There are legal controls concerning the selling and delivery of solid fuel and wood fuel.
With door-to-door deliveries, there are specific requirements relating to information that must be shown on the delivery note; these include the merchant's name and address, type of fuel, and weight. Fuel sold from retail outlets must be in fixed quantities.
Unless there is a local bye-law there is no requirement for a statement of quantity for wood fuel; however, if one is given it must be accurate.
Any equipment used in the weighing of sacks of fuel or prepacked containers must be approved for trade use and comply with the accuracy requirements under weights and measures legislation.
purchasing prepacked bags in retail outlets (petrol stations for example).
It must always be sold by reference to weight in kilograms.
Scales that are used must be accurate, of an approved construction for retail sale use, and have certain required markings and stamps on them. For more detail please see 'Weighing equipment for legal use'.
Solid fuel merchants can either respond to specific orders from consumers or operate standard delivery rounds to regular customers. The fuel must be sold in sacks of 25 kg or multiples of 50 kg and, if delivering more than 110 kg to an individual consumer, the consumer must be given a delivery note before the fuel is unloaded. If the consumer is not in when you call a delivery note must still be left.
Your vehicle is required to display your name and address and a notice that states the following: 'All open sacks on this vehicle contain either 25 or 50 kg'.
If the consumer queries the weight delivered they have the right, subject to certain conditions, to request that the merchant re-weighs the fuel in their presence, but if it is correct you are entitled to reasonable expenses for doing this work.
Some delivery vehicles, called auto-baggers, weigh loose fuel into bags at the rear of the vehicle. These vehicles have a bag counter on them, which the driver should zero before starting; it shows the number of bags delivered at the end.
Merchants who are members of the Approved Coal Merchants Scheme will display the logo of the scheme on their vehicles and delivery notes.
This fuel comes in sealed bags, which must have the net weight marked on them. They will be in fixed quantities (10, 20 or 25 kg are usual). The packer is required to conform with rules designed to ensure that the correct weight is contained in each bag. For more detail please see 'Packaged goods: average quantity'.
There are industry standards for quality of solid fuel and experts exist who can examine fuel and ensure that any descriptive terms applied are accurate. A number of documents on solid fuel are available on the Solid Fuel Association (SFA) website.
The Approved Coal Merchants Scheme is run by the Solid Fuel Association.
The scheme also provides a range of leaflets concerning the safe use of appliances such as open fires, room heaters and boilers.
Unless the local authority in your area has passed a bye-law that states otherwise, there are no requirements relating to the sale of wood fuel. Your local trading standards service should be able to confirm whether such bye-laws are in existence.
Where there are local bye-laws wood fuel must be sold by net weight, and if it is in a container ready for sale the net weight must be made known to the customer. The requirement to sell wood fuel by net weight does not apply for quantities of less than 7.5 kg or more than 500 kg.
If wood is sold by the 'truckload' with an indication of net weight, merchants are advised to weigh the vehicle on a weighbridge and obtain a weight ticket.
If there are no bye-laws in existence then there are no requirements to sell by weight or to provide the consumer with a statement of the quantity provided. If, however, you make a voluntary declaration of weight that is incorrect in terms of quantity, you may be liable to legal action under the Weights and Measures Act 1985.
The Solid Fuel Association website contains brief information on the Approved Wood Fuel Merchants Scheme. Customers of scheme members may rely on the correct descriptions being applied to wood fuel, advice on the safe and efficient use of wood burning appliances and levels of customer service in line with SFA standards.
The Clean Air Act 1993 allows councils to establish smoke control areas, which are aimed at improving air quality by burning authorised smokeless fuels. In these areas the emission of smoke from chimneys is prohibited.
Coal and wood are not authorised smokeless fuels and therefore they can only be burnt in a smoke control area if they are used with an exempt heating appliance. Such appliances burn off or 'eat' the smoke produced by the fuel. For further information on this subject please contact your local environmental health service.
Carbon monoxide is an extremely poisonous gas, which can cause illness, damage to health and death. This gas is generated when carbon-based fuels have not combusted properly in, for example, a wood burning stove, open fire or barbecue (gas, charcoal and disposable). It is difficult to detect as you cannot see it, smell it or taste it.
For more information on carbon monoxide poisoning, ventilation, flue and chimney cleaning as well as a safety checklist, see the safety advice section on the SFA website.
The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 make it an offence to give any false or misleading statements about the price charged and descriptions applied to goods. For example, claiming solid fuel is suitable for use in a smoke control area or that wood fuel is of a premium kind such as hardwood, or from a particular area or region, when this is not the case.
Please see 'Consumer protection from unfair trading' for more information on the Regulations.
Contracts between traders and consumers are also controlled by the Consumer Rights Act 2015. The Act requires that goods and services provided by traders to consumers should be in accordance with the contract, provided with reasonable care and skill, at a reasonable price, etc. It also provides consumers with remedies they can require from the trader if goods and services provided do not meet the terms of the contract; these remedies include a reduction in the price paid.
See 'The sale & supply of goods' for detailed information on the Consumer Rights Act.
Where specific legal requirements, such as those detailed earlier in this guide, impose stricter duties and requirements on traders they take precedence and must be complied with.