A late fee, also known as an overdue fine, late fine, or past due fee, is a charge fined against a client by a company or organization for not paying a bill or returning a rented or borrowed item by its due date. Its use is most commonly associated with businesses like creditors, video rental outlets and libraries. Late fees are generally calculated on a per day, per item basis.
Organizations encourage the payment of late fees by suspending a client's borrowing or rental privileges until accumulated fees are paid, sometimes after these fees have exceeded a certain level. Late fees are issued to people who do not pay on time and don't honor a lease or obligation for which they are responsible.
Library fines, also known as overdue fines, late fees, or overdue fees, are small daily or weekly fees that libraries in many countries charge borrowers after a book or other borrowed item is kept past its due date. Library fines are an enforcement mechanism designed to ensure that library books are returned within a certain period of time and to provide increasing penalties for late items. Library fines do not typically accumulate over years or decades. Fines are usually assessed for only a few days or months, until a pre-set limit is reached.
Library fines are a small percentage of overall library budgets, but lost, stolen or un-returned library books can be costly for various levels of government that fund.
In the late 1800s, as modern circulating libraries began making checking out books possible for the general public, concerns rose about books being taken out and never returned. To encourage the return of books and to help fund the replacement acquisition of new books, libraries began assessing a fee on late books. [1] For example, when the Aberdeen Free Library in Scotland opened in 1886, borrowers were fined a penny a week for every week a book was held longer than a fortnight. [2]
Public libraries in New York began charging overdue fees in the late 1800s at a rate of 1 cent/day. That increased to 2 cents/day in 1954 and 5 cents/day in 1959. Before removing late fees in October 2021, the most common fee among New York City public libraries was 25 cents/day. [3]
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In recent years, many libraries have stopped charging fines. [4] The Public Library Association and the Association of Library Services to Children have asked libraries to reconsider policies that may keep poor teens away for fear of fines. [5] Many libraries also offer alternatives and amnesties in order to encourage patrons to return overdue books. "Food for Fines" programs, in which borrowers donate canned food in exchange for fine forgiveness, are common in libraries all over the world. Some libraries offer children and teens the option to "read down" their fines by reducing fines based on the amount of time spent reading or the number of books read. [6] Other libraries may block access to library privileges until materials are returned. [7] Librarians have had a longstanding debate over whether or not to charge late fines. [8]
The American Library Association's (ALA) Policy 61 entitled, “Library Services to the Poor,” promotes the removal of all barriers to library and information services, particularly fees and overdue charges. [9] Proponents for the elimination of fines argue for waiving fees if they are a barrier for continued use of the library. [10] They argue that it is imperative that the library staff understand its patrons' financial situations, and that the barrier-to-use posed by fines is an underlying problem that needs to be addressed. Gehner (2010) proposed that libraries work with the community to determine the community's need and to build relationships. [11] : 45 He also posited that overdue fines could be a limiting factor: since libraries face limited funding, fees and fines represent both a source of revenue and a barrier to use. [11] : 43
In 2019, the ALA published its "Resolution on Monetary Library Fines as a Form of Social Inequity", which described monetary fines as an economic barrier to access to library materials and services, as well as a barrier to public relations and more valuable use of library staff time. Considered contrary to the mission of the modern public library, the ALA called for libraries to eliminate such barriers. [12] Later that year, due to the economic hardship of the COVID-19 pandemic, many libraries suspended fines for late materials. Realizing the ability of their systems to absorb the economic costs of eliminating fines, many library systems eventually made the decision to go completely fine-free, long after the pandemic restrictions were lifted. [13]
Some libraries have stepped up enforcement and collection of late fees. People who do not return library property after an extended period of time may face arrest or a negative action on their credit reports in some jurisdictions. [14] Punitive measures such as these are typically used to recover stolen library property, not to enforce late fees. In some institutions, patrons are responsible for paying the cost of replacing lost items. [15]
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A special use of the term "late fee" is postal surcharge once required by post offices to expedite delivery of a letter posted later than the normal pick-up time. For example, in Britain in 1856, a letter could be included in the night's mail for an extra pence if by 6:45 p.m. at the local office, for a tuppence by 7:15 p.m. at the Chief or District office, or for four pence by 7:30 p.m. at the Chief office. Such mail typically received a special postmark to note the late fee paid. [16] Often a special Late Fee Box was provided.
Late fees charged by banks, landlords, and utilities have been heavily criticized as a penalty against the poor, and attempts have been made in some places to outlaw them completely or place caps on them. The argument against them is that the poor will inevitably be forced to pay them as they cannot earn the money to pay their bills by the due date. These people will be forced to pay even higher fees for the same services, and will find making future timely payments to their creditors even more difficult.
On the other hand, late fees are sometimes levied by freelancers when payments to them are delayed. In this case, late payments can help protect non-staffers against income instability. [17]
In finance and economics, interest is payment from a borrower or deposit-taking financial institution to a lender or depositor of an amount above repayment of the principal sum, at a particular rate. It is distinct from a fee which the borrower may pay to the lender or some third party. It is also distinct from dividend which is paid by a company to its shareholders (owners) from its profit or reserve, but not at a particular rate decided beforehand, rather on a pro rata basis as a share in the reward gained by risk taking entrepreneurs when the revenue earned exceeds the total costs.
