Misery over mould claim Insurance nightmare takes its toll

SAM West was told to leave home immediately at 8pm on May 9 last year after workers rendered it unfit to live in because of the mould “growing like little black mushroomy things” throughout her house.

Ms West – who has since been waiting for her house to pass health regulation checks and for repair works to be carried out – said she left the family home that night with her two children and only the clothes on their backs.

“We couldn’t take anything from the house as it was all deemed contaminated and not fit to stay in,” she said.

“I wore my mum’s clothes to work the next day.”

She said QBE Insurance had been dealing with the claim since February last year, but she was now “desperate” because “there is no communication about a way forward”.

Ms West has engaged consumer advocacy group Solve My Claim to investigate her entitlements and to find a solution, and she is determined to alert others so they don’t have to endure a similar ordeal.

“I don’t want to ever see anyone go through this,” she said.

Ms West’s partner, Mark, is a fly-in, fly-out worker and was away on the night the family were told to leave.

The mould developed after their home was “inundated” with water after heavy rain fell from January 25 until early February last year.

Ms West said when the claim was first lodged she received “great service”, from QBE, and Cowan Restoration Services were brought in to treat the property – the company’s initial report showed all indoor levels of airborne fungal concentrations were at very high or extremely high.

“And we thought that was the end of the claim, but the mould kept multiplying,” Ms West said.

“We bought every commercial product known to man and we couldn’t keep up with it.”

After ongoing communication with QBE to replace and repair water-damaged parts of the property, the house was again inspected over May 8 and 9, when Ms West was told to relocate immediately.

The family received “emergency moneys” in the following days but were required to pay for alternate accommodation upfront.

After driving around looking for a motel for the night, but with nothing available, Ms West and her children stayed at Charters Towers Tourist Park. She said the owners were very accommodating given the time of night.

As there was no long-term accommodation suitable at the park, the family moved again two days later to the Big 4 Aussie Outback Oasis Holiday Park.

“The owner was awesome in trying to accommodate us but we had to move from cabin to cabin so as not to disrupt other bookings, and the kids were disrupted as they were not able to use electronic devices for homework as the