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Over on my other website there’s a lively discussion about what happens if you ignore your MRCA stop sign camera ticket. (Apparently, not much) You can see the posts here:

The $100 Stop Sign Scam
FAQ About MRCA Stop Sign Tickets

For convenience, I’ve copied a number of the comments from those who ignored the MRCA stop sign camera tickets. While we can’t give legal advice and can’t encourage you to follow the advice of these commenters, we thought you’d like to see what they have been saying. There’s many more than what I’ve copied below so if you want to see all the comments, check out the above posts. So far there have been no posts from anyone whose credit was affected.

Anonymous – Submitted on 2012/03/13 at 7:25 pm
I got a ticket a year ago. Ignored it due to information I read in this blog. Got the second notice with late fee. Ignored it. A few months later I got the collection agency notice. Ignored it. Thanks to this blog I saved myself $175 of hard earned money.

Clean Record Pissed – Submitted on 2012/03/09 at 9:30 am
Nothing happens when you don’t pay. I know this for a fact. The silly ones pay for nothing LOL.

P – Submitted on 2012/03/02 at 11:23 pm
I attended a Memorial Service for the passing of a good friend last Saturday 2/25/12 in Franklin Canyon Park. I was driving a car registered to my wife (she was a passanger). I got the “Citation” demand today for $175.00. At first I was angry because it feels like blatant revenuing. Then I thought of my friend David who’s life we were celebrating and realized that somewhere beyond “here” he was having a really good laugh. So, in his spirit and honor, I’ve decided to take my chances and not pay it. He’d approve, I think! I’ll let you know if anything further happens!

MK – Submitted on 2012/02/28 at 3:11 am
So I received a letter from the RSI Enterprise collection agency. My 3 tickets have gone up from $175 to $240 a piece; I’m not gonna pay. I’m a college student, unemployed, and don’t even have the money. Plus, it’s a scam! I’m gonna send this letter to them, and if anyone here wants to use it as a template, feel free to:

[Your Name and Address]

RSI Enterprises, Inc.
PO Box 16190
Phoenix, AZ 85011

05/26/11

To Whom It May Concern:

This letter is being sent to you in response to a notice sent to me on [Date of Notice]. Be advised that this is not a refusal to pay, but a notice sent pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USC 1692g Sec. 809 (8) that your claim is disputed and validation is requested.
This is NOT a request for “verification” or proof of my mailing address, but a request for VALIDATION made pursuant to the above named Title and Section. I respectfully request that your offices provide me with competent evidence that I have any legal obligation to pay you.
At this time I will also inform you that if your offices have reported invalidated information to any of the 3 major Credit Bureaus (Equifax, Experian or TransUnion) this action might constitute fraud under both Federal and State Laws. Due to this fact, if any negative mark is found on any of my credit reports by your company or the company that you represent I will not hesitate in bringing legal action against you and your client for the following:

Violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act
Violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
Defamation of Character

If your offices are able to provide the proper documentation as requested in the following Declaration, I will require at least 30 days to investigate this information and during such time all collection activity must cease and desist. Also during this validation period, if any action is taken which could be considered detrimental to any of my credit reports, I will consult with my legal counsel for suit. This includes listing any information to a credit reporting repository that could be inaccurate or invalidated. If your offices fail to respond to this validation request within 30 days from the date of your receipt, all references to this account must be deleted and completely removed from my credit file and a copy of such deletion request shall be sent to me immediately. Also, if the debt is older than 4 years for a written contract and 2 years for an oral contract, under the California statute of limitation, the debt is no longer valid and must be removed from the credit report.
I would also like to request, in writing, that no further telephone contact be made by your offices to my home or to my place of employment. If your offices continue to attempt telephone communication with me it will be considered harassment and I will have no choice but to file suit. All future communications with me MUST be done in writing and sent to the address noted in this letter.

It would be advisable that you and your client assure that your records are in order before I am forced to take legal action.

