Frustrated Cupar flooding victims remain thousands of pounds out of pocket as the Scottish Government delays a compensation decision.
Heartbroken Andrew McIntosh lost everything when his family home was deluged during Storm Gerrit in December.
And shopkeeper Mohamed Iqbal’s business suffered £500,000 of damage, leading to months of debt and stress.
However, almost five months on, neither has received a penny to aid their recovery.
And they say that is grossly unfair given householders in Brechin affected by Storm Babet were given £1,500 – and businesses £3,000.
First Minister John Swinney has now pledged to look at the issue again following pressure from North East Fife MSP Willie Rennie.
But Mr McIntosh and Mr Iqbal are fed up of delays and say enough is enough.
‘It won’t be the same again’
Mr Iqbal’s shop, Ali’s Discount Superstore, was destroyed during the storm.
It caused half a million pounds of damage and his insurance company refused to pay out.
“They said it was an act of God,” Mr Iqbal said.
“My bank also refused to help because I wasn’t earning anything.
“But I needed the money to get back up and running.”
He ended up accepting a loan from a family member, which needs to be re-paid.
And while the shop re-opened, he had to start from scratch.
“We went back to zero, he said.
“Even now, things aren’t back the way they were. I don’t think the business will ever be the same again.”
Cupar flooding compensation attempts ‘hit a brick wall’
Mr Iqbal wrote to Scottish Government ministers three times pleading for help.
“I got one letter back saying they’re looking into it but how long do they need?” he said.
“Willie Rennie has gone out of his way to try to get us some help but he’s hit a brick wall.
“I’m left with a really big debt. If we were to flood again tomorrow, what would happen then?
“It’s a really awful situation to be in. Imagine the stress we went through.
“Yet we haven’t had any financial support or grants from anywhere.
“I’m still trying to get help for us.”
Decision delay ‘just not fair’, says flooded tenant
Andrew is also holding out for financial support.
He said: “It’s so annoying. How can they give money to Brechin but not us?
“It’s just not fair, We were absolutely affected just as badly.
“We were out of pocket and still are.”
Andrew, brother Jamie and dad Kenny were forced to leave their Kinloss Park home when it was left under two feet of water.
Everything on the ground floor was ruined, including irreplaceable possessions belonging to his late mum.
But they were uninsured after forgetting to change his mum’s name on the form.
“It’s the one thing we forgot to do,” he said.
“It meant we got nothing.”
Fife Council has re-housed the family but their new home doesn’t have a bath.
“If we do finally get compensation, we’ll put a bath in for my dad who has health problems,” Andrew said.
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