There have been a a few instances recently of patrons who have been billed asking about the status of their accounts. When I move charges to their college accounts, I remove those charges in Millennium, so it appears as if their accounts are clear. But telling them their account is clear is misleading when they then have a bill show up on their college account. So please direct all billing inquiries to a supervisor. (Supervisors, please check in the patron record for a note about charges moved to college account.)
Tag Archives: billing
Lost & Paid – Clear It?
If you get the message/prompt “lost & paid – clear it?” at check in, it is OK to respond “yes” and proceed with check-in. Please ask the borrower to contact me at waagen@middleburu.edu to request a refund. Any item with a “lost & paid” status was so long overdue that the item was cleared from the borrower’s library account and the replacement charge was transferred to their College bill. There is no system alert to trigger an automatic refund. It is the responsibility of the borrower to request a refund. Read more about billing stuff here.
Questions about Library Bills and Lost Library Materials?
This time of year we usually get many questions about missing, lost, damaged and “long lost and found again” library materials at the front desks. Please refer all questions about billing and refunds to me. You (and the borrower) can contact me at waagen@middlebury.edu with any questions or concerns.
Please review the information about Lost and Damaged policies.
A couple of tips:
*Lost/billed materials will eventually be transferred to the borrowers college bill, but please encourage the borrower to pay the charges at the desk to clear their account. This is the fastest and easiest way. Paying with a credit card is the easiest way to process a refund IF the item is later found. If you process a payment (ask a supervisor how if you’ve never done it), please be sure to give a receipt to the borrower – required for a refund.
*To maintain the integrity of the collections, it is the preferred policy that borrowers pay for lost or damaged materials.
*Requests to “pay” for the item with an exact copy may be considered on a case by case basis, but will delay clearing the charges, as it takes quite a bit longer to process and resolve.
*If you get the message “item lost and paid” when checking in materials, please email me with the title, call# and barcode# of the item before sending it to the shelves
*Please check carefully for damage (beyond normal wear and tear) BEFORE checking in – and alert a supervisor to the damage. If it looks like willful damage or severe neglect by the borrower, do not check it in – place on/forward to my desk in 250A
Let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks!
Elin
Bills and Refunds
A quick reminder about library bills and replacement charges.
Borrowers may clear their account by paying the replacement charge at any of the branch libraries by cash, check or charge – or by returning the overdue materials.
They may also request that the charge be transferred to their college bill.
The best way to clear bills is to return overdue materials.
If materials are truly lost, the best way to clear the charge is to pay the charge at the Circ Desk.
PAYING BY CHARGE CARD IS THE PREFERRED PAYMENT METHOD. It is the quickest way to process a refund if the item is found.
Substituting a replacement copy is only possible on a pre-approved, case by case basis – and is NOT the preferred method for replacing lost materials.
The preferred method is to pay the full replacement charges. Replacement charges are based the average cost to replace an item, and includes a processing fee.
To process payment for a lost item:
If the item has not yet gone to “lost” status in the system, mark item “lost” (please see a supervisor for this step)
Click on the “Fines” tab
Highlight item
Select Collect Money
Collect money by charge card, cash or check (to Middlebury College)
Click OK
Print Receipt and give to borrower (receipt is required to process a refund, if the item is found)
Record payment on cash slip
Sometimes you may see the message “item lost and paid, clear it?” when scanning barcodes. If so, please place the item on Elin’s desk in 250A with a note. Though it is the responsibility of the borrower to request a refund for library materials that they have paid for, and subsequently found, this helps identify materials eligible for a refund.
Complete billing procedures are available on the Circ wiki
The Circ billing web page also has info available on loan periods and replacement charges.