Spray foam claims and compensation: your rights if your insulation is causing problems

Start with the paperwork from the installation. It should name the installer and, for work under a government scheme, the scheme provider. Then follow the route that matches your situation. These are the routes the government paper gives.

TrustMark's own page says a complaint goes through three stages in order: first the registered business, then its scheme provider, then the Dispute Resolution Ombudsman. TrustMark does not investigate individual complaints itself. To check whether an installer is still trading, you can look it up on the Companies House register or search the TrustMark register.

For the rest of what the paper says, including the eight lenders it names, see our explainer of the October 2026 government guidance.

TrustMark advises having “all the relevant evidence to hand such as quotations, contracts, pictures”, and keeping a record of your communications with the business. In practice that means:

• The contract or quotation for the installation, with the date the work was done.
• The guarantee, especially any insurance-backed guarantee, and the name of the provider.
• The installer's details: company name, address and, if it has one, its TrustMark or scheme registration.
• Any survey report on the foam or the roof, ideally from a specialist surveyor.
• Photographs of the foam, the roof timbers and any damp or damage, with the dates they were taken.
• Letters, emails and notes of calls with the installer, and anything a lender or valuer has said in writing.

If you cannot find the installation paperwork, the government paper says “you can contact either the installer or manufacturer, who should be able to provide it retrospectively.” If you cannot find the guarantee paperwork, it says to contact TrustMark.

There are time limits, and they are worth checking early. In England and Wales, claims for breach of contract generally have to be brought within six years. That limit comes from the Limitation Act 1980, section 5, which runs the six years “from the date on which the cause of action accrued”, not the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Working out when that date is in your case is not simple. Get legal advice on your own deadlines, and if you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, ask about the rules there.

The complaint routes have their own conditions too. The Dispute Resolution Ombudsman says it can take a TrustMark complaint when it has been 12 weeks since your first complaint to the registered business, and the complaint is within 12 months of that first complaint. So complain to the installer in writing as soon as you find the problem, and keep a copy.

Nobody can tell you in advance that you will get compensation. If a caller or website says a government scheme will pay for your removal, or that a payout is certain, check it independently before you give them any details or sign anything. The TrustMark complaints process and the ombudsman route the paper describes do not need a middleman. If you are thinking about using any company that handles claims for a fee, read its terms and charges carefully, and take advice from a solicitor or Citizens Advice first.

If you decide to have the foam removed anyway, our spray foam removal cost guide explains what it usually costs and why, and the company checker explains what we check before we introduce a removal company. If the problem started with a mortgage, see the lender tracker before you commit to removal: the government paper warns that “removing the foam will not always guarantee that they will still lend”.

The government paper says the growth of the removals sector has led to “an increase in cold calls or unsolicited offers to sell or remove it.” It says you can report these to Trading Standards. In England, the Citizens Advice consumer helpline (0808 223 1133) can pass complaints on to Trading Standards for you, and can advise on your consumer rights.

If you believe your installer shared your details with a removal company, the paper says you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office.

The regulations guide covers the wider rules on spray foam, including building regulations and the standards installers work to.

For advice on your legal position, speak to a solicitor or to Citizens Advice. What we can do is explain your options on the foam itself: whether a survey is the right first step, what removal involves and what lenders tend to ask for. We are paid by the removal companies and surveyors we introduce you to. That never changes the advice on this site.

1. DESNZ: Spray foam insulation: Remediation, removal and lending (22 October 2026), checked 14 November 2026
2. TrustMark: homeowner complaints process, checked 14 November 2026
3. Dispute Resolution Ombudsman: dispute resolution for TrustMark, checked 14 November 2026
4. Limitation Act 1980, section 5: time limit for actions founded on simple contract, checked 14 November 2026
5. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49: service to be performed with reasonable care and skill, checked 14 November 2026
6. Citizens Advice: contact the consumer service (England), checked 14 November 2026
7. GOV.UK: find your local Trading Standards office, checked 14 November 2026
8. Information Commissioner’s Office: make a complaint, checked 14 November 2026
9. Companies House: search the register, checked 14 November 2026