Left something on a train, bus or plane? How to get it back

Everyone has done it: the phone left on the seat, the bag in the overhead rack, the laptop at airport security. Britons spend an estimated 110 days of their lives looking for lost things, according to Privilege Insurance research.¹

The good news is that a lot of lost property is handed in. Transport for London’s Lost Property Office handles more than 200,000 items a year.² The bad news is that most of it never makes it home. Of the items left on London buses in 2025, TfL recorded 23,151 reclaimed and 143,158 not reclaimed, so only about one in seven got back to its owner.³

Often that’s not because nobody found the item. It’s because the owner and the item never got matched up. Here’s how to make sure yours does.

First, act quickly

Lost property offices keep items for a limited time before they’re disposed of or donated, so report the loss the same day if you can. Items can also take a few days to travel from a station or depot to a central office, so don’t give up if it isn’t there straight away.

Who to contact

Where you lost it	Who to contact
London Underground, buses, Overground, Elizabeth line, DLR, trams or a London black cab	TfL Lost Property, using the online form on the TfL website
National Rail train	The train operator that ran the service. Most have an online lost property form. Station staff can help too.
A railway station	The company that manages the station, often Network Rail at major stations
A bus outside London	The bus operator, by phone or online
A private hire car or minicab	The operator, or through the ride-hailing app’s “lost item” feature
On a plane	The airline, as items found on aircraft usually go to the airline or its handling agent
In an airport	The airport’s lost property service, which is sometimes run by an outside company

Airports handle a lot of lost property. Confused.com found 62,897 items were handed in to UK airport lost and found services in a single year.⁴ If you’re not sure whether you lost something on the plane or in the terminal, contact both the airline and the airport.

Don’t assume it’ll turn up, though. When Which? deliberately left four iPhones on flights with four different airlines, only two were returned.⁵

How to describe it so it’s found

Lost property teams deal with thousands of black bags, grey umbrellas and identical chargers. Give them details that only the owner would know:

• Make, model and colour, plus the serial number or IMEI for electronics.
• Distinctive marks, stickers, cases or damage.
• What’s inside a bag, wallet or case.
• When and where you lost it: the route, carriage, seat or gate, and the time.
• A photo, if you have one.

If it’s a phone, put it in lost mode through Find My or Find My Device straight away, with a message and a contact number. If it was stolen rather than lost, our stolen phone checklist covers what to do.

Check other places too

• Ask at the station, gate or information desk where you think you left it.
• Post in local community groups, including the area where you lost it.
• If the item is registered with Regimate, mark it as lost so anyone who checks its serial number in Magic Search can see you’re looking for it.

Make your things easier to return

Most people who find something want to give it back. The problem is that a phone, a set of keys or a laptop gives them no way to reach you, and you probably don’t want your phone number or home address stuck on everything you own.

That’s what Regimate is for. Register an item and give it a QR label, an NFC sticker, a Regimate tag or, for a phone, a lock-screen image saying “If found, please scan”. When someone scans it, they see a private finder page for that item and can message you straight away. You get a notification and a private conversation. Neither of you sees the other’s contact details.

• Keys, wallets, bags, laptops, cameras, headphones and passports are good candidates.
• You can add a reward and mark the item as lost, so finders know you’re looking.
• It’s free for up to 50 items.

Found something yourself?

Thank you. If it has a Regimate label or tag, scan it and send the owner a quick message: no app or account needed, and your details stay private. If it doesn’t, hand it to staff or the operator’s lost property service. Our finder’s guide explains the options and how to hand things back safely.

Frequently asked questions