Outrage as Arriva shares list of charges for returning lost property... including 10% cut of cash in wallets

Arriva has faced a backlash over the charges it asks customers to pay for their lost property to be returned
Shutterstock / Monkey Business Images
Tom Powell14 September 2018

Train operator Arriva has faced a backlash for taking a 10 per cent cut of the cash found in customers’ wallets and purses before returning them.

The firm has released its controversial list of lost property fees, including £25 for a laptop, which must be paid on top of any postal fees.

It comes after one passenger was furious at being charged £2 and 10 per cent of the money in his wallet after leaving it on a train in Wales.

Adam Howells took to Twitter to complain of “theft by train”, sparking outrage among other rail users.

But Arriva Trains Wales stood by the policy and claimed the fees were “used towards the running costs of the lost property office”.

Lost property charges

10% of cash recovered (Minimum £2; maximum £20)

Laptops £25

Camcorders £25

Mobile phones £10

Small bags £2

Rucksacks £3

Suitcases £3

Walking sticks £2

Watches £3

Bracelets £3

Pushchairs £3

Bikes £3

Cycle helmets £3

Skateboards £3

It tweeted the list of charges, which showed a £25 fee for laptops, £10 for mobile phones, £2 for walking sticks and £3 for cycle helmets.

Other penalties include £3 for rucksacks, £2 for small bags and £3 for pushchairs, watches and bracelets.

The lost property charges have triggered fury online, with passengers accusing the operator of “opportunistic theft” and “naked profiteering”.

Jason Philpot wrote: “That's despicable! On what planet is it appropriate to ransom people's property? I'm glad I don't use trains anymore!”

Arriva Trains Wales stood by its policy in the face of an angry backlash
PA Archive/PA Images

Steven Piggin said it was “scandalous”, while Ian Pearce added: “You run the service, you take money for people riding on that service, as a company you take that hit as part of your service to the customer.”

Richard Cardall asked: “Why does it cost more to recover a phone than a bike, for example, given that bikes are larger and take up more storage space? Is the charge based solely on how much the owner is likely to want it back?”

But the Arriva Twitter account, which has replied to dozens of angry comments, said the charge was based on the cost required to “safely store, record and process” the item.

In a separate tweet, the firm said: “We act in accordance with the National Rail Conditions of Travel, which state that we may make a charge (not exceeding £2 per day per item) for storing property and (not exceeding £30 per item) for retrieval of property by the owner.”

The list of charges also sparked a number of humorous tweets, with one person asking what the price was to return a lost child.

Jake Tonge then remarked: “What if the suitcase had a watch, laptop, camcorder, mobile phone, wallet, bracelet and helmet inside it?”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in