Scots homeowners are losing more than £10,000 (USD $12,370) per week to "ruthless" rogue traders selling substandard insulation services, with many preying on older customers, a leading charity has warned, reports Ben Borland, editor of the Scottish Daily Express.

Figures from Advice Direct Scotland reveal a sharp rise in these scams over the past year, with cowboy contractors exploiting the energy crisis to convince people they can lower their bills.

The charity found that Scots have lost a total of £661,586 (USD $818,650) to insulation-related scams over the past two years. In 2023/24 alone, £197,762 (USD $244,700) was lost, but reports have more than doubled in the current financial year.

As of January 31, the total amount lost in 2024/25 stood at £463,824 (USD $574,000). This means Scots are losing £10,786 (USD $13,346) every week to such scams, with the true scale likely much higher as many incidents go unreported.

These scams involve cold-calling traders, who tell concerned residents that their homes need urgent repairs to the roof or exterior. To pressure people into accepting on the spot, they claim to be offering a ‘one day only’ discount or special deal and demand payment up front.

The rogue traders, in some cases, claim that their work is being partially funded by a government grant, and that they have been contracted by local councils to carry it out. But no such government grants exist and when affected customers phone their local council, they discover that no such contracts exist either.

In another recent case reported to Advice Direct Scotland, cold callers offered to line a roof and coat it with a paint that would supposedly provide a defense against frost.

The resident paid almost £2,000 (USD $2,475) for the job, and the tradesmen spent a couple of days working on the roof. After they had left, the resident discovered that the painting had been done to a very poor standard, with some slates and part of the guttering left damaged.

The traders initially agreed to return and fix the issues but repeatedly missed appointments and eventually stopped answering calls. The resident then hired an independent surveyor, who found that the paint used on the roof offered no frost protection. As a result, the entire roof needed to be repainted.

Hazel Knowles, senior project lead for Advice Direct Scotland, said: “Roofing and insulation scams tend to increase during the colder months, as homeowners worried about sky-high energy bills try to keep their costs down.

“Scammers take advantage of this increased demand by offering overpriced or unnecessary insulation services, often using high-pressure sales tactics and targeting older people.

“These scammers are ruthless. They will dupe people into thinking they need insulation, then fit substandard materials that cause damp or damage the house – and then have the gall to go back and try to convince the homeowner to pay them to rip it out again.

“Cold callers often approach householders to offer free ‘roof assessments.' Once in their home, they tell them they need roof work, insulation or insulation removal. But these cold callers cannot be trusted and often try to get homeowners to sign up for work they don’t need.

Case study

Mary Melvin, 69, from Alexandria in West Dunbartonshire, contacted Advice Direct Scotland in January after traders who charged her thousands of pounds for roof repairs left part of it “hanging off”.

The grandmother was enticed by their offer of a discounted rate, but soon discovered their work was substandard, and has been unable to contact them to arrange follow-up repairs.

Mary, a retired distillery worker, said: “They turned up one day offering to do the work and I just took them at face value. After noticing some damage, I’ve struggled to get a hold of the firm. I don’t know if they have gone bust or what has happened with them, but the work was meant to be guaranteed for about 20 years.

“I just can’t get a hold of them at all. I don’t know if they were a genuine company or if they were just chancing their arm by going round the doors. The corner of the roof is coming away and hanging off, and a couple of pieces have fallen to the ground.”