Spray foam was sold hard in some parts of the country, often on the doorstep or through a phone call, with promises about energy bills and about how simple and risk-free the work would be. Owners who later found damp, a stalled house sale or a lender who would not touch the property are now asking whether they were told the full story.
Whether a sale was mis-sold depends on what was said, what was written and what the foam has done since. This guide does not give a verdict on any case. It explains the rights that usually come into play: the duty to carry out a service with reasonable care and skill, the 14-day right to cancel a deal signed at home, and the duty on a trader to tell you about any alternative dispute resolution route available when it gives the outcome of a complaint.
It also covers what to gather before you write a word, how to word a complaint so it can be answered, and the practical question that sits beside the legal one: what to do about the roof while the dispute continues. The law described here is for England. What follows is general information rather than legal advice, and a solicitor or consumer adviser can tell you where you stand.
What counts as mis-selling
There is no single tick-box definition. In practice owners tend to complain about one of four things. The first is a promise that did not hold, such as a claim about how much the foam would save or about what it would do for the roof. The second is a missing warning: nobody mentioned that a mortgage lender might object, that a surveyor could mark the home down, or that taking the foam out later is hard work. The third is poor workmanship, where the foam was applied over a roof that was already leaking or with the eaves blocked. The fourth is pressure at the door that left no time to think.
Each of those connects to a different right, which is why it helps to sort your complaint before you send it. A broken promise points towards what the trader said and wrote. A missing warning points towards what a reasonable seller would have told you. Poor workmanship points towards the standard of the service itself.
Independent guidance backs the concern about workmanship. The Energy Saving Trust, in advice updated on 8 May 2026, warns against firms that answer a damaged roof by foaming its underside while leaving the underlying fault untouched. If that describes what happened to you, the fault may sit with the preparation, not just the product.
What it does not mean
Disappointment alone is not mis-selling. Foam that performs as described but no longer suits a lender's policy is a harder case, because the policy may have changed after the sale. The useful question is what you were told at the time, and what a careful installer should have said.
Your right to a service done with reasonable care and skill
For most owners the starting point is the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Under section 49 the installer owed you reasonable care and skill in doing the job. Section 54 lists what you can ask for when it fell short, and one item on that list is making the trader do the job again, properly this time.
This is a useful route when the problem is the workmanship. Foam that was sprayed over a leaking roof, or applied so that vents were buried, may fall short of reasonable care and skill. The fault might show up as damp ceilings, mould or timbers that stay wet. It also helps if you can show that nobody checked the roof before they started.
The route is less direct when the complaint is that the product was never going to suit your home. Then the argument turns on what you were told, and the evidence matters even more. We cannot judge whether a given installer met the standard, because that depends on the facts and sometimes on an expert's view of the roof. What we can do is record the condition of the roof so that any adviser has something concrete to read.
Putting the work right
If an installer offers to return and redo the job, think before you agree. If the original foam has damaged the roof, a repeat application may not fix it. Ask what exactly will be done, and consider getting an independent view of the roof first. Our page on what spray foam removal costs gives typical UK ranges, which can help you judge the scale of any claim for the cost of putting things right.
Keep any offer in writing, and do not sign anything that waives your rights before you have taken advice.
Cancelling a contract made at your home
Many spray foam contracts were agreed in the customer's own home, after a visit or a survey. The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 treat a deal struck with you and the trader face to face anywhere other than the trader's own business address as an off-premises contract. For services you may cancel up to 14 days after the contract was made, and you need not give a reason.
The trader is expected to tell you about that right. Where it never supplied the cancellation information, the window can run on for up to 12 months beyond its normal end. Any refund has to return every payment you made. That can make a real difference to someone who signed on the doorstep and never received the notice.
There are limits. Work can begin within the 14 days only at your express request, and for a deal signed at home the request must be made in a durable form such as a letter or email. Cancelling after an early start means paying for the share already delivered. Full completion ends the right, but only if you asked for the early start while accepting that you would lose it. Visits you specifically asked for to carry out urgent repairs are outside the cancellation rules, though extra services sold during that visit are not.
