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Dozens of housing groups, banks and insurance companies have cancelled or delayed bill payments owed by the 88,000 Fort McMurray residents scattered across the country.

Some, however, have become the villains in the stories people are telling about sorting out their financial needs.

There are few weapons in a customer’s arsenal.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada said if there is no proof a vehicle is damaged, then the owner cannot claim loss of use. Instead, spokesman Steve Kee suggested vehicle owners use alternative living expenses from insurers to cover rentals, save the receipts and talk with the insurance company when things settled

As for the vehicles themselves, Sgt. John Spaans of the RCMP’s K Division said the vehicles are being towed to a secure location outside Fort McMurray. Officers are contacting drivers.

Service Alberta said landlords have the right to withhold security deposits and rents until a unit is demonstrably unlivable. Adjusters have not yet been let into Fort McMurray.

But if a city is under a mandatory evacuation order, does that count as unlivable and warrant a refund?

Todd Cook, president of Northern Properties, said it’s complicated.

“June is three weeks away. If people go back, we’ll examine what state the buildings are in,” he said. “If no one is going back before June 1, we’ll make our decision at that point.”

Cook said the company is no longer accepting rent for May, but is not offering any refunds to people such as Melanie Walsh, who paid the $1,350 rent on her downtown apartment with Northern one day before the evacuation.

“I’ve been told to boycott them. A lot of us are angry,” she said. “This situation just kept getting worse and worse after the fire.”

She was also forced to abandon her vehicle when it ran out of gas and said her experience with Allstate has been “nothing but remarkable.”

By Friday morning, she had a rental vehicle and will be covered up to $1,800 for its use.

Editor’s note: This story is has been updated