A North Queensland family still fighting for a safe home after a cyclone damaged their roof five years ago say they feel exhausted, "violated and victimised" by their insurer.
Ian and Pam Hathaway have spent countless hours writing emails, sleeping on the floor, and flinching every time a light storm rolled by because they were afraid the damaged roof would lift off.
They claim wrong materials were used in one failed roof rebuild and structural rods that protected the house during high winds were severed during a second failed attempt.
Mr Hathaway said that what began as a simple house insurance claim in the wake of Cyclone Debbie has amounted to a situation worse than a "nightmare".
"Cyclone Debbie didn't wreck this house; CommInsure did."
Once a place of pride, joy, love and family, they felt like their Collinsville home had been reduced to a construction site for years and remained an unsafe dwelling.
In a statement to the ABC, CommInsure said it understood the repairs were not satisfactory and it was committed to resolving the matter.
But insurance advocate David Keane, who has worked with the family for years, said what the family had gone through was unacceptable.
"Those sorts of cases are not that uncommon, unfortunately."
Trust issues from the start
In the months after 2017's Cyclone Debbie, the Hathaways discovered parts of their roof had been damaged because mould was growing.
A quote from a local builder indicated the works would cost about $188,000, which was significantly higher than CommInsure's original quote of about $60,000.
CommInsure and its own builder then came back with a revised repair cost of $140,000.
The first roof repair went ahead but, according to Mr Hathaway, the wrong materials were used, including a thinner gauge of iron.
It needed to be done again, leaving the Hathaways' home life disrupted for months.
"We found where an electrical cable in our bedroom had been squashed between an iron and a screw.
"They did come back and fix that, but we were fortunate that the whole roof was not live."
'Gravity holding roof on'
Things became worse when work started on the second attempt to rebuild the roof.
"I heard a banging, popping noise … like a drum popping in the heat of the day," Mr Hathaway said.
"The structural tie downs that hold it all together had been cut."
Despite Mr Hathaway's shock and protests, "they just kept cutting" the tension rods, which provide structural integrity and protection against high winds and cyclones.
"Gravity was the only thing holding it on."
That was more than two years ago.
Since then, the Hathaways have been fighting for acknowledgement and action.
Mr Hathaway said the situation had hurt him emotionally, professionally and personally.
"Married over 25 years and some of the arguments we've had over this, shouldn't have happened," Mr Hathaway said.
"[We feel] violated, victimised — the accusations just don't stop."
End in sight
After lodging a complaint with the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC), the couple finally saw some action.
But Mr Keane said the journey was not over yet.
"The builder and CommInsure … said, 'Please call off QBCC and we'll get everything fixed'," Mr Keane said.
"So in good faith we called off the QBCC complaint, and waited for several months for them to give the scope of works."
CommInsure said it sympathised with Mr Hathaway's situation.
"Since then we have reopened the claim, undertaken an investigation and a scope of works has been approved to complete the repairs."
Ian Hathaway still feared the company's plans gave no answers as to how to fix the situation with the severed rods.
CommInsure said the works were due to start on April 28 and would be "completed within a few weeks".
"We will provide alternative accommodation to Mr Hathaway and his family during the entire repair period," a spokesperson said.
The QBCC said it could not comment on the case for privacy reasons.
