Free Cavity Wall and Loft Insulation - funding withdrawn

[ftolad]

Hi all,

 

I wanted to make people aware of my current situation, and possibly find out if others have experienced the same. Last year I received a leaflet from my local council (Southampton City Council) advising homeowners to take advantage of totally free insulation.

 

I initially was reticent about using someone that my local council recommended, and therefore my first application was via Sainsbury's Energy, with the work being carried out by British Gas. I should add that my application was in before the deadline of 31/10/2012. The earliest survey they could carry out would be February of this year, so I looked at my local council's offering again.

 

They had teamed up with a company called the Environment Centre, which arranged a survey within a few weeks via another company they had partnered with called the Snug Network. The survey was carried out, and it was confirmed on my the report that the cost would be nil - nothing to pay at all.

 

By earlier this week I still hadn't heard anything so I gave the Snug Network a call via the number on the survey form. I was advised that my free insulation was no longer free and that I would be required to pay £315 if I wanted the work completed. I was told that their funding partners, British Gas, have withdrawn their funding.

 

It's all pretty complex, so I called British Gas to find out more. In my case, they are looking to reinstate my previous application through Sainsbury's Energy, but personally I don't think this is fair on other customers who had been encouraged to use the Environment Centre/Snug Network. I don't blame the Environment Centre one bit, the very nice person I have spoken to there has been very helpful and apologetic, and is still trying to unravel the problem.

 

From what I have learned so far, Ofgem had warned the big 6 about not meeting targets on reducing carbon emissions and threatened fines of up to 10% annual turnover if these were not met by 31/12/2012, though any work carried out after this date would be taken into account. So, it seems a little odd that the Snug Network has had it's funding withdrawn by British Gas.

 

It would be good to hear if anyone else has experienced this. The media hasn't shown any interest, and a call to Ofgem was put through to the Energy Savings Trust helpline, and they didn't want to know.

 

TIA.