Fees & Payment Options
How Fees Are Accrued
As a general rule, the use of the library is free of charge for you. In some cases, however, the library account may be charged with fees that have to be paid. The total of all outstanding fees, as well as a list of your borrowed and ordered media, can be found in your library account.
Fees may be accrued due to:
- Fee-based services
These are, for example, interlibrary loans and the use of printing stations and plotters. Any costs incurred will be charged to your library account as an outstanding fee. - Returning items late
This will result in overdue fines. The more items are returned late and the longer it takes, the higher the fees will be.
Please note: All fees and charges are due when incurred. Pay your printing fees immediately after you have completed printing and your overdue fines directly when you return the media item.
- Lost and damaged media
These must be replaced by you. In addition to the media replacement fees, we charge an administrative fee. - Overdue Fines
They are specified in § 9 of the Administrative Regulations to the VvVG NRW and will be charged if you do not respond to the formally issued notice of claim.
Which costs may arise and how much will it be?
Costs for Services
| Item | Basis of Assessment | Fee / Euro | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Printouts A4 | black and white, depending on coverage | 0.04 - 0.30 € | ||||||
| Printouts A4 | coloured, depending on coverage | 0.05 - 0.30 € | ||||||
| Printouts A3 | black and white, depending on coverage | 0.08 - 0.60 € | ||||||
| Printouts A3 | colour, depending on coverage | 0.10 - 0.60 € | ||||||
| Interlibrary loan | per order (one item or max. 20 DIN A4 copies) | 1.50 € | ||||||
| Interlibrary loan | for more than 20 DIN A4 copies, per page | from 0.05 € | ||||||
Overdue Fines and Media Replacement Fees
| Item | Basis of Assessment | Fee / Euro | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st reminder to return media | on day 1 per item | 2.00 € | ||||||
| 2nd reminder to return media | additionally on day 11 per item | 3.00 € | ||||||
| 3rd reminder to return media | additionally on day 21 per item | 5.00 € | ||||||
| Final reminder to return media | additionally on day 31 per item | 10.00 € | ||||||
| Administrative fee | per item | 25.00 € | ||||||
| Media replacement | per item | actual costs | ||||||
| Reminder fee | § 9 of the VO VvVG NRW | 6.00 € |
How to Pay Your Fees
Cash Payment at the Service Desk
You can pay your outstanding fees in cash at all our libraries during service hours.
Advantage:
In case your account has been blocked due to fees, it will be unblocked directly after full payment.
Disadvantage:
For a cash payment, you have to be on site or assign someone to pay on your behalf.
Payment by FH Karte at the Payment Station
In each of our libraries and in study room 3205 at Goethestraße, a payment station is available for cashless payment of your library fees. The password is preset to your date of birth (DDMM). Before paying, you should top up your FH Karte with credit at one of the card loading terminals in the dining halls.
Video-Tutorial
Advantages:
- The payment stations are accessible throughout the entire opening hours - i.e. even when library staff are no longer on site. At Goethestraße, during the building's opening hours.
- When you have a meal in the dining halls, you can use the same credit on your FH Karte to pay your library fees.
Disadvantages:
- If your account has already been blocked due to outstanding fees, the account will not be unblocked until the following day by default. If you have made the payment during service hours, you can go to the service desk to have your account unblocked.
- The maximum amount that can be loaded onto the FH Karte is €75. Any fee above this limit cannot be paid with the FH Karte.
Payment by Bank Transfer to the Library's Account
For a total amount of €5.00 or more, you are also welcome to pay your library fees by bank transfer. Our bank account details are
Recipient: FH Aachen
IBAN: DE11 3905 0000 1070 8591 43
BIC: AACSDE 33
Please make sure that you fill in the reference line (Verwendungszweck) correctly, so that the incoming payment can be assigned correctly.
1st line reference: #FH Identifier#
2nd line reference: #first name# #surname#
Advantage:
Payment can be made online at your convenience.
Disadvantages:
- Overpaid small amounts will be neither refunded nor credited.
- Bank transfer is only encouraged for sums of €5.00 or more.
- There is no real-time booking: From the time of your bank transfer, please expect several days until the payment has been received in the library's bank account and manually credited to your library account.
- The library's account details are easily confused with the IBAN of the Registrar's Office when using banking apps.
How to Avoid Fees
Get in touch as soon as you detect a problem
Contact us if you cannot find a media item or if it has been damaged. We'll give you time to locate it, with no additional overdue fines charged, and we'll work with you through the options for getting a replacement. Follow up immediately if you receive reminders for items you think you have long since returned. If you are unable to renew loan periods online, deal with it directly, ideally still during service hours.
Read e-mails and keep an eye on loan periods
Read the library's e-mails regularly and keep an eye on the loan periods. E-mails with the subject "Pre-Reminder: Your loan period is about to end" remind you that the end of the loan period for your media is imminent.
Please note: All reminders from the library are a voluntary service. It is your sole responsibility to return borrowed items on time.
Activate your FH Karte
A non-activated card leads to a blocked account. A blocked account prevents you from renewing the loan period.
Pay all fees promptly
An account blocked due to outstanding fees will result in you not being able to renew your loan periods. This, in turn, will lead to further fees.
Do not hand over media to third parties
You are liable for anything borrowed on your library account, regardless of who has possession of that item.
When and How to Arrange Payment by Instalments
Occasionally, things just overwhelm you. E-mails go unread and the book is left at the bus stop. And suddenly you get a reminder or a dunning letter for library fees that are higher than your current account balance. If you ignore our letters, the situation may get worse (reminder fee, enforcement).
One option we are happy to offer you is to make a binding agreement with us to pay in monthly instalments. If you are interested, please contact us in person at a service desk or by telephone at +49.241.6009.52056 or by e-mail at mahnung.bibliothekfh-aachen.de in the dunning department.
- The monthly instalments amount to at least € 10.00.
- Your account remains blocked, i.e. unusable, until the settlement is complete. You should therefore aim to settle your account within a few months and not set the monthly instalment too low. E-books and databases can be used even if your account is blocked, but interlibrary loans cannot.
- For the duration of the agreement, your dunning will be suspended. We will not send you any official letters by postal mail.
- We will not send you a reminder when an instalment is due. If you miss an instalment, the agreement becomes invalid and we will continue the dunning process.
When and How to Apply for a Reduction of Fees
In the event that you unexpectedly fell ill when the loan period of your media ended or the next overdue fines stage was charged, this situation is considered to be a "special hardship". Please submit your incapacity certificate, a confirmation of a hospital stay, or a letter from your attending physician as a scan to the overdue fines department (mahnung.bibliothekfh-aachen.de) or present the documents for inspection at your service desk. Deaths in the immediate family also make it understandably difficult to take care of loan periods in due time. In this case, please fill out the application form. We will get in touch with you.
A low income or limited resources are not grounds for a reduction of fees. The use of e.g. printing services or interlibrary loans are your voluntary decision. You must keep track of loan periods on your own. A reduction or remission of fees is only possible in cases of particular hardship. In cases of payment difficulties, we offer the possibility of payment by instalments. In the case of book damage, you should consider contacting your liability insurance. It is possible that it will cover the costs or part of them.