Lost property

[whole diary]

[julian]

I managed to leave my glasses on a train travelling from Exmouth to Paignton. I left the Train at Exeter Central. I immediately phoned Lost Property who informed me that if I had left some tablets on the Train they would have contacted the Guard or Driver. As it was 'only' glasses they could not help.
My glasses are prescription items costing over ^200 and without them I am in some difficulty.
Is there any reason for discriminating between prescription medication and prescription glasses?
Needless to say they have not turned up in Lost Property...

[Tim]

Is there any reason for discriminating between prescription medication and prescription glasses?

Presumably because being without tablets could be lethal?  But is does seem an arbitary rule and one would have thought that the train crew could have been contacted and it then left to their decison as to how hard they looked for your specs.

Welcome to to forum.  I hope they turn up and that stick around when they do.

[julian]

Thanks-I knew exactly where I had left them and could have provided an exact location.

[johoare]

Which day did this happen? As sometimes apparently it takes a while for peoples lost possessions to end up at Lost property..(I think I was quoted 7 days when I recently lost something on the train)..

But I agree if you knew where they were, it wouldn't have taken too much for someone to have contacted the train/cleaners/paignton station staff.. I do think that some people may have helped you more than others when you rang up as I'm sure there are some people out there who would have done that little bit extra and contacted the guard/driver to look out for them..

Also I wonder if speaking to a member of staff at Exeter Central might have had better results?

I do hope you get them back soon 

[Super Guard]

Out of interest were you on the 1223 from Exmouth? 

If they turn up, they'll be handed in at EXD^» (Exeter St Davids - next trains).  Check with the Duty Managers Office when you are next passing.  There is a high probability they will be sent to Bristol LPO tonight, but they'll still be logged, so if they've been sent there they can tell you.

[Phil]

My son left his wallet on a train a while back and spent several fruitless days phoning various lost property departments at either end of the line (Portsmouth, Cardiff, Bristol) to no avail. Just as he'd given it up, a package arrived in the post. Station staff at Westbury had taken it on themselves to look inside the item someone had handed in, establish the address, and post it off to him (recorded).

I did mention it here at the time, as well as ensuring my son contact them and thank them himself, since their actions obviously went well above and beyond even the level of customer service one would like to expect. My point though in mentioning it again is that things do sometimes turn up via unexpected routes, and that Lost Property isn't always the end of the line. As it were.

[SDS]

I once knew someone that did exactly that on finding lost property.
The customer sent in a thank you letter all full of praise etc. The person then got spoken to by the manager and then Form 1'd for not following correct lost property procedure and then sacked for theft. On appeal they allowed him to resign.

Of course silly b wasn't in a union, and im sure they could have thrown that out.

[johoare]

And I know I posted this elsewhere at the time but will also add it here since it's relevant...

A few weeks ago I lost my purse on the train.. I realised it shortly after I got off the train, but too late to do anything about it..late at night..no obvious station staff.. no lost property phone numbers to ring.. etc..etc..

About 5 minutes after I arrived home, someone from the British Transport Police rang me to say he had it and it was at Reading (by then).. I was able to go and pick it up the next day as he had passed it on and apparently they hold on to things there for a while (since there is no longer a lost property office at Reading like there used to be)..

That to me is how it should be... 

[Henry]

  I suppose the answer is then to have a contact number on any personal property you might leave on
  a train.
 
   So why not put a phone number in your glasses case,  as they are so expensive.
   Seems unfair to blame the railway for your own incompetence.   

[johoare]

I think incompetence is a bit unfair.. Lots of people manage to leave things on trains for various reasons (including me)..

But if Julian contacted them soon after and could have told them exactly where to find his glasses, you'd like to think they could have got them for him..Well I would have done had I worked for FGW^▸ (First Great Western)..

[Mookiemoo]

yeah - I managed to leave my berghuas rain coat on a train last week

Although alcohol played a part in that!

[Btline]

It's not incompetence, it's called being human.

I hate it when everything has to go to the Central Lost Property Office. All items lost on LM^▸ (London Midland - recent franchise) are sent to B'ham. Not very helpful if you are at Hereford.

If you phone up/ speak to staff straight away, then they should phone down the line and get a staff member to get it off. It's what CT did for me in the past. Alas, LM is a "no, phone central office" TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company), so instead I had to phone a friend (who luckily I knew got on the train further down the line), who got it off for me.

[inspector_blakey]

I had to phone a friend...who got it off for me.