GBIS - Great British Insulation Scheme

On the contrary, cold callers are often legitimate when it comes to door to door sales. I mean to think logically, why would fraudsters show their faces when there are ring doorbells everywhere, and if no money is being asked for, what exactly would the fraudster want? I would be precautious about telesales, but it’s not very difficult to discern when you know what to look for. Anyone asking for a deposit while posing to sell this grant must be a fraud. Although the government realise people procrastinate heavily, and have contracts with agencies to send canvassers to sift for people who are eligible, and book them for a surveyor to approve the grant. It’s an ongoing operation until April 2026 I believe. Just take necessary precaution to verify the cold caller is legitimate, and again if they ask for a deposit, it’s clearly not right. As the legitimate ones working with the government and local authority, they will have an ID badge. I understand people’s worry, but again people forget there are cameras on about 75% of the doors these people will knock, it would be absolute stupidity to think door to door scamming is a good idea. And don’t be afraid to ask questions to the cold caller, the legitimate ones will answer clearly and willingly. Any scammers (always on the phone) will often become frustrated when you pry into details and object. Hope that helps

Never ever trust a cold caller. If it's legitimate it'll be on the Gov Web site.

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The sale of the bungalow next door to my friend ground to a halt last week. It was discovered that the owner had a completely unsuitable type of cavity wall insulation installed a few years ago. The problem was discovered during a recent building survey by a prospective buyer.

Her daughter who is handling the sale of her late mother’s house had to postpone viewings and hire a team to extract and replace the rogue insulation. There were already signs that it had caused condensation problems within the cavities.

I m constantly getting these calls but my 150 year old house doesn’t have cavity walls nor do I have a loft which I also get calls about They need to do their homework before ringing

I have an easy let out. I just say 'Ours is a Listed house, we cn do nothing without planning permission'

Ours is a listed house, but there is nothing to stop you saying this on the phone, even if the house is only 10 yers old. The person on the phone will not know, he cannot see your house. If they could they wouldn't be ringing us up. Our house is timber framed and so obviously historic.

I am being bombarded with information about solar panels which I don't want . Then there is heat pumps which cost a fortune. I will stick with my combi boiler.

I had a strange one of these calls this morning. I dont think it was GBIS but something like eco 4. I have enquired about eco 4 before and was told we didnt qualify. I told them this.

They asked me about my gas boiler which they might be able to replace under some scheme or other. I told them I didnt have a gas boiler . We didnt have mains gas in my village.

Then I was told I may qualify for eco 4 for solar panels and central heating via electricity because I lived in Cornwall, had no gas mains . He asked if we had benefits, I told him we didnt - we had state pensions and nothing else and was going to hang up but he then asked if we had an income under £31K ( we do - apparently thats qualifies) then he asked if anyone in the house had health issues . My husband had a stroke five months ago ( and a second one a few weeks ago) but , I said, we dont have any benefits for that. He said did my husband take medications like BP medication ( He does) For some reason ( I usually terminate such calls) I carried on with the call. I was told I could qualify under some scheme or other on his health grounds.

I then went through a long process of filling in a form - heating ( 1970's storage heaters, most not working) ,E7, insulation in the house ( not a lot) no boiler, no mains gas, husband had a stroke ..... and he said I did qualify , at least for a survey for solar panels and new heating.

Then I got passed to someone else who was supposed to arrange a survey - they asked the same questions and when it came to insulation and I said we had about 4 inches of the stuff in the roof, she said we didnt qualify. I said "Oh" and put the phone down . An hour for nothing but never mind.

Ten minutes later I got a call back from the guy who had taken my original details and he still said he thought I did qualify. I said I wasnt bothered.

Somehow, its upset my day . I will give all future callers short shrift.

Well whatever company that phones me every blasted day for the last 3+ months about my loft insulation have been politely told that I will be buying a whistle, and they will get an earful of it if they ring again. (I won't really)

Fellow arrived, looked in my loft and the insulation apparently needed for the area under the roof would normally cost £5K. Because the loft floor was re-insulated last year the cost came down to £3K. Then the inevitable call back to boss and the result was £2K.

I said no, I knew zilch about it, wanted another quote, saw some brochures and read reviews. Not unreasonable I thought.

He leapt out of his chair, said look at YouTube, find your own brochures and ran out of the house. He had travelled from Bournemouth to London. Not my problem.

I have a fellow coming today at 3 pm to have a look and tell me what I need. I only intend to hear what he has to say and the % of heat I am losing and from where. My house in my opinion is well insulated so if necessary I will go down the "poor" route.

What I have "will see me out".

I don't know if it's the same company, but they have phoned my landline regularly to explain that it's a government initiative to replace old loft insulation, and that it can actually be dangerous if it was done before a certain year.

They just keep talking over the top of me with this prepared speech as I try to tell them I live in a downstairs flat.

Fingers crossed Dolly

I've now applied via the gov.uk website and am waiting for my energy company to decide if I'm eligible

I had this call yesterday, we already have cavity wall insulation.

Try asking your local council if there are schemes like this in the area. I know there’s a government incentive to reduce emissions, but there are criteria to be met - at least here there are.

We get nuisance calls from 'your local energy adviser'.

I googled it and here is a link to the relevant government site
www.gov.uk/apply-great-british-insulation-scheme

It's a legitimate scheme but please apply through the GOV.UK website. Your details are sent to your energy supplier who sends a contractor to assess your home. We had loft insulation installed free earlier this year through the scheme.
I'd never deal with a cold caller.

Thanks. The GBIS is a legitimate scheme. He said energy companies with over 1 million customers have targets to meet for OFGEM to improve energy efficiency in residential properties and his company works with Scottish Power and EDF. Stupidly I didn't make a note of the company name. Should they get back in touch I will check they're on the obligated suppliers list with OFGEM.

Walk away Dolly - “seemed legit” does not necessarily mean he was legit.
Cold callers rarely are.

Oops. Just realised what I said.
Apologies
😱

My next door neighbour was "bullied" into a quote for cavity wall insulation by a very pushy agent.

After a long time and lots of maths and so on he asked "so which cavity will you fill"?

It's single brick!

just looked it up. seems there is such a govt scheme.
have to be on means-tested benefit to get it free.
also whether this trader is legit is another question.
always be wary.

About 5 yrs ago we had it done for free with no problems. But you are right to question it.