Unclaimed Lost Property at Transport for London Sees Increase in Items and Revenue

The volume of lost property submitted to Transport for London (TfL) has risen by 6% over the past year, concurrently with a decline in the number of items retrieved by their owners. TfL reports that its personnel receive over 6,000 items each week, all of which are forwarded to its dedicated lost property facility, known as Not Lost, situated in West Ham, east London. The transport operator states that articles not claimed within a three-month period become the possession of TfL; however, it notes that “most items” are donated to charitable organizations. Earnings generated from unclaimed articles sold at auction have doubled in the past year, escalating from £96,615 to £199,136. Diana Quaye, the performance manager for TfL lost property, informed BBC London that each item undergoes processing in a sorting area and is meticulously labelled to enable tracking. She stated: “Any item that comes here, after three months, it becomes TfL’s – where it could end up at charity, auction or be recycled”. Observing a substantial collection of plush toys within the storage facility, Ms Quaye commented: “For the brand new toys, we collect them up and donate them to charity at the end of the year.” TfL’s lost property repository marked its 90th anniversary last year, housing a diverse array of articles, ranging from missing prosthetic legs to misplaced luggage and even a rocking horse. Between 2023 and 2024, over 12,000 sets of keys were submitted to TfL, yet only 211 were successfully retrieved. Out of 17,000 mobile phones misplaced across the network, slightly more than 1,000 were returned to their rightful owners. Ms Quaye had previously informed the BBC: “Unfortunately, a lot of people feel if they lose an item, nobody will hand it in.” TfL encouraged individuals who have misplaced belongings to make contact, as their items might have been sent to its Not Lost storage facility in West Ham.