Axed cord failed to measure up

WELLINGTON - Cords are dead this winter.

Once the standard measure for firewood, a cord is no longer a legal measure and has been replaced by the cubic metre.

A cord is, or was, the equivalent of 3.6 cu m, and is based on a stack of split wood eight feet by eight feet by two feet.

Confused? You are not the only one, according to Dennis Metcalf, manager of Capital City Products in Wellington.

"Obviously, we try to sell firewood by the 3.6 cu m," he said, "but if there are elderly people who have been buying it by the cord for the past 60 years, they are still hanging out for a cord.

"They can call it a cord, but we sell it as 3.6 cu m."

The cord got the chop last year after the Ministry of Consumer Affairs found itself fielding calls from consumers trying to find out what one was.

That prompted a survey of firewood advertisements, said the ministry's trade measurement manager, John Baker.

"I think we were quite staggered to find there were things described as long cords, short cords, 3m cords, which obviously substantiated the feedback we were getting from consumers."

Firewood is also a burning issue for people who believe they have not been sold the amount they paid for. Complaints about undersized firewood measures fall into the "non-pre-packaged products" category.

In the year to June 1997, the ministry received 83 complaints but the number totals only 22 for the current June year.

Mr Baker said a scheme was introduced in 1996 to test and certify firewood delivery trucks. However, firewood does not have to be sold by the measure. It is perfectly legal to sell it by the truck or trailerload.

To avoid getting burned fingers, Mr Baker recommended sticking to recognised suppliers.

"We have had in the past, in some parts of the country, people on the edge of the criminal fraternity wanting to get a bit of quick cash, go and cut some trees down and the next thing they are ripping off consumers."

- NZPA