ECO 3 - Free insulation and boiler

thecornflake

We just had someone round claiming that the ECO 3 scheme has been extended to everyone (i.e. not just people on benefits etc) and we can get free cavity insulation and a boiler (as ours is over 7 years old) plus trickle vents, extractor fan etc done. Obviously sounds too good to be true so I tried researching and while I found bits of information that sound similar nothing that definitely confirms this. The specific company was called Carbon Neutral Team and I can't really find any reviews etc for them.
Does anyone know anything about it?

EDIT: Found this in the Ofgem site, mentioning certain areas may get this under whats referred to as LA Flex - FAQs for domestic consumers and landlords | Ofgem
EDIT2: Found the local council statement of intent, which is a bit tricky to decipher but we do appear to scrape through a qualifying score. However it also says it's totally up to the energy companies if they offer this or not. So I wonder if this company is using this to try and get you to agree to a survey etc and then maybe start charging for stuff?

niktheguru

Be wary, there are a lot of these companies that do half baked jobs, add aditional charges or do things that are not required. There was a thread on the forum about once such company recently, and the trustpilot reviews were terrible (not that that is always a good indicator), but most of the people that had the work done wish they didn't.

Saying that a few years ago I was offered cavity insulation from a door step caller, for free under a government grant, was tempted to decline it but a neighbour also took it on, so thought i'd take the punt and they did an excellent job, exactly what they said and had very good workmanship. So difficult to comment really unless people know the specific firm in question!

thecornflake

Well I found an email address of a guy at the council on the SOI so I've sent him an email about it. Should mention we private rent, so there's actually no risk to us of losing out much (other than if they totally messed the house up somehow)

Gerry1

thecornflake said:

Obviously sounds too good to be true so I tried researching and while I found bits of information that sound similar nothing that definitely confirms this. The specific company was called Carbon Neutral Team and I can't really find any reviews etc for them.
Does anyone know anything about it?

Are you referring to this Carbon Neutral Team ?

Generic names always trigger red flags and alarm bells for me, as does the lack of a physical address and telephone number.  All three of the above apply.

Nor do I like the way that they prominently feature a United Nations video, from which it could be inferred that they're some sort of respectable official or government organisation; many councils have their own Carbon Neutral Team, so it's doubly misleading.

However, if you study their Privacy Policy you'll find that you're liable to get "administrative messages and updates regarding your account, updates regarding the Carbon Neutral Team Ltd website, and, where permitted by applicable law, information regarding our offer, products and services, including, without, (sic) limitation, through social media updates, by email and postal mail".  In other words, Unlimited Spam.

Turns out to be even worse than I feared: SpamDoc.com gives it an abysmal rating.  Steer well clear !

niktheguru

thecornflake said:

Well I found an email address of a guy at the council on the SOI so I've sent him an email about it. Should mention we private rent, so there's actually no risk to us of losing out much (other than if they totally messed the house up somehow)

Also if you're private renting you really need to be getting permission from the landlord for any structural improvements to the house. Cavity insulation and boiler counts as "buildings" which is usually the landlords problem, so if the boiler broke for example, usually the landlord is responsible for getting it repaired. Doing any structural changes without permission would likely be breach of terms of your lease. (i'm sure you would have asked for permission anyway, but just checking you knew)