Chances of finding a lost season ticket

[infobleep]

Not certain which forum to put this in. Based on other people's experiences, what do people think the chances are of a lost season ticket being handed in and if it is handed in to somewhere other than a train station, it being forwarded onto a train company? For example would TfL on the Underground or a bus company forward on lost tickets to rail companies or would they hang onto it.

Saying that if a cleaner was sweeping up, would they notice a ticket wallet on the ground and if they did, investigate to see what it is?

Is can't hurt to ring every possible lost property office where one might have been to see if they have it?

I once lost a season ticket at Euston underground station. It was most likely be around the escalators. I never saw it again. I got a replacement from the station, minus an admin charge.

 

[oversteer]

Mine was handed in the next day, and the ticket office called me straight away. By then I'd already applied for a replacement.

Oyster card went walkies though.. didn't notice until it auto topped up. Never got that back.

 

[dvboy]

A few years ago, I found someone's season ticket and return from London on a train from Birmingham to Wolverhampton once, their business card was inside it so I phoned them and managed to return it to them the next day as they were still in Birmingham.

Since then, I've made sure my own contact details are inside my season ticket wallet.
I've lost it once since and Snow Hill station phoned me to tell me they had it. I collected it from an office where they had a small pile of them, unfortunately not everyone is easily contactable.

 

[Philip C]

You may be interested in what happened to me when I lost my glasses on South Eastern.

One morning soon after the Hastings Line service was converted to Electrostar operation I arrived in my office only to discover that my glasses, in their case, were not in their usual place. After a disbelieving search in pockets and briefcase I remembered that they'd been with me on the train.

The first thing to be done was to make contact with Hastings where the stock returned but they drew a blank. Then I tried the Lost Property office at Cannon Street, to where I was assured all SE lost property gravitated despite my train having been one to Charing Cross. Again I drew a blank, except that they suggested I stopped by later as they might still be en route.

So that's where I went after work, but my glasses were still not there and the only option was to try again the following day. Thinking that I'd never see them again I went home. Later that evening there was a ring at my front door and there stood one of the trolley-ladies with my glasses. She said that she'd found them on the train, seen my address in the case lid and decided that they had more chance of reaching me if she hung on to them, than if she'd given them to the guard. Her fiancee had driven her over and here they were.

Now that's what I call 'customer care'. The moral is that there are really nice people out there and that, by putting your name on items you may lose, you've always got a fair chance of getting lost items returned.

 

[Abpj17]

Better than you'd imagine I think

I've found someone elses' and handed it in before; and when I lost mine once it was handed in.

Particularly if it's lost on the train at rush hour etc. the chance of a fellow season ticket holder finding it is reasonable, and they appreciate how much the thing costs!

From memory, the policy FCC had at the time was for season tickets to be returned to the issuing office. But it was a bit unclear at the time whether that would happen or whether it would find its way into the lost property office.

 

[Chrisgr31]

I lost my season ticket 4 years ago. It is issued through my employer via Abellio and is a Uckfield London one although I usually travel from Crowborough.

I reported it lost to work who organised a replacement via Abellio which turned up in a couple of days. 2 weeks later I walked through the ticket office at Crowborough who called me to the counter and handed me my original season ticket.

No idea how it got back to Crowborough, can only assume I lost it at or outside the station.

I have also handed in a season ticket that I found on the platform at London Bridge, shortly afterwards I saw someone rushing back down the platform, sure enough they were looking for their ticket so I was able to point them in the right direction.

I have also left several items on trains, on one occasion I realised I had left something on the East Grinstead train. Spoke to the Conductor on the Uckfield train who called Oxted and East Grinstead. The former retrieved it as the train went back up the line.

I returned to Oxted to fetch it, on route the Conductor told me that after his shift he was off to Clapham Junction to meet a passenger to return their phone which he had found on a train earlier that day, and felt it was safer to meet them to return it than sending it to lost property.

 

[londonbridge]

I once found an Oyster card on the Northbound Victoria line platform at Victoria. Couldn't see an LU worker anywhere so I picked it up, intending to hand it in at Kings Cross when I got off the tube. Ran into one of my fellow supporters on the train and promptly forgot about it. Went off to the match, came home and realised it was still in my pocket, ended up posting it to the 'found cards' section. Also once found a Freedom Pass in the street, in this instance I handed it into the local police station.

 

[bussnapperwm]

i found a lost wallet on a train once approaching new street. Went to the old BTP office there and they wouldn't have it so took it to the police station at the other end of Birmingham. A few days later had the owner of the wallet phone me to say thank you for finding it

 

[DelayRepay]

I once got on a Thameslink train and found a brand new Oyster card, in a pristine wallet, along with a receipt showing it had been purchased and topped up with £50 about an hour earlier.

I felt concerned for whoever had lost it - not only were they £50 down but were also likely to have/have had a run in with an RPI when they tried to leave the train. In the absence of a guard, I got off at St Pancras and handed it into the FCC ticket office. I thought it had slightly more chance of finding its owner at a station with Oyster facilities.

I also once found a wallet containing a season ticket but also credit cards, small amount of cash and a works ID card. I called the company and spoke to the owner, suggesting he could pick it up from my office. He said he was too busy and asked me to take it to him! I told him I was also too busy, and he would have to pick it up from Snow Hill Police Station. I had expected him to be grateful for me calling but it felt like I was an unnecessary interruption to his day!

 

[Prairie_5542]

Might be an idea if you have a season ticket to write your mobile number on the back, so if it does get lost, then someone can ring you.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

I once lost my (old style, with photocard and postcode) MetroCard in a park in Ilkley... Someone had found it and handed it in to Ilkley station ticket office, who sent it back to me (second class, so the weekly card had expired by the time I received it back) but I at least didn't need to replace my photocard.

As for the new style smart 'M' cards, they are officially transferable so have no photocard. I did leave mine on a Victoria via Brighouse service, and discovered my mistake on my TPE connection from Dewsbury. Thankfully I was able (with help from HUD staff) to contact Northern control at MCV, and had it sent back with the kind guard on a later Huddersfield stopper.