Shorten PAL Approval Times

Hi all,
I've been waiting a very, VERY long time for my pal/rpal. Since November 19, 2013.... That's 326 days as I write this. I've tried everything in this thread, when I call the East Coast office I am told that the application is out of their hands and it has been moved to the AB CFO office. When I get transferred to the provincial office, I am told that "we'll send another notification to the CFO to review your application, we have a fairly large backlog right now. " Week in, week out.

I don't want to call and request a supervisor, I'm worried that it'll come across as demanding or aggressive and put my application in jeopardy.

Is there anything else I can try? Can I call the CFO directly? Or maybe should I send a box of donuts their way... ;)
Thanks everyone, 326 and counting!
 
d_edge95 said:
Hi all,
I've been waiting a very, VERY long time for my pal/rpal. Since November 19, 2013.... That's 326 days as I write this. I've tried everything in this thread, when I call the East Coast office I am told that the application is out of their hands and it has been moved to the AB CFO office. When I get transferred to the provincial office, I am told that "we'll send another notification to the CFO to review your application, we have a fairly large backlog right now. " Week in, week out.

I don't want to call and request a supervisor, I'm worried that it'll come across as demanding or aggressive and put my application in jeopardy.

Is there anything else I can try? Can I call the CFO directly? Or maybe should I send a box of donuts their way... ;)
Thanks everyone, 326 and counting!
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Wow, I thought I was running out of patience at 230 days.

Does anyone know if there is some sort of legal action we can take at this point?
 
You guys need to get through to the person in the CFO office assigned your file and discuss it with them. Get there extension and call until you get through.

My record isn't crystal clear and I got mine in 55 days.
 
d_edge95 said:
Hi all,
I've been waiting a very, VERY long time for my pal/rpal. Since November 19, 2013.... That's 326 days as I write this. I've tried everything in this thread, when I call the East Coast office I am told that the application is out of their hands and it has been moved to the AB CFO office. When I get transferred to the provincial office, I am told that "we'll send another notification to the CFO to review your application, we have a fairly large backlog right now. " Week in, week out.

I don't want to call and request a supervisor, I'm worried that it'll come across as demanding or aggressive and put my application in jeopardy.

Is there anything else I can try? Can I call the CFO directly? Or maybe should I send a box of donuts their way... ;)
Thanks everyone, 326 and counting!
Click to expand...

I'm up the same creek without a paddle, 175 days and counting, called many times and get the run around every time, how hard is it to call someone and say yes or no, lol I hate waiting for anything especially something like this
 
Jonty said:
Mine was mailed on Sept 15, appeared online on October 9. Ontario province.
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My application was received Sept 15 and I called every week since. Today was my 5th call, I was told they have started processing application and I just need to send in the proof of course. Heading out to Staples right now to fax those babies.

P.S. I am in Ontario. RPAL application. I am keeping a detailed Log/Journal and will post it at a future date.
 
AJM079 said:
My application was received Sept 15 and I called every week since. Today was my 5th call, I was told they have started processing application and I just need to send in the proof of course. Heading out to Staples right now to fax those babies.

P.S. I am in Ontario. RPAL application. I am keeping a detailed Log/Journal and will post it at a future date.
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Application still not showing online.
 
They received my application on Sept 17th, and it just showed up on line this afternoon, I've been calling them once a week to check status... gonna fax in the proof of safety course tomorrow, and will start calling twice a week to check status :)
 
I've been getting quite the run around from them, from being on hold until they close to dropped calls... I finally managed to get through again though. The lady said there's just nothing they can do as it is with the CFO himself, but she's not able to give me his # without a note on my file that says he's trying to contact me. She sent him yet another notification that I'm still waiting but those haven't worked yet. I guess theres nothing left but to be patient... Hopefully not for another 332 days again.
 
MAD_MAX said:
They received my application on Sept 17th, and it just showed up on line this afternoon, I've been calling them once a week to check status... gonna fax in the proof of safety course tomorrow, and will start calling twice a week to check status :)
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so I faxed in the safety course papers this morning and decided to call in this afternoon to confirm they received it, their answer knocked me on my ass "sir it takes 5 - 10 business days to process a fax".......WOW
 
Ipip12 said:
They won't let me do that.
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I just called again today(5 months since app was received)..The very nice lady told me that the case officers don't actually speak to people by request, only if they need to. Mine is being reviewed, after being in queue for a long time.
 
