Im literally going through the same exact think. I purchased a lower as well and sent to ffl and they denied me. Today is the 15th day and i have yet to recieve anything. Im furious about this. I was supposed to compete in a competition with a friend. I have never been financially stable enough until now to buy expensive guns and now that i can finally afford it this happens. I also have a friend who is an ffl. And he basically said the same as your friend. But i have found out that it is happening alot right now with all of the people who are getting taxes and things back and then going to purchase a firearm. I have one friend who litterally purchases a gun about every couple of months. He went last eeek to purchase a riffle for his daughter and was denied. He called tcic and they told him to file the appeal and it seemed to be flaged over a speeding ticket. Come on really a speeding ticket. Lol. I have done tons of research and hopefully everything goes ok. I wish you luck.