Bought My first ever Cord "GOT Taken To the Cleaners!!!"

[Biketrax]

Well Just stacked it and measured it twice RESULTS 1) 56% of a cord (72 ft³ versus 128 ft³) and
2) Seasoned less than a year to boot! 3) Plus I got a TWO wheel barrels of kindling and two WB of bark!! 4) Majority is beech and birch. NO oak, cherry or even maple as suggested. Some Ash would of been very welcomed!! I wouldnt of mind getting the bark and kindling if at least it was a solid cord and a bit better seasoned! SO I am now realizing why I have never bought one in the past 25 years, and have always done all the work myself!! I guess I am to blame for waiting for prime season to go ahead and take the plunge. MY BAD, But hey I paid good money for this! These folks own a Christmas tree farm a few towns over and have a website. SO I figured they should be reputable, NOT! I am going to call in the morning and discuss my gripes hopefully with the Manager or Owner. From the looks of the website looks like a majority of the place is being taken over from the latest generation and they have learned and managed the art of masking a chord of wood by cutting corners. I feel sorry for folks who never even question this sort of service ?
Wish me luck and hope they will do right by this!
Any suggestions or friendly advise is welcomed

 

[blackdogon57]

I've sold quite a bit of firewood in my days. No excuse for being short that much. Not an honest mistake. Give em hell !

 

[woodfarmer]

My neighbour ordered two cord, told him noooo Ash. Got mostly ash and a few pieces of birch and maple thrown in.
It was wetter than ash I had just split this fall, by my moisture meter.
The seller said I didn’t know what I was doing and he’s been selling seasoned wood for 30 years. BS

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

I'm guessing it was loose in the truck?

It sucks to stack it vs loose but it's the only way to sort out all the junk and ensure the right volume.

 

[foxtrot5]

A few cubic feet short or over is just a difference in stacking methods. That much under is unacceptable. Hope you get this sorted out soon!

 

[CaseyForrest]

When we first moved into this house in 2015, I bought 2 loads of what was supposed to be 3 cords of logs in each load. The seller and I had an agreement that I would cut and split the loads and stack to get an actual measurement since he didn't normally sell wood like that. I paid him $300 per load prior to him unloading both times.

The first load I processed and let him know it was short by a bit. He said he would make it up on the next load.

Second load netted out to less than the first.

This is when he dropped off the face of the earth.....

So I took him to small claims and won. I had all our email exchanges, voice messages.... At mediation he decided to take the "you've been giving it away to your friends" route, threatened to sue me for liable because I was telling everyone what a dishonest POS he was.... Thats when I told the mediator that we were done and I would see him in court.

He changed his tune after that and I walked out with my money, in cash.

 

[foxtrot5]

He changed his tune after that and I walked out with my money, in cash.

Good for you! I'm always happy to see people like you go after people like this. If he scammed you out of it I can only imagine how many other people he did it to.

 

[svk]

Be polite but firm. As far as I would be concerned he can either come and pick up the wood and provide a full refund, give you 44 percent of your money back and let you keep the wood you already have, or bring you more wood.

If you do not get anywhere by calmly explaining your case and letting him offer how he plans to fix it, I would then advise him that to be legal, firewood is sold by the cord or fraction thereof. To short a sale is against the law. You did not mention if he delivered or not. If he delivered then his business vehicle had better be DOT inspected as well. In some states that could get him into hot water if he is going around shorting customers with a non inspected vehicle.

Just a few ideas. Chances are they will make good as it may cost them much more to deal with a shorted customer who knows his rights.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

DOT inspection only for above 26k

 

[Biketrax]

I'm guessing it was loose in the truck?

YES IT WAS !

It sucks to stack it vs loose but it's the only way to sort out all the junk and ensure the right volume.

YES IT DOES SUCK!
Great advice guys thanks!
May even drive over in the morning?

 

[Biketrax]

Getting back on this site has made me realize, I should of started with this local chainsaw dealership, heavy duty arborist equipment shop in the same town as this guy. Duh?
They would of set me on the right path in getting a solid referal from one of their customers, may have been a bit pricier but at least honest square deal!
cheers

 

[Little Al]

Well Just stacked it and measured it twice RESULTS 1) 56% of a cord (72 ft³ versus 128 ft³) and
2) Seasoned less than a year to boot! 3) Plus I got a TWO wheel barrels of kindling and two WB of bark!! 4) Majority is beech and birch. NO oak, cherry or even maple as suggested. Some Ash would of been very welcomed!! I wouldnt of mind getting the bark and kindling if at least it was a solid cord and a bit better seasoned! SO I am now realizing why I have never bought one in the past 25 years, and have always done all the work myself!! I guess I am to blame for waiting for prime season to go ahead and take the plunge. MY BAD, But hey I paid good money for this! These folks own a Christmas tree farm a few towns over and have a website. SO I figured they should be reputable, NOT! I am going to call in the morning and discuss my gripes hopefully with the Manager or Owner. From the looks of the website looks like a majority of the place is being taken over from the latest generation and they have learned and managed the art of masking a chord of wood by cutting corners. I feel sorry for folks who never even question this sort of service ?
Wish me luck and hope they will do right by this!
Any suggestions or friendly advise is welcomed

When your wood turns up or you go to look at it Take a 4 prong Moister meter, Wind up/in tape measure & a rattle can of day glo paint even just having these in sight has altered the attitude of the seller on several occasions read the advert carefully have a copy if possible to compare what is advertised against what is supplied as guys have lost their jobs some have set up selling fire wood with the "get rich quickers" & the decent guys seems a strange for a fixed company to adopt this more like the "Fly by night "pick up truck man Go face them & stand you ground with photo evidence if possbleTry to keep calm & keep your temper, reasoned voice will get you better results than a rant but be firm

 

[Jakers]

DOT inspection only for above 26k

In MN the laws are kinda funky on this. Not sure on CT laws.

