Possibly mis-sold spray foam insulation

neilmcl

FreeBear said:

MPeterson05 said: Are we allowed to name and shame on this forum? I have a feeling a lot more of these predatory sales tactics are going on in the UK at the moment.

You need to be very careful naming & shaming - Name the wrong people, and it would be libel. But if you have links to court cases supporting your claims, then the information is already in the public domain.

Only if what they said was untrue and companies can only sue for libel where serious harm may or has occurred, ie, a serious financial loss.

Slinky

MPeterson05 said:

I have a feeling that the company who originally sold the Icynene foam insultation to my parents are on and the same people who are now offering the removal service. Doing a bit of digging into this world of dodgy insulation/building services companies, a lot of it all seems to stem from a number of companies/individuals in the Bournemouth/Poole area.

01202 143202 (Bournemouth) is a number you want to avoid answering the phone to. They called me from this one yesterday, many people on social media in our local area were getting the calls about 3-4 weeks ago, looks like it's our areas turn again.

MPeterson05

Slinky said:

MPeterson05 said:

I have a feeling that the company who originally sold the Icynene foam insultation to my parents are on and the same people who are now offering the removal service. Doing a bit of digging into this world of dodgy insulation/building services companies, a lot of it all seems to stem from a number of companies/individuals in the Bournemouth/Poole area.

01202 143202 (Bournemouth) is a number you want to avoid answering the phone to. They called me from this one yesterday, many people on social media in our local area were getting the calls about 3-4 weeks ago, looks like it's our areas turn again.

Interesting, this is different number from the one used by the firm who harassed my parents, KM Wessex Limited - they are using an 0800 number - probably to give the impression of being a bona fide firm. Their website states they are also based out of the Bournemouth area, so seems to be something a pattern here.

I have the bank account details for KM Wessex Ltd - would their bank (Natwest) likely take action against a business operating like this?

FreeBear

MPeterson05 said: - would their bank (Natwest) likely take action against a business operating like this?

Banks will not get involved in policing the activities of a client/company. If there is clear and irrefutable evidence of money laundering, they might report it to the authorities... Plenty of businesses (banks included) engaged in questionable behaviour...

GDB2222

Who steals my purse steals trash; 'tis something, nothing;
'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands;
But he that filches from me my good name
Robs me of that which not enriches him,
And makes me poor indeed.

rgs1234

Laurel10 said:

Hi, last year I had spray foam insulation put in my loft. I was told it would increase the property value and reduce my energy bills and be good for the environment. As I am planning on selling my house in the next few years, I went ahead with it believing it to be the right thing to do.

I have recently found out that this type of insulation devalues the property value and has the potential to damage the roof. I feel like a complete idiot and am really worried about it now. 

Should I leave the insulation as it is and worry about the problem when I go to sell the house, or should I have it removed now? If so, how much can I expect to pay? It is open cell insulation. 

Is there any point in pursuing a complaint against the company who sold it to me? My feeling is that there's no point. I signed the paperwork and it's only in retrospect I realise I should have done some research and not fallen for the sales pitch. 

Any thoughts or advice would be welcome. 

Hello Laurel

I wonder whether you managed to get something sorted with the above situation. I find myself in pretty much exactly the same position and have no idea what to do!

Thanks!

Laurel10

Hi, unfortunately I haven't made any progress with this having decided not to sell the house immediately. I know I should do something but am not sure where to begin. 

ThisIsWeird

RGS and Laurel, what have you tried so far? CAB? Tradings Standards? Legal Protection?

rgs1234

ThisIsWeird said:

RGS and Laurel, what have you tried so far? CAB? Tradings Standards? Legal Protection?

Nothing yet, I’m only just starting to explore what to do. We are planning on selling in around 18 months time.

Sistergold

Laurel10 said:

Hi, unfortunately I haven't made any progress with this having decided not to sell the house immediately. I know I should do something but am not sure where to begin. 

It will be good to look into it, see if you can get redress from the installers. Failing which, Seeing that it’s already done personally I would leave it? I would not personally spend another £4k plus to have it removed. We had spray form done to our previous house, lived with it for plus 15years, sold the house in 2017 and did not have a problem at all selling it. Issue did not even come up at all. 🤷‍♀️ Only learnt that it was not good to spray foam when I read stories on here about why you should not do it, which was news to me. At face value for us to be honest the spray foam insulation worked so well and we did not have problems with it during our stay.

Please this is not to say I am saying it’s a good idea to spray foam as when had it done I thought it was as good as advertised. So I am saying best deal with the problem of removal when you come to it? Removal might mean you inviting another set of cowboys who will damage the roof. 🤷‍♀️ what’s done is done would be my approach to this one.