Porter Davis customers left in the lurch after home builder’s collapse

Porter Davis customers are struggling to get insurance payouts to finish building their homes after the company’s collapse, and both the financial and mental costs are piling up.

Porter Davis victim Jesse Wilkie‘s Truganina town house is leaking water and has been left with some building code violations. Picture: Jason Edwards

PORTER Davis customers arestuck in a nightmareas they battle to get insurance payouts months after the company’s collapse, with many being knocked back unless they take cheaper quotes with volume builders.

Lengthy delays and squabbling over building defects are also adding to their pain.

Victims of the liquidated builder say they have become increasingly alarmed by the way their claims are being handled by the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority.

A key complaint has been how payouts are assessed, with the VMIA able to seek quotes from a list of approved builders before signing off on payouts.

Multiple people told the Sunday Herald Sun they had lined up a builder to finish their home for what appeared to be a fair price only to have their insurance rejected because large companies like Simonds had made offers well under.

The customers, who have spent months grappling to find a builder who can affordably complete their property, have questioned these prices and fear they are being railroaded into using these companies.

In one alarming incident, a woman who lodged her claim with the VMIA was later knocked back based off a quote from Simonds from a completely different property she did not own.

Jesse Wilkie and his partner had been building a townhouse in Truganina with Porter Davis which was meant to be completed by March this year.

Porter Davis victim Jesse Wilkie has been left in the lurch with the VMIA insurance scheme, suffering long waits for claims or being forced to go with builders they don't want to sign with. Picture: Jason Edwards

He said the biggest issue he had found in the process was underquoting.

“It means you have no choice but to go with Simonds,” he said.

“The VMIA are using inadequate quotes from Simonds to calculate owners entitlements, leaving us and other owners unable to fund the completion of our homes with our chosen builder.

“Porter Davis customers are getting quotes from Simonds with other peoples names and details on them, they are being quoted based on incorrect floor plans.

“Those that have chosen to go owner builder just to get going again were told months into the process that doing so will reduce their claim entitlements.

“Most people are paying rent, mortgage on their half-built house, fence hire costs … We are paying council rates, our houses are deteriorating whilst sitting there unfinished and the mental stress, pain and suffering is immense.

“There are times I am not coping.”

Another complaint is that customers have found their builds littered with defects, but most are rejected by the VMIA adding thousands of dollars to their skyrocketing construction costs.

Mr Wilkie said he had 67 defects on his claim, most of them backed by an independent surveyor, but almost all were rejected.

In Gisborne, Nathanael Smith paid for and completed his frame just as Porter Davis went under and is now likely to be more than $100,000 in the lurch.

“Our frame has been left exposed by the elements” he said.

Porter Davis victim Jesse Wilkie in his unfinished Truganina townhouse. Picture: Jason Edwards

Jesse Wilkie is struggling with the stress of his situation. Picture: Jason Edwards

“We have received no clear direction from the VMIA, and they had initially told me that if my frame deteriorates in the weather, any rectifications would be covered as defects.

“They have since rejected my defects, and having already been left with over $100,000 more to pay to complete my home, I am now facing more costs out of pocket to fix my frame.”

Some customers have had their frames condemned as total losses because of moisture.

A VMIA spokeswoman said they could not accept defects that were “incomplete work” and only paid out claims based on what they determined the value of the work to be.

“We thoroughly review all builders’ quotes submitted to us, to ensure they represent fair and reasonable value for the customer and that they cover the full scope of works in relation to the contract with the original builder.

“Homeowners are free to contract a builder of their choice, at the homeowner’s risk.

“Where they do, the homeowner is responsible for funding the price difference where the value of the quoted work is greater than that of a builder nominated by VMIA.”

Earlier this month, the VMIA released figures on social media stating it had delivered $4.6m in payouts to Porter Davis victims and ”made a liability decision” on at least 1500 claims.

The release, which has since been taken down, has been slammed by angry customers, who accused the authority of misrepresenting the data.

They said the figures only applied to the initial response required within 90 days, and not the final outcome which was taking months.

“The average person doesn’t realise it’s only Step 1 in an extremely long, disheartened (sic) and frustrating, non communicative process,” one person wrote on the post.

Another said their claim had been “stagnant” for 8 weeks after getting quotes from six builders.

“We have given VMIA full benefit of the doubt knowing the volume of claims that you are working through but we are at the end of our tether trying to navigate through this nightmare,” they said.

“We can’t enrol our children in care or education for next year because we simply do not know where we will be living in 12 months’ time.”