Fine Notices

Fine notices, sometimes called collection notices, are optional. They are typically sent to patrons to warn them that their account will be referred to a collection agency within a certain period of time. A patron receives a fine notice when the amount owed exceeds a specified amount, excluding fines defined as recent. (Patrons whose accounts are already in collection do not receive fine notices.) The criteria for fine notices are independent of the criteria you specify for overdue and billing notices, although a patron typically receives several overdue notices and bills before receiving a fine notice. Patrons receive only one fine notice, but they may continue to receive overdue notices or bills.

If you use a collection agency that does not send an initial warning notice to patrons, you may want to set up fine notices. However, if you use a collection agency that handles the initial patron notification for collection, such as UMS, you may not want to send your own fine notices. You can also send fine notices even if you do not use collection agency services, specifying your own message for the notice.

Fine notices can be delivered as print notices, e-mail notices, or text messages. When fine notices are generated, the notices are posted in the transaction file, and the notice queue is cleared. See: Set Up Fine Notices