Best Regards,

[Your Name]

CREDITOR/DEBT COLLECTOR DECLARATION
Please provide all of the following information and submit the appropriate forms and paperwork within 30 days from the date of your receipt of this request for validation.
Name and Address of Alleged Creditor:
______________________________________________________
Name on File of Alleged Debtor:
_____________________________________________________________
Alleged Account #:
_____________________________________________________________
Address on File for Alleged Debtor:
____________________________________________________________
Amount of alleged debt:
_____________________________________________________________
Date that this alleged debt became payable:
_____________________________________________________
Date of original charge off or delinquency:
___________________________________________________
Was this debt assigned to debt collector or purchased?
____________________________________________
Amount paid if debt was purchased:
___________________________________________________________
Commission for debt collector if collection efforts are successful:
____________________________________
Please attach a copy of the agreement with your client that grants (Collection Agency Name) the authority to collect this alleged debt.
Please attach a copy of any signed agreement debtor has made with debt collector, or other verifiable proof that debtor has a contractual obligation to pay debt collector.
Please attach a copy of any agreement that bears the signature of debtor, wherein he/she agreed to pay creditor.
Please attach copies of all statements while this account was open.
Have any insurance claims been made by any creditor regarding this account? YES NO
Have any judgments been obtained by any creditor regarding this account? YES NO
Please provide the name and address of the bonding agent for (Name Of Debt Collector), in case legal action becomes necessary:
_____________________________________________________________

______________________________ ?Authorized Signature For Creditor
______________________________ ?Date
You must return this completed form along with copies of all requested information, assignments or other transfer agreements, which would establish your right to collect this alleged debt within 30 days from the date of your receipt of this letter. Your claim cannot and WILL NOT be considered if any portion of this form is not completed and returned with copies of all requested documents. This is a request for validation made pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Please allow 30 days for processing after I receive this information back.

I’m going to mail that to them, and hopefully (I’m pretty positive) they will NOT contact me anymore and this can just end. Anyway, good luck everyone!

FC – Submitted on 2012/02/16 at 9:15 am | In reply to JB.
I LOVED your comment, JB. I think I will follow suit. I will NOT pay and wait to be harassed and then hound back. What a scam! And I thought to myself that day that I wanted to support the park and pay for the parking instead of parking on the street and walking in. If enough people get these tickets, no one will want to park in the lot. The state will lose money. It’s so counter productive.

D – Submitted on 2012/01/23 at 12:50 pm
Somebody has got to do something about RSI Enterprises, Inc. That is the collection agency to which the claim for my unpaid fine went. I almost buckled and paid when they implied my credit score would take a hit! Thank God I found the comment section here! I have had debt go into collections before because I lost my job in late 2010, but these punks at RSI weren’t even 1/10th as polite as legitimate debt collectors (who in my experience are far more understanding of people losing their jobs due to the economy than the scumbags at RSI who are simply participating in a scam). DON’T PAY! These punks have no legs to stand on!

K – Submitted on 2012/01/19 at 4:30 pm
… Anyway, long story short we loaded the hounds back in the truck, drove off and never thought about again until… the infamous MRCA ticket showed up in the mail about a week ago. Ridiculous! I stop at the stop signs out of force of habit. There may have been a California roll in there somewhere, but aside from the foul tempered ranger’s pick-up, we saw no other vehicles in the park. Thanks to this blog WE WILL DEFINITELY NOT PAY. The stop-light camera tickets were deemed invalid and voluntary for one reason – at least half the ‘violators’ didn’t pay and it would have been too costly for the city to collect. If we, as fellow citizens, never have the courage to stand up to what is wrong with our society, how can we ever expect things to change? Besides, they have no legal ground to stand on. “BADGES! WE DON’T NEED NO STINKING BADGES” – Al Pacino, ‘Scarface’

TH – Submitted on 2012/01/17 at 3:51 pm | In reply to K.
In reality, the best thing you can do is just to ignore the offerings that you have and will get in the mail. The MCRA has no more horespower than the mall parking lot security guard. Of course, if you want to become the “sand in their vaseline”, you could shine a reflective mirror at their lens when many cars are exiting, or stand by the ‘limit line’ and feign crossing the street to insure that all cars make a complete stop. Im sure they will notice the lack of rev for that certain time period.

