m1lk 26 Posted February 27, 2011 Report Share Posted February 27, 2011 ive read the blogs, forum posts, videos, about their lengendary customer service, but $503 shipped for an ak74, i couldnt resist. placed an order on december, sent money, and they recieved it on the 27th the whole month of january was pretty much a bunch of run-arounds and unreturned calls and emails and excuses about how they were moving to a new location, ATF inspections, Chet not in the office, etc. figured ok whatever, i can wait. no big deal. come february, im wondering where it is. called up on the 2nd and asked, was given a tracking number, and told it would ship out on the 4th. nothing. gave them another week plus, and contacted them on the 15th. didnt pick up my calls but emailed me back, told me the gun was completed on the 2nd, but was found to have a defective barrel, so they replaced it on the 10th, test fired it on the 14th and was OK, and will be cleaned up and shipped on the 16th. even sent me my invoice, clearly marked paid. ok sure, no problem. gun is done, right, so just give me what i paid for. checked the tracking number and waited another week. still not shipped. called and emailed again on the 22nd, wondering why it still hasnt shipped. secretery said Chet wasnt there but she'll give the message. Chet personally calls me the next day at noon on the 23rd, tells me they lost the label with the old tracking number, gives me a new one, tells me my gun is complete, and will ship out the same day at 4pm or 7pm schedules UPS pickup time. waited. and currently still not shipped. wtf. this is insane... pics below... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mastershakelock 9 Posted February 27, 2011 Report Share Posted February 27, 2011 (edited) This is just my personal opinion and I'm not trying to throw dirt on Lancaster, but I will say this is the third time I have heard some very unsettling events and shady dealing go on specifically through Chet. A close friend ordered a bunch of Lancaster Arms ak-47 barrels and gave the guy the run around for over a month before they finally refunded his money.. and more than a few reviews I've read where customers would return defective items and it would take the company months to get them to refund their money.. It's enough to make me steer clear. Delve deep and dig your own research on the company before you purchase your firearms guys. Edited February 27, 2011 by mastershakelock Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rob-cubed 74 Posted February 27, 2011 Report Share Posted February 27, 2011 Sorry to hear it OP. Your post pretty much confirms everything I've read about LA other places. Did you pay by credit card? If so you can raise the issue with your CC company, they typically carry insurance on purchases and tend to be pretty good at leaning on vendors. Two months is unacceptable. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
m1lk 26 Posted February 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2011 Sorry to hear it OP. Your post pretty much confirms everything I've read about LA other places. Did you pay by credit card? If so you can raise the issue with your CC company, they typically carry insurance on purchases and tend to be pretty good at leaning on vendors. Two months is unacceptable. unfortunately i didnt. i paid money order. but i have the reciepts, invoice, emails, etc. if i resort to calling the attorney general, i have the proof. as for the months of wait, i dont even mind that, especially at the price that was given to me. but when you say youre going to ship out an item on a specific day, then you ship it out no later than that day....especially when you say yourself that the rifle is completed and ready to go. basic respect and honor, its not that hard but apparently it is for these people. my friend, on the other hand, he ordered a few days after i did. he used personal check. he doesnt even have a tracking number or invoice yet! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yakdung 2,926 Posted February 27, 2011 Report Share Posted February 27, 2011 Sorry about your circumstances. Looks like they have a fan club: http://lancasterarmssucks.blogspot.com/ Yakdung Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DrThunder88 912 Posted February 27, 2011 Report Share Posted February 27, 2011 That's a shame. I got a Lancaster before Obamarama went into full force in 2008. It's fine and was delivered on time, but all signs point to the company being no longer trustworthy. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
brandywine 5 Posted February 27, 2011 Report Share Posted February 27, 2011 Sorry to hear. This is about the 1001 horror story I've read/heard about Lancaster. I think they'd have to drop the price to around $100 per AK before I'd even CONSIDER doing business with them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
redfish28 50 Posted February 27, 2011 Report Share Posted February 27, 2011 I am truly sorry to hear you are going through this ordeal. I bought a Lancaster 74 from Atlantic Firearms last year. It was one of the rough riders with a out of spec barrel/gas port. I called them about it in June and they sent me a new rifle that has been pretty good. I believe I was one of the lucky ones. Please let us know what happens and if you get the rifle. I'd be interested to know what the quality of your rifle will be. As far as I am concerned, when they get a rifle wrong, they really get it wrong. When they get it right however, their rifles can be pretty decent. I also think that if they were just up front and honest about delivery dates etc. they would be seen in a better light. I will probably be buying an Arsenal next time. I think I would be better off even if it is a sightly used Arsenal P.S. I've gotta call total B.S. on the out of spec E. German barrel crap. Germans make a pretty good barrel. Its the U.S. ones that have been out of spec. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
