Can my energy company refuse free insulation?

JM1981

Hi,

I contacted my energy company for free cavity wall insulation under the ECO scheme and the assessor came out, saw that it was non standard construction and said that he 'probably' couldn't do cavity wall insulation. He went off to make some enquiries and I haven't heard from him since.

Recently, however, a sleazy door to door salesman (A&M energy solns cardiff) came to the door while my girlfriend was home and offered free insulation. He pressured her into forging my signature on papers and then drilled a hole in the wall to test if it was suitable for the insulation. I'm pretty annoyed by this but can't really do anything without implicating my girlfriend.

I have now been contacted by the company as they want to fit free insulation under the ECO scheme. I am seriously ticked off with them for the lies that my girlfriend was told, not to mention the sales tactics used and don't particularly want to go with this company.

I would prefer to get this done legitimately through my energy company, do they really have an 'obligation' to provide this to me and how can I force them to do it when they have refused me before?

Thanks for any help.

JM.

ed110220

JM1981 wrote: »

Hi,

I contacted my energy company for free cavity wall insulation under the ECO scheme and the assessor came out, saw that it was non standard construction and said that he 'probably' couldn't do cavity wall insulation. He went off to make some enquiries and I haven't heard from him since.

Recently, however, a sleazy door to door salesman (A&M energy solns cardiff) came to the door while my girlfriend was home and offered free insulation. He pressured her into forging my signature on papers and then drilled a hole in the wall to test if it was suitable for the insulation. I'm pretty annoyed by this but can't really do anything without implicating my girlfriend.

I have now been contacted by the company as they want to fit free insulation under the ECO scheme. I am seriously ticked off with them for the lies that my girlfriend was told, not to mention the sales tactics used and don't particularly want to go with this company.

I would prefer to get this done legitimately through my energy company, do they really have an 'obligation' to provide this to me and how can I force them to do it when they have refused me before?

Thanks for any help.

JM.

Hi, what type of construction are your walls? Many if not most non-traditional construction is not suitable for cavity wall insulation. For example, ours has glasswool insulation in the cavity, but it needs a ventilation gap to keep the steel frame ventilated and safe from corrosion.

If the second company was happy to encourage your girlfriend to forge a signature, do you trust them to correctly identify whether your house is suitable for CWI? Installing CWI in an unsuitable structure (say ours) can potentially cause serious structural problems down the line.

Ed

nigelpm

JM1981 wrote: »

He pressured her into forging my signature on papers and then drilled a hole in the wall to test if it was suitable for the insulation. I'm pretty annoyed by this but can't really do anything without implicating my girlfriend.

JM.

Pretty annoyed - wow, I'd be absolutely furious!

This isn't good practice to say the least!

nigelpm

To answer your original question. Absolutely, yes they can refuse if they choose but highly likely your home wasn't suitable as they don't lose out if they install - as it's funded by the Government.

ed110220

nigelpm wrote: »

To answer your original question. Absolutely, yes they can refuse if they choose but highly likely your home wasn't suitable as they don't lose out if they install - as it's funded by the Government.

Homes that aren't suitable for CWI are usually suitable for external wall insulation (EWI). Basically insulation boards are fitted on the outside of the house and then a protective-decorative render or other covering is applied on top. This is obviously a lot more expensive than CWI to do but you may get funding for it.

nigelpm

ed110220 wrote: »

Homes that aren't suitable for CWI are usually suitable for external wall insulation (EWI). Basically insulation boards are fitted on the outside of the house and then a protective-decorative render or other covering is applied on top. This is obviously a lot more expensive than CWI to do but you may get funding for it.

I'm sure that's the case but in reply to the original post I'm not sure that's going to help him.

ed110220

nigelpm wrote: »

I'm sure that's the case but in reply to the original post I'm not sure that's going to help him.

I would say it might, if the house is unsuitable for CWI (as it seems to be) as they do the same job. Probably have to jump through hoops to have it done though!

Ed

captainhindsight_2

The big six energy companies have obligations to meet, they can choose to meet those obligations however they see fit.

So no you cant force them to do it.

I dont really know what you mean by 'legitimately through my energy company' any certified company can legitimately offer this

The best thing to do would be to go to a local installer, and get them to do the work through ECO.

You will get a much better job than going through your energy supplier, your energy supplier will allocate the work to a subcontractor probably mark group who will be in and out in no time and do a bad job.

Where if you get a good local firm they are more likely to do a good job.