How A Red Light Camera Ticket Can Damage Your Credit Without You Knowing It

December 7th, 2007 Posted in ,

redlightcamera An investigation by Fox 4 News in Dallas, Texas has turned up a story that is becoming more and more common as ticket cameras spread across the country.

A Dallas man found the house of his dreams and was ready to buy, but his credit score came back as inadequate.

Here’s the surprising reason why:

Bob needed a score of 700 or higher to get the loan, and had it until ACS, a Dallas based company reported an unpaid collection of $100. “My initial reaction was, ‘What could it be?’” asked Bob. “Who is ACS? I don’t have a single dollar owed to a credit card,” he continued. ACS, Affiliated Computer Services, is the private company the City of Dallas hired to run its red light camera program.

As it turns out, several of the cars used by Bob’s company were in his name. Someone driving one of them got a red light ticket in the spring. He didn’t know about the ticket until the collection showed up on his credit report. He still doesn’t know who was behind the wheel. “Was it an employee that had a ticket in the car that thought they could pay it and didn’t want to tell me about it? I don’t know,” said Bob.

This is a real-life example of a major flaw in red-light camera programs which we outlined in an earlier post, 10 Reasons To Oppose Red-Light Cameras. Ticket recipients are not adequately notified.

And this is not an isolated case.

According to Fox 4 News, in the first 11 months of Dallas’s red light camera program, ACS and the city reported 11,073 unpaid citations to credit bureaus.

How many of those people are unaware of their tickets?

How many people have had their credit damaged because a ticket got lost in the mail or their address was incorrect?

The state of Texas passed a law earlier this year, co-authored by State Sen. John Carona (R), to stop the practice of reporting unpaid camera tickets to credit bureaus, but the city of Dallas has found a loophole:

So why, three months after the law went into effect, is Dallas still reporting people to credit bureaus? City staff says the law applies only to new contracts executed after the law went in to effect. In October, the City of Dallas extended its contract with ACS to 2013. But that doesn’t wash with Senator Carona. “I think it would be offensive to the intent of the law,” said Carona.

Dallas mayor, Tom Leppert, is aware of the process and clearly has no intention of stopping it. Check out this political doublespeak:

“Clearly we’re going to obey the law,” said Dallas Mayor, Tom Leppert. Mayor Leppert says the city will not use a technicality to justify credit reporting. “We’re not going to play loopholes,” said Mayor Leppert. “We want to be fair with the spirit of the law and I agree with the senator there. To be consistent though, we also have to look at what our contractual arrangements are.”

FOX 4 interviewed Mayor Leppert on November 19. So far, the city is still reporting people to credit bureaus for not paying red light tickets. Will that change? Not likely. The mayor’s spokesperson now says there’s nothing wrong with what they’re doing, and they’ll keep on reporting.

The politicians in Dallas are saying one thing and doing another. It’s clear that their allegiance is to the ticket camera manufacturer and not their constituents.

Apparently a few bad credit reports for Dallas residents don’t compare to the millions in dollars in revenue that the cameras generate.

We need to put pressure on the city to stop this practice now, not in 2013.

Click here to send Mayor Leppert a message
Click here to contact the Dallas Public Works & Transportation Department

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  1. 23 Responses to “How A Red Light Camera Ticket Can Damage Your Credit Without You Knowing It”

  2. By Allen Van Wey on Dec 2, 2008

    FYI, Mr. Leppert has changed the URL of his Contact page on his website: http://www.tomleppert.com/index.php?id=66

    I’m sure this was due to an overwhelming flood of messages regarding his positions on this and other issues.

    NMA: Post updated, thanks!

  3. By JOE on Oct 15, 2008

    As I’ve been preaching for a long time until I’m hoarse, this is a political issue (revenue) and not a safety issue. Many city officials don’t even bother to deny it anymore. They just keep turning up the heat on the driving public. There’s lots of us and it’s become a business, no question about it.

    Until the driving public starts turning these politicians out of office I see little hope of changing this. And one can see the future by watching what Arizona has in store for it’s drivers. It’s scary. Even scarier, take a look at what Britain is planning for their drivers in the very near future. COMPLETE surveillance on ALL their roads and streets. Thousands of camera’s. It’s not just your speed or red light cameras anymore. High enough resolution to watch your every move INSIDE your car. George Orwell here we come…..soon.

    http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/25/2560.asp

  4. By Anita Edwards on Oct 14, 2008

    my son sold a car & they kept sending him tickets for it & he kept having to send info where he sold it. it was very frustating.