Check the paperwork for dates
Look at the date on the contract and the date work began. Look for a cancellation form or a clause that describes your rights. If work began straight away and nobody asked you to confirm in writing that you wanted it to, mention that in your complaint. A solicitor or consumer adviser can say what follows from the facts.
Gathering evidence before you complain
A complaint is only as strong as the paper behind it. Before you write, gather what you have and put it in date order. The aim is to show what was promised, what was done, and what has happened since.
Start with the sale itself: quotes, order forms, invoices, leaflets, emails and text messages. Save screenshots of web pages that persuaded you, because pages get changed. If someone spoke to you at the door or on the phone, write down what you remember as soon as you can, with the date, the name of the person and the claims they made. Notes made at the time carry more weight than a recollection months later.
Then record the condition of the property. Photograph the foam, the stains, any mould, the eaves and every ceiling that shows a mark. Note when each problem first appeared. If a lender, valuer or buyer has raised the foam, keep their letters and emails, because they show the practical effect on you.
An independent view of the roof
An inspection by a roofer who was not involved in the sale can describe what is under the foam, what type it is and whether the roof beneath is wet. Our guide to spray foam inspection reports explains what such a report records. It is evidence of condition, not a legal opinion on liability, and you should say so when you use it.
Keep every original document, send copies and not originals, and keep a log of calls and letters. If the dispute drags on, a tidy file saves time and makes it easier for any adviser to help you.
Our spray foam assessment and removal service starts from the same principle: photographs of your own roof first, then a written quote.
Making the complaint and what the trader must tell you
Write to the installer, by email and by post if you have an address, and keep proof that it was sent. A good complaint is short. It names the contract and the date, says what was promised or what went wrong, describes the effect on you and states what you want, whether that is the work redone, the foam removed or a refund. Give a reasonable deadline for a reply and say you will take further steps if you do not get one.
Stick to facts you can support. Avoid accusing anyone of fraud or lying unless you have clear evidence; describe what was said and what happened, and let the reader draw the conclusion. Attach copies of the key documents and photographs, and list them at the bottom of the letter so nothing is overlooked.
Once the trader tells you how it has decided your complaint, section 308 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, in force from 6 April 2026, obliges it to add details of any ADR or other arrangement you can use if you remain dissatisfied. That means an alternative dispute resolution scheme, which is a route to settle the dispute outside court. The older ADR Regulations 2015 were revoked on the same date, so older guides that cite them are out of date.
If the answer is no, or nothing arrives
If the reply rejects your complaint, read it for the ADR information the law requires, and follow it up. If you hear nothing, send a reminder and then take advice on the next step. A consumer adviser or a solicitor can say whether a court claim makes sense, and how the timing works, which we do not address here.
Looking after the roof while the dispute continues
Legal steps can take months, and the roof will not wait. Foam that is trapping moisture keeps doing so, and a leak behind it keeps getting worse. Protect your position by recording the state of the roof now, and protect the building by dealing with active problems promptly.
Tell the installer in writing that you intend to have the roof inspected or work done, and give it a fair chance to attend first. If it ignores you, go ahead, and keep the evidence. Removing foam destroys the very thing you may need to prove a point, so photograph the foam in place, take samples if an adviser suggests it, and keep records of the work and its cost. RICS notes that removal could damage the existing structure, which is another reason to plan it rather than rush.
Keep running costs sensible too. A temporary patch to stop water entering is reasonable and easy to explain later, while a full strip before anyone has seen the roof is harder to justify. Receipts for anything you spend belong in the same file as the rest of your evidence.
If a house sale is under way, tell your conveyancer about the dispute. The mortgage lender, the buyer and the surveyor will all be interested. Our page on spray foam and your mortgage covers what lenders say, and the guide for buyers who find spray foam covers the other side of the table.
Listed and protected homes
If your home is listed, there is a second issue. RICS expects prior consent for foam in a listed building, so an installer who never asked may have failed in more than one way. See spray foam in a listed building for how that works.
