How to look for lost and found property in Bristol
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You might be working, living, studying in Bristol...And right now you’ve realised you’ve lost a valuable item. Like your phone or your keys? Perhaps you were only visiting for a day, a week-end or a holiday. In any case it’s not fun when it happens. We’ve all been there. Now we can’t (very regrettably) magic it back for you, but putting ourselves in your shoes, we guess that the last thing you want right now is to scroll around online to find out how best to find what you’ve lost.
So we decided to put together this hopefully handy guide on what to do if you lose an item in and around Bristol. To try and save you time and help you find whatever you’ve lost faster.
The process for finding and claiming lost property
...Can vary greatly depending on where you’ve lost your item. Not particularly helpful when you are in a hurry. If only you could register lost or found property once, and all the local businesses and venues in Bristol's inventory of lost and found property would be automatically looked up….Hang on that’s what Found does!
Download the app on GooglePlay or Apple AppStore to register your item in minutes
However not every local business and venue in Bristol and Bath uses our app (yet).
So we’ve also gathered information from all the main places we could think of in Bristol where you’re most likely to have lost something, and bundled it into this guide. We also researched and listed various lost and found property Facebook groups and apps you can check. Where possible we spoke with them to get the most up to date information and extra tips. (PS: if there are other places or groups you know of which are not in this guide, let us know).
You can either scroll down the whole list if you’ve not sure where to look, or hop down to the section you need by clicking on the section titles below.
BEFORE YOU DO THIS... take a couple of minutes to register your lost property on Found - the lost and found community network.
Why?
Put it simply - By the time you’ve read this article, you never know, Found could have ...well, found it!
1. As soon as you register your lost item, we’ll kick off a search across our large Found database. Looking through all the items people and our venue partners in Bristol and Bath have found and registered (including the Bristol Aquarium, Bristol Ferry, UWE Bristol University and many of the local cafés, restaurants, sport and music venues…). How do you know a local venue in Bristol is a Community partner of Found? Simple - Look for this sticker in their window! (you can quickly scan the QR code to download the app too).
2. If you’ve lost your phone ( and obviously can't download the app), simply follow this link to our Found Lost Property page and quick form on our website, to tell us what you’ve lost. We’ll put our clever tech to work the same as if you’ve used the app. We’ll let you know as soon as we find a match.
3. When you get your confirmation email that our Found search is on, don't forget to give us permission to tell our community about your lost item through social media so we can spread the word further. Just click on the email link to confirm.
Download the app on GooglePlay or Apple AppStore to register your item in minutes
Lost property at Bristol airport
If you've lost items at the airport or on an aircraft, you need a follow a different process depending whether you lost it in the last 7 days or earlier than that.
Within 7 days:
Call the airport 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on +44 (0)1275 475494.
You'll need to tell them on what date you lost your item, give them your flight details and a description of the item.
Call the same number 30 minutes prior to picking it up, to ensure that it is ready for collection.
After 7 days:
Bristol airport lost property management is handed over to 1st Flight.
Call 1st Flight on +44(0)1279 813000 and select option 3
Or email brslostproperty@1stflight.co.uk
Luggage lost in transit:
You'll need to report this directly to your airline (see below how to contact Ryanair and Easyjet)
Property lost on Airport Flyer bus services:
For items lost on board an A1 or A3 Airport Flyer bus service, you need to get in touch directly with First Group:
Call on +44(0)117 929 1613
or email marlboroughstreet.travelshop@firstgroup.com
Easyjet lost property in Bristol
If you've left something behind on board an Easyjet aircraft, the Cabin Crew hands it to the Ground Crew then to the Baggage Services team for 24 hours. At Bristol airport, Easyjet Baggage Services Team is managed by 1st Flight (according to Easyjet's website) so give them a call or email them using the details provided just above (see "after 7 days").
Ryanair lost property at Bristol airport
Ryanair's approach to helping its passengers with lost and found property is clear, if not particularly customer focused: On their website they simply state that
"your baggage is your responsibility. Ryanair do not accept any liability for passenger’s hand baggage, as it is each individual passenger’s responsibility to ensure that they carry all of their belongings with them when leaving the airport or aircraft"
We couldn't find anything on how to deal with lost hold luggage or other items of personal property either.
If you've lost or misplaced an item whilst flying Ryanair, the general advice on their website is to contact your local airport lost property office for help (Bristol Lost property office details are listed above).
Lost property Bristol Temple Meads
If you think you've left an item of property on a First Great Western train, or at one of the FGW stations including Bristol Temple Meads:
Call the Lost Property Helpline on 08457 000 125.
Opening hours are:
Mon to Fri: 8am to 8pm
Sat & Sun: 9am to 5pm
All items of lost property are kept at the Lost Property office, which keeps an inventory of all lost property items.
It's worth noting that:
Customers should allow up to 5 working days from the day they are lost for the property to be received at this office and logged.
Items are stored for up to 12 weeks.
