How long did your LTC-A take in your town???

[Len-2A Training]

Wow skydiveguy, i could agree with you more. And after a while you start to wonder if your application is lost completely. Like me after 7 months i have no faith that anyone at the PD knows where my app is.

But honestly if they told me they take 9 months i would have less of a problem with them. A few times i felt like saying that. Look just tell me you take 9 months and ill stop calling.

Right, "customer service" is all about communication! Somehow gov't has never got the idea that they are in the "customer relations" business and that the taxpayer is due some honest consideration. Sad but true.

 

[dcmdon]

Based on everything I read here, I think everyone doesn't really care about the length of time of the process, but the lack of communication and lying done by the authorities involved.

If it is going to take 13 weeks, tell us up front. Stop pointing the finger and saying "its the other guys fault". Honesty will get you everywhere...

You need to differentiate between the state and local authorities.

There is total transparency at the state level, as evidenced by the web site.

The fact that I could get an interview in a week (They originally offered me an interview on the 9th, but it didn't fit my schedule.), and got the LTC in 33 days shows that the local issuing authority is the variable, to your benefit or detriment.

 

[dcmdon]

Wow skydiveguy, i could agree with you more. And after a while you start to wonder if your application is lost completely. Like me after 7 months i have no faith that anyone at the PD knows where my app is.

But honestly if they told me they take 9 months i would have less of a problem with them. A few times i felt like saying that. Look just tell me you take 9 months and ill stop calling.

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk 2

The only reason its taking more than 6 weeks is because it you local dept is sitting on it. Get Angry!! You are the customer!!!

 

[dre2333]

The only reason its taking more than 6 weeks is because it you local dept is sitting on it. Get Angry!! You are the customer!!!

Dcmdon, if you think im not angry your highly mistaken. Ive been trying since i was at the 3 month waiting mark. And at 5 months i contacted state rep and sen only because i was told by everett firefighter and a employee at the frb that it takes 5 months in everett.

Evidently i must be loved in the city because im on 7 months soon to be eight come july 9th.

I cant wait to move

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk 2

 

[dwarven1]

Right, "customer service" is all about communication! Somehow gov't has never got the idea that they are in the "customer relations" business and that the taxpayer is due some honest consideration. Sad but true.

Oh, trust me, Len... our government knows ALL about servicing the taxpayer. Like a bull "services" a cow.

 

[zbomb]

I turned in my paperwork and check on Mon and appt with Douglas PD is on Sat.

I have to say I have been reading through this topic closely for the past couple weeks and I agree the variance in wait time and poor communication is what bothers me, if I acted in such way to my customers I certainly would not be in business. I am hopeful but certainly not expecting to get a realistic expectation from the PD after the appt.

Will update as warranted.

 

[dcmdon]

Dcmdon, if you think im not angry your highly mistaken. Ive been trying since i was at the 3 month waiting mark. And at 5 months i contacted state rep and sen only because i was told by everett firefighter and a employee at the frb that it takes 5 months in everett.

Evidently i must be loved in the city because im on 7 months soon to be eight come july 9th.

I cant wait to move

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk 2

Have you talked to anyone in Everett about this? I'm talking about above the Chief. Like your mayor or town manager. Don't just call them and ask to talk. Call, say you are a concerned citizen and would like an appt with the mayor. Then get there with all of your facts straight. If you really want to be aggressive, record the conversation if its legal in MA. (I'm not up on MA recording laws)

Make him aware of the statute that requires the license to be done in 40 days. (Have a copy of the statute with you to give to him)

Provide a copy of of the state web site showing a roughly 10 day turn around. Leave it so the ONLY possible explanation is that the PD is ILLEGALLY sitting on the applications.

Don

 

[dwarven1]

You need to differentiate between the state and local authorities.

There is total transparency at the state level, as evidenced by the web site.

The fact that I could get an interview in a week (They originally offered me an interview on the 9th, but it didn't fit my schedule.), and got the LTC in 33 days shows that the local issuing authority is the variable, to your benefit or detriment.

