Unbelievable Story of Everything Going Wrong On a Gun Buy

[doddg]

I was meeting Mongo59 today in Columbus to buy a gun from him.
Mongo59 was driving more than halfway, which was very accommodating of him.
I got there first & was waiting in the Bob Evans parking lot & I realized I didn't go to my safe & get the money to pay for the gun.
B/C I have left the house & had to turn around & go home a couple of times in the past, I usually get my money out the evening before.
I didn't this time.

Fortunately, he knew me from INGO & didn't think I was running some sort of scam, just an old man whose brain is diminishing.
I simply asked Siri where the nearest bank was & drove 1 mile to it, but just to find out it was a bank headquarters & not a bank with an ATM machine.
I asked someone there where to go & they directed me to a Kiosk that I recognized & had passed but didn't know it was an ATM since it was out in the middle of a small shopping center's parking lot.

I used my TCU bank card & pushed all the right buttons, and it thanked me.
BUT, DIDN'T GIVE ME MY MONEY!!!
I was going nuts & there was no number to call.
After looking at my receipt where it had thanked me for doing business with them, I noticed that written in small type:
"Unable to process this trans at this time."
I was relieved that it hadn't taken money from my checking account but didn't give it to me!

Someone in the parking lot told me where there was a bank & I drove there.
I went inside & they said they didn't have an ATM machine inside the bank, I had to drive around to the drive-through.
I did so, just to be told by the machine that my card had expired in January!
I went back inside the bank & they told me I could get an advance on my TCU Home Equity Card.
The girl waiting on me was in training & it took her 20 minutes to do a 5 minute job.

Finally, 40 minutes later & 7 THINGS GONE WRONG, I made it back to Bob Evan where Mongo59 was waiting & gave him his money, which should have taken just a few minutes.
I was calling him every step of the way, keeping him informed of my progress, or lack thereof.
Mongo59 was gracious about it & fortunately for me it was his day off & he didn't have pressing time constraints.
It was about lunch time, so I gave him a "tip" over what I owed him for the gun to buy his lunch, apologizing the entire time.

We had a great conversation sitting in his car afterwards.
And then, besides giving me the gun I had bought, he gave me another gun, a Hi-Standard H-M Military pistol to take to the range & put through its paces like he knows I like to do & have done for others.
It was like Xmas, I was more excited to be able to shoot this decades old WW2 military trainer .22LR than I was the gun that I was buying from him (H&R 939).

I was so stressed out since so many things went wrong!
But, the convertible drive was divine today.
I went straight to the range at Point Blank in Greenwood & spent 2 hours shooting these 2 guns & the SW 317 I bought last week.

 

[ditcherman]

Only on INGO!!
(You wouldn’t get that on gunbroker)

 

[mcapo]

 

[maxipum]

Mongo is a standup guy. Shared lunch after a deal a while back.

 

[MindfulMan]

 

[Amishman44]

Only on INGO! (You wouldn’t get that on gunbroker)

Absolutely! INGO members are great people!
And a little patience, courtesy, and some respect...often go a long way towards alleviating a 'negative' situation!

 

[gmcttr]

You overlooked an obvious fix for you problem...should have called me. I was 2-3 minutes away and could have provided the money or bank locations.

 

[doddg]

Absolutely! INGO members are great people!
And a little patience, courtesy, and some respect...often go a long way towards alleviating a 'negative' situation!

I have met so many stand-up guys here in the past 4 years, many that I consider delightful friends, & even a couple of best friends, one of which I am in daily contact & have been to his house nearly weekly & we have sat in my garage having a beer a few times.

There is one person I have dealt with over the years buying the occasional gun from that has earned my implicit trust & I want to give a shout-out to: "Smith& W" (Charlie).

I used him to wholesale out a ton of items for a teacher friend whose Dad had died before he could sell everything off.
Mostly alot of old guns & ammo.
Best compliment I could pay to "Smith& W" is that he was as honest as myself & totally transparent in the process determining the worth of items as we looked up the value together.

He is exactly the kind of guy that if I died unexpectedly, he could come over to the house & load everything up & sell it for the wife & I wouldn't give it a thought (He would be paid a commission, of course ).
I have a couple of others on that list as well, for the trust factor runs deep on INGO, for the short time I've been here.
Heck, even though I've driven Churchmouse nuts in the past with all the mistakes I made posting when I joined this sight 4 years ago, I feel he would do right by me. , and, I'm not even on his Xmas card list.

I couldn't have asked for any better help than "Smith& W" with the project & it was such an above-board total disclosure evaluation as possible: quick & efficient.

It was & it is such a pleasure to find people of such character as you become older & more cynical after life's bumps & bruises from people.

Mongo59 is just another addition to a long list of people I enjoy meeting on INGO.

 

[doddg]

You overlooked an obvious fix for you problem...should have called me. I was 2-3 minutes away and could have provided the money or bank locations.

Your response does bring a smile!
I have spent as much time with you in the past as with nearly anyone else & have always thought you were the best!
You are a great example of someone who befriended me when I started out on the sight, making INGO such an enriching experience!

I checked my cell & you are listed with your INGO moniker, real name, range, & apparently you bought a 1911 45 from me, of which I don't even remember.
Evidently, forgetting to take my money with me is not the only things slipping from my mind.
As I tell the wife: this isn't going to get any better.

 

[Tyler-The-Piker]

 

[KellyinAvon]

 

[Benp]

That sounds like quite the ordeal! I'm glad it all worked out.

 

[doddg]

That sounds like quite the ordeal! I'm glad it all worked out.

I was beside myself, especially with the Kiosk not giving me my money after giving me what I thought was the receipt.
I tried 3 times, good thing it wasn't taking money out of my account.

