Axiell Quria Ideas

Hi!

We would very much appreciate it if the unpaid membership fees would be included in the debt reminders. Since this idea is labeld “planned”, can we expect it to be implemented in the near future?

Kind regards
Fabian Scherkenbach

Yes, exactly, those are the two problems. The block would be a great thing, it would solve our main problem in any case.

We only have permanent memberships that are either free of charge (children and young people up to their 18th birthday or fellow members) or where the fee is collected via SEPA. We do not have library cards that are automatically renewed and where the fee remains on the account. When users move, they usually let us know and we cancel the library card or they simply don't renew it. Then there are no fees and if the accounts are inactive for 3 years, we automatically delete them. Memberships that are debited via SEPA can be terminated by the users at any time.

Hi!

From our discussion I can see that you are highlightning two problems:

1. Patrons that don't pay their membership are not blocked and can use library services without paying.

2. Debt reminders don't include unpaid membership fees.

To solve no 1 we have this suggestion: We change Quria so patrons that have memberships with no expiry date and no IBAN will be blocked. I believe that this will solve the original problem - am I right?

When it comes to nr 2, we are a little afraid of including unpaid membership fees in the debt reminders since we don't know if everybody wants them there. I have some questions: How do you handle people that have a continuous membership that gets renewed and the debt is created on their account, but then it turns out that they have moved from the city or want's to end their library membership for another reason. Do they need to pay? Would they be affended if they got a debt reminder of a membership fee, or is it totally natural for people to end their membership before they leave town and make sure that it is not prolonged anymore?

I wish you a nice weekend!

Regards

Magdalena

Exactly, the first case applies. The users who get a new library card are the problem. We ask them to go directly to the pay machine after the card has been issued and pay the fee, but the pay machine in the Central Library and the Children's Library is not in direct view of the information desk. We are therefore not always able to check whether the fee has actually been paid. Even if the fee is not paid, users can borrow media and register online (there is no rule that can prevent this, we have already spoken to Mrs Mauch about this), the validity date is only assigned after payment, so the card never expires (no notification e-mail is sent) and users do not receive a payment reminder. So it is never noticed and the cards simply pass through.

Have a nice holiday :-)

I'm sorry for all these questions, memberhip payments and administration is nothing I ever worked with in a library, there is no such thing in the Swedish libraries so perhaps that is the reason for me being so confused.

I understand that you want the membership fee to be added to the debt reminders. That is to me a bit strange since you will then remind people to pay a fee that they actually don't owe you yet, they only need to pay IF they decide for a further subscription to the library services, I guess. But we can discuss it internally here at Axiell and get back to you.

What I don't understand is this part:

For some users, we are stuck with the annual fee for a long time or have to remind them manually of the payment, but they still use the services of the library, can register online or borrow media.

Which are these users that has an unpaid and but valid membership?

I see two types of cases here:

1) Newly registered patrons. Don't they pay immediately after the account has been created?

2) Renewed memberships stays inactive until the are paid.

I am going on vacation from tomorrow and will be back in three weeks so if you don't here from me for a while, that is the reason!

Regards

Magdalena

The blocking of the accounts due to the outstanding €30 is also not relevant in this case.The problem is that the membership fee type is not taken into account in payment reminders.Only lending or special use fees are taken into account. The outstanding amount does not p lay a role here, if someone still has an outstanding €2 lending fee for a DVD, they will receive a payment reminder.

Thank you for the answer, and sorry for not understanding.

You are of course right, since you have the debt amount block set to €30, the patron with unpaid membership fee €10 is not blocked if they don't pay.
After the scheduled job Update memberships based on manual payments is run, people get new membership fees generated on their accounts, but they can continue using the library card if the total amount of debts is below 30 euro. Is this correct?

Yes exactly, the warning before the expiry of the membership helps us already.
In addition, there are also the payment reminders for outstanding fees, which we have activated, but the €10 annual fee is not taken into account here. So if a user has created an ID card, he can borrow media without paying the 10€. They will never receive a reminder for the €10 annual fee and if they never pay it, an expiry date will never appear and they will not receive a reminder before the membership expires.

Hi!

Patrons with a membership that has expired are blocked from using the library services.

We have recently implemented the Warnung vor Ablauf der Mitgliedschaft that can be sent to the patrons that have continuous memberships with manual payments. We assumed that you want to remind people that a new debt for a membership has been created and remind them to pay. But I have heard that many German customers want this warning to be sent even to the patrons that have a time limited membership and encourage them to renew it. Is this what you want?

Regards

Magdalena