Issue with buying guns using ukara

[Baddbaz]

A few people have recently had issues with buying guns at retailers due to a lapse in their sites. Insurance . ( wolf )

[pugwash]

I think this is a regular problem with when the insurance renewal is due. For instance if a site only plays once a month it is an obvious measure to make the payment shortly before the game day saving yourself a few weeks cover. On the other hand a site I play at their insurer made an admin cock up and UKARA pulled the rug temporarily making a few people upset.

[spetsnazdave87]

Bit of a take considering it's not a legal requirement. 

[Baddbaz]

Most retailers are aware or make a phone call to your site to check if you are a regular skirmisher though . So not a major problem , just an inconvenience .

[Rob15]

Bit of a ###### take considering it's not a legal requirement. 

Having current and valid insurance is a requirement for a site to be a memeber of UKARA though so it's only right they cancel any site membership if the skirmish site allows their insurance to lapse. If they don't want the players to have an issue they shouldn't let it lapse, the UKARA requirements are clear.

[spetsnazdave87]

Yeah but the point being that if someone has a ukara number, even if it's expired it still shows they're an airsofter. Legally you don't even need a UKARA number, 'needing UKARA' is a myth. There are other ways to prove you're a skirmisher; a lapse in your site's insurance doesn't suddenly mean you're no longer an airsofter and can no longer buy guns, it just means you have to jump through a couple of other hoops. 

[Baddbaz]

No one has said that retailers are not selling to anyone . Its just an inconvenience for anyone caught up in it

[Tom Andrews]

We get this problem with our insurer every year, we pay by debit card at least a week / ten days before the due date, yet they can take anything up to three weeks to send through the insurance policy. Until we get it and send it to UKARA we get dropped off the list of registered sites.

 

Its not UKARAs fault, they are playing safe, plenty of sites shut down every year. Its simply sloppy work at the brokers/insurers, my car insurance comes through within moments of being paid so why can't they?  (Has been pointed out)

 

Its a pain for players because they are still airsofters with a current membership card, its not their fault if their site closes or has problems getting a cover note through.

[BigAl]

Proof once again that UKARA is exactly what is says on the tin, A "Retailers Organisation" set up to cover there own arses.

[Tom Andrews]

Proof once again that UKARA is exactly what is says on the tin, A "Retailers Organisation" set up to cover there own arses.

It always was set up for retailers, why shouldn't they cover themselves? If I was an airsoft retailer I wouldn't want to go to jail for selling to someone without proof of defence.

 

Just because there are other ways of proving you are an airsofter doesn't mean the UKARA scheme isn't valid and useful.

[Baddbaz]

Ukara s biggest benifit is enabling customs an easily accessible way to check if you are a registered skirmisher when importing . Yes there are other ways but this is the quickest and easiest by far

[osirisorion]

At the end of the day if the UKARA scheme prevents 15 y/o kids buying and running around the streets with airsoft weapons I'm all for it. Without the scheme I don't think the government would let any of us own RIFs

[Tom Andrews]

It was one of the stipulations by the Home Office that a scheme that didn't cost the Goverment money was set up. Hence the UKARA database.

 

Personally I think we got away lightly.   All the guns we can afford (or not ) to buy, a few simple hoops to jump through if we want to be on the UKARA database and as long as you are over 18 you can buy replica guns.  Even if you choose not to be on the database you can still buy RIFs with a little extra work.

 

Other countries have far more restrictions. We really should count ourselves lucky.

[hotelkilo]

before there were any restrictions on airsoft guns and pretty much any spotty little kid with the ££ could buy whatever they wanted there really was not a huge amount of dramas with ppl misusing airsoft guns. yes there were some incidents but given the sheer number of items being sold it clearly was not a situation getting out of control..

 

if u look at the few incidents involving airsoft guns per yr that made headlines vs the complete waste of time and money that is the vcra its quite clear to see that bismark was right about retaining respect for lawmakers/laws

[Tw1tch]

The VCRA does not just legislate airsoft kit though, it just happens that airsoft falls under the act.

[Tom Andrews]

before there were any restrictions on airsoft guns and pretty much any spotty little kid with the ££ could buy whatever they wanted there really was not a huge amount of dramas with ppl misusing airsoft guns. yes there were some incidents but given the sheer number of items being sold it clearly was not a situation getting out of control..

 

if u look at the few incidents involving airsoft guns per yr that made headlines vs the complete waste of time and money that is the vcra its quite clear to see that bismark was right about retaining respect for lawmakers/laws

 

 

Yes, but  that doesn't sell newspapers or look like a government are doing something to reduce crime.  One minister fudged the figures to make out that replica guns 'crimes' had increased expotentially and to calm a frightened and terrified nation was going to ban all replicas.

 Fortunately it never came to that, but it was close.