Lost or billed items

July 2022

Quick Facts

  • If the lost item has been paid for and is returned within one year of being marked as “Lost,” there is no processing fee, and a full refund will be issued.
  • Lost items do not display in active checkouts in some wizards. The item will show to staff in Inactive checkouts in the Display User wizard.
  • Lost items will display in the unpaid Bills tab 49 days after the due date.
  • Lost vs. missing:
    • Lost is for checked out items that will not be returned or are 49 days past the due date. Lost items are billed to the patron from the patron record.
    • Missing is for items that are not checked out to a patron, and are not on the shelf when searched. These are checked out to the Missing user.
  • Lost-Claim vs. Lost-Assumed:
    • Lost-Claim is for individual items reported lost
    • Lost-Assumed is for items automatically set lost after 49 days
  • Items can be marked as Lost from any wizard that displays a current checkouts view screen (Display User, Renew by User, Checkout, etc).
  • My MCL does not allow patrons to renew items in Lost status. Staff can still renew in Symphony from the Display User wizard.
  • Lost or stolen Interlibrary Loan items must be reported to Interlibrary Loan staff immediately.See the Policy section below.

Procedure

NOTE: It is best not to set an item to Lost unless the patron is sure it cannot be returned and the item will be paid or the bill cleared soon, so as not to block the account. If the patron is not sure if the item is lost, try to renew it.

(Setting an item to Lost will move it to Inactive Checkouts -  Only staff will be able to view this section.)

  • Tell the patron: If a paid Lost item is returned within one year of payment, a full refund can be given.

Items can be marked as lost from any wizard that displays a current checkouts view screen (Display User, Renew by User, Checkout, etc).

  1. Go to Display User and select the Checkout tab.
  2. Right-click on the title of the lost item.
  3. Click on Mark Item Lost.
  4. A Billing for Lost Item/Processing Fee window will pop up.
    1. To pay the entire amount now select the Payment Type they are using and then click Pay Now.

    2. If the patron wants to pay at a later date select Bill User, (includes waives!).

      **Payment here can only be made for the full cost of the item. To accept a partial payment, select the Clear/Pay Fees wizard and take a payment as a separate transaction.**
       

      Screenshot of how to mark an item as lost from Display User.


      Screenshot of the Billing for Lost Item/Processing Fee window
  5. A Printing and a Confirmation of payment screen will open if you select Pay Now.

Policy

If an item is returned or found before the user pays the lost bill, Symphony displays a message when you check in the item, check it out to another user, renew the item, or put the item in transit. Symphony clears the item’s LOST-CLAIM or LOST-ASSUM Current Location and removes the lost item bill from the user record. Lost Claim for individual items reported lost & Lost Assumed for items automatically set lost after 49 days.

After payment, the same title may or may not be purchased to replace this item, depending on the needs of the collection.

If there is not a cost in the item record, use the appropriate Default value.

Lost or stolen Interlibrary Loan items must be reported to Interlibrary Loan staff immediately. Patrons are responsible for the lost ILL materials checked out on their accounts. Lost material will result in a minimum $50 charge on the patron's library card and any additional lost charges determined by the lending library will also be the patron's responsibility. Lost charges will be applied to the patron's account by Interlibrary Loan staff 30 days after the due date. The $50 lost ILL charge may change after the invoice from the owning library is received.

Manual category
Circulation