B – Submitted on 2012/01/17 at 3:44 pm
Back in March of 2011, I was at “Top of Topanga”. I received a stop sign violation ticket from these folks. It felt like a scam from the beginning. I was glad to find this blog, because I was certain the ticket was bogus. I ignored all correspondence from them, I didn’t even keep the paperwork. I tossed it out. I have recently been getting strange calls from RSI, but they’ve never left any voice mails. I finally called them back and told them to quit calling me. The guy on the phone was a jerk, of course, and tried to intimidate me by yelling and shouting. It’s a bunch of lies and they have no way of collecting from me. Even after ten months, there’s no mark on my credit report. I highly suggest to all folks to keep your money in your wallet and don’t stress about your credit worthiness.

L – Submitted on 2012/01/16 at 6:57 pm | In reply to L.
BTW, out of curiosity I checked to see when I’d last heard from the collection agency and it was Sept 21st. Nothing else since then. I didn’t respond to any notice I’ve received.

MK – Submitted on 2012/01/12 at 2:25 am
Gretchen, don’t contest it, don’t bother getting a lawyer, and most of all, don’t pay! I got 3, count em, Three Tickets from the MRCA on September 2011, for not stopping on August 2011. I didn’t pay the fine. In October, I got 3 more notices, with each penalty increased; and talk of getting a collection agency on me. I still didn’t pay. It’s been 3 months, and I haven’t heard word from those bastards. They’re liars, they’re corrupt, and what they’re doing is a complete scam. Whatever you do…Don’t Pay!!

TH – Submitted on 2012/01/04 at 9:41 am | In reply to JC..
JC: What you need to do is just shitcan any and all offerings that have and will be sent to you. The MCRA has no horsepower to enforce this scam. Think about your sitch: Why is there a stop sign? Its at the border of the MCRAs property/jurisdiction. Why would they care how you enter the traffic on Topanga, which is none of there concern. Is it their intent to prevent a T/A on Topanga, which is not their domain? Hell no, they are just ‘revenuing’ with that stop sign. Has nothing to do with safety. Youre correct, that spot warrants a yield sign, at best. It was happy for years with no signage at all!

Artdrectr – Submitted on 2012/01/03 at 9:46 pm
Read thru the posts here. Simply ignore the ‘ticket’ and any further mail regarding it. It’s a scare scam. If you respond to it they’ll invite you to court and the court will have no option but to have you pay up. Toss the notice in the circular file.

ND – Submitted on 2012/01/03 at 9:21 pm | In reply to James C..
Do not do anything. You were nailed at the same exact place I was. I haven’t taken any action, and no action has been taken against me. You will receive a few notices. Ignore all of them.

Anonymous – Submitted on 2011/12/29 at 4:39 pm | In reply to ThanksEveryone.
When I got the first notice I couldn’t believe it could be legal. Spent 3 hours researching online and came across this blog. What a relief it was! I’ve gotten more notices (first one in March 2011) and have ignored them all.

ThanksEveryone – Submitted on 2011/12/28 at 7:24 pm
Thank y’all so much for voicing your experiences and opinions. Just to respond in kind, I received the standard $175-190-240 trio of notices and was ready to write both MRCA and RSI scathing letters today. I figured a little Internet research first wouldn’t hurt and found this great resource. Truthfully, the third letter from the collection agency made me waver a bit and wonder if I should just pay and be done with it, but this forum gave me my confidence back. Bottom line, something is dreadfully wrong with this process and I am not going to be a part of it. The only thing I’m considering now is whether to write letters to them requesting an apology and a reimbursement of 44 cents for postage.

