Great Western Coffee Shop

Sorry if I've posted in the wrong bit but I left a carrier bag with some food in it (a Waitrose quiche!!) and my ID card for work on a train the other day (Fri) and realised as soon I had disembarked at Newport that I'd left it in on there. Weighing up my options I decided not to hold the train up for the sake of some grub and an ID card. How chivalrous.

So nothing of real value but security in work had a call to say my property had been recovered in London. I am looking at FGW website just to be reunited with my ID card and note that it stipulates I, or someone representing me, has to go to Bristol Temple Meads to get my stuff. WIll FGW not send the ID card through the post, either to my home address or place of work if I ask politely?

Typically the Lost Property helpline shut at 5pm today!

Whoops didn't read point 4:

4. Small items that can fit through a normal letter box can be posted if a self addressed, postage paid, padded envelope is provided.

Well, you'll get the quiche back, then ...  :P

Anything that is found at Paddington goes into the Network Rail lost property office there - even if it was on an FGW service. You need to find out if it is FGW  or Network Rail that has your ID card!

The quiche should have been disposed of - standard practice with perishables.

If it is at Paddington it will be with the Excess Baggage Company.

Hmm.  :-X

Putting aside my light-hearted banter about the possible fate of that particular quiche, see http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=7801

We do seem to be going round in circles again here, trying to track down specific items of lost property ...  ::)

Glovidge: if it can be established that your ID card did indeed end up in the lost property office at Bristol Temple Meads, I'd be happy to collect it from there, on your behalf, and post it on to you - if all else fails ...  ::) :o

Please send me a PM, with sufficient details to enable me to do so, if this turns out to be the case.  ;)

Chris.  ::) :-X

Chris that isn't what he was told, it's what he read on the FGW Website. Or that's how I read his post anyway :)

That's why I wrote if in bold.  ;)

If the train was heading in the Swansea direction it is possible that the bag may have been handed in at Swansea which ultimately means the bag should end up with ATW lost property which if I remember is Newport. THey may have your bag and not FGW

Let me tell you an even stranger story........ I think I may have mentioned it on here but maybe not....

In January I left my purse on a taunton terminator after having a post temple meads head butt session with an RPI who hates me....forgot I had to move forward to get off at nailsea

I tried chasing up the purse - no joy and frankly after octobers experience with the pencil case I gave up..... In it were a load of receipts, a drivers licence registered to my moms address, 50 quid and some cards

Dealt with the cards and all........wrote the rest off

Roll on MArch 21st - phone call comes from my mom......

Hand dellivered through her door, because it was three hours AFTER the post had been, was a small envelope with a hand written note on the back "all other items distroyed" - and yes, thats how it was written.........No stamp on it, no post mark, it had never been throough the royal mail system......and for those who don't know, mom lives in liverpool

In it was the receipts and the drivers licence!  No one at paddington, or bristol, can explain how in the name of anything holy that happened.

Quiche UPDATE:

I had a message from security in my works saying its at London Paddington and they couldn't send quiches (LOL!) through the post.  ;D

I think I have to go to Paddington to get my ID card though as they won't send items through the post. I tried phoning the number I was given earlier but to no avail (about 5:30pm) and couldn't leave a message.

I've just remembered I also had some coffee in the bag. Ground coffee it was

 Spooky

is it not possible that a fellow passenger located said purse, liberated it of it's money cash and dumped it. later it could have been located by another passenger just about to board a north bound xc service, who noted the liverpool address, so took it with them. not a great leap of imagination...

the lost property procedure does ultimately rely on items being located by or handed in to staff, if anyone else intervenes, then there's no way for the correct procedure to be followed.

yes possible, likely, no

so it's more likely that someone from fgw, rather than a member of the public, found your purse, took the money then hand delivered it to an address in liverpool?

No - neither options are likely!

Erm okay if neither option is likely it must have posted itself then :)

I'm surprised self posting purses haven't taken off more. I could do with a self returning car for when I leave it at the pub.

There's no likely option ... !!!

My favourite ... is the two step process

a) Found by someone who helped him/herself to various goodies such as the cash, added the "all other items destroyed" and re-abandoned it on another train. Wording of the note suggests a possible inside or at least knowledgeable job, and an attempt to "smokescreen" what had happened as he/she expected it to go through the lost and found system after re-abandonment

b) A second person finds it re-abandoned, doesn't know the system ... perhaps happens to be passing Liverpool and quiety does his / her good deed.

Think I'm in agreement with "the void"'s first suggestion.  Don't expect that it was the person who took the parts (s)he wanted had any connection with the person who delivered it.

What proportion of lost property makes it into "the system", I wonder ....

I'm thinking Graham's right in that someone found it, helped themselves and abandoned it again; but then I reckon railway staff (and it might not only have been FGW employees) passed it from colleague to colleague until someone local dropped it off.

My own son's wallet was returned  by Westbury staff with a similar hand-written note a few years back, albeit admittedly through the post - but not via "the system".

Didn't realise you hadn't pay to recover items of lost property at Paddington. Is this common practice?

I've dealt with a lost mobile phone recently, didn't go via "the system" I arranged to drop it off personally (at Polsloe Bridge) as I was going down that way anyway and was a slight diversion.

In most cases it's better to use the system though.

i lost a bag once commuting to college in Chippenham, i was never reunited with my bag despite all the calls to the two different First Great Western Lost Property Lines i was given...it's a good thing there was nothing valuable in there otherwise i would have got back on the train and stayed there until i found the bag! but it was still annoying to have lost the bag as it did set me back several months in my course as it had all my college work in it :'(

First Great Western say that items left on First Great Western trains that terminate at a station that is not owned by First Great Western are the responsibility of the train company that owns that station.  This surprised me since I assume that it is First Great Western staff that check the train.  In my case, lost property on a train terminating at Worcester Shrub Hill is according to FGW the responsibility of London Midland.  London Midland on the other hand are adamant that this is not the case.  I have tried ringing both companies a second time in case I get hold of somebody who thinks something different but am still left in a black hole.  Has anyone else had this problem?

At http://www.londonmidland.com/contact/lost-property/ , London Midland say:

When we find an item of lost propety on our trains or at one of our stations we will try to contact the owner if they can be identified.

At http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/About-Us/Customer-services/Lost-Property , First Great Western say:

Items lost on the train

If you have left items on a train, they will most probably be found at the final destination station either by our on-board crew, cleaners or engineers. The train company who manage the destination station are responsible for dealing with any such lost property items, and you will need to contact that company to see if they have found your items.

The most common destination stations for First Great Western trains, the train company who manage them and their lost property contact details are:

Worcester & Hereford; London Midland;0121 634 2040

Welcome to the Forum.  Looks to me like it should be London Midland, but I note the words most probably and if a train has a fast turn around, the property may not get found or handed over until the return journey ...