Request ID: FOI-1995-2223 Date published: 12 December 2022
You asked
- Can I have a chart on lost items for the periods 2018-2022 broken down by item category and service, such as the " Schedule B: Items received at and reclaimed from the Lost Property Office" from the last report, but including the service.
https://content.tfl.gov.uk/lost-property-office-transparency-data-fy-2019-20-21.pdf
- Can I have a chart on revenue from unclaimed items for the periods 2018-2022 broken down by year and items category? OR if you don't have that information, do you at least know the revenue for unclaimed phones in that same period?
-Which were the item categories that tend to be "valuable" for auction instead of donating for the periods 2018-2022?
-How many lost oyster cards were destroyed for the periods 2018-2022? Which was the total cost for the destruction of those cards?
We answered
Our Ref: FOI-1995-2223
Thank you for your request received on 14 November 2022 asking for information about lost property found on our services.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm we hold some of the information you require. You asked:
Can I have a chart on lost items for the periods 2018-2022 broken down by item category and service, such as the "Schedule B: Items received at and reclaimed from the Lost Property Office" from the last report, but including the service.
Please find attached the requested information. This covers the Schedule B published data by service. Please note that the totals are slightly higher than previously published in previous transparency data. This is due to items (up to 150 for example) being sent to us at a much later date and the item reports are based on the date found. The transparency data for 2021/22 will be published on our website before the end of this year.
Can I have a chart on revenue from unclaimed items for the periods 2018-2022 broken down by year and items category? OR if you don't have that information, do you at least know the revenue for unclaimed phones in that same period?
2018/19
2019/20
2020/21
2021/22
Sale of unclaimed cameras / MP3 players
£11,196
£12,996
£1,612
£2,314
Sale of unclaimed laptops
£36,888
£34,989
£8,701
£4,598
Sale of unclaimed mobile phones
£164,379
£153,667
£101,472
£101,494
Sale of unclaimed musical instruments
£2,645
£2,178
£902
£511
Sale of unclaimed tablets / e-Readers
£9,384
£11,110
£3,190
£2,492
Sale of other unclaimed items*
£110,741
£65,799
£47,981
£69,120
*Other items sold at auction can also include jewellery, spectacle frames, new clothing, bicycles, tool and umbrellas. Many other types of items are also sold that may have a high value or can be sold in bulk.
Which were the item categories that tend to be "valuable" for auction instead of donating for the periods 2018-2022?
Please see response above for other unclaimed items.
How many lost oyster cards were destroyed for the periods 2018-2022? Which was the total cost for the destruction of those cards?
Number of Oyster cards received at the Lost Property Office
Number of Items
2018/19
2019/20
2020/21
2021/22
Oyster Card
12,169
13,621
5,911
9,431
The Lost Property Office do not destroy any Oyster cards, they are collected and securely destroyed by a specialist team for the purposes of data security and fraud protection.
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for some reason, please feel free to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely
Gemma Jacob Senior FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