In Minnesota, if a vehicle is "in commerce" and over 10k GVW but under 26k GVW, the laws state that everything has to comply with DOT regulations but doesn't need the sticker or yearly inspection. The driver is required only to have a valid medical certificate to drive anything in the 10-26k range. If the vehicle is owned by a legal business that has any vehicles over 26K that require a DOT#, the number, legal business name, and city/state must be displayed on the vehicles from 10-26k as well

I'm guessing this was sold by a guy with a pickup operating under his own name so most likely a DOT# or inspection was not required. That's not to say that the vehicle didn't have to be up to "DOT standards". Every vehicle on the road has to pass those standards by law

 

[farmer steve]

When your wood turns up or you go to look at it Take a 4 prong Moister meter, Wind up/in tape measure & a rattle can of day glo paint even just having these in sight has altered the attitude of the seller on several occasions read the advert carefully have a copy if possible to compare what is advertised against what is supplied as guys have lost their jobs some have set up selling fire wood with the "get rich quickers" & the decent guys seems a strange for a fixed company to adopt this more like the "Fly by night "pick up truck man Go face them & stand you ground with photo evidence if possbleTry to keep calm & keep your temper, reasoned voice will get you better results than a rant but be firm

a local C/L ad.
https://york.craigslist.org/grd/d/firewood-sellers/6448143169.html

 

[alleyyooper]

I just do not understand why a person would buy wood and not take the time to see it before the money changed hands.
Just makeing a little effort on looking at the wood your thinking of buying will tell you a lot about what your going to get. Surely you can tell Oak from Beech or Birch, you seem to know once it was dumped.

I also would never buy wood I looked at that was in a pile and not stacked to show just how much I was paying for.

Remember the old saying buyer beware, same with fire wood as with a horse.

Al

 

[sb47]

I just do not understand why a person would buy wood and not take the time to see it before the money changed hands.
Just makeing a little effort on looking at the wood your thinking of buying will tell you a lot about what your going to get. Surely you can tell Oak from Beech or Birch, you seem to know once it was dumped.

I also would never buy wood I looked at that was in a pile and not stacked to show just how much I was paying for.

Remember the old saying buyer beware, same with fire wood as with a horse.

Al

I agree, It's a buyers responsibility to research and know the product that they are buying. It is also on the buyer to make sure they get what they pay for "BEFORE" any money is exchanged. It's too easy these days to google anything and get good information for someone not to do there research first.
That's one reason I don't deliver. They can inspect it, measure it, touch it, smell it. It's there choice to take it or leave it. That way they can't say they got taken.
Thats the first thing I do when I'm looking to buy something. I google it, and do my research before I do anything.

 

[Big_Eddy]

I agree, It's a buyers responsibility to research and know the product that they are buying. It is also on the buyer to make sure they get what they pay for "BEFORE" any money is exchanged.

I disagree. As a seller, our truck does not get dumped until the money comes out. The buyer can get up in the truck and look at the wood all they want, but I want to see the money before it gets dumped out. Way too much work to toss it back into the truck later. We've sold enough wood that we know how much goes into the truck to make a cord. We changed side boards so a full truck is just over a cord once stacked out. Given we stack (for a fee) if asked, we regularly get to "confirm" that amount. If the buyer doesn't trust that I brought a full cord - I'm driving away.

To the OP - don't go visit them - have the seller come out and measure your stacked pile. He is going to want to confirm the measurements anyway. I''d not comment on the bark or kindling - bark is part of the deal - it falls off every time you handle splits - and kindling is a bonus - it essentially takes up no space in the stack or truck. But you paid for a full cord, you deserve a full cord, and the seller should come out and make it right.

 

[NSMaple1]

I don't know how something like this could be all pinned on the buyer. Sure, it's a buyer beware world out there, so buyers should double check stuff - but misrepresenting what you are selling by as much as what this sounds like could & should have legal implications for the seller. Pretty fraudulent, I'd say.

 

[sb47]

I don't know how something like this could be all pinned on the buyer. Sure, it's a buyer beware world out there, so buyers should double check stuff - but misrepresenting what you are selling by as much as what this sounds like could & should have legal implications for the seller. Pretty fraudulent, I'd say.

It's only a problem if he advertised and called it a "CORD" of wood. If he called it a cord, it must be 128cf. If he called it anything else, it can be any amount. ie. face cord, stack, pile, truck load and so on. If he used the legal term "cord" it must be 128cf.
Again, thats why I don't deliver. I never use the word cord, unless i'm talking about a full cord 128cf.

 

[Knobby57]

Yes buyer be ware ... he checked what was sold him . It’s up to the seller to make good on the sale . Around me magistrate charges the defendant if they loose 200$ Or so court cost . More worth is to just make the customer happy . I would not go around running my mouth before talking to the seller . Most people and I do say most are happy to just get wood . Around heat they are to lazy and or ignorant to measure the amount if they took the time to check what they should get . It’s a game of numbers . If most don’t check they are ahead . I would be more pissed about getting a pile of crap fire pit wood