Citimortgage Entered my residence and changed the locks Venice Florida

Purchased a new construction home in 2005. My employment in Florida did not work out. Returned to Virginia in January 2007 for work purposes. Money became tight and contacted ABN AMRO (mortgage co. at the time) in July 2007 and started the short sale process. ABN AMRO was bought by Citimortgage. September 2007 spoke with Citimortgage short sale dept.

I hired an attorney to help with this process. October 2007 stopped making payments. Had few showings on the property. Each time citimortgage had a new appraisal done and each time the appraisal was higher than the properties sold in the area. Citimortgage used the model home in the development as a comp. February 2008 sticker on the door said that the property is "Abandoned". They also used a company called "Safeguard" to change the locks.

During the time the property was unoccupied. I have continued to use a realtor and an attorney. I am also currently continuing to pay all of the utilities, a landscaper and homeowners association dues. I called Citimortgage and cannot get a straight answer from them as to why they entered the property and changed the locks. They did admit that the short sale dept. has been in constant communication with me and my attorney. They also said that only the foreclosure dept could have done this but admitted that the house is not in foreclosure. They have my realtor, attorney and my current contact information yet failed to contact us if they felt there was a problem. Can anyone point me in the right direction for any legal action I can take against them for this? Thank you for your time.

John
Alexandria, Virginia
U.S.A.