Bamboozled: Consumer complaint brings new refund policy to library

The Highland Park Public Library makes a change to its refund policy after it was profiled in Bamboozled.

No one likes to pay a late fee.

Still, if you're late on a payment, you owe the fee. Period.

But if you're charged a fee in error, the institution should refund the fee. Period.

We'd like to thank the Highland Park Library for changing its refund policy.

The policy, which was to keep any fees paid to the library -- even if the fee was paid in error -- seemed plain wrong when we heard about it.

It came to our attention when Jonathan Kolb went to the library in January.

The librarian scanned Kolb's library card and said he had an overdue book: "50,001 Best Baby Names."

Kolb borrowed the book so he and his wife could peruse names for their new baby, due in May.

Kolb said he was "almost certain" he returned the book, but he paid the $8.70 fee anyway.

That was a mistake.

Kolb looked for the book and couldn't find it, so he called the library and asked the rep to check again.

The book was found, and records showed Kolb returned it on time the month before.

The librarian shared the good news and said there was a mistake in assessing the late fee, Kolb said.

An image of Jonathan Kolb's receipt after he paid the fee. It shows his notes about calls with library staff. Jonathan Kolb

Kolb asked for a refund, but the employee said no.

A supervisor also said no, he said, and then he had a conversation with the library services director.

"She stated she was unable to refund the cash fee I had paid less than 30 minutes earlier," Kolb said at the time. "We went back and forth three times where I demanded she refund the $8.70 in cash and she said she was unable to do so even though it was her organization's error in charging me in the first place."

The employee said "accounting practices" didn't allow for a cash refund but she could credit his account.

But that didn't make sense to Kolb. Unless he had overdue books in the future, he'd never see that money again.

"Surely they have a mechanism to refund a fee charged in error," he said at the time. "It's the right thing to do."

Now sure, $8.70 isn't big money, and it wasn't going to keep his new baby out of diapers. It was the principle.

So Bamboozled spoke to the library director, who said it's the library's policy to deny refunds on money that's already been paid.

And indeed, that's exactly what the library's circulation policy said: "Fines cannot be refunded once paid. If there is any question that a book may have been returned, no payment should be made until the issue is resolved."

The director said the library generally doesn't accept payments if there's a possibility a fee would be paid in error.

In Kolb's case, though, it did.

After our story ran, we learned a change might be coming.

A screen shot from Facebook in which the library's board president reacts to Bamboozled's story about the refund policy. Karin Price Mueller/NJ Advance Media 

The president of the library's board of trustees posted on the Highland Park Facebook page, thanking Kolb for bringing the refund policy to the board's attention.

"The Board will certainly take up the refund issue at our next meeting," Bruce Tucker said. "In the meantime, congratulations to Mr. Kolb on the impending addition to his family. When he has decided on a name and the happy event occurs we hope he'll let us know so we can issue his new baby a library card."

Earlier this month, Kolb received a letter from Tucker, saying the board unanimously adopted a new refund policy, now posted on the library's website.

The website now says: "If there is any question that a book may have been returned, no payment should be made until the issue is resolved. When the library determines that a fine has been collected in error, the fine will be refunded to the patron."

Kolb said he's glad to see the policy change.

"Allowing the library staff to refund improperly levied fines shows respect for patrons," he said. "I am thankful for the Highland Park Public Library. It is a valuable, and now more welcoming, community resource."

To all the Bamboozled readers who wrote to defend libraries when the first story was published, we have a full appreciation for all the good works provided by these institutions.

But that doesn't change the fact that a no refund policy, especially when it's the library's mistake, is just wrong.

We're glad to see the new policy.

For those of you wondering if the Kolbs have narrowed down the baby names yet -- the due date is in May -- the answer is yes.

"We have chosen two baby names -- one for a boy and one for a girl," Kolb said. "We are not revealing them till the baby arrives."