CIGA Cavity Insulation Guarantee Agency Avis 

Waste of time, we purchased a property in September 2019 with a CIGA guarantee which still has 8 years left on the guarantee. In the February of 2020, we developed wet, damp and green/black patches throughout our living room.

Contacted CIGA who then arranged for the initial installer to inspect, due to covid this visit didn't happen until August.

On inspection the installer conducted a report which we had the chase up the findings of said inspection to learn that they blamed water ingress due age of property and mortar joint cracking so therefore it comprimises the insulation therefore would not be carrying out remedial work.

Firstly, why did they install the insulation & give it a 25 year guarantee if the the property isn't fit for such insulation?

Secondly, rockwool (the type of insulation) is known to freeze in cold temperatures and then thaw causing mortar joint cracking from the inside.

*cold, wet, freezing & windy weather conditions occur regularly during the winter months in the south wales valleys.*

Finally, cavity wall insulation is known to cause issues with properties all over the UK due to faulty installation and it being installed into properties that are not fit for it to be installed into.

If CIGA can fob you off they will because they tuck you up with the wording in the guarantee.

I now have to pay a hefty sum for remedial work and to get the insulation extracted.

CIGA = WASTE OF TIME

They are trying to use some excuse to wriggle out of the guarantee. I do not recommend trusting them

Damp issues at my elderly parent’s flat. Arbitration award ruled to say the CWI had to be removed. This was over 2 years ago. CIGA are not responding to any emails on the matter.

I have been fighting for 4 years now to have something done about my installation. It was carried in 2006 and in 2016 we noticed horrible damp patches appearing and black mould. Even redecorating, replaced windows, home is kept in a great condition, well looked after and maintained. Still black patches keep appearing.

After months of survey inspections, discussions by email, reports produced i am no further forward.

TODAY an engineer turns up to install insulation to 1 sq metre of wall !!! 1 sq m!!!! i couldnt believe it!!!... what about the rest, what about the part i actually hold a guarantee for!!!... im absolutely fuming that nothing has been done. guarantee not worth the paper its written on

I had CWI installed back in 2005. I have recently reported to this company a problem i came regarding my kitchen. I live in a 1960 built bungalow and had the insulation installed following a Government promotion for reducing heat loss and to improve the carbon footprint of the property.
This product has caused an excessive amount of damp to my property and as a result the joists and floorboards had rotten, only found out i had this problem when i notice the washing machine was leaning backward. When this was looked into i found that the machine was not even sitting on anything at the back closet to the wall.
When we had cleared everything out of the kitchen it became clear that the problem was the instulation because the airvents to my property had all been filled in with the insulation.
I contacted CIGA with an explanation and photographs, proof of residency and a copy of the guarantee. Only to be told that because the work to replace the floor has already been carried out they hold no responsiblity whatsoever.
Well of course the work had to be dealt with immediately with having no floor.
I will be taking this matter further. Thank you.

Having cwi put in from a government warm front grant around 13 yrs ago I have had problems with water getting into a meter cupboard built into the brick wall . The water is coming through the inside the wall and is tripping my electric metre when we have heavy rain.
Ciga sent a guy out to look who had blamed ingress from a landing window they claim is directly above ..its 2 ft to the right of it .
I tell ciga that when the installers turn up to do cwi that I was having a boiler fitted and had some bricks removed at the time for a change in the flue . The cwi company didnt care and still put the insulation in the wall despite the fact loads of it was coming out where the bricks were missing ..ciga have basically said I cant prove this and all companys would have known not to do the insulation unless the hole was covered ..well ciga the company no longer exists = cowboys
So ciga blame a window 2 ft away from my problem and say I'm a liar that all that wool stuff was flying out a hole waiting for new bricks
This is just the level they now to.
They have not done a thermal check to see where the cwi is or how much is in or sunk
Their guarentee is worthless ..I'm yet to find anyone that they have actually helped
Avoid cwi like the plague unless you are fully aware of what it is and what it does ..unfortunately I was not aware and am paying the price

Edit
After Ciga accused me of lying that their were bricks missing in the wall due to having a boiler flue fitted the same day the cwi was installed . I sent a picture of the date of boiler installation to prove it was done around the same time

This is their response
Good Morning Miss Hughes,

 

We write in response to your e-mailed correspondence dated 08/10/2020.

 

CIGA has investigated and concluded this case.

 

Unfortunately we are unable to continually respond to protracted correspondences going over the same ground already covered.

