Common practice for senior living facilities?

I signed papers as POA for my dad to move into a new facility memory care on December 10 with a planned move on December 15. On December 12 my dad was found unresponsive, was taken to the hospital and passed on January 17 in hospice care. I notified the facility in December 13 that we would not be able to move. I never received a key nor was anything moved into the facility. On December 17 I met with the admin and the $2000 community fee was returned to me. Imagine my shock the first part of January when I received an $11,000 bill. I contacted the facility and they said not to worry about it because sometimes corporate is not on the same page. I got another bill in February for $3900. I wrote to corporate and explained the situation. I never heard anything until March when I received a bill for $3900 plus’s $500 in late fees. I called the facility and asked for some help with this. They never called be back. Instead I received a call from a debt collector. I explained that I was at the hospital with my husband who had been brought in with a stroke. Two weeks later, the day after my husband passed, they called again and were very rude but told me to send in documentation as to why I thought I didn’t owe the money. I sent a timeline with documentation. Now a month later a get a letter saying I owed the money. My past experience with senior facilities has been that the clock doesn’t start ticking until you move something in. Thoughts??