m1lk 26 Posted February 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2011 (edited) P.S. I've gotta call total B.S. on the out of spec E. German barrel crap. Germans make a pretty good barrel. Its the U.S. ones that have been out of spec. his exact excuse about the barrels was he was sent a hundred EG barrels that werent rifled, so had to send em back and re-order a new batch. but assured me he FIXED THE PROBLEM. ill call this coming week and see what happens. but if the gun is ready to go, and they still wont send it on a verbally, electronically, or phyisically stated date, then im just going to demand a refund and get the attorney general of arizona on them. hopefully i have all the proof available to back up my claim to the AG, but its a real shame i have to go through all this: how hard is it to ship something out, for gods sake... Edited February 28, 2011 by m1lk Quote Link to post Share on other sites
volkov 318 Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 (edited) got a 47 from them a while back, but ordered it through Atlantic Firearms (who were great to deal with but seem to have dropped all of lancaster's aks except the pistol).. I've heard horrible things about ordering directly from lancaster.. also heard their recent "rough riders" are TERRIBLE quality. Couple have been reported to come apart when fired. Love my lancaster but will not do business with them again. edit: actually it looks like Atlantic arms still may have some lancasters but have taken the name out of the item description.. There are a few rifles that I seem to remember being lancasters (and are priced like lancasters) that now don't have a producer's name listed. Edited March 1, 2011 by volkov Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jpanzer 1,265 Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 (edited) I bought one of the AK 74's that got recalled (not a rough rider, a custom build). It had been in the safe since I bought it as I was concentrating on running some of my other rifles at the time. Saw the serial# on their recall list, and shipped it back at their expense. I was a little impatient, but 2 months later they shipped me my rifle back with a brand new chrome lined East German barrel installed. Lancaster did everything they promised they would do, and kept their word on making good. I LOVE IT! One of the sweetest shooting (and looking) rifles I own... That being said,their customer service can be a real pain in the ass, and you have to be diligent and persistent to get them to pay attention. Because of this, I will look elsewhere before I buy from them again... Edited March 1, 2011 by Jpanzer Quote Link to post Share on other sites
m1lk 26 Posted March 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 called yesterday and they told me chet would return my call. nothing. so i sent them an email: if my gun does not leave the factory by march 14, im requesting a refund. and if i still get the runaround ill call the Atty Gen, DA, and PD of arizona. im sick of dealing with this shit. 3 times is enough. ive been way more than patient with these scumbags Quote Link to post Share on other sites
theboz 6 Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 i dont comment in many of these threads as i have little experience with most companies, but please keep updating it so others, including myself, can use it as deciding factors on who to buy from. hope you get your rifle or money! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
m1lk 26 Posted March 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 i dont comment in many of these threads as i have little experience with most companies, but please keep updating it so others, including myself, can use it as deciding factors on who to buy from. hope you get your rifle or money! well i sent that email requesting an answer as to why they as just sitting around jerking off with my rifle, and i even offered to not include the redwood furniture, sling, cleaning rod, pistol grip, magazine, oil bottle, etc none of that except for the bare gun itself, if it meant getting it to me faster, and ill call it even, no complaints. and yet, no email response, no callback, and the gun still hasnt shipped yet. so i have decided to file a lost package claim with UPS, mentioning the tracking numbers, invoices, lack of responses, and my suspicion that the gun may have gone missing somewhere in their lab. currently they are tracking it. they might ask for proof, which i will have in emails and invoice. im hoping UPS will contact them about it, i present them proof that they ask, and theyll be forced to have to mail the gun out if in fact it does exist. i know it sounds like a longshot, but right now its better than nothing.... in the meantime they have 6 days until i just file a complaint with the AZ authorities, and i just end up buying another 74. as for my friend, he still hasnt gotten his invoice or tracking number yet. chet called him back though, and told him how the milsurp bulgy polymer that he has right now is all chewed up, and the same defective barrel excuse. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jama555us 1 Posted March 18, 2011 Report Share Posted March 18, 2011 Well, I have never owned one myself, but I have heard the horror stories. I do see the Lancaster Arms AKs at the Gun shows in Dallas, TX and they look like shit. The finish is horrible, the trigger pull awful, head space off and even bent barrels. And they are being sold for $800 to $900 dollars. My two cents. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Atlantic Firearms.com 170 Posted March 20, 2011 Report Share Posted March 20, 2011 We no longer offer the Lancaster line of rifles or pistols they used to build a very nice product but the customer service etc went slowy down hill . 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
m1lk 26 Posted March 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2011 been calling a few times, chet calls me back on the 16th, tells me chet: hello is this ______? me: yes chet. chet: hi _______, gun is ready to go but the pistol grip doesnt match the wood, well send that to your house afterwards. but i want to get this goddamn gun out of here! i want to send this fuckin thing out already me: mr. durda i dont care about the furniture, just send it bare and call it even. whatever. chet: nah nah, the wood is beautiful, youre getting that. i just want this fuckin thing out of here already. lemme see (starts reading off my ffl's address) me: you mean (i tell him the whole address) chet: yeah yeah, ok. bye. wtf? at the same time, my friend who ordered from them as well a week after i sent in my money, is getting his this week, its definitely in transit and the ups website confirms this. and its going to the same FFL. what the fuck is this bullshit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