  5. By S. Richards on Sep 30, 2008

    The grand metropolis of Murfreesboro, Tennessee just recently acquired these red light cameras. Guess our podunk leadership wants to attempt to cash in on the revenue also.

    I to was the victim of a yellow light that lasted just a heart beat leaving one no alternative but to run the red. In the picture you can even see my brake lights on as I was confused what to do and Ive been a licensed driver for over 30 years with no tickets or accidents. Additionally, in the picture are 5 other vehicles with camera’s flashing everywhere. This is F*CKING Communism and I will not subscibe to EXTORTION by paying this ticket. I say DON’T PAY. If no one pays and the revenues dont come in, the city will be in the RED for the camera service and the cameras will have to go when they cant pay the $32,000 monthly camera fee.

    Camera’s also create less American jobs as city governments will need less law inforcement officers. Just like automatic check-out at retail stores started using and I refuse to use. I want a live human being checking my groceries and writing me a ticket if I deserve one.

    MAD IN TENNESSEE (DONT PAY!!!!!)

  6. By Capt Robert on Sep 11, 2008

    Just another way to fleese the working

    Make the companies pay property taxes per square footage and business license fees
    to conduct business in the communicaty as other business (ie: gas stations, stores, and you lawyers (who will turn into politicans))

    Use the cams to catch thugs instead.

    Capt Robert

  7. By Kim on Aug 13, 2008

    I wonder if the people that bring these cameras to our citiesand set them up on city property pay TAXES on that property??????? They Damn well ought to pay their fair share of city taxes for the space their cameras take up, I have to pay taxes on my property. Also, these camera owners/operators get all but 10% of the revenue generated by each and every ticket. Not Good. These cameras are a joke from the get go.

  8. By Kim on Aug 13, 2008

    To Mr. Rick Gold who Posted on Dec 8,2007 (Above)
    Right on.Your 100% right. Due Process, there is no such words anymore. Law is not for the people instead it’s more of a way cities an now even a school system (like the one in the Carolina’s) can make REVENUE $$$$$$$$$$. MONEY TALKS that’s for sure.

  9. By jerry on Aug 3, 2008

    People should consider egging the lenses or taking a truck and ramming the pole these things sit on. Its a money thing so let them pay for the repairs and let the cops do their jobs for once instead of getting free donuts.

  10. By Jeff on Jun 12, 2008

    In Ventura, CA, an amber light on the right turn lasts only 3 seconds after the green arrow. Everyone gets caught & fined. The amber should be on for 3.6 seconds, but no-one (cops,DA, City court etc.) will give out any information. This is oppression by the State.

  11. By Dennis on Jun 3, 2008

    Ok, running through a red light because you could not see the light does not work as an excuse. Not helping the anti-camera campaign. Slow and go at a red is not helping either.

  12. By Duane T. on May 29, 2008

    This just sucks…. we can’t do anything about it but complain. I was turning right on red. I did not stop all of the way. There was no on coming traffic why would I stop all of the way. I can promise all of you that 9 out of 10 police officers wouldn’t have even looked twice. They would have let it slide cause I was not endanguring anyone at any time. Isn’t that why the cameras are there? I mean really? Wasn’t that why we let them install them? Horse shit !!!!

  13. By JOE on May 6, 2008

    McCloud, sounds like you guys need a new city council and mayor. Who elects these clowns?

  14. By McCloud on May 5, 2008

    The Lubbock, Texas mayor and City Council really wanted the revenue from the cameras, but our wonderful state representative, Carl Isett, and other state legislators passed a law in 2007 requiring the cities to give half of the gross proceeds to local emergency hospitals. The laugh was on our city leaders, as the combination of low collection rates and the forced giveaway ruined the profit angle. In addition, a study of accidents at the red light camera-equipped intersections actually showed more accidents (rear-enders mostly) and the same number of fatality accidents as before the installation of the cameras. Our cameras are GONE!

  15. By Lola on Mar 15, 2008

    I am trying to find information about contesting this. I just got one of these violations. It’s dated March 13, 2008 and the date of the violation was September 26, 2007! Over 6 months since it happened.

