Homeowners who have recently been missold spray foam insulation are being warned to be wary of letters and cold callers from companies offering to remove it.
At the start of 2024, Trading Standards Scotland (TSS) issued a warning about spray foam insulation, following a 42% rise in scams related to the product in 2023, with Scottish homeowners losing a total of £500,000 to insulation scams in 2023 alone.
Hundreds of consumers had been cold called and offered a ‘free’ loft survey. Those who agreed subsequently discovered that the ‘surveyors’ were in fact salespeople who tried to pressure them into buying spray foam insulation. Some banks have warned that they could reject mortgage applications on homes that have spray foam insulation. There have been several reports of homeowners having difficulty trying to sell a property, take out a mortgage or release equity from a property with foam insulation.
Now, some consumers who were misled into having spray foam insulation installed in their properties are now being contacted by companies who say they are working in partnership with trading standards or Audit Scotland to assess or remove the insulation. TSS knows from consumers that a company called Home Happy have been saying they are working in conjunction with trading standards – this is not the case.
Trading Standards Scotland has concerns that individuals who originally misled consumers into having spray foam insulation installed may now be contacting them under another business name. There has been an increase in traders proactively making contact and offering to inspect properties where spray foam insulation has been installed. If homeowners agree to an inspection, they are typically then told that roofing repairs are required or that there are issues with damp which require the insulation to be removed at great additional cost. Some insinuate a connection with trading standards in an attempt to appear legitimate and tell consumers that they obtained their details via trading standards.
Case Study
A woman who had had her loft insulated with spray foam received a phone call from a company at the end of August. They said they had been informed about her insulation and that it would need to be inspected and potentially removed.
She agreed to arrange for a surveyor to visit her house as she had seen a lot of media coverage highlighting issues with spray foam insulation. After the surveyor inspected her loft he told her that the foam had been installed incorrectly and that if it was not removed, it would cause severe damage to her roof. He quoted a price of £5,500.
She asked the surveyor how his company had obtained her details and he told her that trading standards had provided a list of customers who had previously had spray foam insulation installed by companies who were under investigation. He said that the company who originally installed her insulation had recently had their equipment and computers confiscated by trading standards and that they were now facing prosecution.
He also said that his company were trusted by trading standards to carry out inspections and that the company who would remove the insulation, Home Happy, were also approved by trading standards.
The woman agreed to proceed and paid a deposit of £550 to Home Happy to remove it. However, once the surveyor had left she decided to do some research about spray foam insulation online. She found articles on the TSS website advising that trading standards were not currently working with any spray foam removal companies. She also found that Home Happy was registered at the same address as the company who had cold called her.
She contacted the company to cancel her agreement under their 14-day cooling off period and requested a refund of her deposit.
Fiona Richardson, Chief Officer of Trading Standards Scotland, said:
“Trading Standards services are not currently working with any spray foam removal companies in Scotland. Any communication suggesting otherwise is likely to be a scam.
“Consumers who feel they have been misled into having spray foam insulation installed should avoid responding to letters or cold callers offering to remove the insulation.
“We advise consumers in this situation to report any unsolicited letters which mention a partnership with trading standards to Advice Direct Scotland.”
Consumers can find companies and traders who have been vetted by Trading Standards and who have made a commitment to treat their customers fairly at www.approvedtrader.scot.
Legitimate installers can be found via the Energy Savings Trust’s Renewables Installer Finder at https://installerfinder.energysavingtrust.org.uk/
Consumers can contact Home Energy Scotland via www.homeenergyscotland.org or by calling 0808 808 2282 for free and impartial advice on suitable energy efficiency measures for their home. Home Energy Scotland is funded by the Scottish Government.
Scam letters or calls should be reported to Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 164 6000 or through their website: www.consumeradvice.scot.