Library charges. Excessive?

eshroom

I had book out at my uni library, I received an e-mail saying it was overdue so I replied saying I had returned it. I searched again and it had got lodged under a seat in my car.

I returned the book 4 days late and got a fine of £25. Is this legal when the book is available on amazon for £12?

mcjordi

i dont know if its legal but when you check out the book you agree to certain terms ie return it before a certain time/date otherwise you are fined, was this book an overnight loan as i know when i was at uni the fines were similar to yours although are capped at £6 per book

LinasPilibaitisisbatman

The charges will deliberatly be tiered to stop stingy students checking out books they need for entire terms and depriving other students.

CG19a

Did you check it out from the short term loan section? My uni had a 2 hour loan section and charges were extreme if you were late with it.

eshroom

It was a one day loan. It seems £25 is the maximum fine they give, it is also what you pay if you lose a book, unless it's worth more, so I have asked them for a copy of the book since had I never returned it I would still only be paying £25. I doubt they'll give m eon though...

pinkshoes

£25 is fair. They put them on a 1 day loan when the book is popular, as other students will need to use it, therefore it's not fair for someone to hog it.

Ideally they'd stock more copies, but if they did this for all popular books, the library would no doubt run out of space, so it's not practical.

See it as a lesson learnt, and in future, set yourself a reminder to return books. If you can afford to run a car, then surely a £25 fine isn't that bad??