Always, always, always require an inventory from the CRC on a periodic
basis - yearly, semi-yearly, whatever (depends on your volume of storage
and activity). This should be part of the contract. Your contract
should also require itemized services and charges on each bill/invoice.
You should also expect and receive some type of receipt for every
transmittal and activity (box out, file out, box returned, file
returned, etc.)
<What should the Owner of the Computer Tapes do if a third of their
tapes are missing?>
If you are not reconciling each bill/invoice, then you are not managing
the contract correctly. Your accounts payable folks should be aware of
what is and is not acceptable charges, and someone should be responsible
for reconciling the bill/invoice against the service and transmittal
receipts for each billing period.
<... is that certain records storage companies when presenting
their billing, are billing for quite a few more units of media than
really exist.>
This can happen easily. Hugh's scenario is one way. Another is if a
mistake in box transmittal count is not caught when the bill/invoice
comes in and it allowed to go uncorrected for months. The mistakes
compound and eventually they are almost impossible to find. Again -
reconcile the bill/invoice when it arrives and BEFORE you send payment.
If branches, subsidiaries, divisions, etc. are doing their own
transmittals and activities, then you should have a requirement in place
that all receipts go to one central person (RM, A/P, or other) for
reconciliation against the bill/invoice.
<If you are not conducting a semi-annual or annual audit to rectify
your collection, then you could have this happen to you.>
You should reconcile your transmittals against the periodic inventory
you receive. Having an internal transmittal form (boxes sent to
storage) that is sent to RM also helps when reconciling the inventory.
<If they call in the records manager for the company who had their
records mistakenly delivered to another vendor or client and also bring
in the other vendor, then this is the ethical thing. ... But would that
records manager let their management team know that such behavior was
happening?>
YES! Let the management team know what is happening. Ethics are required
for all. If you expect ethical behavior by the vendor, then you should
behave ethically yourself.
<Do you strike Hostage Fees from Contracts? ( Perm Out Fees, Account
Closure Fees, Evergreen Clauses, Minimum Volume Requirements or what
ever disingenuous name they have this week.)>
Where the Procurement Laws allow us to.
<Do you send a Letter of Breach each time a failure occurs so you have
documented problems?>
We document all problems in writing, both to the vendor and to our
Procurement folks.
<Do you audit?>
We receive an annual inventory, which we reconcile. We pay "spot check"
visits to the facility without notice. We reconcile every bill/invoice
against transmittal and activity receipts and do not pay it until it is
correct.
<Finally, how bad would service need to be, before you would undergo
the pain of changing vendors and thereby improve your records
management platform.>
As a City government, we must re-bid our contracts every 4 or 5 years,
so there is a built-in incentive to make sure we are receiving good
service in accordance with the contract. Conversely, we are able to
refuse to consider a bid from a poor vendor performer based on past
experience.
Ginny Jones
(Virginia A. Jones, CRM, FAI)
Records Manager
Information Technology Division
Newport News Dept. of Public Utilities
Newport News, VA
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