Don, check me if I'm wrong here, but didn't you just move to MA? Kinda soon to be sure you have all the answers, isn't it?

Reason that I'm not buying your theory that it's all the local PD's fault is that this was my third renewal in my town... and every time I've dealt with the SAME LICENSING OFFICER. He was upfront this time that there'd be a delay (even if it WAS a couple of weeks longer than he said). I don't see why he's suddenly start lying to me about this. He had dates that he sent paperwork out and when he got them back - and he said that he got stuff back from "the state" only after 6 weeks. I'm assuming that this was the records check and mental health OK. He told me exactly what date he sent stuff to CJSB, too... and given that date, it was only a week or so late (going by the info on the website) that I did get my LTC.

Why do you assume that all the local PD's are suddenly in a conspiracy to hold up processing?

 

[SamH]

http://www.malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXX/Chapter140/Section131

The licensing authority shall, within 40 days from the date of application, either approve the application and issue the license or deny the application and notify the applicant of the reason for such denial in writing; provided, however, that no such license shall be issued unless the colonel has certified, in writing, that the information available to him does not indicate that the possession of a firearm or large capacity firearm by the applicant would be in violation of state or federal law.

Is GOAL addressing this with whatever committee is charged with overseeing this body of law ?

 

[dcmdon]

dwarven,

I've been affiliated with ctcarry.com since we started the organization last year, prior to that I was active politically by putting in hundreds of hours for pro-gun candidates and by testifying in front of the state legislature in favor of our interests. I've been an instructor who has helped students get their licenses in a timely manner for almost ten years.

What I'm hearing is not new. The same thing happens in CT. Issuing authorities have been jerking around applicants for years in both states. With a few exceptions they are very similar.

1) In CT's favor - its effectively a shall issue state, so you can really ride the issuing authority and make a pest of yourself.
2) CT has statutes that give a finite amount of time to the issuing authority for the entire permiting process as well as some sub processes
3) we have the BFPE who can order a IA to issue a license if they are dragging their feet.

In MAs favor - We have total transparency at the state level. This is huge. I wish we had this in CT. You can go on the web site and see what week they are processing. If they are processing applications from 10 days ago, then you can't blame it on the state. You don't have to be a long time resident to figure that out.

Based on my personal experience recently, the state's web site is accurate. Arlington PD called me about a little over a week after the state said they were going to be processing my application.

So yes, I'm new to MA. But other than the specific process and the names of the agencies, this is old hat.

Further, if you think anything I've said is wrong, please point it out.

Now a question: How do most PDs respond when asked for the specific date that they sent out your application to the state?

Don

p.s. Just a reminder. My LTC app took 33 days from start to finish. I am not politically connected. I'm nobody special. I have no reason to doubt that the APD turns them around in a similar amount of time for everyone else. If yours takes 7 months, diagnostics 101 says says to exclude the common factors and look to the differences in each case. The variable is the local issuing authority. Either they wait to submit, or they sit on it after it arrives.

 

[dcmdon]

An easy way to spot if the IA sat on the license is to simply look at the "date issued (or date of issue, I forget)" field on the license. If its 2 months ago, they sat on it.

As a point of reference my date of issue was 6/13. The APD called me 6 days later to tell me it was there for pickup.

 

[mark056]

dwarven,

I've been affiliated with ctcarry.com since we started the organization last year, prior to that I was active politically by putting in hundreds of hours for pro-gun candidates and by testifying in front of the state legislature in favor of our interests. I've been an instructor who has helped students get their licenses in a timely manner for almost ten years.

What I'm hearing is not new. The same thing happens in CT. Issuing authorities have been jerking around applicants for years in both states. With a few exceptions they are very similar.

1) In CT's favor - its effectively a shall issue state, so you can really ride the issuing authority and make a pest of yourself.
2) CT has statutes that give a finite amount of time to the issuing authority for the entire permiting process as well as some sub processes
3) we have the BFPE who can order a IA to issue a license if they are dragging their feet.

