HI all,

I have a situation where a book request was accepted but not mailed by the deadline. The request obviously went to the next person in line who had the book. I noticed that when the request went to the next member, a credit was used up for that request. But shouldn't the credit that was used when I submitted the initial request be re-used for the new request? I have read the Help Center docs and they make no mention of what happens to the credit.

I guess I am trying to understand where the credit goes when the book is requested but not yet mailed. I am assuming it is in a "holding pool" since it is taken out of my pool but the requester does not have it. Or am I mistaken in how this works? Do I need to ask PBS to return my credit for the cancelled transaction or the member who did not mail the book?

Nita

The credit is "held" from you while your request goes down the line of people who have the book.  So, your credit would not have been refunded after your first request timed out, it would still be held.  Basically, your credit is sort of in limbo until the book gets to you and is marked as received.

Nita, if there was another copy of the book in the system and the system sent it automatically to that next person in FIFO, it's using the "same" credit that you originally ordered the book with. The system doesn't return the credit to you unless the person never mails the book and that was the only copy of the book in the system; if that happens, yes, your credit is returned automatically...you don't need to notify PBS or anything. 

Cheryl

Lisa - That's what it looks like to me. I would like to know how to resolve this.

Cheryl,

When the request went to the next person in FIFO, it used an additional credit. It did NOT use the "same" credit as the original request. I know because I have been tracking my credits pretty closely over the last few weeks. I requested this book as part of a deal last week so I know one credit was used up for this. Today when the request automatically cancelled and moved to the next person in line with the book, another credit was taken. Hence my question - where did my original credit go and how do I get it back?

Also, since the original sender had printed out the wrapper and had a DC# I am assuming she was going to mail it  (or has) and just didn't mark it as mailed within the timelimit. So if we want to complete that transaction (it was a book deal and I don't want to lose out on it), how does she get her credit when I do receive the books? I noticed that there is a "Was the Book Received?" button next to the cancelled transaction record in the Transaction Archive. Will clicking on that resolve this situation? If so, I am OK about not getting my credit back (as long as the books are mailed and I get them).

Hope someone can provide a definitive answer to my questions.

Nita

Well, assuming there are multiple copies of this book available in FIFO, I'd cancel the current request and wait to see whether the deal is completed. Unless you must have the requested book in question by a certain date, why risk getting a second copy of the book?

Double-check your current orders and transaction archives. Did you have  WL book on AR, perhaps? Receive two copies of a book and mark them both received? If you're confident that there's been a glitch, send a message to R&R via feedback.

Thanks Jane. I have cancelled the second request already. This was not a WL book. It was a book I requested as part of a deal on Book Bazaar. Hence, I most certainly do not want to receive the book from the next person in line. :) I have sent the sender a PM requesting details and confirmation of her intent to mail the books. Since she had printed the wrapper with a DC#, I am assuming the missed deadline was an oversight on her part. If she confirms the books are being mailed, I certainly do not have a problem waiting for it and marking it received via the Transaction Archive.

I guess I will wait and see how it goes. If I do not hear back from her in a day or two, I will approach R&R.

Thanks for your inputs, everyone.

Nita

Nita -- the system should not have taken a second credit when the request rolled over to the next member. If you are still minus one credit, after both requests were canceled, you should use the Contact Us link at the bottom of the screen to let R&R know about the problem now.

If you click the Was Book Received button, another credit will be taken from your account.

Most likely you spent a credit some other way, such as receiving another book from your Transaction Archive, and everything is working fine; but with all the system problems the last couple of days, it's worth asking about.

Cathy,

Thanks for your input. I am waiting for the original sender to confirm if the request will be met or not before I contact R&R for a refund of my credit. There was no other activity on my account between last night and this morning when my credit went from X to X-1. And no, I do not have any books on autorequest. :) I track my requests very very carefully. I have just never encountered this issue before of requested books not being mailed on time.

Nita