10/17/14 02:41 PM
From: Anne Fischer

The Business Office just brought to my attention that they have been receiving RFPs from some of the libraries to refund prepaid balances to customers. Unless the customer specifically asks you to refund this money rather than have it go towards fines, we would prefer that it not be handled this way. While the customer will get their money back, that balance isn't being removed from their record so it's possible they could be refunded multiple times.

While you cannot add money to the prepaid balances, they can be applied to fines. Yes, you will need to call Cheryl in Circulation Control to have it applied to fines but I believe this is still simpler than having to complete an RFP, the Business Office has to create a purchase order, print a check and mail it to the customer. Then, they need to send the paperwork to Cheryl so that she can create a manual fine and then apply the prepaid balance towards that fine to clear the balance from their record.

Just to recap, the procedure for dealing with prepaid balances unless the customer specifically asks for a refund: If you notice that a customer with fines has a prepaid balance available, call Cheryl and she can apply the prepaid balance to their fines. This will either cover their fines or the customer can then pay the remaining balance.

Only send an RFP to the Business Office for a refund if the customer specifically asks for a refund.

Thanks for working with us on this and eventually these balances will all be cleared from customer records.