How to report a lost/found phone ?

[SimonTheSailor]

Just found a phone on a train (London to Littlehampton) and handed it to a guard at Haywards Heath. Would rather like to be a bit more proactive to reunite it with its owner.

Stupidly forgot to take the cover off to see what make it was but did take a photo of the front of it.

Tried googling if there are any forums on the Southern Trains lost/found but couldn't find anything.

Twitter/Facebook ??

[Shakermaker]

SimonTheSailor said:

Just found a phone on a train (London to Littlehampton) and handed it to a guard at Haywards Heath. Would rather like to be a bit more proactive to reunite it with its owner.

Stupidly forgot to take the cover off to see what make it was but did take a photo of the front of it.

Tried googling if there are any forums on the Southern Trains lost/found but couldn't find anything.

Twitter/Facebook ??

I think you've done the right thing. Southern will have a process in place, if you told them "I was on the 17.30 London to Littlehampton, found this phone" then someone has clearly lost it between London and HH, they'll be able to make contact with a lost property team and make arrangements to collect it so they can prove its their phone that's been lost - enter the right passcode or they're the photo on the homescreen etc.

[SimonTheSailor]

I obviously don't want a guard to just nick it. There's a way of reporting a lost item - but doesn't seem to be a way of reporting that you have found one ?

[shakotan]

Is it on? Surely the first thing the owner will do when discovering it is missing is call the phone?

That's what happened to me - found a new iPhone [insert latest number at the time] on the tube, on our way to Camden for a gig. Whist eating dinner before the show, phone rang - it was a friend of the owner who was with them at the time - they were across town. I told them where we were eating and how long we'd be there, halfway through the meal they showed up, very grateful, and asked us if they could buy us a drink as thanks.

We graciously accepted and they went on their way having ordered us the drinks. When we came to pay the bill at the end of the meal, turns out they'd covered that too!

[Speculatore]

SimonTheSailor said:

I obviously don't want a guard to just nick it. There's a way of reporting a lost item - but doesn't seem to be a way of reporting that you have found one ?

I felt the same when I found a wallet with credit cards and almost £100 in it on the train. I handed it to the guard but then afterwards wondered if the guard would pass it on with the same contents.

[Willhire89]

Years back I was driving along and there was a wallet lying in the road just after a junction

Stopped and inside was a business card which only had the main number and the name - rang it and spoke to reception who were really thankful and would call the guy immediately

I waited for about fifteen minutes and the guy showed up full of attitude - what the fk was I doing with his wallet etc etc and snatches it out of my hand and immediately checked that the £30 odd in cash was still in it

Without a further word he then jumped back in his car and fked off from whence he came.....

[Shakermaker]

Willhire89 said:

Years back I was driving along and there was a wallet lying in the road just after a junction

Stopped and inside was a business card which only had the main number and the name - rang it and spoke to reception who were really thankful and would call the guy immediately

I waited for about fifteen minutes and the guy showed up full of attitude - what the fk was I doing with his wallet etc etc and snatches it out of my hand and immediately checked that the £30 odd in cash was still in it

Without a further word he then jumped back in his car and fked off from whence he came.....

What a c*nt.

[mcdjl]

Speculatore said:

SimonTheSailor said:

I obviously don't want a guard to just nick it. There's a way of reporting a lost item - but doesn't seem to be a way of reporting that you have found one ?

I felt the same when I found a wallet with credit cards and almost £100 in it on the train. I handed it to the guard but then afterwards wondered if the guard would pass it on with the same contents.

Whats to say the guard isn't wondering how much you took out of it before handing it to on? Have a bit of faith in people!

[PhilboSE]

I found a brand new latest model phone outside my house in a popular seaside town. Thinking the owner would retrace their steps I left a note on the ground to contact me. After a couple of hours nothing, phone not rung so I took it to the nearest police station (some way away) and handed it in.

A few hours later I got a call from the single officer on duty who said that an incredibly grateful teenager had collected their lost birthday present. Gave me quite the glow thinking of the surprise and relief that they must have had when they went to the station probably in desperation and hope rather than expectation.

[megaphone]

I found a wallet lying on the ground just behind local station. Had a kids railcard, debit card and £20. Stopped at the ticket office and the guy said he'd take it but could not check for the address of the kid. I thought better of it and kept hold off the wallet. Rang the bank and tried to get them to contact the owner, they told me to hand it in to a branch, again I was worried it would just get lost in the system and the lad would never get it back.