L – Submitted on 2011/12/27 at 4:00 pm | In reply to Sarah.
Sarah, read through this blog (granted it’s long)and especially the post just before yours. Others have ignored it and nothing has happened. You’ve already forked over enough for this illegal practice.

TH – Submitted on 2011/12/15 at 7:43 am | In reply to J.
Hi J, I shitcanned the bogus ticket about 18 mos ago, and nothing has happened since. I doubt the MCRA wants to make a big deal out of this and threaten their cash cow. They probably get 80-85% success rate with this scam.

A – Submitted on 2011/12/14 at 6:31 pm | In reply to missionmac.
Decided to stick it to the man and I think you should do the same! I’m not paying! I hope they DO call now, so I can threaten them so THEY will stop threatening me. This whole entire thing is a scam and reading this whole site got me infuriated. Don’t pay! These are essentially fake tickets for all I am concerned (and from what my research says….especially a few of the residents I spoke to who live around the parks)

JB – Submitted on 2011/12/11 at 10:13 pm
Well I too got a ticket a couple years ago and was threaten with all the phones calls and letters… One day after getting home from a 14 hour shift at work (active duty military) I received a call from RSI at 845 at night. So I searched the company online and found some legal doc with with the CEO and other higher-ups in the company. I use a people looked-up application and got the CEO home number. Now it was around 9 at night and and he lived in Arizona. I called his home, his wife answered I nonchalantly asked for him by first name like I was a friend and she said okay hold I’ll get him… So when he answered I said hello, he said who is this, I said Jason and begun to tell him how I am tired of his company swearing and yelling at my wife and all the late nights calls and harassing messages and that I will never pay and his company is a scam. He said how did I get his number and it was late and I shouldn’t call his house. I said that’s funny. I say the same things every time you guys call me at home. Since that day I have not received another call or letter. I’m suggesting any of you do this I’m just throwing this out there.

L – Submitted on 2011/12/08 at 6:50 pm | In reply to M.
M, read through this blog…there is no fighting and winning an MRCA “ticket.” Ignore it…nothing will happen.

ArtDirector – Submitted on 2011/12/02 at 6:15 pm
For those of you who paid-up or are on the fence, I understand your fear. But, nothing that will happen if you don’t pay. I ignored the “ticket” and a few subsequent scary notices. It’s been 3 YEARS. No problems, no action, same good credit. I agree with the above post…DO NOT FEED THE SCARY MONSTER.

TH – Submitted on 2011/11/30 at 7:49 am
Note to all: As mentioned above- -I got the tix at Reseda in June of ’10. Ignored it. Two mos later, I got a letter from MCRA requesting the $175 + 10% = $192. Ignored it. Another 2-3 mos, I get the letter from RSI Collections asking for $240. Ignored that as well. And thats the last I have ever heard from them. There are similar stories riddled through this thread. The best course is just flat out ignore it. Dont respond to anything. Treat it like the Pennysaver that comes in the mail every week. Just shitcan it and forget it. NOTHING WILL HAPPEN! MCRA lacks legal standing to enforce these illegal extortion apparatuses. Dont do class action, dont appeal to the MCRA, do not ever even respond in any way to this racket. I have done two credit checks since and nothing negative has showed up. I have renewed the lic plate on the offending vehicle twice. I even renewed my drivers license a yr after the orig ticket. No problems! The MCRA is just happy to accept whatever easy money they can extort from willing and good citizens. They wont cause a stir, that could potentially bring down their money manufacturing enterprise. Hell, if the LAPD couldnt enforce their red light cameras, what legal standing could the MCRA possibly have??? DO NOT PAY. PAYING ONLY FEEDS THE MONSTER.

ND – Submitted on 2011/11/29 at 2:21 pm | In reply to Ann.
They only sent me one or two collection letters. The last one I received was early this year. I have not received anything since. I haven’t been contacted by any collections agencies. I just moved into a new home, so I have been through quite an extensive credit check. This was nowhere to be found on any of my credit reports, and nothing was ever mentioned by the lender.

