If someone calls, writes or knocks to say your spray foam must come out, don't agree to anything there and then. Trading Standards services have warned about cold callers selling removal, often linked to the original installer[1]. Check who they are, report the approach, and get an independent view before deciding anything[2].
Your next step:Get the facts from someone with nothing to sell
On this page
Check the call against 10 warning signs
Documented by Trading Standards, Citizens Advice and others. It takes about a minute.
Answer yes or no to each question about the call or visit. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
1.Did they contact you out of the blue, by phone or at your door?
Why ask this?
Citizens Advice says not to use a company that cold calls, and the HomeOwners Alliance says callers may have got your details unlawfully or be linked to the original installer.
Based on: Citizens Advice (England; reviewed 4 Apr 2025) (opens in a new tab); HomeOwners Alliance (undated) (opens in a new tab)
2.Did they say they were from, or working with, the government, a council, Trading Standards or an official scheme, or that a grant would pay?
Why ask this?
Trading Standards services have warned about callers falsely claiming to act for the government or an official scheme, and about false claims that a grant would cover the cost.
Based on: Local Trading Standards services (Plymouth City Council and others; various dates) (opens in a new tab); Warwickshire County Council Trading Standards (5 Feb 2025) (opens in a new tab); Trading Standards Scotland (17 Sep 2024; modified 2 Apr 2025) (opens in a new tab)
3.Did they say they were from the Property Care Association (PCA), or show ID or a report with the PCA's name or logo?
Why ask this?
The PCA has warned of fake ID with its logo and fake reports in its members' names, and says it has no in-house surveyors.
Based on: Property Care Association (29–30 Jul 2026, as carried by The Intermediary and News on the Block) (opens in a new tab); House of Commons Library (published 5 Jan 2026; page metadata modified 8 Jul 2026) (opens in a new tab)
4.Did they say your home is on a “national database”, or will lose value unless the foam comes out?
Why ask this?
The PCA reported fraudsters telling homeowners their property was on a “national database” of homes likely to lose value unless the foam was taken out.
5.Did they offer a free survey or inspection of your loft or your foam?
Why ask this?
Trading Standards has warned about cold callers offering free loft surveys and then finding problems that foam, or its removal, would supposedly fix.
Based on: Trading Standards Scotland (21 Oct 2022) (opens in a new tab); Citizens Advice (Jun 2025; web page 17 Jun 2025) (opens in a new tab)
6.Did they say your foam must come out, or is damaging your home, before anyone had properly looked at it?
Why ask this?
Trading Standards has reported scare stories used to sell removal, and Citizens Advice has seen removal sold where it wasn't needed, even to homes with no foam.
Based on: Warwickshire County Council Trading Standards (5 Feb 2025) (opens in a new tab); North East Lincolnshire Council Trading Standards (22 Jul 2024; modified 16 Mar 2026) (opens in a new tab); Citizens Advice (Benedict Guindi, 31 Jan 2024) (opens in a new tab)
7.Did they push you to decide today, or offer a price that only lasts today?
Why ask this?
Citizens Advice treats pressure as a sign of a scam, and the Energy Saving Trust lists pressure to decide as a warning sign.
Based on: Citizens Advice (6 Dec 2021) (opens in a new tab); Energy Saving Trust (updated 8 May 2026) (opens in a new tab)
8.Did they ask for money upfront, a large deposit, or your bank or card details?
Why ask this?
The Energy Saving Trust says not to pay everything upfront, and Citizens Advice suggests a deposit of no more than 25%.
Based on: Energy Saving Trust (published 12 Mar 2019; updated 20 May 2026) (opens in a new tab); Citizens Advice (England; reviewed 4 Apr 2025) (opens in a new tab)
9.Did they say you are owed compensation, or offer to make a claim for you?
Why ask this?
The HomeOwners Alliance and the PCA have reported owners being targeted by legal firms pursuing mis-selling claims, as well as by removal firms.
Based on: HomeOwners Alliance and Property Care Association (10 Feb 2025) (opens in a new tab)
10.Did they mention a lung or health charity, or say your existing insulation is harmful to health?
Why ask this?
Asthma + Lung UK says cold callers have falsely claimed to represent it; it endorses no insulation product and has never said any insulation material is unsafe.
Based on: Asthma + Lung UK (Paul Mullins, 1 Jun 2023) (opens in a new tab); Which? (14 Feb 2024) (opens in a new tab)
Answer the questions above to see the result here.