Later tried the bank again, eventually persuaded the call centre women to phone the number they had registered on the account and give them my number. 20 mins later I got a call from a delighted parent, they where only 5 mins from my home so they came around with the lad to pick up the wallet. The boy was very happy, the first thing he did was check the £20 was still there, he was convinced it would have gone. Dad gave me bootle of wine as a thank you. Hopefully the lad learn't a good lesson that good things come to those that are good.

[s2kjock]

A couple of years ago I was on the top deck of a bus (sorry) in Edinburgh. A few teenage girls got on and sat in the back row a few seats behind me.

One of them found a fairly new iphone between the seats which they discussed rather loudly.

You quickly got the sense that everyone else on the top deck had heard and was lugging in to the discussion and wondering what they were going to do All very entertaining.

They quickly decided it made sense to call someone on the phone's log/directory and selected "mum", only to discover that the phone was registered to a PAYG network I had never heard of and it had no credit

They then decided to call the number on one of their own phones and after much confused discussion the person they had phoned had the cheek to ask them to go around to their house and bring it back to them. More politely than I would have, they declined and ended up passing it to the driver when they left the bus.

It did restore my faith in people's honesty - I would have been surprised to get my phone back after leaving it on public transport!

[valiant]

Handing it in to the guard or ticket office on your way out is the right thing to do.

If you want to be a little bit more proactive, then take a photo with your train details and send the relevant TOC a tweet. They’ll generally retweet it and can be quite successful.

There is a process for staff when dealing with lost property and it should be followed to the letter. Staff are checked by mystery shoppers (mine does this) who will deliberately leave something behind (where you’ll be the only one to pick it up) or hand it to you and then follow the chain of custody to ensure everyone is following the process.

I’ve picked up tons of phones/wallets/bags/FA Cup final tickets (yes, really!) over the years and they’re always handed in. Most jobs on the railway are decently paid and only a simpleton would risk his job and his wage over a locked phone.

[Jamesgt]

As everyone is chipping in with their stories I will go ahead with mine. Missus left her handbag with iPhone inside it on an easyJet flight. A few hours after we left the airport we had a call on my phone saying it had been handed in.

I work in the industry and I couldn’t believe she got it back. One guy I work with sweeps the aircraft after the passengers have left just to find valuables. The cleaners have also lifted my Bose headphone case moments after I put it down.

[Pothole]

Speculatore said:

SimonTheSailor said:

I obviously don't want a guard to just nick it. There's a way of reporting a lost item - but doesn't seem to be a way of reporting that you have found one ?

I felt the same when I found a wallet with credit cards and almost £100 in it on the train. I handed it to the guard but then afterwards wondered if the guard would pass it on with the same contents.

How lovely you both are. They're not on minimum wage, you know. They don't need to risk their jobs for found items to supplement their meagre incomes. Not everybody who isn't you is a thief. The vast majority of the public don't steal things.

[Yertis]

I few year ago I found a purse with credit cards and £60 in it. Handed it in to the Police station, who took my details. A week later I got a letter from the lady who'd lost it thanking me, and, attached, a cheque for £60.

[Frenchda]

A few years ago we found a set of car keys in the gutter in Cirencester. Took them too the local police station and whilst waiting to be let in chatted with the young couple also waiting - they had lost the keys!

[tescorank]

Good idea on the lock screen put someone’s else’s number and an email address

[HTP99]

Here's mine; many years ago I lost my wallet, which was handed in to my dad's, however neither his nor my address was in there.

Whoever found it dropped it to a local guy who has the same surname and first initial as myself; assuming it was his, I guess he went through it and checked one of the cards.

Now said local guy with the same surname and first initial as me, is from a really rough family who have a checkered history with the Police (it has been beneficial for me on a few occasions!), quickly realised it was mine and dropped it to my dads; my last address known to him, everything was in there including a fair wedge of cash.

[WAVman]

My 16yr old daughter lost her then almost new iPhone 7 at Universal in Orlando.
We retraced our steps, talked to staff at the rides we had been on who were all incredibly helpful, but no luck finding it.
We gave it an hour or so and went to Guest Services, someone had handed it in. Restores your faith in humanity when things like that happen.

[NDT]

I always either try to track them down on facebook or twitter or post a message on either of those.
Successful 3 out of 3 times!
Railcard, credit card and most recently a phone and credit card returned to grateful owners.