Request ID: FOI-2626-2122 Date published: 08 March 2022
You asked
Dear Transport for London,
1. Please could you provide me with tables, broken down by month, showing the numbers of items of property that were (i) handed in as lost and (ii) returned, broken down by the category of the property for the 2021 calendar year?
2. How much money was collected by TfL by auctioning/selling off items that had been lost by passengers and then not reclaimed in each of the last financial years (2020/21)?
3. For the 2020/21 financial years please state the three individual sales that made the most money. Please state what the lots consisted of and how much money TfL received for each item?
4. In the 2021 calendar year please state how many of the following items were (i) logged as lost property by TfL and (ii) returned to the owner? (a) wigs, (b) sex toy/aids, (c) crutches, (d) prescription Viagra, (e) false limbs and (f) Security passes to the Houses of Parliament
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-2626-2122 Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 16th February 2022 asking for information about lost property. Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. Specifically you asked: “1. Please could you provide me with tables, broken down by month, showing the numbers of items of property that were (i) handed in as lost and (ii) returned, broken down by the category of the property for the 2021 calendar year?
2. How much money was collected by TfL by auctioning/selling off items that had been lost by passengers and then not reclaimed in each of the last financial years (2020/21)?
3. For the 2020/21 financial years please state the three individual sales that made the most money. Please state what the lots consisted of and how much money TfL received for each item?
4. In the 2021 calendar year please state how many of the following items were (i) logged as lost property by TfL and (ii) returned to the owner? (a) wigs, (b) sex toy/aids, (c) crutches, (d) prescription Viagra, (e) false limbs and (f) Security passes to the Houses of Parliament.” I can confirm that we hold the information you require. This is provided in the attached spreadsheet (there are different worksheets to answer your different questions). Our Lost Property Office receives hundreds of thousands of lost items every year, which are individually catalogued and stored securely, with the details used to match against customer enquiries. Please note that all bags/containers are stored in a secure area and any items with personal or sensitive data are securely destroyed after three months if not sold or collected. We securely remove any personal data from any such items prior to sale.
More general information about our Lost Property Office - including similar data to that requested - is published on our website here:
https://tfl.gov.uk/help-and-contact/lost-property#on-this-page-5 If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me. Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed. Yours sincerely, David Wells FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
