-November. Inspection was the week before Christmas with no issues. The only problem I have now is that everything is shut!

That was Police Scotland - Forth Valley.

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On 28/01/2021 at 12:16, jan8p said:

The disparity between forces is also astounding - surely there should be some sort of national service level agreements here.  Just seems to be as it's a public service (despite paying a fee) it's treat as such, you've no choice but to put up with what they tell you.  Private businesses are less likely to get away with it as people can vote with their feet/contracts would be breached if it's outsourced etc.  Not quite sure it works in practice with those outsourced to G4S but still 😄 

During the pandemic, some forces have stopped issuing grants altogether, some are full steam ahead and have gone from application to issue within 4 weeks, and some are somewhere in between (like mine it seems).  Baffling.

 

It is poor but it appears each force can do as it pleases. BASC advise, as stated in their own magazine and SG recently, that it is a statutory requirement to process applications and you should contact your Police and Crime Commissioner if they aren't complying. However, I am very reluctant to go down that route and 'rock the boat' as I would be worried about repercussions in this application for my son and my renewal next year (I know that shouldn't be the case but.....).

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28 minutes ago, Mightymariner said:

BASC advise, as stated in their own magazine and SG recently, that it is a statutory requirement to process applications and you should contact your Police and Crime Commissioner if they aren't complying. 

That may be the case in normal times, but many forces are using COVID and the 'state of national emergency' as an excuse to postpone grants.

You can almost gauge which forces don't want to issue tickets by seeing who was using the excuse to close applications.

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56 minutes ago, Mightymariner said:

It is poor but it appears each force can do as it pleases. BASC advise, as stated in their own magazine and SG recently, that it is a statutory requirement to process applications and you should contact your Police and Crime Commissioner if they aren't complying. However, I am very reluctant to go down that route and 'rock the boat' as I would be worried about repercussions in this application for my son and my renewal next year (I know that shouldn't be the case but.....).

I certainly understand it's difficult, but as you say it's a requirement to process these applications (and indeed a service you're paying for) so if it does get a bit too long I will complain.

That being said, that's hopefully worst case.  It's 2 months today since I put my application in, heard nothing since my last update a couple of weeks ago (GP sending back report) - so will give them a couple of weeks and ask for an update.  I assume I'm just waiting for a visit/interview, so they may be waiting for covid restrictions to reduce - but communication is key and if they just say that then that's fine, it's the limbo, lack of communication and expectation to just put up and wait that grinds my gears.  

Edited by jan8p
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1 hour ago, Kojak_79 said:

I gonna wait another 2 weeks and ring up this time and speak to the boss. The no communication is what's grinding my gears. Hope you hear soon

Good luck :) 

1 hour ago, mossy835 said:

my mate never had a visit, just sent photos to flo showed it fixed to the wall,and that was that all done.

I wouldn't be that lucky!

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Last contact was on 14th Jan RE providing my GP report which was provided same day, so I plan to ask for an update next week if I hear nothing as it will have been a month :)

In other news I have now fitted a solid oak box underneath the cabinet, I think it looks decent and saved chopping skirting out, the wife is happy!

 

 

IMG_20210209_120050.jpg

Edited by jan8p
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On 18/01/2021 at 18:56, Gordon R said:

If it has to be off the floor, I agree with putting a wooden block underneath and then screwing the safe to the wall and wooden block. One of my FEOs mentioned getting a jack underneath, if there was a gap. Not sure how many burglars carry a jack.

Exactley, this is complete nonsense, a jack indeed, if he carried a decent nailbar he'd force it off the wall and take it with him, (as the usually do) all you can do is make it as awkward as possible by securing it into block. 

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I applied for mine in August and haven't heard anything since. Was told 20 weeks at application and they were processing grants but have since been told when I rang up in Jan that they've suspended grants.

 

They told me they were working on early 2020 applications so I've given up any hope of having mine in the next 6 months. Very frustrating to say the least!

 

Edit: I'm with GMP

Edited by Batler
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