THr – Submitted on 2011/11/09 at 10:24 am
A citation was mailed to my home May 2011. I ignored the first letter from MRCA and received another letter a few months later. I ignored that one as well. Now I’ve received the collection letter from the RSI company and plan to ignore it. If we don’t stand for something people…we will fall for anything. Don’t Pay!

pz – Submitted on 2011/10/12 at 3:26 pm | In reply to missionmac.
In answer to your question missionmac: first you ignore the notice from MRCA, second you wait several months until you get the collection letter from RSI Enterprises, third you send the letter above to RSI. That should end the hassles from MRCA and you should not have any consequences. The only potential consequence is that RSI will report this so it hurts your credit rating, but as everyone on this board has shown, RSI has not done that to anyone. I dare them to do so.

pz – Submitted on 2011/10/12 at 12:54 pm | In reply to missionmac.
No one has had their credit affected by this. The reason is that if MRCA ever did affect people’s credit then they would anger people so much that a real class action lawsuit would ensue. As it stands now MRCA gets most people to pay the fine and they let people who do not pay the fine go without consequence. I refused to pay the fine and sent the following letter to the collection agency in May 2011:

Regarding: MNTN REC CONSERVATION AUTHORITY
Reference #: [number]

Dear RSI Enterprises,

I have been contacted by your company about a debt you allege I owe. This is not a valid claim and I am instructing you not to contact me further in connection with this alleged debt. Under the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you may not contact me further now that I have notified you not to do so.

Further, should your alleged claim of debt appear on my credit record I will a) report RSI Enterprises to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Bureau of Consumer Protection and b) sue RSI Enterprises for fraud.

Sincerely,

[Name]

I have not heard anything from MRCA or RSI Enterprises since sending this letter and my credit has not been affected. MRCA’s tickets are a scam and everyone should refuse to pay their fines.

ND – Submitted on 2011/10/11 at 7:16 pm | In reply to Laura.
Yes, I ignored all of the notices I received. I have not received a notice since the couple collections notices, and absolutely nothing has come from it.

ND – Submitted on 2011/10/08 at 2:03 pm
Just to remind anyone who is still debating whether or not to pay… DO NOT PAY! If you’ve come this far, I hope by now you’ve seen enough convincing you not to pay this. I received the first notification over a year ago. I let it go and received the other collections notices thereafter. I think I received three notices total over the span of a few months. Like I said, it has been over a year. About a month ago I was per-approved for a home loan. This didn’t touch my credit, and my score is spotless. DON’T BE FOOLED! DON’T GIVE IN!

John from the Westside – Submitted on 2011/09/02 at 8:43 am
Okay folks… For the 1,000th TIME!!!! If all of the dozens of posts here that tell you to ignore the ticket don’t do it, will one more help? I got one of these tickets over three years ago. Refused to pay. Got one letter from a collection agency threatening my credit rating. I wrote back saying I wasn’t going to pay — ever — and if they tried to put this on my credit rating I would sue them. Read this one more time: YOUR CREDIT RATING IS FOR OBLIGATIONS YOU ***AGREED*** TO TAKE ON AND THEN DID NOT PAY!!! Did you agree to pay this? Collection agencies are in the business of collecting money. Period. They want to do the least amount of work to get their money. If lying to you will do it, they win. They are not going to risk litigation on this as there is enough contention as to these tickets’ legitimacy as to make it not a slam dunk for them. Are they going to risk going the lawyer route and blow all the money they’ve collected from saps who are easily intimidated? I think not.

D – Submitted on 2011/09/02 at 12:27 am | In reply to MK.
It is really simple. There is nothing to think about. Just don’t pay. I haven’t paid anything in a year and 8 months. I haven’t gotten any collection letters in a long long time and nothing has happened (to my credit).