Library Fines Got You Down? The Collection Agency is Coming
Are you someone who loses track of your library books and then pays a lot in fines? Well – listen up, depending where you live, this level of irresponsiblity can cost you big time. That is because some areas use a collection agency once your fines reach a certain level of dollars and lateness. And, if you are savvy with your money, you know that having a collection agency on your tail means lower FICO scores and bad times for you and your finances.
By coincidence, last week Sassymonkey wrote “The Library Saved Me $1128.27 This Year” which is a great testament to how you can save real money by tapping into a free public library. While I certainly have never gone to the degree of detail she has tracking my savings, I can tell you I save a bundle and I save a truckload of bookshelf space as well. Imagine my surprise as I read my local county paper to discover that in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, the libraries will start using a collection agency to find grossly overdue items.
Quite frankly I was shocked! Perhaps I am just naive or an overly responsible person but I found it hard to believe that SO many people had overdue items that were LONG overdue with fines that were excessive. At $.10 a day late fee, how unobservant do you need to be to run up fines of $10 and up, up, up? Clearly it has to total to a significant amount for the library system to hire a collection agency, they are not just doing it to teach people a lesson in responsibility. When I gasped at all this my partner shrugged and said that basically the people she works with randomly lose and misplace library books all the time. How can you just misplace someone else’s property? More importantly, how can you have that little respect for others?
It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to simply set up a system for you to “remember” what you borrow. In “How To Fit A Book Into Your Busy Schedule” the advice is simple, but idiotproof:
2) Designate a library day. Not only are the books free, but being in a library (even if ‘only to browse’) will make you more inclined to read. Having a set day helps avoid library fines for late books. And librarians can help you find the book for almost any topic.
Personally I like to designate a particular spot in my house for library books. While I am reading them I know exactly where they are and when I finish them I know exactly where they are so I can return them. The one local library even sends me a reminder email a day or so before the book is due. How much easier could it be??
Blissfully Domestic recently racked up a hefty bit of library fines and offers this cool suggestion on “How to Avoid Library Fines”:
Elf notifies me when my library books are almost due so I can get to the library before I start rackin’ up the fines. It’s a free service and you can receive notification via email, RSS and cell phone. Check to see if your library participates!
It’s not just the shame, hassle, or few dollars of library late fees that are at play here. Collection agency activity negatively impacts your FICO score and it does so for a very long time even if you pay the outstanding balance. In “5 Ways to Hurt Your FICO Score” there’s this handy reality check:
Small, Unpaid Debts
Believe it or not, that parking ticket you put off paying can come back to haunt you. The same things goes for the movie you returned a week late to Blockbuster and the book you borrowed from the library in 1999. After a certain period of time has passed, some cities will turn a bunch of unpaid debts over to a collection agency. The agency pursues the overdue amounts, and “when a collection agency record shows up on your credit report, it will absolutely hammer your credit score,” says Watts.
That’s a pretty hefty price to pay for a small debt.
So – be at least as responsible as you were with your grade school library and return stuff as close to the due date as possible. It’s plain good Karma…not to mention a frugal and responsibly financial strategy.
Photo Credit: Stock.xchng
Paula Gregorowicz, owner of The Paula G. Company, offers life coaching for women who are ready to create their lives and businesses in a way that fits who they are rather than how they were told they "should". Visit her website at www.thepaulagcompany.com and get the free 12 part eCourse "How to Be Comfortable in Your Own Skin" and start taking charge of your own success.
I’m a librarian in a busy metro system. We use a collection agency, but strangely I’m told that this does not adversely affect our patron’s credit because it is not reported.
Also, it is not overdue books that cause accounts to be sent to C.A. – it is replacement costs for material checked out and never returned. Yes, sadly, people regularly steal from the library.
Paula, I think those hefty library fines come from the replacement fees most libraries charge for lost books. Most college students can tell you that universities frequently charge over $100 to replace one book. Your suggestion of having a set space in your house for library books is a good one. I keep my library books in a canvas bag in the living room so they’re easy to pick up when I go to the library.
Thank you SO much for this post. I am a librarian in Northern CA and we have a huge problem with people not returning things. We don’t want your money, we just want our books!
I was sent to a collections agency and had $43 reported on my otherwise PRISTINE credit report (800+) – for books that I returned, but that the library insists I did not. I would possibly entertain the idea that I might have made a mistake (it’s happened once or twice) HOWEVER in this case I specifically remember returning the books BECAUSE I WAS IN LABOR AT THE TIME. I was so concerned that I might be a day late if my delivery turned into a c-section, that I took my books to the library on my way to the hospital, with my contractions coming at 4 minutes apart. Somewhat memorable; anyone who’s been in labor may agree that you’re not likely to forget the things you do on the way to the hospital. For my conscientiousness… and for absolutely horrific but to-be-expected bureaucratic customer service, and even with a 20 year history at the library – I was told that the library does not make mistakes and the debt was reported. On principle, I refused to pay, and the $43 collections debt remains on all 3 credit reports, and it cost me quite a notch on my score. I haven’t used a library since.
Our library does not charge daily fines. I think they said it just wasn’t worth the trouble to keep track of all the little amounts. You can’t totally get away with everything though – they don’t let you check out anything new if you have an overdue book, and if it gets past a certain point (a month??) they follow the same replacement fees and collection agency policies that everyone else seems to have. Not sure if it shows up on a credit report or not – I’ve never let it go that long.
My library system (Metro Detroit has a system connecting many area libraries) utilizes an online catalog that also lets you maintain a personal account. This means I can not only place a hold for inter-library loans, but I can renew books online, and even track my reading. One other great feature is that you can input your email to get notifications on your account (a book is ready to be picked up, or A BOOK IS DUE IN TWO DAYS!) I haven’t had a late fee since I started using this service!
I used to work in a library, and the main lender in our system found that over *half a million* dollars in materials was missing. The libraries owe it to their communities and funders to get their materials back.
However if I were the poster above with the labor situation, I’d have taken that problem up to the director, and then to the library board. That’s unconscionable.