 

Kind Regards,

 

Customer Service Department

..so despite telling me to email ..they will still not check the wall thoroughly to see what is happening with the cwi

Shocking company to deal with. The guarantees are not worth the paper they are written on.

These guys will avoid issues and try to blame poor maintenance so no work or money is paid out. My house was over insulated but the inspectors refused to admit it. I took their word for it and the ADR time elapsed. Don't take their word for it, take them all the way to the courts. Dishonest and untrustworthy, no clear process in place to question their findings, will fob you off to citizens advice. The play with peoples lives, emotions and finances. Out of sight, out of mind.

These Guarantees are worthless. I had a survey on my house 4.5 years ago when I bought it, no damp. Building work has just been started and the cavity wall insulation I had installed after purchase is like a sponge and soaking wet. I called a damp specialist company who said it was the cavity wall insulation. CIGA who gave me a guarantee say "because building work has started your guarantee is invalid". I would not have discovered the problem for a few more years without the building work. Ridiculous guarantee!

Totally innocuous guarantee corporation who advised me that they were not responsible for removing cavity insulation installed against recommendations. After a couple of exchanges, they washed their hands of the case and subsequent emails have been returned undelivered, presumably because they have blocked me.(IT is my profession and their server has blocked my I.P. address to both 'info' and'concerns' mailboxes.
According to building and construction recommended practice: insulation should not be installed on south facing walls exposed to driving rain....however, CIGA, with impressive powers of remote inspection have dismissed my case without even sending an inspection engneer to visit. Whilst the internal condensation and mould may well be condensation related: The fact remains, cwi should NOT be installed on this wall. A fact conveniently ignored by CIGA.
I have a concrete case against them and will not bother with any further correspondence: I will take them to court which will cost them far more in costs that settling the original misinstallation.
Shockingly bad.
In my opinion, their gurantee is worthless and if you have CWI installed, personally I would insist on a guarantee issued by another association, or walk away from the deal.
Fortunately, before I approached CIGA I already had the prerequisite facts hence CIGA's
remote diagnosis demonstrates their total disinterest in any liability under the guarantee.
As an addendum: despite further communications, the company have failed to respond. In effect, they have confirmed by their inadmission that the fitment of Cavity wall insulation in a wall exposed to rain and wind is perfectly acceptable. This is further evidence of their technical naivety and their total lack of respect for customers. Their reply regarding condensation is frankly absurd: before the insulation was fitted, there was no condensation.

Had to edit this post, seems Ciga don't mind slagging you off behind your back but hate it when you post the emails.
Even though Ciga publish details on thier Web site they whinged because I posted company contact details.

Anyway read below.
This us what they do behind your back.
Ciga guy is the email sender
Instagroup guy is recipient.
Instagroup another guy was the report writer who also worked for Ciga previously.

So this is another underhanded tactic of CIGA. Subject: RE: General Sales Enquiry/Re Mr Homeowner CIGA Complaint


Hi (instagroup guy)

Now I remember this guy, he has been bombarding CIGA with all sorts of questions and I have written and advised several times already over the space of just two days he has ADR if he isn’t happy. (added by poster, I received unsigned emails from customer service and there were not several over two days as he states,, I have requested their guidlines which have been largely ignored)
I have rejected the claim outright based on (instagroup other guy) report but I have also advised him CIGA is unable to be embroiled in protracted correspondence, but he isn’t listening!
Like I said, leave this one with us, and I suggest you block his calls because he doesn’t sound like he will give up without a long fight.
Regards
CIGA GUY
(Technical Development
Cavity Insulation jGuarantee Agency (CIGA)

Ciga are openly available on any Internet search

I had never heard of this company until byran carrol had turned up at my nans door saying someone had made an appointment.
This was not the case at all and what was more shocking and upsetting is he turned up at the door saying my grandad had made the appointment when my grandad has passed away 4 months ago. I explained this and no apologies at all.
I asked too phone his boss and he couldnt get intouch he showed me paper work and ID but i explained no one had made this appointment! He was adament he wanted too carry out work and became quite aggressive and wouldnt leave the drive way and argued with me! He told me too contact a number he handed too me called anna and still would not leave until the neighbours had intervened and he then deceided too leave! We phoned anna and ann was a man and put the phone down!
Scary thing is if my nan had just been home what would this man had done?
Didnt even know his history of the home and made up when the work had been done when the information was so wrong! Shocking company ans scammers! How dare you turn up at a pensioners home and let alone someone who had recently died! Disgusting

terrible lot they are not interested this has to be fraud not do not have cavity wall installed in your walls the walls can not breath and leads to major damp problems you've been warned.they try and say its ventilation by not opening your windows that's rubbish its because theres no ventilation in between the brick because this lot are filling it up with rubbish that doesn't work I know numerous of houses that have had none of this cavity wall installed they have had no problems do not use it your be sorry.i have responded to their reply and still they do nothing .

