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Libraries enjoy Unique's flexibility in custom fitting their needs. Using our "Gentle Nudge" process described below, libraries can expect a response from 50-75 percent of patrons processed through our service.
- We send a letter as soon as we receive a patron's account, usually the same day.
- We give the patron three weeks to respond and then follow up with a second letter.
- If the patron returns material or makes a partial payment but does not resolve the account in full, we automatically send a letter encouraging the patron to resolve the remaining balance.
- If a patron still owes the library money two weeks after the second letter, we call the patron at home in the evening or on Saturday. Live, friendly voices encourage patrons to contact the library directly. We have found that calls improve results as much as 30 percent over letters alone.
We guarantee that we can help the library recover monies sufficient to pay the cost of our service. In other words, our service can be budget-neutral. To qualify for this guarantee, a library must meet certain minimum requirements that are many times already in place. Contact us for details.
For patrons who fail to resolve their account following our initial contact, or for patrons who have moved without leaving a forwarding address:
• We conduct extensive skip-tracing to find patrons who have moved. We report new addresses to the library monthly.
• As soon as we locate the patron, we send a final letter that informs the patron that we will credit report the account if it is not resolved.
• If the account remains unresolved two weeks after the final letter, we call the patron at home and explain that the account is scheduled to be credit reported if the patron does not contact the library to work out a solution.
• If the patron responds but does not resolve the account in full, we send another letter.
• Depending on how much the patron owes and whether we have spoken with the patron earlier in our process, we make at least one and sometimes as many as three or more calls at this stage.
• We wait several more weeks before reporting the patrons account to all three of the major national consumer reporting agencies: Trans Union and Experian.
• The very earliest we would credit report any account is 120 days after we receive it. Patrons are credit reported only as a last resort.
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