Free cavity wall insulation? Is it truely free?

SparklyStar

I was door stepped the other day and told I can get free cavity wall insulation. They have done the survey and still say I can get free installation. I live in Warwickshire, is this true?
I am not working but also don't get benefits! So can't afford to be ripped off by supposedly free work. Also don't want a bad installation either. The paperwork says free all over it. No additional costs to pay.
The company is miller pattison?
They seem to have a mixed set of reviews - some bad installations, some good.
Are they worth having to do the installation?
I don't like being door stepped and am weary of 'free' deals?
Is this real?

footyguy

SparklyStar wrote: »

I was door stepped the other day and told I can get free cavity wall insulation. They have done the survey and still say I can get free installation. I live in Warwickshire, is this true?

I believe you!

SparklyStar wrote: »

I am not working but also don't get benefits! So can't afford to be ripped off by supposedly free work. Also don't want a bad installation either. The paperwork says free all over it. No additional costs to pay.
The company is miller pattison?
They seem to have a mixed set of reviews - some bad installations, some good.
Are they worth having to do the installation?
I don't like being door stepped and am weary of 'free' deals?
Is this real?

If the paperwork "says free all over it", then I can't see how you are committing yourself to paying anything.

But if it's free, what happens if the work is then not up to the standard you would expect? Not that I'm suggesting they don't do it with proper insulation material, but I guess the poor reviews you have read are something like they have left the appearence of the property not in the condition the customer would expect after the work has been carried out. You can't exactly ask for a refund can you? Nor do a S75 claim against your credit card? But you have read the reviews, so you are in the best position to decide and assess the risk to you.

Have you asked the company how it is they are willing to do the work for you for no charge?

Remember the old adage - if it sounds too good to be true, that's usually because it is too good to be true.
(especially when they are presumably paying someone to (a) go around door stepping and (b) then pay someone to survey the property)

But you seem quite certain what the contract states, but if you still want a second opinion, seek independent legal advice. Or perhaps the CAB will be able to assist you further

Edit: Are you certain it's not being done in accordance with one of these schemes?
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/green-deal
in particular the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme?
If so, not the caution that others have experienced cancelled, arranged installations.

poppasmurf_bewdley

You can get free cavity wall insulation and free roof insulation from many, if not all, the large energy companies.

My sister has just had free roof insulation in her home carried out by British Gas, and she's not even a customer with them.

And both her and I have had free boilers fitted in the last three years.

I would be very wary of accepting anybody who just knocks at your door. Do they claim to represent one of the energy companies?

SparklyStar

It is being paid for by one of the Eco grants. They say it ps all covered by the energy companies.
The bad reviews are all dates 3 years ago, all the recent reviews are good. i will await the call and continue to ask how they are funding this. As the house is about 17 years old, I am surprised it isn't already done, but I can see where neighbours have had their walls filled so it seems the builders never installed cavity wall insulation when they were first built.

jamesperrett

We had cavity wall insulation installed by Miller Pattison a couple of years ago but it was arranged by one of the energy companies. They're a big installation company and they seemed to do a professional job - you can hardly see where they drilled the holes now.

SparklyStar

My only concern now is th damp problems? My house is not troubled by it and I am worried that reading other stories on damp happening after it is installed.
My house is not exposed to wind and driving rain and is pretty warm anyway.

modsandmockers

SparklyStar wrote: »

My house is not exposed to wind and driving rain and is pretty warm anyway

I think that's a very important consideration which is not very often mentioned. If, for example, your house is mid-terrace with large windows front and back, and waist-high kitchen and bathroom units under some of the windows, then there isn't very much cavity walling which will benefit from insulation. But if you have a 5-bedroom detached (with separate garages) on the side of a hill with a windowless wall facing the north-east winds, then it's a different story.

But, even so, I would only enter into a contract with one of the Big6 energy suppliers. I had my loft insulated 3 years ago at British Gas's expense, but the guys who did the work were cowboys. Luckily, they caused no damage.

SparklyStar

Other houses in the street have CWI fitted but as the problems seem to take years to appear. Think the costs of it going bad outweighs the pros of cheaper 'possible' heating bills.
My house is a detached, sheltered by other houses. So not much of an exposed wall on the south or west - which are the walls they quote most for rain?
Think I will turn the installers away, as I keep getting calls from them...feels like pressure selling .., bad sign .. Installers are NIA and CIGA registered.

The CWI Is funded by Scottish power.

I had my loft done by EON a few years ago..a right bunch of Cowboys.. Not sure if they left the proper air gaps at the eaves but can't get to them to see without being covered by loft insulation ... Lol ...

SparklyStar

The amount of bad installations on the Internet put me off. It is hard to tell what the house and conditions were for the customers but the last thing I want to do is introduce damp into my house.
I wasn't happy with the surveyor, he walked around the property didn't drill the wall to view the cavity and didn't seem at all interests in my comments about the air vents - they would need to be sleeved as you can see the cavity - so if it's not prepped properly the insulation will fill the vent and then I will have problems with my gas fire!
All in all, I would rather have a free boiler than free CWI and have a damp house.

superbmum

As a person who is currently fighting CIGA (the agency who guarantee the installation of the cavity wall insulation) to get them to honour the guarantee and remove my CWI which has caused both mold and blown plaster where the insulation has got wet, I would never put the stuff in my cavities again. There's a reason why we have cavities and if you stop your home from breathing you are likely to get problems with condensation and mold.


Mine was done in 2004 and my husband and I have spent years trying to work out what the problem is. We've installed trickle vents in the windows, removed laminate flooring and replaced with a more breathable carpet, put in an external air vent, tried a dehumidifier. We still get mold every winter. It's ruined our home and CIGA are now blaming us for having our windows replaced, despite their inspection clearly showing voids in the insulation where it has been poorly installed.


CIGA are notorious for not honouring their guarantee - it's been reported in the Daily Telegraph and on BBC Radio 4's You and Yours programme.


It certainly didn't make our house any warmer, or our bills any lower. Our house is actually colder due to the extra ventilation we've had to put in.


Think very carefully. Get an independent survey carried out, do not rely on the installer's survey! They can fit it for free because the energy companies are paying them. Why? Because the government has set targets that all energy companies have to reach in order to meet their "green" certification.


Btw, did you notice that Miller Pattison also specialise in removing faulty cavity wall insulation? I'm not saying they're faulty installers, but why are they also removing the stuff? There's now lots of installers making MORE money out of removing the insulation than they make out of putting it in!


Be wary!

superbmum

Btw, worth bearing in mind that CIGA is run by individuals who have their fingers in the pies of all things cavity wall insulation. They are not independent or impartial. They will fight you when things go wrong...