Passengers who lose items on a plane, train or bus are charged up to £50 to have their items returned, while companies that manage lost items make millions each year, The Telegraph has revealed.
While reuniting a traveler whose wallet has been lost or a holidaymaker whose passport has fallen out used to be part of good customer service, almost all major train stations and airports now contract lost property services with third-party companies who they say hold customers’ belongings. “for ransom”.
Fees vary by item and location. It will cost £25 to retrieve a passport or small bag left at Gatwick, Stansted or Manchester Airport from third-party firm Lost Property.
Returning a set of keys left at one of these airports costs £15, while the price of getting a book or glasses back is £5. All come with additional fees if the item needs to be shipped back to you. Lost Property also offers the same service for flights of some airlines arriving at the above airports.
The same firm charges up to £20 per piece deposited at London train stations including King’s Cross, London Bridge, Euston and Victoria, as well as main train stations in Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and Edinburgh, and for train services ending on . those stations.
The company warns that even after travelers pay, it can take up to two weeks for lost items to be returned home, or even longer during busy periods.
Lost and Found claims that the costs collected from the customer should cover the cost of providing the lost property return service. But analysis of the latest Companies House filing shows that the fees helped parent company Excess Baggage Holdings Limited turn over £21 million (of which £13.3 million in the UK) in its latest accounts, with gross profit margins above 60%. It reveals that it is on. .
The company does not explain why the service is more expensive at airports than at train stations, or why similar-sized items such as passports and books incur such different fees.
Michael Solomon Williams, of the Campaign for Better Transport, said: “It is completely unfair that passengers who accidentally leave belongings behind while traveling are being forced to pay a large bill to have their belongings returned to them.
“Companies should not be profiting from passengers in this way and it further undermines confidence in the railways, especially at a time when we want more people to take trains.”
Rival firm Smarte Carte provides third-party lost property services for Heathrow and Bristol Airports, as well as lost property services for airlines flying to Heathrow, including British Airways and Virgin Galactic.
The £5 to £25 fees finders charge customers have helped them generate a turnover of £1.46 million, according to their latest accounts; This figure was more than a third of the previous year.
In the FAQ section of its website, the company asks: “I think you are holding my property for ransom?” responds to your suggestion. claiming: “All lost items will be destroyed before a reconnection process is submitted.”
At airports such as Edinburgh, Glasgow, London Luton and Birmingham, Luggage Point airport services deal with lost items for a fee of up to £27.
If it is not possible for travelers to have the item mailed to them at the time of request, after the first 90 days the firm will charge a £10 per day storage fee, which could increase the cost up to a “maximum charge of £50”. including retrieval costs”.
Customers of many lost and found companies are not particularly affected. One Twitter user said: “Sadly lost the iPad at Stansted Airport yesterday. They found it – great – but lost and found charge £25! They’re robbing beds,” while another said: “#UnbelievableTemerity – Edinburgh Airport under security search charges £20 for lost items recovery – is this normal?”
Other transportation methods have adopted similar schemes. National Express coaches charge customers up to £20 per piece to recover lost items. Transport for London has the same maximum charge, collecting £97,000 from customers claiming their belongings in the 2021/22 financial year, compared to £199,000 in 2019/20.
Excess Baggage told The Telegraph: “Rail station charges are set by the Rail Delivery Group, not us, and they have remained constant since 2001. The fares we charge are below the levels set out in the National Conditions of Carriage. In terms of airports, the tariff (very similar) reflects the operating costs at such locations.
“The reality is that either the user of the lost and found service pays, or the cost is added to everyone’s ticket to fund the service. This ‘user pays’ approach is widely adopted in this country, across Europe and elsewhere.
“Gross margin does not take into account overhead costs, which, as you can imagine, are quite significant. “Excess Baggage Stations Ltd made a small profit in 2022, a year of very serious losses following the two-year pandemic.”
Luggage Point said its fee structure was “designed with fairness and transparency in mind”, that it “handles almost 100,000 lost items and receives thousands of phone and email inquiries every year, all answered by a real person” and that “our fees differ from these fees” . for storage purposes only; It covers the complete management and protection of lost items, providing a service that protects and returns lost items efficiently.”
It also returns children’s toys and books, medical equipment and accessibility devices free of charge, it said.
Smart Carte has been contacted for comment.