A payphone is typically a coin-operated public telephone, often located in a telephone booth or in high-traffic public areas. Prepayment is required by inserting coins or telephone tokens, swiping a credit or debit card, or using a telephone card.
A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also civil servants.
Credit is the trust which allows one party to provide money or resources to another party wherein the second party does not reimburse the first party immediately, but promises either to repay or return those resources at a later date. The resources provided by the first party can be either property, fulfillment of promises, or performances. In other words, credit is a method of making reciprocity formal, legally enforceable, and extensible to a large group of unrelated people.
A mount of piety is an institutional pawnbroker run as a charity in Europe from Renaissance times until today. Similar institutions were established in the colonies of Catholic countries; the Mexican Nacional Monte de Piedad is still in operation.
Discount points, also called mortgage points or simply points, are a form of pre-paid interest available in the United States when arranging a mortgage. One point equals one percent of the loan amount. By charging a borrower points, a lender effectively increases the yield on the loan above the amount of the stated interest rate. Borrowers can offer to pay a lender points as a method to reduce the interest rate on the loan, thus obtaining a lower monthly payment in exchange for this up-front payment. For each point purchased, the loan rate is typically reduced by anywhere from 1/8% (0.125%) to 1/4% (0.25%).
Wellington City Libraries is the public library service for Wellington, New Zealand.
The London Public Library (LPL) is the public library system of London, Ontario, Canada. All 16 locations city-wide offer services and programs for adults, teens and children residing in London and the surrounding counties of Oxford, Middlesex, and Elgin. The branches includes art exhibits, author readings, a summer reading program, and health-oriented activities. As of November 26, 2020, the London Public Library does not charge fines for overdue materials.
Library circulation or library lending comprises the activities around the lending of library books and other material to users of a lending library. A circulation or lending department is one of the key departments of a library.
Murabaḥah, murabaḥa, or murâbaḥah was originally a term of fiqh for a sales contract where the buyer and seller agree on the markup (profit) or "cost-plus" price for the item(s) being sold. In recent decades it has become a term for a very common form of Islamic financing, where the price is marked up in exchange for allowing the buyer to pay over time—for example with monthly payments. Murabaha financing is similar to a rent-to-own arrangement in the non-Muslim world, with the intermediary retaining ownership of the item being sold until the loan is paid in full. There are also Islamic investment funds and sukuk that use murabahah contracts.
The Orange County Library System (OCLS) is a public library system serving the Orlando area of Central Florida. It iss headquartered in the Orlando Public Library in Downtown Orlando. The System consists of 15 total locations, one main library (Orlando Public Library) and 14 branch locations. In 2020, the library system employed over 350 staff throughout the system, serving more than one million Orange County residents. The Orange County Library System is a 501(c)3 organization. The library system is led by its chief executive officer, Steve Powell, and a five-member Library Board of Trustees.
The Jacksonville Public Library is the public library system of Jacksonville, Florida, United States. It primarily serves Jacksonville and Duval County merged areas, and is also used by the neighboring Baker, Nassau, Clay, and St. Johns counties. It is one of the largest library systems in Florida, with a collection of over three million items. A division of the city government, the library has the third largest group of city employees, after the city's fire department and sheriff's office. There are twenty branches and a main library in the system.
The Cabcharge account payment system was established in 1976 to provide taxi passengers a way to pay for taxi fares by non-cash means. The payment system is owned and operated by A2B Australia, an Australian Securities Exchange listed public company. In the UK and Singapore, Cabcharge is operated by subsidiaries of ComfortDelGro.
Loudoun County Public Library (LCPL), with more than 200 employees, both professional and paraprofessional, serves the citizens of Loudoun County, Virginia. There are 10 physical branches, plus Outreach Services, which delivers books and other resources to the disabled, elderly and homebound.
The Student Loan Scheme (SLS), introduced in New Zealand in 1992, provides student loans and allowances for course fees, course-related costs, and living costs to tertiary students who meet StudyLink's funding criteria. StudyLink is the public organisation part of the Ministry for Social Development and is responsible for administering student loans and allowances. Eligibility criteria apply, and courses must be approved.
The Alachua County Library District (ALCD) is an independent special taxing district and the sole provider of public library service to approximately 280,000 citizens of Alachua County, Florida. This includes all of the incorporated municipalities in the county. It maintains a Headquarters Library and four other branches in Gainesville. There are branch locations in seven of the eight other incorporated municipalities in the county. ACLD also operates a branch at the county jail, and two bookmobiles.
A credit card is a payment card, usually issued by a bank, allowing its users to purchase goods or services or withdraw cash on credit. Using the card thus accrues debt that has to be repaid later. Credit cards are one of the most widely used forms of payment across the world.
The Taxi Industry Inquiry or the Fels Inquiry was an inquiry commissioned in 2011 into the taxi industry and taxi services in Victoria, Australia, by the Taxi Services Commission. The inquiry was headed by Professor Allan Fels assisted by Dr David Cousins.
In the United States, criminal justice financial obligations (CJFOs), alternatively monetary sanctions or legal financial obligations, refers to costs paid by individuals as a result of their involvement in the criminal justice system. CJFOs consist of fines, property forfeiture, costs, fees, and victim restitution, and may also include payment for child support. They have their roots in European laws going back to the Middle Ages, and although they fell out of favor in the US in the early 19th century, regained popularity in the mid to late 20th century, to become the most common form of punishment used by the criminal justice system across the country.