Con artists are using the Green Deal energy efficiency scheme as cover to cheat cash out of householders, Citizens Advice has claimed. The genuine Green Deal scheme allows householders to borrow money to install double-glazing, insulation and more efficient boilers. An initial home assessment is required, but Citizens Advice said homeowners had paid up to £500 to fake firms. An authorised list of installers is available for people to check.


Door-to-door

The Green Deal was launched in England and Wales in January 2013 and in Scotland a month later. Under the scheme, households get an initial assessment to calculate any savings they could make from better energy efficiency. The costs of the work are paid up-front by the government and the customer repays them over time in the form of a loan. The idea is that the savings households make on energy bills should cover the expense of repayments......Read more here