In MAs favor - We have total transparency at the state level. This is huge. I wish we had this in CT. You can go on the web site and see what week they are processing. If they are processing applications from 10 days ago, then you can't blame it on the state. You don't have to be a long time resident to figure that out.

Based on my personal experience recently, the state's web site is accurate. Arlington PD called me about a little over a week after the state said they were going to be processing my application.

So yes, I'm new to MA. But other than the specific process and the names of the agencies, this is old hat.

Further, if you think anything I've said is wrong, please point it out.

Now a question: How do most PDs respond when asked for the specific date that they sent out your application to the state?

Don

p.s. Just a reminder. My LTC app took 33 days from start to finish. I am not politically connected. I'm nobody special. I have no reason to doubt that the APD turns them around in a similar amount of time for everyone else. If yours takes 7 months, diagnostics 101 says says to exclude the common factors and look to the differences in each case. The variable is the local issuing authority. Either they wait to submit, or they sit on it after it arrives.

Everything rests with the attitude of the particular police department in Mass and what priority they place on processing LTC. In some towns, it is an additional duty to be the licensing officer. Some towns have full time clerks or officers who process the licenses. In still other communities the chief does all the processing and interviewing. If the chief of a particular town doesn't like a lot of people "running around with guns" then he/she might take his time about it. Stall long enough and the applicant just might give up. Make it such a hassle, and people won't even apply. Most delays are caused by the local departments. Granted, their might be some delay from some agencies like the Department of Mental Health, but I could run a standard criminal background check on any of you in about 10 minutes provided I have all of your demographic information. I might hit a speed bump if you have an out of state record that is sealed, or an in state record that is on microfiche, but that is the exception and not the rule.

 

[Len-2A Training]

Dcmdon, if you think im not angry your highly mistaken. Ive been trying since i was at the 3 month waiting mark. And at 5 months i contacted state rep and sen only because i was told by everett firefighter and a employee at the frb that it takes 5 months in everett.

Evidently i must be loved in the city because im on 7 months soon to be eight come july 9th.

Since your PMs are over-filled and you are aobut to do the same to me . . . here's the info I was about to PM you back.

Here's the only help I can really offer you at this point.

Stephen Stat Smith appears to have a home phone number of 617-387-1984.

Salvatore N Didomenico 125 Clarence St Everett, MA 02149 (617) 387-3327 I would call each of them at home about 7PM and explain what you've done and what you've found out. Politely ask for their assistance. All the above info came from Superpages.com and ZabaSearch.com. Also since Stephen Smith is still a member of the Everett School Committee, you could snag him after one of their meetings and ask to talk with him about the matter.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh, trust me, Len... our government knows ALL about servicing the taxpayer. Like a bull "services" a cow.

How very true!

 

[dcmdon]

Mark056 - the only other delay that is built into the system has to do with the fact that the Criminal Background Check that they run is also based on fingerprints.

In FBI requires that all the information be packaged and submitted in a standardized format. From that point it is a fully automated process that takes about a day. I wish I knew more about how they want it submitted, if anyone can shed light on this please do. This standardized format is required of all states that want to run this kind of check.

In CT and MA this process is done by a state agency. I believe the DPSS in MA. Its handled by the State Police Bureau of Identification (SPBI) in CT.

 

[dwarven1]

Is GOAL addressing this with whatever committee is charged with overseeing this body of law ?

Board of directors meeting tomorrow night. I'll ask what is being done - I do know that GOAL knows about the issue. However... GOAL's power is pretty limited. It's not like we have a membership of 100K members to bring pressure to bear on the .gov.

An easy way to spot if the IA sat on the license is to simply look at the "date issued (or date of issue, I forget)" field on the license. If its 2 months ago, they sat on it.

As a point of reference my date of issue was 6/13. The APD called me 6 days later to tell me it was there for pickup.

