Arriva slated over its lost property fees
ARRIVA Trains Wales has been criticised after it was revealed the company takes 10% of money found in any purse or wallet found on its vehicles.
The controversial policy has come to light after a passenger was apparently told that he would only have his wallet returned at a charge of £2 plus 10% of the cash contents.
An outraged Adam Howells tweeted the official Arriva Train Wales Twitter account incensed with the administration charge.
But Arriva Trains Wales said passengers are charged standard rates for the return of items that are recovered by staff.
This is in addition to any courier or postal service fee, and the company stipulates that items cannot be returned by train.
For any cash recovered, 10% charged on its value.
This is limited to a minimum of £2 and a maximum of £10, according to the company’s lost property policy .
That means a passenger who loses a wallet containing £100 will be charged £10 for its return (plus the £2 return fee and postage).
Other lost items also come at a fixed price for their release. Passengers are charged £25 for the return of laptops and camcorders while mobile phones are set at £10. Rucksacks, suitcases, watches, bracelets, pushchairs, bikes, cycle helmets and skateboards are all charged £3. The fee for walking sticks and small bags stands at £2.
Several people tweeted complaints to Arriva Train Wales.
Jon Jones wrote: “That is some policy isn’t it, theft in everything but name. Shameful behaviour. is
“I work in a large customer service industry myself, we are always delighted to reunite our customers with their property without charge.
“It should be a lesson to your customers to be more vigilant with their property.”
Another person said: “What does the extra admin involve? I too am disgusted by this policy.
“A flat fee for reuniting an item with its owner would be completely understandable but to take a % from out of the recovered wallet feels very much like robbery to me.”
David Sidebottom, director at the independent watchdog Transport Focus, said: “The current lost property systems in place are, in many cases, not fit for purpose for reuniting lost property with rightful owners.
“So we’re calling for a centralised database, as well as sensible rules for dealing with lost property across the rail network.
“This includes another look at fees. “Transport Focus will also working with the new operator in Wales on lost property tracking in the future.”
An Arriva Trains Wales spokesman said: “Tens of thousands o f items are lost on the railway network every year.
“To safely store, record and process all these items takes a considerable amount of resource and as such we, like all other train operators in the UK, have a small handling and administration fee which is clearly outlined on our website and passenger’s charter and our social media team have passed these details to the customer.”