Wonder why there is so much variation in wait times? Both my wife and I had our licenses in hand in less than 6 weeks from date of sending in application. Once our references called in, our license was approved in less than 24 hours. (Sent back in August 2014)
 
jermyzy said:
Wonder why there is so much variation in wait times? Both my wife and I had our licenses in hand in less than 6 weeks from date of sending in application. Once our references called in, our license was approved in less than 24 hours. (Sent back in August 2014)
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Well mine is an RPAL. I suppose you also have to factor in that every province is different. The lady told me they had substantially more applications than expected this year.
 
TrekNyne said:
Well mine is an RPAL. I suppose you also have to factor in that every province is different. The lady told me they had substantially more applications than expected this year.
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Mine was RPAL as well and I'm in BC. There was another member on this forum who is also in BC and applied the same time as myself. He was told there was a 4 to 6 week backlog, yet mine was approved in 24 hours after my reference called in.
 
So now that my license has been issued and is in the mail I thought I would give a complete log of the entire process:

I live in Ontario and I applied for PAL and RPAL.

Application received in Miramichi on September 15, 2014 (Day 1) without test results. I indicated that the test results will come later. The test results I sent later were received by the CFP on September 22, 2014 (Day 8). I gave them a call on October 6, 2014 (Day 22) and they said the application is in the system (at this point it appeared online as well) and that I should fax over my course test results (they gave me a 1-800 fax number) which I did the next day (October 7, 2014). I then gave them a call on the October 8th, 2014 (Day 24) to confirm the fax is received and they told me to have one of my references call in for the interview (they gave me a 4-digit extension to have the reference call). The person called that same day and once the interview was over I gave the CFP a call to confirm. They confirmed the interview was complete and now the last step is to wait for them to validate the application. On October 16, 2014 (Day 31) I checked online and the status changed to
Your application has been processed and your licence has been issued. If you have not received your licence within 2 weeks please contact the Canadian Firearms Program Toll Free number. (1-800 731-4000)
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All in all the process took 31 days to have the license approved and sent out.

EDIT: I have received my license in the mail on October 23.

One thing I should mention is that 2 of the CFP people I spoke to told me that the interview process has changed. They no longer interview the license applicant and they only interview one of your references, not both. Also, you have to get them to call and it is your choice who you pick to call.

My reference was asked the following questions:

1) Confirm your contact info
2) Confirm the applicant's name and details
3) Is the applicant crazy
4) Can you think of any reason whatsoever for which the applicant should not receive a firearms license

My advice, as it is what worked for me, is to call often and ask what you should do next. Do not wait for them to call because it will probably add about 2 weeks in between steps. Once you complete a step, call right away or the very next day to confirm that it was complete. Also, when they tell you that everything is ready for the CFO to approve, keep calling ever 1-2 days and ask for status. Chances are your application will be approved after any one of those calls you make.

Also, I have not encountered any rude people. All were very pleasant and helpful.
 
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Yassss!!!!!

This thread deffs helped out a lot on the process. It took 37 days (incl. weekends) from the day i sent it to get my license issued. I found it that after the application entered the initial processing stage, everything flowed smoothly. Like it took 3 days from getting it into the system and getting it issued. It wouldn't have happened if had I not bugged the #### outta them though. Here are the timelines of the whole process.

Sept. 15- Application sent.

Oct. 6- Called the CFC to check status because I couldn't see it online, operator told me to call the following week because it still wasn't on their files.

Oct. 17 (friday)- Called the CFC again the following week and operator tells me it just started initial processing. She also told me to get one of my references to call the next monday because they were already closing for the weekend.

Oct. 20 (Monday) - so got both of my references to call but one of my references said that they did not need to do the interview and that my files were all good.

Oct 21- (today) I checked online to see if my status on my application changed at all, then I figured I still haven't done my interview so I called in today hoping to get my interview done. CFC operator tells me that I didn't need to do it as my license has already been issued and it would take around 3 business days to get the the license printed and sent out to me. LOL wtf?! I asked her why it was so quick, and she said that they were busy and only needed to contact 1 of the references LOL. So after the call, I go online to check the status again and it showed that whole "if you have not you received your license within two weeks blah blah blah.." LOL. Now the ACTUAL waiting game begins. So psyched!

Lol i find it odd that I didn't need to do the interview though. Has this ever happened to anyone? Haha anyways, anything works for me just to get my hands on that Plastic.
 
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