How the real scheme works
Every scam in this area depends on you not knowing the sequence. The genuine one is short.
- 1
You choose an installer
GOV.UK tells applicants to contact MCS-certified installers for quotes. You approach them, or you reply to an enquiry you made.
- 2
The installer applies
The installer applies to Ofgem on your behalf. You do not fill in the application yourself.
- 3
Ofgem checks your consent
Ofgem contacts you to confirm that you consented to the installer applying, with 14 days to respond. Ofgem may also follow up by phone or inspection.
- 4
The grant comes off the price
The reduction is shown on the quotation and the final invoice. You pay the balance. The installer, not you, claims the grant.
Notice what is missing: no unsolicited call from the scheme, no fee from you, no cash paid to you, and no form for you to post off. If you want the full application path, see how to apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.
Warning signs
| What you are told | Why it does not fit the scheme |
|---|---|
| “We’re calling from the government grant scheme about your free heat pump.” | The scheme is not free, and it does not begin with a call. The installer applies, then Ofgem checks consent. |
| “Pay a fee to reserve or release your grant.” | You never pay to receive the grant. It is deducted from the installer’s price. |
| “Pay the full price and we’ll claim the grant back for you.” | The grant is deducted upfront on the quote and invoice, and the installer, not you, claims it. |
| “Give me your bank details or ID to check your eligibility.” | Eligibility is checked against the scheme rules by a certified installer and Ofgem. A cold caller needs no financial details from you to say whether you qualify. |
| “This offer ends today, so decide now.” | The real dates are published: for example the £9,000 off-gas band applies to applications until 31 March 2027. Pressure to decide on the doorstep or phone is a sales tactic. |
| “We’ve been told your house qualifies for a free survey, and we’ll send a surveyor now.” | Unexpected visitors are a general scam sign. Ask them to book through a proper written quote after you have checked the firm. |
| No MCS number, or an address you cannot find. | Citizens Advice lists a missing postal address and lack of written confirmation among the typical signs of a scam. |
Citizens Advice’s general list of signs (read 8 October 2026) is a useful cross-check: unexpected contact, pressure to move money quickly, unusual payment methods, requests for sensitive information such as passwords or PINs, missing written confirmation and missing business details. A grant scam typically ticks several at once.
Checks that settle it
- Hang up and look the company up yourself. Do not use a number, website or link given by the caller.
- Search the MCS register. The “find an installer” tool shows whether a company is certified for heat pumps and registered for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. The MCS check, step by step shows how.
- Look up the consumer code (RECC, HIES or the MCS code) in the code’s own directory.
- Ask for everything in writing and take time over it. A genuine quote shows the grant deducted.
- Contact Ofgem directly if someone says they act for it, using the details on its own website, not any given to you.
The quotes checklist lists the lines a genuine quote carries, and finding heat pump installers covers the safe way to find one.
If you have already paid or shared details
- Contact your bank straight away using a number you trust, such as the one on your card, and tell them what happened. Citizens Advice also recommends hanging up on suspicious calls and using a secure line to your bank.
- Change any passwords you gave out, and be alert for further approaches that mention the first one.
- Keep everything: messages, call times, numbers, names, receipts and any paperwork.
- Report it (below). Reporting helps others even where your money cannot be recovered.
If you paid a genuine-looking installer for a job that was never done, or lost a deposit, that is a consumer problem as well as possibly a fraud. The route is in heat pump complaints and consumer codes.
Where to report
Routes for reporting scams include Report Fraud (the national service, formerly Action Fraud), the Citizens Advice scams service, and Trading Standards email alerts. Contact details change, so use each organisation’s own website (links in the sources below) instead of numbers quoted elsewhere, including on this site. For concerns about the scheme itself, such as someone claiming to act for Ofgem, tell Ofgem through its website. For advice on your rights as a customer, use Citizens Advice.
Real alternatives to a cold call exist. Funding routes besides the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, such as ECO4 (which runs to the end of 2026) and the devolved schemes, are set out in other heat pump funding, with who runs each and how to apply, so you can reach the real route without a caller in the middle.
Why people are taken in, and what to think instead
“They knew my name and address, so it must be official.”
Names and addresses are easy to obtain and prove nothing. In the real scheme, Ofgem contacts you only after an installer you chose has applied for you, so a caller who rings first and claims to be “from the scheme” is the wrong way round.
“The offer is free, so there is no risk.”
The scheme gives a discount of up to £7,500 (£9,000 in the off-gas band) on an installation by a certified firm, with the balance paid by you. It is not a free system. Free offers that ask for personal or bank details first deserve suspicion, since the details are what the caller is after.
There are other schemes with different rules, such as ECO4 for eligible households. Those run through energy suppliers and approved installers and are also not a reason to hand over bank details to a caller.
“I would feel silly hanging up on a possible grant.”
A real grant can be applied for later through a certified installer you pick. Hanging up costs you nothing. If it was genuine, the offer survives you checking it.