Never give bank details or agree to work on the call.
Read more:Spray foam cold calls and removal scams
Key facts
- Devon, Somerset & Torbay Trading Standards (Aug 2024) reported a steep rise in complaints about cold callers selling removal[1]
- The PCA warned in Jul 2026 of fake PCA ID, a claimed national database and fake reports in genuine members' names (as reported in the trade press)[3]
- Contracts made in your home carry a 14-day cancellation period, extended by up to 12 months if you were not told about it[4][5]
- Citizens Advice consumer helpline: 0808 223 1133 (Welsh 0808 223 1144); advisers can pass reports to Trading Standards (checked Oct 2026)[6]
Step by step
Don't agree to anything on the call or at the door
Don't sign, pay or book a "survey" or removal; end the call or close the door politely. Citizens Advice says not to use a company that cold calls[7]. How spray foam cold calls work
Write down what was said
Note the date, the caller's name, company and number, and exactly what they claimed about your foam or your home. In one decision the ombudsman rejected a claim with no evidence of what was said, and in another accepted notes made at the sales visit[8][9]. Spray foam scams and cold calls
Check who they are, using contact details you find yourself
Claims of official backing are a known tactic: the PCA has said it has no in-house surveyors[10], Asthma + Lung UK endorses no insulation product[11], and the Energy Saving Trust says it never cold calls householders[12]. News on the Block (30 July 2026) said anyone worried about a scam could ring the PCA on 01480 400000, its main office number[3]. How to check a caller
Report it
Call the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133 (Welsh 0808 223 1144); its advisers can pass your report to Trading Standards[6]. In Scotland, report to Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 164 6000[13]. Where to report a spray foam caller
If you have already agreed, check your cancellation rights
For a contract made in your home, work should not start within the 14-day cancellation period unless you expressly asked for it on a durable medium (a lasting record such as writing). If you cancel, the Regulations say you pay nothing for work in that period if you were not given the cancellation information or did not expressly ask for an early start[14]. This is general information, not legal advice. Your consumer rights
If you are worried about the foam, get an independent look
Trading Standards advises an independent surveyor's report before agreeing to removal[2], and in a 2026 decision the ombudsman gave little weight to a report from a firm that had contacted the homeowner unprompted[15]. See Told to remove it: nothing measured made removal urgent, and there were signs of bats. Does spray foam cause condensation or rot?
What to do next
- Tell family or a neighbour about the approach.
- Don't let anyone into the loft "just to have a look" on the same visit.
- Never pay a deposit on the doorstep.
- If you want an independent second opinion on your loft, see the inspection below.
Get the facts from someone with nothing to sell
If the call has left you worried about the foam, an independent inspection tells you what is actually in your loft, from someone who doesn't install or remove insulation and takes no referral fees.
Report within 48–72 hours of inspection. Independent: no installation, no removal, no referral commissions.
Travel included within about three hours of the North West; a fixed supplement further away, shown with your total before you book.
It records what can be seen and measured. It can't see timber under the foam, and it isn't a report for a lender.
Questions first? Call or WhatsApp 07349 718935 WhatsApp (opens in a new tab)
Case files like this
Anonymised inspections Jan has carried out. Every loft is different.
Told to remove it: nothing measured made removal urgent, and there were signs of bats
Exeter · Recent inspection · Spray Foam Inspection
Open-cell foam from 2022, and the owner had been advised to remove it. All ten timber readings were under 18%, so nothing measured made removal urgent. The issues found were eaves filled with foam, a membrane no paperwork mentions, and what looked like bat droppings.
Read case file Told to remove it, or holding a removal quoteUrged to remove the foam: the main loft needed action, the smaller section did not
near Wigan · Recent inspection · Spray Foam Inspection
Open-cell foam from 2022 in a single-storey home, after repeated unsolicited approaches urging removal. Foam filled the eaves wherever photographed and covered cables. Every main-loft timber reading was 18% or more, three reached 20%; the smaller section, with the same foam, read below 18%.
Read case fileGo deeper: the original sources
3 original documents, each with a note on what it covers.
Questions people ask
Is it a scam if someone says my spray foam must be removed?
Someone said they were from the PCA. How do I check?
They said my house is on a national database. Is that real?
Sources
17 sources, numbered as cited in the text. Tap a footnote number to jump to its source.