Monday Minutes: Refund Lost Update

by Jessie Zairo on Nov 15, 2021

In this week's Monday Minutes Kelly and Jessie talk about options for refunding lost returns. A new system preference allows you to specify the number of days a refund will not be issued when a lost item is checked in after it was marked lost.

Administration

1. Naviagte to Administration --> Global System Preferences --> and search for preference NoRefundOnLostReturnedItemsAge
2. Add the number of days (our example is 180) that Koha will look at when deciding to refund lost fees when a lost item is checked in.
3. You will also want to look at your system preferences for DefaultLongOverdueLostValue and DefaultLongOverdueDays.
4. Check your Circulation and fine rules for the setting Default lost item fee refund on return policy

Process

Once your system preferences are set, and your circulation rules are verified, the next time a lost item is returned, Koha will verify your system preference for NoRefundOnLostReturnedItemsAge and your setting for Default lost item fee refund on return policy, to determine if the patron should receive the refund or not.

If your library does refund lost fees and the item was marked "Lost On" less than the value of the new system preference, NoRefundOnLostReturnedItemsAge, Koha will refund the lost fee.

If your library does refund lost fees and the item was marked "Lost on" after the value of the new system preference, Koha will not refund the lost fee as it is past the allotted time allowed for refunds to occur.

Note: This 'Lost On' date can be found in the Items Tab.