What's going on
ECO4, the Energy Company Obligation 4, and the Great British Insulation Scheme are real government schemes. They pay for loft, cavity wall, and other insulation work in homes that qualify, usually based on your benefits, income, or your property's energy rating. Millions of homes are eligible. That's exactly why criminals have piled in.
The approach varies. Some calls come from firms cold calling lists of homeowners. Some arrive as texts with a link to a form that harvests your details and sells them on as a "lead" to whoever pays for it. Some are doorstep callers claiming to work for the council. The end result is the same: your data gets passed around, an installer may turn up and do a poor job or no job at all, and in the worst cases a fraudulent claim gets submitted to an energy company in your name without you ever knowing. Citizens Advice reports that over 19 million UK adults have been targeted by energy efficiency scams, with insulation fraud reports up 42%. In one case now under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office, Operation Henhouse, four people were arrested over a suspected £44 million fraud linked to ECO4. The companies named, Warmfront Team Ltd, JJ Crump, and South Coast Insulation Services, are alleged to have submitted claims for work that was never done or only partly completed.
How these calls work
There are a few standard routes into this scam. Some involve a phone call, some a text, some a knock at the door. Here's what each one looks like.
1. The free insulation cold call
Someone rings saying you qualify for free cavity wall or loft insulation through a government scheme. They ask for your address, details about your property, and sometimes your energy bill. They may book an "assessor" to come and visit your home. What happens next varies. The work might never happen at all. It might get done badly, with cheap materials and no proper checks. Or it gets used to submit a fraudulent claim to an energy company, with you none the wiser until something goes wrong.
What to watch for
Genuine ECO4 installers do not cold call. Eligibility checks go through your energy supplier or the government's Simple Energy Advice service, not a stranger ringing your landline.
2. The energy grant text
A text lands claiming you're eligible for a government energy efficiency grant worth thousands of pounds. It asks you to tap a link and fill in your details, your address, date of birth, sometimes your National Insurance number. The website behind the link isn't a grant application at all. It's a data collection form. Your information gets sold as a "lead" to cold calling firms and rogue installers, and you'll likely start hearing from several of them within days.
Why this is a problem
There is no single text based application for a home insulation grant. Once your details are in circulation as a sold lead, you can expect repeat calls from different numbers for months.
3. The doorstep assessor
Someone knocks claiming to be from the council or a government backed scheme. They say they're carrying out free assessments in the area this week to see which homes qualify for insulation. They ask to come inside and check your loft or your walls. Letting a stranger into your home to "assess" it is how pressure selling starts, and in some cases how theft or shoddy, overpriced work starts too.
What to watch for
Councils do not send unannounced door to door assessors for insulation schemes. Ask for ID, close the door, and ring your council on a number you look up yourself to check.
4. The bait and switch
The offer sounds genuine enough. A caller offers free insulation, and someone actually turns up and does work. The problem shows up afterwards. The materials are cheap, the installation is rushed or wrong, or the crew damages your property while they're there. You end up with damp, mould, or structural problems that cost far more to fix than the insulation was ever worth. Because the work came "free" through what was claimed to be ECO4, you may have no proper contract with the installer and little to fall back on.
What these calls sound like
These scripts get reused endlessly because they work. Here's what to listen for and why each line doesn't stand up.
"We're calling on behalf of the government's ECO4 scheme. Your property has been identified as eligible for free cavity wall insulation."
ECO4 does not "identify" individual properties by cold calling them. Eligibility is checked through your energy supplier or the Simple Energy Advice service, not a phone call out of nowhere.
"This is [local council name] energy efficiency department. We're doing free home assessments in your area this week."
Councils don't ring round or knock on doors offering free assessments out of the blue. If you want to know whether your council runs an insulation scheme, look it up on their official website or ring the number listed there yourself.
"You may be entitled to a grant of up to £10,000 towards home insulation under the Great British Insulation Scheme."
Vague, big round numbers like this are a hallmark of the pitch, designed to sound generous enough to grab your attention without committing to anything specific. Real scheme eligibility depends on your property and circumstances, and it's confirmed through official channels, not a cold call promising a headline figure.
