Guarantees Act only recourse

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council procurement manager Mark Heaney said the only regulation applicable for the industry was the Consumer Guarantees Act.

“There are no specific regulations about firewood types, moisture level, etc. Consumers can use the Consumer Guarantees Act and refer to “fit for purpose”.

The regional council is happy to test moisture content to determine if the wood was “fit for purpose” for customers considering seeking a remedy under the CGA.

“Testing needs to be done as close as possible to the date of delivery and ideally supported by something in writing that says “ready to burn now”.

Heaney said there had been four complaints about firewood companies in the last three weeks. The regional council receives approximately 12 complaints a year which are followed up by moisture testing.

One moisture reading the regional council took had readings of between 35-40 per cent.

At 25 per cent wood is expected burn efficiently and cleanly, but other factors also influence efficiency, such as fire design and airflow Heany said.

Heaney said firewood is “currently an unregulated industry” and the regional council “cannot stop the sale of wet wood because it is not illegal to sell wet wood, buy wet wood, or burn wet wood”.

When the council receives a complaint, it visits the customer and tests the moisture content of the wood. The regional council’s Good Wood scheme enables wood merchants to voluntarily sign up and commit to providing wood with less than 25 per cent moisture content.

If the moisture content is over 25 per cent and the supplier is a Good Wood merchant, the regional council will contact the merchant to organise replacement or refund.

If it is not a Good Wood merchant, the Regional Council passes on customer complaints and advises them of the Good Wood scheme.