The so called guarantee is not worth the paper it's written on.
I can totally relate to what others have already said and I feel their anger and disgust at this so called company.
CIGA sends out a surveyor from a company under their umbrella to be told that the problem was due to maintenance of the property. This is not true as my neighbour did not get cavity wall insulation installed and they have no problems with their property.
Guy they sent out was from Instagroup under the CIGA umbrella, really defensive and quite abrupt, Just a disgraceful attitude towards those they are meant to be protecting.
Its appears that the guarantee they offer for 25 years is worthless, they will find any reason they can to get out of accepting liability.
What kind of organisation acts this way with this attitude towards ordinary people seeking help?

They are a scam organisation, and should be abolished!!!

Also the Government needs to take responsibility for the mess they have created by forcing inappropriate insulation on hundreds of thousands of houses that are simply not suitable for it.

The most unhelpful and non-understanding company I have ever dealt with.

CWI installed June 2016.
I only realised, upon selling my house that a guarantee certificate was available, as it had been requested from the people buying my house. I had never received a guarantee, I only had the worksheet the installer had left on the day of installation. On checking the internet, I phoned CIGA and was told I needed to get a copy of the Land Registry and a utility bill and email them to request the certificate. Details sent off and email received back from CIGA. We can only confirm the house has Cavity Wall but if you want we can send you a duplicate certificate at a cost of £42. I told them, I had never received the original certificate, so why should I be expected to pay for a duplicate. Nothing they can do, basically I feel like they thought I was lying to get a free certificate. Honestly, £42 for a single sheet of paper, this company is a joke. I won't be paying for a new certificate out of principal, I have never received a Certificate and all they can say is that it would have been posted out. Where has you human side gone, some people are truthful and you penalise them. Absolutely disgusting.

BEWARE ALL: You need to chase up your certificate if it not received with 6 months of the installation to stop this company from treating people the way I have been.

I would leave no stars if I could, disgusting company, don’t listen to any independent surveyors advice because they do not want to spend any money helping the thousands of poor people who have been damaged by cowboy installations,

The so called guarantee is not worth the paper it's written on. I can relate to what others have already said and i feel their anger and disgust,unfortunately i had a very similar experience right from the start of the phone conversation it was obvious that the woman at the other end was on the defensive being told that we don't do compensation and that i should have called them first instead of taking action to fix the problem which was confirmed as failed damp cavity wall insulation which should be removed as walls will never be dry until the wotk is done.Now like many others we are simply told that "we"are in the wrong for not calling them first and yet as others have said when ciga did send a surveyor that the problem was definately not the insulation this is just disgraceful attitude towards those they are meant to be protecting,like i said earlier the guarantee ain't worth the paper it's written on what kind of organisation acts with this attitude towards ordinary people seeking help THANKS NOT😈

We are a firm of Chartered Surveyors, specialising in dampness problems. We deal with many cases of cavity insulation failure. If CWI is installed in a cavity that is breathable - ie, soft brick and lime mortar - most houses built up to the 1950's fit this type, it will almost certainly fail and get wet. The cavity was DESIGNED to breathe - it was designed to allow driving rain to penetrate the outer skin, drip down the inside, and out, leaving the inner skin dry. Put insulation into that scenario, and it will get wet. Block ventilation, and condensation also builds up, soaking the insulation. We always tell people to contact ciga - and then have to deal with the inevitable incompetent inspections, the denial of responsibility, and furious clients getting more and more frustrated. One client was told by ciga they HAD to use a firm of chartered surveyors specified, and not us - we found out that the firm was owned by a board member of CIGA. They are a scam organisation, and should be abolished. Government needs to take responsibility for the mess they have created by forcing inappropriate insulation on hundreds of thousands of houses that are simply not suitable for it.

They are an absolute disgrace, don’t look for what is causing the problems, so don’t find anything of real concern, simply blame life style issues and lack of maintenance.

Only gave 1 star because you have to put at least 1, they certainly don’t deserve it.

The attitude of this company has been very poor towards us. They couldn’t care less as to what happens to our family home. I do not believe that their technical ‘experts’ are qualified surveyors. Their job was to fobb us off.