Am i just a stupid gulable woman?

[thenightwalker]

A man nocked earlier to say he was working for the government and fitting cavity wall insulation an part of a government grant sceme to reduce c02 emissions.

He said my house was one of the only houses in the area to not have the cavity walls insulated.

I explained to him that it was not my house and that it was rented and he said i would just have to get permission from the landlord but it was all free.

He hada litle badge on he said he was from globalenergies ltd.

he had me fill out a form...
I filled in my name
adress
phone number
and signed it :s
he wanted my National insurance number but i said i didnt know it and id have to get back to him (i did know it i just thought it was iffy)
he asked if he could phone me in an hour or 2 for it (dodgy) so i said ok
i havnt given it to him yet
they have a website that seems plausable and the sheet i filled in seemed very professional.

Have i been scammed?
Could he really do anything with the details he has?
I wont be giving him my NIS!!!

help

For what purpose Blacksand?

I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but in this instance, what have they actually achieved? Someone's name and address? You can millions of those from popping into the library and checking the eletoral roll.

The websites threeenergies.co.uk & 3energies.co.uk were only set up in Dec 2010.

I agree wubbly and my post certainly wasn't a dig at you. If the op is as naive as she seems i thought it was worth mentioning for the future.

The signature would sorry me most - but yes, you can get those easily too.

worry

If they can get £50 a signature then it's very easy money! Well worth setting up a website for and employing people (probably on a commission basis) to go round and catch the gullible!

I'd be inclined to take this up with Consumer Direct and see what history there is.

The company 3 energies ltd, was registered in April 2010.

The registered address is different to the contact us details. That could be the accountants address though.

There's not much on the internet about them.

OP, do you have a copy of what you signed?

I take that back. The registered address on the website is the same as the one on companies house. So probably a legit company, but with suspect methods.

I would have thought that it has to be the owner of the property that signs for any work of that nature. So whatever has been signed is probably not enforcable anyway.

Practice saying "No, thank you. Goodbye" until you are able to say it without hesitation.

BTW if anyone wants subsidised insulation, habe a look at the website of the company that supplies your gas, or electricity, or your local council. They mostly have subsidised schemes or can tell you how to go about it.

You wouldn't normally buy anything from some stranger who bangs on the door, surely?

We've just had ours done for free. Wasn't a door salesman though, it was an offer my gas/elec company was offering. There is a subsidy offer if you are on a low income / benefits so probably isn't as dodgy as you think. When I looked at the installers website I could have got the offer direct from them also.

Oh and your landlord will probably be thrilled actually. Who wouldn't want their house cavity wall insulated for free and their loft done too?
When I was renting and on benefits I applied for the warm front grant, my landlord provided his address and hey presto, warm house for nowt and jolly happy peeps all round!

We got a new boiler and £100's worth of energy proofing from a cold caller coz we met the criteria on the day he came. I think it was actually Warm Front who came, and they've become a fairly well known source for this kind of work.

Also, we rent a property and Warm Front are fitting a new boiler in there too. Our tenant is a pensioner, and although he instigated the work they wouldn't go ahead without landlord consent.

If you do meet the criteria and don't trust this other company then contact your council for info so you can use one that's reputable and operating in your area.

opinions differ about the quality of work by Warmfront.

They seem to have got the Grant market stitched up, and people don't expect such a high standard if it's "free" as they would if they were paying for it themselves.

Oh god PigletJohn. I am waiting for a new boiler and insulation from them.

I hope yours is fine. Look carefully for anything that looks substandard and report it in writing to them. The have to conform to Manufacturers Instructions and GasSafe rules.