m1lk 26 Posted March 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 22, 2011 well well.... it actually shipped! i cant fucking believe it! seems its been in transit since the 18th. but never bothered to tell me the new tracking number. odd.. but ok. as long as it gets here, i dont mind. still if they wouldve told me it from the beginning it would be taking this long, i wouldnt have to go thru all this and still order from em. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
redfish28 50 Posted March 23, 2011 Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 Good luck brother. I sure hope it turns out alright. Do you think you can post some pics and give a small review when it comes in. The replacement rifle they sent me was actually pretty fine. I sure think it would be awesome if you shared the same luck. RF Quote Link to post Share on other sites
m1lk 26 Posted March 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 (edited) Good luck brother. I sure hope it turns out alright. Do you think you can post some pics and give a small review when it comes in. The replacement rifle they sent me was actually pretty fine. I sure think it would be awesome if you shared the same luck. RF thanks and sure thing posting up mine. but first, here is my friends Lancaster that he received today. we both ordered pretty much at the same time. hasnt shot it yet but just handling it, its pretty damn solid. lancaster is the bottom one. the top one is a wasr i sold to him... now for the other part... my friend originally ordered the black polymer that you see above. a while ago, chet told my friend the black polymer that he had was "chewed up", and both agreed to replacing it with plum. he also ordered a couple of magazines. well, obviously the plum wasnt put on, and they went by the original invoice order instead. the mags are backordered and they left a voicemail message on his phone saying theyll send it to him later on..... told my friend not to worry, that shit is minor compared to the time we had to wait for our stuff... besides, $503 shipped for the gun, thats already a deal itself. if they wouldve told us it was going to take this long, then we wouldnt have been calling and emailing frequently, and at that price wouldve still ordered. both lancaster and us wouldve saved each other alot of time and energy doing so instead of wasting it playing cat & mouse over the phone. oh well... Edited March 23, 2011 by m1lk Quote Link to post Share on other sites
m1lk 26 Posted March 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2011 so i finally got it. looks good and all, nice finish and i actually kind of like the wood. chrome lined brake now for the bad: -didnt come with magazines, sling, or cleaning kit -the dust cover is a bit short -rear sight is canted -barrel is filthy with soot, i cant even tell if its chrome lined or not until i clean it theres a gun show next week. im about so just sell this thing, and get an arsenal. sick of this shit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
redfish28 50 Posted March 25, 2011 Report Share Posted March 25, 2011 Well, that sucks. I was hoping for better. If you don't want to sell it the rear sight cant can sometimes be easily fixed. In some cases the pins on the sight leaf are bent a little. This happens when they leave the factory. A new rear sight can sometimes fix it. The other options is to buy an adjustable RPK rear sight. If it's the rear block then thats trouble. I'd shoot it first to see for sure though. Whatever happens I hope you find the 74 you were meant to be with. RF Quote Link to post Share on other sites
redfish28 50 Posted March 25, 2011 Report Share Posted March 25, 2011 Well, that sucks. I was hoping for better. If you don't want to sell it the rear sight cant can sometimes be easily fixed. In some cases the pins on the sight leaf are bent a little. This happens when they leave the factory. A new rear sight can sometimes fix it. The other options is to buy an adjustable RPK rear sight. If it's the rear block then thats trouble. I'd shoot it first to see for sure though. Whatever happens I hope you find the 74 you were meant to be with. RF P.S. At least you got a chrome lined brake. I was not so lucky. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
m1lk 26 Posted March 26, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2011 (edited) Well, that sucks. I was hoping for better. If you don't want to sell it the rear sight cant can sometimes be easily fixed. In some cases the pins on the sight leaf are bent a little. This happens when they leave the factory. A new rear sight can sometimes fix it. The other options is to buy an adjustable RPK rear sight. If it's the rear block then thats trouble. I'd shoot it first to see for sure though. Whatever happens I hope you find the 74 you were meant to be with. RF P.S. At least you got a chrome lined brake. I was not so lucky. yeah, id really hate to sell it, being i went thru all this trouble and its my personal xmas present to myself (though late)... ill play around with the rear sight, see if i can fix it. another thing i noticed, the gap at the mag release is too small. my polymer mags fit, but none of my bakelites do. as for the dust cover,seems its not short.. what happens is, when i put it on its fine, when i charge it though the gap between the dust cover and the rear sight block widens and ends up being held in place in the slot by about 1mm. i cleaned the barrel. still dont know if its chrome lined or not. or just crowned Edited March 26, 2011 by m1lk Quote Link to post Share on other sites
redfish28 50 Posted March 26, 2011 Report Share Posted March 26, 2011 (edited) If it is a German barrel it is chrome lined. Pop the gas tube off and there should be a German mark and serial number on the barrel. Edited March 26, 2011 by redfish28 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
m1lk 26 Posted April 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 well, all issues fixed, the bakes all fit now and the dustcover issue has been fixed, just bent it a little and now its perfect. put a hundred rounds through it. no problems so far. only thing now is the slight cant in the rear sight itself, the block is straight so i wont mess with it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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