Marlboro LTC renewal

1/31 - Left Message for licensing officer.
2/1 - got call back; per licensing officer, call him in first week of April. (birthday is first week in May)
3/20 - got letter from CJSB that my LTC was going to expire soon.
3/21 - called licensing officer and set up appointment to reapply.
3/26 - submitted application with $100 check. Licensing officer refused to sign anything stating that I'd applied; said all I had to do was apply and the extension was good for 90 days. Also warned me that the state was running 5-6 weeks and it might take longer.
5/6 - LTC expired.
6/1 - call from Licensing officer - LTC is in. 60 days; 9+ weeks.

Date of issue: 5/25. The Friday before Memorial Day. I got a call, like you, one week later. Allowing for the long weekend, I can certainly see that.

So... holdup wasn't PD.

 

[Len-2A Training]

Date of issue: 5/25. The Friday before Memorial Day. I got a call, like you, one week later. Allowing for the long weekend, I can certainly see that.

So... holdup wasn't PD.

Huh,

Knowing this isn't your first rodeo, this response has me curious.

Renewals are supposed to have a "Date of Issue" of your upcoming birthday, giving you a full 6 years. Only first time applicants get between 5 and 6 years on their LTC/FID per MGLs, depending on when it is issued.

Example: I filed paperwork 4 months prior to my birthday. Had "interview" 2 months before birthday, received new LTC 9 days later . . . but "Date of Issue" was 2 months AFTER I received the new LTC.

I do KNOW that some PDs screw people that come to renew more than x days before their birthday and wouldn't be surprised if they put "Date of Issue" as date of application to ensure person gets only 5+ years on the new LTC.

 

[mark056]

Mark056 - the only other delay that is built into the system has to do with the fact that the Criminal Background Check that they run is also based on fingerprints.

In FBI requires that all the information be packaged and submitted in a standardized format. From that point it is a fully automated process that takes about a day. I wish I knew more about how they want it submitted, if anyone can shed light on this please do. This standardized format is required of all states that want to run this kind of check.

In CT and MA this process is done by a state agency. I believe the DPSS in MA. Its handled by the State Police Bureau of Identification (SPBI) in CT.

Actually your information about Mass isn't entirely correct. For 51/2 years I processed fingerprints for licenses to carry Massachusetts at the State Identification Section in Sudbury. A unit of the Massachusetts State Police. All fingerprints submitted by local departments are done in a specific format, so your concerns are unfounded. I did not include that in my post in this thread, although I have discussed in many other threads. When I worked there from 1999 to 2005, we frequently would get huge envelopes filled with fingerprint cards, some dated as far back as three months and sometimes more. A licensing officer would simply stick them in a drawer, and then them accumulate until he finally "got around sending them to the State Police." Of course if somebody called him, he'd just say it was the state's fault. Sometimes irate applicants would call us and want to know why he hadn't returned their prints yet, after taking all their information and searching for their prints, we had to call them back and tell them that we couldn't process what he had yet to receive.

One time I received a phone call from a staffer of a highly placed elected official whose spouse had applied for a license. The staffer wanted to ensure that the spouse's prints were "expedited." I checked and we did not have them. I called the PD and they hadn't sent them out yet. Of course the spouse had only had the prints done three days earlier.

While the state can make errors, I saw misplaced cards (but very rarely because of the checks we had in place) the brunt of the blame IMO based on what I saw personally and what I have read in this thread, is that the local PD's are usually to blame for extreme delays.

 

[dcmdon]

Mark,
I don't see how what you said contradicts what I said. I agree with everything you wrote. If its the DPSS vs MSP thing, thats fine. Like I said, I'm pretty knowledgible on the function, but not sure about who does this.

Either way, you've reinforced my main point that the local issuing authorities are the ones creating the delay, not the state.

And I do agree with your implication that IAs choose to sit on the applications prior to submitting them to the state as opposed to sitting on the complete licenses after they get them back. Its too easy to get called out on that with the issued on field on the license.