    Fortunately, I do remember the events of the day….although I doubt it will matter in court. The picture clearly shows that I am driving a car length or so behind an 18-wheeler as we are slowly going through the intersection. I could not see the red light until I was already in the intersection. This really upsets me because I am a very careful driver and I have never had a ticket.

  16. By W. L. U. on Mar 7, 2008

    Here in the Democratic Peoples Republic of California If the person behind the wheel in the photo is not you, they cannot charge you with the infraction, but you have to go to court and you have to put up bail (the citation amount $$$) and wait, if you win (unlikely) they will eventually mail your refund and hopefully clear your DMV record.

    Note: I have never gottne one of these tickets, I know people that no longer do business with companies around these intersections because they do not want to be victimized by these systems.

  17. By janie g. moreno on Jan 15, 2008

    my grandson got a red light ticket on a car that is under my name. what effect will that ticket have on my driving record? if so can I have it removed from my name and put on the person that was driving the car that day? I have not had a ticket in many years.

  18. By Officer Josh on Dec 15, 2007

    If the story is true about the dallas man thats terrible i feel for him, as an officer myself i dont agree with red light cameras but just put up cameras to watch the streets. If someone gets hit b/c of a red light runner then use the tape to convict. In my city of Baltimore we have caught dozens of murders on tape b/c of our “citywatch” cameras, there everywhere so many crimes are solved that way.

  19. By Kelly on Dec 11, 2007

    I got one of those tickets also, didn’t relize I ran red light until one day the mail came and there it was a ticket with my truck plates ,even a video of my truck with the homeless man standing at the light looking right at me. I would have taken defensive driving if that would have been an option but it was not. All they wanted was my money. I think it is all a big scam to get out money as if they don’t already get enough of it by our taxes!

  20. By Julie Foster on Dec 10, 2007

    My husbands drivers & vehicle lisences where put on hold when we relocated to N.M, because when they did the records check it came back with a ticket in Or. that we had moved away from 3 years prior. The interesting part was the ticket was in a city our vehicle had never been in,
    also was 2 years after we had transfered our registrations to Az. The old plates were hanging on the garage wall.
    They sent a copy of the photo ticket to us it was a white pickup,not my dk. blue explorer,with a white haired old man driving that looked nothing like my husband….

    It took 4 months to get it thrown out by the judge.

    Didn’t think about the credit angle, maybe that’s why our new mortgage came in with a higher than usual %rate and insurance…
    I’ll have to check on that!!!

  21. By RICK GOLD on Dec 8, 2007

    FOLKS,

    THIS IS NOTHING MORE THAN ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF THE MALIGNANT NEXUS BETWEEN MONEY AND JUSTICE THAT DOMINATES THE LEGAL SYSTEM IN THIS COUNTRY. “DUE PROCESS” ?? WHAT A JOKE !! IN THE FIRST PLACE, WHO CAN AFFORD DUE PROCESS WHEN YOU HAVE TO PURCHASE IT AT $200 - $400 PER HOUR IN ATTORNEY’S FEES ??

    THE COUNTRY IS BROKEN FOLKS; AND NOBODY IS INTERESTED IN FIXING IT.

    RICK GOLD

  22. By Stephen on Dec 8, 2007

    There is no due process. In places of TX you have to pay for the privelage of challanging it? http://www.star-telegram.com/407/story/344814.html
    Or worse you cannot even demand a trial by jury. And I thought you were considered innocent until proven guilty. http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/18/1811.asp

    Even worse is D.C. wants to elminate the right to contest a parking tickect. No doubt they will want to do this with RLC tickets in the future too if it is allowed to continue. http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/20/2061.asp

    How can you have a justice system that says you must pay for the privelage to be heard?

    There is an old adage, actions speak louder than words. The actions of these cites are not about law enforcment so much as money.

  23. By George on Dec 7, 2007

    Fight it. Red light cameras and photo radar are not legal in the United States.
    What due process of law?

  24. By K.Vincent on Dec 7, 2007

    I too received one of those red light camera tickets, to the tune of $75.00. It was on the DE/PA line
    on one of our major highways in this area.
    It showed my car, the time of the incident and the date…..for the life of me, I have no memory of it OR, why I would be heading in that direction, at that time of day!!
    Had NO IDEA it could cause a problem with my/our credit rating!!
    (it was payed ASAP) Is it only if the fine is NOT paid that presents the problem??
    This info was sent to me by a friend…..THANKS!!!

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