Midlothian couple fall victim to £11,000 home insulation scam amid warning cases on rise

A couple from Midlothian have told how their “world fell apart” after they fell victim to a loft insulation scam.

Fiona Barton and her husband André, both 60, had already bought a new home but found out they couldn't sell up and move because they’d had spray foam insulation in their roof. They were told they would not be able to sell the property near Newtongrange after paying a company nearly £5,000 to install the insulation in December 2022.

Spray foam is typically used to insulate roofs, lofts and attics, but it can reduce air circulation and ventilation, leading to damp and potentially rot. The couple had to pay another specialist firm to remove the foam so they could move house. In total they forked out almost £11,000. It comes as Trading Standards Scotland warns home insulation scams are on the rise, as rogue traders exploit homeowners trying to cut their energy costs.

Mrs Barton was cold called by a company offering a free loft survey. She said: “We've been cold called in the past, with people phoning us to say the government can give you a free survey of your loft, so when they said ‘we can check your loft out’ I assumed it was a similar sort of scenario,” she said. “They came and said our loft was very, very damp and that they had ways and means of improving it. They sounded very professional and believable, otherwise we wouldn’t have gone ahead with it.

“They also arrived at just the right time, it was -5C outside, it was Christmas time, it was dark and miserable, and they spun the story of our loft not being adequate.”

She said the company claimed that spray foam insulation would be perfect for the job as it would solve the supposed damp problem at the same time as making the house warmer.

“Spray foam insulation was something I'd never heard of before. They trapped us by our non-knowledge of the product,” she added. I did a quick search for the company’s website and of course the reviews were all five stars. But what I didn't do a search on was spray foam insulation, because then I would’ve realised this wasn’t a great thing at all.

“When we came to sell the house, we had the surveyor come for the Home Report. He said: ‘Can I have a look in your loft?’, took one look and said ‘Oh, there’s a problem here’. He said that having spray foam insulation meant that anyone trying to buy the house wouldn’t be able to get a mortgage. That was when my world fell apart, because we’d already bought our next house and we had to sell in order to move.”

Due to the potential risk of harm to the property, some mortgage lenders are also unwilling to offer a loan or equity release to homeowners who have installed spray foam until it is removed.

The couple found another company to remove the foam and were relieved to be able to sell up and move house to a property in south Edinburgh. But a year later they are still trying to claim back to recover the cost of both the original foam installation and the removal.

Figures show that as of mid-December 2023, 158 complaints had been received from Scottish consumers about insulation scams, a rise of 42 per cent on 2022’s total of 111. In 2021 there were only 66 complaints. People are being urged to check in with their older relatives to ensure that they do not fall victim to similar scams.

Councillor Maureen Chalmers, chair of Trading Standards Scotland’s Governance Board, said: “Dishonest traders and companies are attempting to exploit the cost-of-living crisis and are targeting those who want to make their homes more energy efficient, providing misleading information about products and implying that funding or grants are available for their products. We strongly advise homeowners to consult with a mortgage adviser who is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority before having spray foam insulation installed.

“Don’t engage with cold callers offering ‘free’ loft or roof surveys and never accept information offered from these sources without doing independent research, particularly if they tell you that there are grants or funding schemes available. Before agreeing to have any work done, have an impartial assessment carried out on your home to find out which energy efficiency measures will actually be beneficial to your property. Don’t agree to get an assessment done by a company who cold calls you – they will not be impartial.

“We would also ask people to look out for family members, friends and neighbours who may be vulnerable and to report any suspicious behaviour to Police Scotland.”