A licensing officer would simply stick them in a drawer, and then them accumulate until he finally "got around sending them to the State Police." Of course if somebody called him, he'd just say it was the state's fault. Sometimes irate applicants would call us and want to know why he hadn't returned their prints yet, after taking all their information and searching for their prints, we had to call them back and tell them that we couldn't process what he had yet to receive.
.

Maybe this is why the state started posting what weeks submissions they are processing. Either way, this transparency is a good thing.

 

[dwarven1]

Huh,

Knowing this isn't your first rodeo, this response has me curious.

Renewals are supposed to have a "Date of Issue" of your upcoming birthday, giving you a full 6 years. Only first time applicants get between 5 and 6 years on their LTC/FID per MGLs, depending on when it is issued.

Example: I filed paperwork 4 months prior to my birthday. Had "interview" 2 months before birthday, received new LTC 9 days later . . . but "Date of Issue" was 2 months AFTER I received the new LTC.

I do KNOW that some PDs screw people that come to renew more than x days before their birthday and wouldn't be surprised if they put "Date of Issue" as date of application to ensure person gets only 5+ years on the new LTC.

Actually, the LO pointed out that he DIDN'T want me to apply too early so that the card WASN'T issued before my birthday so that I would get the full 6 years. And indeed, mine doesn't expire until 2018 - so it's good for 5 years & 11+ months.

 

[SkydiveGuy]

Well, I was told I wouldn't hear back for at least 30 days at my interview. Today is day 30. If I don't hear anything, I was going to call back on day 41 ( since its supposed to be within 40 days).

 

[Len-2A Training]

Actually, the LO pointed out that he DIDN'T want me to apply too early so that the card WASN'T issued before my birthday so that I would get the full 6 years. And indeed, mine doesn't expire until 2018 - so it's good for 5 years & 11+ months.

OK, but that shows that they have no idea what they are doing. Publicly I'll just say that this has been "reinforced" numerous times by those in authority (who are most hated here) to anyone that can read/attend seminars/subscribe and read an eList.

 

[Rboston]

Sorry if this was covered but does the FRB get mad if we call them for a status? 11 weeks and counting, first time.

 

[dcmdon]

deleted - I provided incorrect information.

 

[dre2333]

Sorry if this was covered but does the FRB get mad if we call them for a status? 11 weeks and counting, first time.

Even though they may post it on their website, i think there is nothing wrong with calling the FRB to see if they have recieved your application. At the least it lets you know if your PD has even sent your application over.

I called them to see if they had it, and im glad i did, i found out that after 7 months of waiting my PD still has not sent my application.

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Billsail]

I called them to see if they had it, and im glad i did, i found out that after 7 months of waiting my PD still has not sent my application.

This one is interesting. Please keep us informed on the response from your pd, and the final outcome.

 

[dre2333]

This one is interesting. Please keep us informed on the response from your pd, and the final outcome.

I most definitely will, i feel at this point i owe it to all residents of everett.

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Rboston]

Even though they may post it on their website, i think there is nothing wrong with calling the FRB to see if they have recieved your application. At the least it lets you know if your PD has even sent your application over.

I called them to see if they had it, and im glad i did, i found out that after 7 months of waiting my PD still has not sent my application.

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk 2

I think i will call, i was just afraid if i called them directly id get "don't call us call your pd". Ill call them and see if they at least got it or have sent it out.

 

[rabbid]

I think i will call, i was just afraid if i called them directly id get "don't call us call your pd". Ill call them and see if they at least got it or have sent it out.

I called them the other day to check on mine and they were very nice and had no problem looking it up for me.

 

[Rboston]

I called them the other day to check on mine and they were very nice and had no problem looking it up for me.

great thanks rabbid

 

[dcmdon]

Even though they may post it on their website, i think there is nothing wrong with calling the FRB to see if they have recieved your application. At the least it lets you know if your PD has even sent your application over.

I called them to see if they had it, and im glad i did, i found out that after 7 months of waiting my PD still has not sent my application.

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk 2

That is a really great point. I just deleted my earlier post since its wrong.