Bank of America Freezes Gun Manufacturer’s Deposits Saying: “We Believe You Should Not Be Selling Guns On The Internet”

**PAiN** · 01-18-2013, 03:46 AM

Joseph P Sirochman, the owner of American Spirit Arms posted this on Facebook via Ironic Surrealism.

All,
My name is Joe Sirochman owner of American Spirit Arms and I wanted to share my recent experience with Bank of America .(which we have been doing business with for over 10 years)…. Everyone is familiar with the latest increase in guns sales , dealers selling out of inventory , Manufacturers back logged for months , large revenue all generated in the last two weeks …. American Spirit Arms is no exception to the overwhelming demand . What we have experienced is that our web site orders have jumped 500 % causing our web site E commerce processing larger Deposits to BANK OF AMERICA

..Well, this through up a huge RED Flag with Bank of America . So they decided to hold the deposits for further review , meaning that the orders/payments that were coming in through the web ,( being paid by the customer and that were shipped out by American Spirit Arms ),the BANK was keeping (UNDER REVIEW )..as you could imagine this made me furious…After countless hours on the phone with BANK OF AMERICA I finally got a Manager in the right department that told me the reason that the deposits were on hold for FURTHER REVIEW …

HER EXACT WORDS WERE …

..” WE BELIEVE YOU SHOULD NOT BE SELLING GUNS and PARTS ON THE INTERNET “

…I flipped the F**k Out and told them that they have no right to make up their own new rules and regs..that we are a firearms Manufacturer with all the proper licensing FFL (Federal Firearm license ), SOT and that we follow all Federal and All States’ rules and regulations on shipping Firearms and parts ..and that we are also Audited by ATF and Homeland

Security on a regular basis … She said that she understands that but that the deposits will be released After they have a chance to review and clear them …I told her that This was unacceptable and the those deposits (that were a week old by now ) needed to be released ASAP, that we are a small business and rely on the revenue to run and stay operational.

After that being said another Manager got involved and released one of the deposits (to help out )… So far to date after
Two weeks of sales only 1/3 of collected internet sales have been released ..I am still pissed and looking for another
Bank and options …

I just thought the public should know ..

I will keep everyone posted on new developments ..
Sincerely

Joseph P Sirochman
American Spirit Arms
16001 N Greenway Hayden Loop
Suite B
Scottsdale AZ 85260
480-367-9540 phone
480-367-9541 fax

**RockShawn** · 01-18-2013, 04:21 AM

Wtf. Bank of America must not have armed security guards either. That's just shitty. I fucking hate banks that make up policy on a whim as they see fit. Wells Fargo did a similar thing to me 9 years ago. Its bullshit.

**PAiN** · 01-18-2013, 05:45 AM

Originally Posted by RockShawn

Wtf. Bank of America must not have armed security guards either. That's just shitty. I fucking hate banks that make up policy on a whim as they see fit. Wells Fargo did a similar thing to me 9 years ago. Its bullshit.

I agree bro it's BS. Very good point about the security.

If I used them I would switch banks. I'll be sure and tell everyone I know about this as well.

**jinko** · 01-19-2013, 10:52 AM

If he doesn't like the business practices of his bank he should switch. That goes for any business, if you don't like how they conduct themselves...leave.

**RockShawn** · 01-21-2013, 12:50 AM

Originally Posted by jinko

If he doesn't like the business practices of his bank he should switch. That goes for any business, if you don't like how they conduct themselves...leave.

Oh I hear ya, and I did. And I'm sure he will too, the differences is they make up new policy at will with no notice. That should be illegal when messing other people's money. It is in the investment world.

**grim** · 01-21-2013, 12:57 AM

actually this is pretty standard, i've personally dealt with doing business with a bank for years only to have a merchant account frozen from further review.

It sucks, but is nowhere near as sinister as it appears.

Look up most processing guidelines and there are rules against firearms over the internet. Internet related sales are handled completely different on a processing level.

**grim** · 01-21-2013, 01:03 AM

Even Paypal has this in it's terms..
https://cms.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/?c...locale.x=en_US

ammunition, firearms, or certain firearm parts or accessories, or (j) ,certain weapons or knives regulated under applicable law.

they write it in such a way that yes depending on the climate they can go one way or another, or depending on the representative you speak to.
I've gone through this exact issue numerous times in the past 'not firearms' and yes it sucks, and yes its inconvenient.

That's why I learned early on when my business was still operating to have a backup merchant account...