Clearwater, Florida– Jeremy Cecere arrived home last month and couldn’t get inside. That’s because he says someone illegally changed the locks to all his doors.
“Not only did they change the locks, but someone was in my house and broke in and let themselves in,” said Cecere, who rents the home on Belleview Boulevard in Clearwater.
The home’s owner was in the process of arranging a short sale, but says she’d never been served notice of foreclosure. That’s because her attorney say the house wasn’t in foreclosure.
“They’re breaking into homes when they have no lawful authority to do so,” says consumer rights attorney Matthew Weidner. “Banks are now resorting to kicking down the doors of property sometimes even before the foreclosure is even filed.”
Weidner represents the Orlando woman who called 9-1-1 in a similar case, and says the issue is getting worse.
“We have an unregulated industry of these jack booted thugs. These individuals need to be licensed and regulated,” said Weidner who writes a blog spotlighting similar problems.
He says lenders simply aren’t waiting for the proper authority from a judge.
Cecere filed a report with Clearwater Police in the incident at his rented home, but attorneys say police are often reluctant to get involved and consider the cases a civil matter.
– Beau Zimmer, 10 News”