"We installed insulation in your neighbour's property last month. We still have capacity for your street."
This is a pressure tactic, not a fact you can check. It's designed to make the offer feel real and time limited, so you book in before you've had a chance to check who's actually calling. Ask for the company's name and TrustMark registration number, then check it yourself before agreeing to anything.
How to tell a real ECO installer from a fake
Legitimate ECO4 work does happen, so not every offer is fraud. Here's how to separate the genuine from the con.
A real installer will
- • Be registered on the TrustMark register, checkable at trustmark.org.uk
- • Confirm your eligibility only after you've applied through your supplier or Simple Energy Advice
- • Give you a written quote and a proper contract before any work starts
- • Provide a named point of contact and a landline or registered office address
- • Leave you a certificate and paperwork once the work is finished
A scam caller will
- • Cold call, text, or knock on your door out of nowhere
- • Claim you're "already approved" before asking a single question
- • Push you to book an assessor visit on the spot
- • Avoid giving a company name, address, or TrustMark number
- • Rush you, citing limited capacity or a closing deadline
What to do when you get one of these calls
Never agree to work from a cold call
Don't book an assessor, sign anything, or give your address and energy details to someone who rang, texted, or knocked unannounced. If a scheme is genuine, you can find and apply for it yourself without a stranger pushing you into it.
Check the TrustMark register
All legitimate ECO4 installers must be TrustMark registered. Search the company name at trustmark.org.uk before you let anyone near your home. If they're not listed, that's the end of the conversation.
Verify through Simple Energy Advice
The official government service at simpleenergyadvice.org.uk lets you check your eligibility for insulation schemes directly, with no cold caller involved. Use it instead of trusting a claim made over the phone.
Report to Trading Standards
Report misleading sales calls and doorstep offers to Trading Standards via the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133. They can investigate rogue traders operating in your area.
Our full call blocking guideReport to Action Fraud if you've lost money
If you've paid for work that never happened, or an installer has taken money or damaged your property, report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or through their website. Report the number on CallerCheck too, so other people can see who's behind it.
The law on insulation and energy grant scams
Several pieces of legislation cover this kind of fraud and misleading selling. Here is where things stand.
Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008
These regulations make it a criminal offence to use misleading or aggressive sales practices. Claiming false eligibility for a government scheme, or pressuring someone into agreeing to work on the doorstep, falls within this. Trading Standards can investigate and prosecute.
Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013
If you agree to any work on your doorstep or over the phone, the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 give you a 14 day cooling off period. You can cancel within that window without giving a reason, and the trader must tell you about this right.
The Fraud Act 2006
Making a false representation for financial gain, such as claiming to be from a genuine scheme or an approved installer to obtain money or personal data, is an offence under the Fraud Act 2006. This is the law underpinning the SFO's ECO4 fraud investigation.
TrustMark requirements under ECO4
Under the ECO4 scheme rules, all installers must hold TrustMark registration and meet PAS quality standards for the work they carry out. A company that isn't TrustMark registered cannot legally deliver ECO4 funded insulation, no matter what they claim on the phone.
Reporting tip: If someone turns up at your door claiming to be from the council or a government scheme and you believe they are not genuine, call the police on 101. If you feel threatened or unsafe, call 999. You can also report doorstep fraud to Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the ECO4 scheme real?
Will the council ring me about free insulation?
How do I check if an installer is legitimate?
I had insulation installed through a cold caller and now I have damp. What can I do?
Can I get free insulation without going through a cold caller?
Quick Summary
If You Get the Call
- • Never agree to work or a visit on the spot
- • Check the TrustMark register before anyone visits
- • Verify your eligibility through Simple Energy Advice
- • Don't hand over your address or bill details to a cold caller
- • Look up the number on CallerCheck
Where to Report
- • Misleading sales: Trading Standards (0808 223 1133)
- • Lost money: Action Fraud (0300 123 2040)
- • Fake installer checks: trustmark.org.uk
- • Scam texts: forward to 7726
- • Doorstep callers: police (101)