Has anyone tried taking up this apparently genuine Government offer of insulation for €1,00?
Obviously this is a ‘contracted out’ service, but the questions askedn especially about income seem a bit invasive to me. You need to be very specific as far as I can make out, and whilst this may be fair enough for the Government to ask I don’t feel at all comfortable telling an unknown commercial enterprise such details.
I would have thought it would have been very easy to ask something like 'is your income less than (say) €1500 a month - or whatever. As it is I was every uncomfortable with the line of ‘must provide’ to an unknown entity.
What experience, if any, have others on this site found out?
If it’s this one Norman https://www.mescomblesgratuits.fr/ then yes - brilliant, had my loft re-insulated last year. Top notch job - actual invoice was around 1300€ with a reduction applied for 1300€! Same organisation as the free LED light bulbs.
There are more than just one “company” phoning around at the moment…
I did actually allow someone to visit a few month’s back… and our loft is not suitable for the offer… so I know what is on the go… chap was a shyster as it turned out…
The recent callers are driving me mad. One insisted that they were phoning on behalf of the Mairie… and when I said that I would check… they went very quiet.
so all is not quite as straightforward as it should be…there are (perhaps) some cowboys taking advantage of the situation.
I’d be happy to let Leroy Merlin do mine… except that my combles are too wide open…
One person who supposedly called on behalf of The State… asked me all sorts of questions… to which I replied … The State already knows my situation.
Makes my little heart glad to know that even the government site warns people to be on their guard against unsolicited callers… and neither agree nor sign anything without the full situation being thoroughly verified by a trusted source (locally, that would be the Mairie).
Well - I speak (or type!) as I find - really happy with the free insulation installed in my loft last year. I guess not everyone is a crook - who knew…
Perhaps I have put it badly… it’s not simply a matter of “don’t bother”
the Govt site is talking about folk having doubts about some “Sellers”… not about the Offer which is quite legitimate… as you well know Simon, having profited from it yourself.
Well done you… Folk need to be aware that such aid is about… and indeed it is widely advertised.
Now that we are, once again, discussing it… I would suggest folk ask at their Mairie how to benefit from this initiative… The Mairie will certainly know the (local) major players.
We had a very helpful visit from the firm we contacted . We could’ve had the loft done now and still qualified for a few Govt subsidies & tax breaks which would have halved the cost to around €600 . However the chap said if we wait until we have our first Avis d’impots towards the end of this year we would by virtue of our income qualify for the €1 scheme. Our loft is only suitable for the blown fibre (it’s very shallow & with narrow joists) so we will have to pay for a “cage” (€85) to stop the fibre falling out of the loft trap or we can do that ourselves. Absolutely no pressure to have it done now and he left all the info and his card for us to contact him when we are ready. The company has been in business for 40 years and the chap has worked for them for 25.
That is brilliant thanks for updating with your work. I’d kind of decided not to bother as everything I read was about the blown stuff (which I can’t have) so really nice to know that there other options. I’ll have to look into it again.
Hi, I do see what you are saying about real people but as a member of many forums and a forum owner of over 10 years (nothing to do with France!) I have never been asked for my real name to be visible (nor would I ever ask it), I do think it is not massively safe and not generally considered good practice! I think a nice photo and a friendly posting style is just as important, if not more!
Sorry totally off topic and makes me look like a stirrer on my first posts but I genuinely don’t mean to be it just makes me very uncomfortable and it is a policy that goes against all good internet privacy ‘rules’! There is a reason that ‘usernames’ exist I’ll be quiet now I promise!
Hi Tory, welcome also to SF. Re your safety concerns. I am of the view that if one has an opinion - popular or not, then one should be prepared to stand up and be counted and not want to hide behind anonymity. I see a huge amount of belligerent nonsense on other sites such as Youtube, where so much armchair warrior aggression is hidden behind an avatar or on’screen name.
Personally I find this gutless, and I have no problem standing up and making my views clear on SF and getting shot at in the process on many occasions.
If people are afraid to state their views, openly they can’t be very well held ones can they?
On the insulation issue (where we came in?) You mentioned the 'blow-in ’ version which as far as I know is ONLY used in loft areas. We don’t have these, and the insulation was for the cellar (cave) ceilings between them and the house ‘proper’. Not sure if these are an option for lofts or not, as we really just left it to the insulators as once again, I knew only two things about insulation - nothing and bugger-all.
Along with many other subjects I might add!
but as a member of many forums and a forum owner of over 10 years (nothing to do with France!) I have never been asked for my real name to be visible (nor would I ever ask it), I do think it is not massively safe and not generally considered good practice! I think a nice photo and a friendly posting style is just as important, if not more! 