I couldn't imagine what Mongo59 was thinking, especially when I had to first tell him I didn't bring the money, but I should be able to go to an ATM & then I was gone for 40 minutes.

I the first thing someone said to me after driving over an hour, was that they didn't have their money, is all the bad things people have said about dealing with Armslist scams.
I thanked my God that I was dealing with an INGO member who had followed my over time.

 

[BGDave]

I'm gonna give a shout out to Smith&W too.
He is a stand up guy.

 

[1kAwayGuns]

I was meeting Mongo59 today in Columbus to buy a gun from him.
Mongo59 was driving more than halfway, which was very accommodating of him.
I got there first & was waiting in the Bob Evans parking lot & I realized I didn't go to my safe & get the money to pay for the gun.
B/C I have left the house & had to turn around & go home a couple of times in the past, I usually get my money out the evening before.
I didn't this time.

Fortunately, he knew me from INGO & didn't think I was running some sort of scam, just an old man whose brain is diminishing.
I simply asked Siri where the nearest bank was & drove 1 mile to it, but just to find out it was a bank headquarters & not a bank with an ATM machine.
I asked someone there where to go & they directed me to a Kiosk that I recognized & had passed but didn't know it was an ATM since it was out in the middle of a small shopping center's parking lot.

I used my TCU bank card & pushed all the right buttons, and it thanked me.
BUT, DIDN'T GIVE ME MY MONEY!!!
I was going nuts & there was no number to call.
After looking at my receipt where it had thanked me for doing business with them, I noticed that written in small type:
"Unable to process this trans at this time."
I was relieved that it hadn't taken money from my checking account but didn't give it to me!

Someone in the parking lot told me where there was a bank & I drove there.
I went inside & they said they didn't have an ATM machine inside the bank, I had to drive around to the drive-through.
I did so, just to be told by the machine that my card had expired in January!
I went back inside the bank & they told me I could get an advance on my TCU Home Equity Card.
The girl waiting on me was in training & it took her 20 minutes to do a 5 minute job.

Finally, 40 minutes later & 7 THINGS GONE WRONG, I made it back to Bob Evan where Mongo59 was waiting & gave him his money, which should have taken just a few minutes.
I was calling him every step of the way, keeping him informed of my progress, or lack thereof.
Mongo59 was gracious about it & fortunately for me it was his day off & he didn't have pressing time constraints.
It was about lunch time, so I gave him a "tip" over what I owed him for the gun to buy his lunch, apologizing the entire time.

We had a great conversation sitting in his car afterwards.
And then, besides giving me the gun I had bought, he gave me another gun, a Hi-Standard H-M Military pistol to take to the range & put through its paces like he knows I like to do & have done for others.
It was like Xmas, I was more excited to be able to shoot this decades old WW2 military trainer .22LR than I was the gun that I was buying from him (H&R 939).

I was so stressed out since so many things went wrong!
But, the convertible drive was divine today.
I went straight to the range at Point Blank in Greenwood & spent 2 hours shooting these 2 guns & the SW 317 I bought last week.

View attachment 151204View attachment 151205

If this was armslist he probably would have just left LOL

 

[marvin02]

@doddg - you are a negative nelly. Everything didn't go wrong. You got the gun, he got the money. The important stuff worked out.

Bonus for both of you since you got a story to tell and he got his meal covered.

Double bonus for you - you got a second gun to shoot.

Have fun with the new gun.

 

[doddg]

@doddg - you are a negative nelly. Everything didn't go wrong. You got the gun, he got the money. The important stuff worked out.

Bonus for both of you since you got a story to tell and he got his meal covered.

Double bonus for you - you got a second gun to shoot.

Have fun with the new gun.

Yes, you are so right & that was my perspective as I was driving away!
Just a very lousy 40 minutes to get from, "Oh no, I forgot to get the money out of my safe," till I was able to hand over the money to Mongo59.

 

[Mongo59]

It wasn't any trouble, it gave me a chance to see how clean the rest room was at the Bob Evan's...

Thanks for lunch doddg, I drove back to Salem to eat at my favorite Chinese place that just reopened since the start of Covid only to find out the buffet was closed due to lack of help. No problem, I will just go eat Thai! Drove to that place, it was closed for kitchen maintenance. (Is this sounding familiar?) Anyway, had to settle for a burger at the local choke and puke. What a day!

Moral of the story, it wasn't you, it musta been me...

 

[1nderbeard]

Easy to give grace to gracious people.

 

[doddg]

It wasn't any trouble, it gave me a chance to see how clean the rest room was at the Bob Evan's...

Thanks for lunch doddg, I drove back to Salem to eat at my favorite Chinese place that just reopened since the start of Covid only to find out the buffet was closed due to lack of help. No problem, I will just go eat Thai! Drove to that place, it was closed for kitchen maintenance. (Is this sounding familiar?) Anyway, had to settle for a burger at the local choke and puke. What a day!

Moral of the story, it wasn't you, it musta been me...

Mongo59
I'm so glad you are reading these responses where others have also validated your disposition & generosity.
I had 7 things to wrong & you only had 4 things, so I still win the "inconvenience" award between the two of us.

I can't wait to get to the range again to shoot the Hi-Standard H-M Military WW2 era trainer before you get it back.
If there was a red dot on it or red/white painted on the sights I could tighten up the groups even more.
My eyes don't do well with iron sights.

It was everything you said it would be.
I found a video about a guy who bought one from the original owner who bought his in 1948.
Vid showed how to take the slide off, also: neat/simple.
I also read about how to adjust rear sights, but no vid & I didn't understand it anyway .
You have a real gem in that Military gun!

Again, thanks for your forbearance.

Pic of Hi-Standard H-D Military pistol below.
(Ignore the H&R 939; my 2nd one: I love to do repeats on guns I liked but sold)