00:00When Siddharth Prakash and Chetna Mahardik's builder fled the country, they were left with an unfinished home riddled with defects.
00:09It took multiple builders and years of fights with a state-backed building insurer to fix it.
00:14Finally done, after a long and arduous journey.
00:17There are hundreds of thousands out of pocket.
00:19They say it's because of the way the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority treated them,
00:23with allegations of underquoting, inadequate information and legal threats.
00:27We were gaslit by the government.
00:29They aren't alone.
00:30The Ombudsman has found the VMIA should have been better prepared for the influx of claims following the collapse of Porter Davis homes in 2023.
00:38It said staff failed to communicate properly with claimants and lacked empathy.
00:42They compounded the problem endlessly.
00:45It was more than a catastrophe.
00:48It was a complete disaster.
00:49I wish we never knew of them.
00:51The inquiry uncovered a culture of poor staff behaviour towards claimants.
00:55I'm on fire today.
00:56Called a c***** owner at 8.15 this morning.
00:58Put her in her place.
00:59A team member said in an office chat.
01:01I hate them all.
01:02Just called the owner and woke them.
01:04Score!
01:05Stupid effing query.
01:06Why did the government treat these Victorians who had lost everything with such contempt?
01:11Where there was behaviour and actions that was seen as inappropriate, the minister has unreservedly apologised and has spoken to the VMIA.
01:20The VMIA also spent nearly $23 million on lawyers to process claims quickly.
01:25This created an adversarial approach, adding to some claimants' stress.
01:30The VMIA said its staff worked incredibly hard during a period of unprecedented demand and that most claims were resolved without incident.
01:37But for those that were treated poorly, it has apologised.
01:41They've learnt no lessons.
01:42They've learnt no lessons.
01:43They've learnt no lessons.
01:48They've learnt no segway.
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