Uncollected consignor cheques from Haven Books will always be made available to students, even after the one-year claiming period advertised on the Haven website, Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) vice-president (finance) Folarin Odunayo said.
The CUSA-owned bookstore on the corner of Seneca Street and Sunnyside Avenue offers to sell textbooks on a consignment system. Haven keeps 20 per cent of the sale price and the consignors keep the remaining 80 per cent.
The Haven website states that the money owed to consignors—provided by cheque—becomes property of Haven Books after one year.
Katie Rouse, manager at Haven Books, said that while they do state that students are given 12 months after the sale of their book to pick up and cash their cheque, in practice anyone who does come in after a year will still receive payment.
Odunayo said if a consignor’s cheque was never picked up at Haven Books, it should still be available there.
“If the cheque was picked up but not cashed and it expires, students would have to come to the CUSA office to have it re-issued,” he said.
He said Haven will honour the agreement made with the student when a used book is entrusted to them for sale.
“Students will always have the opportunity to get their money back. It’s black and white for me, and for the association,” Odunayo said.
The reason cheques picked up from Haven Books expire after a year if they are not cashed is for the association’s auditing purposes, Odunayo said.
If the money is not picked up within a year it is absorbed into CUSA’s operating budget, he said.
Both Rouse and Odunayo said Haven Books does their best to contact students and make them aware of the money waiting for them.
“At the end of the day we do all we can that is in reason to contact students. Ultimately it is their responsibility to pick up the cheques,” Odunayo said.
Haven Books generates a substantial amount of money from used book sales. Last year, consignment sales totalled $710,026.94 according to the 2013-14 CUSA budget.
The amount consignors picked up was $115,911.85, leaving more than $450,000 in unclaimed consignment payout, according to the budget.
Odunayo said the amount of consignor payout will change to reflect 80 per cent of used books sales following adjustments to the audit expected mid-October.