Items unclaimed for 12 weeks are sent to auction.
FGW lost property will invoice you for storage and retrieval charges (cost is variable depending on the item).
Lost and found property items CANNOT be sent by train.
Once an item is confirmed to be yours, you can collection from the Bristol Temple Meads Lost Property Office:
1. To be collected by courier or posted back to you (if can fit through a normal letter box - you'll need to send the Lost Property office a self addressed, postage paid and padded envelope to send your item in)
2. In person (either you personally or you can ask a friend to collect the item on your behalf)
Lost property Bristol bus station or on First Bus buses
If you leave something behind on one of First Bus buses in Bristol, you can do one of two things:
Complete the online registration form at the bottom of this page
OR
Call customer services on 0345 646 0707
Opening hours are:
9am to 5pm Monday to Friday
(excluding Public Holidays)
All lost property found or handed in by drivers or Company officials or by a third party is recorded, labelled and stored at the local lost property office.
What happens to lost and found property at First Bus:
Hundreds of items are left on our buses every week.
The drivers collect property left the buses.
They it back to the depot to be registered (you need to allow for up to 2 days for lost property to be logged in the First Bus system)
Items are then kept for up to a month (unless perishable (e.g. food) or if it’s a debit or credit Staff may open items like bags left behind, to identify the owner or specific details of the item of lost property (brand, model....)
To claim your lost property item back, you will be asked for a full description of the item (contents, where and when was lost...) in order to reasonably prove that you are the rightful owner.
You'll need to bring a proof of ID with you to collect your item.
Bristol taxi lost property
First you need to figure out whether you took a Hackney cab (the Bristol ones are a distinctive bright blue like on the picture above) of a private hire vehicle.
If you’ve lost something in a private hire vehicle:
Call back the number you made the booking for your cab through.
If you've left something in a Hackney Carriages cab:
Bad news, there is currently no central place for Hackney Carriage drivers to hand in lost property.
So, aside from registering your lost item(s) on the Found app (your cab driver might be using it and could log a found item, your item, at their end, you can also check these the various local Facebook groups for lost and found items in Bristol (we have listed them further below for you).
Uwe University of Bristol lost property
Students who have lost and item:
Contact us
Email: uwecard@uwe.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0)117 32 82866 or 82866 (internal)
You can also complete a lost property form online on the UWE website
Students who have found lost property:
You can hand it out here:
Your nearest Information Point on Campus
Security Office on Frenchay Campus - Room 1E20
Porters' Lodge at Bower Ashton Studios - Room 0B18
Porters' Lodge at Glenside Campus - Room 1H19
What happens to lost property that's not claimed?
Passports are returned to the Government Passport Office.
Driving licence are returned to the DVLA.
Other unclaimed property (after a period of six weeks) might be recycled or disposed of.
Finding lost property left behind at the Bristol Aquarium
The Bristol Aquarium have a lost and found storage area behind their ticketing desks.
If you lose something valuable whilst visiting, you can simply speak with a member of staff and they will take a look for you. If you have already left you can call to find out if they have it. Their telephone number is 0117 929 8929 and their office hours are 9:00am-5:30pm, daily.
The good news is that the Bristol Aquarium is also a Found venue partner. Which means they log lost and found valuables onto the Found app. If you have lost something during your visit, you can simply register for free on the app - add your item and mark it as lost. Our clever tech will scan the database of items found and logged onto our app (by the Bristol Aquarium staff, and also all our other local venue partners. This can help you find an item if you are not sure where you might have lost it in Bristol). As soon as we find a match, we email you to let you know and you can either arrange to go back to pick it up, or use our courier service to arrange for it to be picked up and delivered back to you.
Bristol zoo lost property
If you've lost something whilst on a day out at Bristol Zoo, you need to call 0117 428 5300 for lost and found enquiries.
If you need to head back to the zoo to collect your lost property, all lost property is stored in the main reception building.
Lost and found Facebook groups
One search on Facebook and you'll find lots of groups where you can post your lost item and also scroll through what other members might have found, which could include your lost valuable.
Popular searches you can try:
Lost property [+town you want to search]
Lost and found [+town you want to search]
Taxi Lost And Found (1.7K members - as of Oct 2021)
Black Cab Lost Property (1,2K members - as of Oct 2021)
Finally...
Don't forget that when you register your lost item on Found, you can also email us from your confirmation email (or message us with Facebook messenger, Instagram, Twitter if easier) and ask us to share an appeal for your lost item on social media for you. We do need your permission to do this however.
INTERESTED IN OFFERING FOUND AS A FREE SERVICE TO YOUR CUSTOMERS AND VISITORS?
Discover how the Found business app could help your venue, business, hotel, university... in Bristol remove the headache of managing lost property AND offer a great new service free of charge to your customers, making it quicker and easier for them to get reunited with their lost valuables or contact us and we can walk you through how it will benefit your business, how it works and how we support our venue partners if you prefer.
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