Where can you hand in lost property now we have no police station?

[HRB2]

Sorry to be ignorant but I recently lost my phone and didn?t know where to check....

[intexasatthe moment]

There's a police station in Peckham ,sort of opposite the bus garage and towards New Cross .5min from bus station .

[HRB2]

Thanks, hadn?t thought of that

[lavender27]

That police station isn't open to the public. Try Walworth Road.

[intexasatthe moment]

Sorry HRB2 and thanks Lavender - there's a police station at 12-28 Manor Pl, London SE17 3BB

[IlonaM]

There is also an online reporting system for lost & found items on the Met website:

https://www.met.police.uk/ro/report/lp/lost-or-found-property/

[Mark]

I lost a car key recently and when you go through the online reporting system you get:

"- The item I lost in a public place is worth less than ?500 or can't be directly identified as mine -

Unfortunately, we don?t accept these kinds of items if someone tries to hand them in. This includes luggage, empty purses, empty wallets or low-value, unidentifiable items such as umbrellas, glasses or perishable goods. We recommend retracing your steps and making your own enquiries in the area."

I have to say I was flabbergasted, I mean, you can't even ask the police if someone has handed in some lost property. Mental. Needless to say having made my own enquiries I never found the car key.

[HRB2]

Thanks for the info, I thought as much

[worldwiser]

I once left a bag on the train at Denmark Hill and notified the station manager with its exact position just as the train was leaving so that someone might grab it at the next station for me to collect within the hour.

Imagine my bewilderment when I was told that the only mechanism available to retrieve my bag was to hope a passenger and then the train driver would hand it in at the end of the line and for me to avail myself of the pay-per-item TFL lost property system, not knowing whether or not it actually had been handed in.

7 days later I got it back. For a fiver. And the money in my wallet had been counted was paid to me by cheque. By post.

But I really think the police have enough on their hands without having to store lost umbrellas and festering food.

[IlonaM]

Mark Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I lost a car key recently and when you go through

> the online reporting system you get:

>

> "- The item I lost in a public place is worth less

> than ?500 or can't be directly identified as mine

> -

>

> Unfortunately, we don?t accept these kinds of

> items if someone tries to hand them in. This

> includes luggage, empty purses, empty wallets or

> low-value, unidentifiable items such as umbrellas,

> glasses or perishable goods. We recommend

> retracing your steps and making your own enquiries

> in the area."

>

> I have to say I was flabbergasted, I mean, you

> can't even ask the police if someone has handed in

> some lost property. Mental. Needless to say having

> made my own enquiries I never found the car key.

Times have changed. Police lost property offices used to take everything.

My mother recently lost her camera in Brighton and some kind soul had handed it into the local police station. She was very happy to be reunited with it, but when she returned to try to hand in a key she had found they said that they no longer had the time, space or resources.

[lavender27]

I left a foot spa on a bus once, left it, just got up and left it, in a large box, I was flabbergasted. gutted , phoned baker st lost property every day to no avail, put a call out on Chris Tarrant capital radio to no avail. Some lucky bastard was relaxing in my foot spa, at Christmas too.

[IlonaM]

lavender27 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I left a foot spa on a bus once, left it, just got

> up and left it, in a large box, I was

> flabbergasted. gutted , phoned baker st lost

> property every day to no avail, put a call out on

> Chris Tarrant capital radio to no avail. Some

> lucky bastard was relaxing in my foot spa, at

> Christmas too.

That reminds me of a birthday cake (and other delicious birthday goodies) left on a bus near here a few years ago - someone had a very nice non-birthday celebration that day!!

[Sue]

Given the pressure on police resources in London, I think it's reasonable that police stations are no longer set up as Lost Property offices.

Obviously it's important to you if you've lost something (or find something) but it's hardly a priority in the great scheme of things.

Back in the day, my Mum locked herself (and me) out of our first floor South London flat.

She went to the police station and a policeman came and climbed up (I presume he brought a ladder with him, can't remember), let himself in a window, came downstairs and let us in the front door.

Times have changed :)

And as for transport, I once left a hand crocheted shawl (of great sentimental value as it was a present long ago from a relative) on top of a bus on New Year's Eve.

As soon as I got off the bus I realised (I was cold). I knew exactly where it was. The bus was still at the bus stop letting on passengers. The driver wouldn't let me back on to retrieve it.

Obviously it never turned up when I enquired to TfL, and a subsequent complaint resulted in a letter (or email) telling me it was my responsibility to look after my property. GRRRRRRRR.

[lavender27]

IlonaM Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> lavender27 Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > I left a foot spa on a bus once, left it, just

> got

> > up and left it, in a large box, I was

> > flabbergasted. gutted , phoned baker st lost

> > property every day to no avail, put a call out

> on

> > Chris Tarrant capital radio to no avail. Some

> > lucky bastard was relaxing in my foot spa, at

> > Christmas too.

>

> That reminds me of a birthday cake (and other

> delicious birthday goodies) left on a bus near

> here a few years ago - someone had a very nice

> non-birthday celebration that day!!

At least it wasn't left out in the rain.

[char1i3]

The police have a job to do - they solve crimes and find offenders. They don't look after your lost and found FFS. If you have lost something post a note on a forum or gumtree or something.

[rendelharris]

char1i3 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> The police have a job to do - they solve crimes

> and find offenders. They don't look after your

> lost and found FFS. If you have lost something

> post a note on a forum or gumtree or something.

A little unnecessarily aggressive, don't you think? The police only stopped taking in lost property on October 1st last year, so it's perfectly understandable if people didn't know that yet. I suspect many (including me) will regard this as a retrograde step; yes the police have a job solving crimes and catching offenders, but they also have a wider remit to serve the community. Obviously cutbacks have forced them to cut this service, if they were properly funded there's no reason they couldn't have maintained what was a very useful service for the public, run by civilian staff.

ETA: Just a memory that's come back from thirty odd years ago when I was in Cambridge: found ?180 in the street in a tight roll wrapped in a rubber band, handed it in to the police station on Parker's Piece, got a nice call a couple of days later saying an old person had been in and claimed it, it was money she'd been saving for ages and had lost on her way to the travel agent to buy a ticket to go and see her daughter in America. Isn't that a community service worth saving?