Elderly Florida man’s 2 ‘false alarm’ fees totaling $150 turned into a $23K lien against his home

NewsA 91-year-old Florida man accumulated a $23,000 lien on his home after $150 in false alarm fees spiraled due to late charges.Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media A Florida man’s family had to deal with a substantial lien against his home because of two false alarms that led to recurring late fees.According to Tampa NBC affiliate WFLA, Terri Bashoor was helping her 91-year-old father sell his home in Sun City Center, an area that is a 30-minute drive from Tampa. After Bashoor found a buyer for the home, she looked for the title but discovered a $23,000 lien had been placed against her father’s homeShe then obtained an invoice from the Hillsborough County government that stated the charges stemmed from two “false alarm” calls in 2022 that resulted from a security system on the property alerting emergency responders to an incident at the location.Bashoor’s father was charged $50 for the first incident and $100 for the second. However, a $20-a-day fine that began on June 12, 2023, led to the $23,000 total.“It shocks me that anybody can charge $20 a day for a late fee,” Bashoor told WFLA. “That just seems very excessive and abusive.”WFLA spoke to a Hillsborough County spokesperson who said the lien would be dismissed and the late fees would be waived. The spokesperson said a violation notice had been sent through the mail to Bashoor’s father, but the letter was returned, marked “unclaimed and unable to forward.”The county sent the case to a special magistrate in May 2023, who ruled the fines had to be paid within 30 days or the $20-a-day fees would start.The county added that since 2020, there had been a history of false alarms, and a warning is typically issued for the first two incidents. However, the county has since removed the lien against the house and waived all of the late fees.Chris Franklin is an NFL reporter for NJ Advance Media, covering anything and everything that has to do with the team. Chris joined the Eagles beat in 2020, spending the previous three years covering local news...