DONT GET BURNED BUYING FIREWOOD!!
ID: 3104
Date: 2006-10-29 10:24:13
Other Ads. Santa cruz.
Text: !!FIREWOOD BUYERS GETTING BURNED!! There ARE scammers posting ads on Craigslist
When Santa Cruz County officials recently went undercover to buy two deliveries of firewood, they got shorted both times — by 50 percent.
The undercover purchases were made after the county Department of Weights and Measures received four complaints involving different dealers during the recent cold snap. All four firewood deliveries were short by half.
"We've never seen numbers like that," said a spokesperson for the department.
The number of firewood dealers in Santa Cruz County, where the mountains are filled with timber, is unknown. About 20 advertise in the Yellow Pages, while others sell out of backyards or over the Internet and see no need to advertise as temperatures drop and their services are in demand.
The bottom line, is that "people have to measure their wood."
A 50 percent shortage by a seller can make firewood a costly purchase.
A typical advertised price for wood is $300 per cord.
The department is tracking multiple short deliveries and has turned over its findings to the District Attorney's Office.
Judging from the piles of wood appearing on local driveways, it appears people buying firewood are unfamiliar with regulations governing its sale. It's not legal to sell firewood by the truckload, face cord, rack or pile. State law requires firewood to be sold by the cord, fraction of a cord or by cubic feet; national standards require a cord to equal 128 cubic feet.
A cord is typically defined as 4 feet by 4 feet by 8 feet, but any stacking scenario can be used. To measure, the buyer should multiply the height, width and length of the stack; the result should equal 128 cubic feet.
Anyone who believes they have been shorted on firewood is asked to call the county at 831 454-2383.
Advice for buyers -
The county Department of Weight and Measures offers these tips:
When you buy firewood, get a receipt that shows the seller's name and address, price, volume and type of wood purchased. If possible, get the seller's phone number and the license plate number of the delivery vehicle.
When the wood is delivered, ask the seller to stack it so you can confirm you received what you paid for. You may have to pay extra for this service.
Stack the wood neatly in a line or row, with pieces touching and parallel to each other. Stacking wood in a crisscross fashion falsely inflates the volume.
It is ideal to place wood in a pre-made, pre-measured corral or form designed and built to hold 128 cubic feet. That way you will quickly know if you have received accurate measure.
Measure the wood before using any. If the cubic measurement indicates that you did not receive the correct volume, contact the seller immediately.
If the seller can't or won't correct the problem, call the Santa Cruz County Department of Weights and Measures at 831 454-2383 before you burn any wood.
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