University library book. WWYD

[Queenofcheese1]

Dropped out of my course and moved back to my parents house when the pandemic began, totally forgot I'd taken out an expensive library book and never returned it. Have since moved away and have remembered it-I have no idea where it is, I had many books and I think my mum had a clear out and she doesn't think she has it-she is going to have a good look for it! It has almost been 2 years since I took it out and the university have not chased it up from me, I have read their policy and it has said it becomes a "university bill" and sent to student finance-not sure what this means! I am a bit concerned about being referred to a collections agency or similar or being hit with an astronomical fee due to the time passed, obviously if its found I will send it back! Does anyone work in a university and know what happens in these cases?

Just send it back with an apology note. Let them know that you are in financial difficulty since dropping out and have felt frightened to return it.
They will take pity on you and be pleased to have the book back

I would post it back to them and the note suggested by olympicsrock is a great idea.

Yes but OP can’t find it

@olympicsrock dis you not read the bit where she said she couldn’t find it?

can you have a really good look when you’re next at your mom’s?

I did this about 4 times for my dd when she was on the same panic! They had asked for it though.

Yeah so my mum really thinks she has probably given it to a charity shop but she is going to have a good look! Unsure what to do if its not found, nobody has chased it from me..

Order a replacement and post it back with an apology?

Does the bill being sent to student finance mean it gets taken from any student loan you had? I know in my DS’s case, the university took the first year accommodation fees directly from the loan - could the cost of the book have been added to that?

The "university bill" bit is because you're not normally allowed to graduate with outstanding debts to the university. But since you are not going to graduate,then they might never catch up with you. I'm not condoning taking bold that you don't return, but it may never come to anything.

If your mum can’t find it I’d try and a second hand copy on eBay to replace it and send it back with a note explaining.

Tell them what has happened and ask them what to do. They may want a replacement or they may not. This is not something you have to panic about. It's a simple admin problem solvable with one clear email. (Spare them the story about how it got lost which doesn't matter)

I work in a university library.

I'd check firstly whether they're chasing you for it in the first place - call the uni's finance department, say you dropped out and ask whether you've got any outstanding bills. If you haven't, it's clearly just been written off. If you have, then you know and can deal with it.

If they are chasing you for it, do a bit of research. Many uni libraries have a standard charge, which is the average (mean) price of all the books in their collections, so individual costs can vary massively. Would this textbook be cheaper than the standard charge if you bought it second hand? If so, you could probably offer to buy a replacement copy (obviously having checked with the librarian covering that subject first). If not, it's a better deal to stump up. And if the library doesn't have a standard charge, you can revert to finding a cheaper second hand copy.

You could either...

1.Ignore it, if they have not chased you up about it, maybe they never will.

2.Call them ask them about the cost of replacing explaining what has happened, they may have a standard replacement fee (some do) say £10 as opposed to the full cost.

3.I would not buy another copy as dependant on the book there may be a new edition and the one you may of had could of been superseded, some librarys will not accept 2nd hand replacements.

I’d email and say a more coherent version of ‘I lost it, how can I pay for a replacement, sorry, thanks!

If your mum gave it away, she can pay to replace it!

Just keep quiet. If they wanted it back they would have contacted you by now

Senior uni library person here. I'd email and let them know. I wouldn't worry, I very much doubt they'll bother to ask you for any money.
There's no way I can see it would have anything to do with student finance. Id certainly let you off it your email reached me!

Just to add, a lot of uni libraries have changed their loan policies, so they only ask you for a book back if it's requested by someone else. So it's possible no one has asked for it. Or of course they will be using your old university email account to contact you, which may no longer be working anyway. We do accept that we do lose books along the way.

Our uni library had some sort of amnesty due to covid. Accepted loads of people had disappeared during lock down and not come back and the library wrote off all missing books.

No idea if it’s the same but I lost 4 library books when I was a kid. My mum was never contacted about them. Wouldn’t they have a fund/insurance for this sort of thing?

Maybe I’m a terrible person OP but if your mom doesn’t find the book I’d forget it.

I imagine you’re not the only person in this situation due to covid, and the uni library was probably so disorganised due to everything that was going on they wouldn’t have noticed.