Whether you run a public, county, or private college library, you likely have several unpaid bills (dues and late fines) from users who take books but do not return them. Hiring a professional debt collection agency can help to recover money and improve the cash flow of your institution.
Most library patrons wrongly perceive that once they issue a book and do not return it – it’s a “No Big Deal”. Libraries are funded by local, state, and federal dollars. All books and equipment of a public library are, in a way, the property of the US government.
Libraries run on tight budgets, yet they are often forced to purchase fresh copies of those books, which the existing issuers do not return. This is an unnecessary expense and eats up into their already tight budget. Patrons who return books late are imposed a late fee. Interestingly this is also a small source of revenue for public libraries.
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When a patron fails to return a book, the library has the right to take appropriate action to recover its money. Library dues are legitimate debts and can be reported to credit-scoring agencies like Equifax, Experian, and Transunion.
If a book ( or multiple books) issued by a person is not returned, then every library has a different system to handle it. Most libraries transfer their past-due accounts to professional collection agencies once the late fees exceed their threshold limit.
| Collection Letters Service |
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| Collection Calls Service |
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A debt collection agency will send diplomatically worded written demand letters to the patron ( aka the debtor) to clear off their library bill with interest and late fees. They can even perform debt collection in the Spanish language.
| Check here: Cost of hiring a collections agency |
Collection Letters are the cheapest and a very effective way to recover money. Collection agencies do several scrubs to locate the debtor if he/she has shifted from the address provided by the library, then they send the demands to the latest address of the debtor. Collection agencies have access to several tools and technologies that assist in recovering the money. Debtors are often surprised when they receive a collections letter, but many people clear their library debt quickly.
If the debtor does not pay after receiving several written demands, the account can be transferred to a professional debt collector for Collection Calls. More advanced skip-tracing tools are utilized at this stage to recover money. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) prohibits debt collectors from using abusive, unfair, or deceptive practices to collect from debtors.
Collection agencies have recovered millions of dollars for public libraries. This also discourages the bad behavior of other patrons who feel that not returning a book is “No big deal”.