01.10.06
libraries actually want their materials back
Overdue library books impact credit scores
‘Small’ factors could prevent a bank from lending you money
– reported by NBC Nightly News
Kevin Howard is the first to admit: He forgot to return a book to the Houston public library in 2004. That is, until he saw his credit record a year later.
[snip]
“No. 1, don’t ignore it,” says Ginsberg. “It’s real, OK? No matter how minimal it might be.”
No. 2: Don’t be fooled. Bill collectors don’t go away, even if the phone calls stop. And when you do pay the debt, try to get a letter that agrees to remove the mark from your record.
Kevin Howard has tried to do just that. But the city of Houston hasn’t budged, which means he’ll have to wait seven years until it’s finally erased — in 2012.
“This just caught me off guard,” he says. “The punishment does not fit the crime.”
I love that last part, “The punishment does not fit the crime.” Never mind that he didn’t return the materials until he was literally forced to, by a bad mark on his credit report. Never mind that the library was going to be forced to fork out money to replace the materials, or force other customers to do without it… if they hadn’t “punished” him. Never mind all that — he wants to know why he’s being punished?
I’ve seen the application for a library card, and it states on it (in Houston at least) that you assume responsibility for the items you borrow. It’s one of the reasons they make parents sign for children.
What, exactly, is news about this?
stories from a Library life » and I thought our libraries were tough! said,
May 6, 2006 at 3:31 pm
[…] And Houston’s libraries get slammed for reporting unreturned books on creadit reports. I wonder how customers would react to this? […]