to rage at people who post lost property on social media

[austounding]

Instead of doing the right thing and handing it in?

Latest example:

www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10156545729445231&set=a.10150187213680231.441922.722955230&type=3&theater

Woman finds an ipad on a train. Instead of handing it in to the lost property office, she TAKES IT HOME and asks everyone to share her facebook post to reunite ipad and owner.

If I owned that ipad, my first action would be to call the lost property office - why do people think sharing on social media is remotely a better idea?!

Some time ago there was another one where a woman had found a beautiful engagement ring at Wimbledon - again, shared all over facebook rather than handed in. What is wrong with these people?!

and breathe

Where I live the nearest manned police station is a 20 mile round trip by car.
The nearest manned train station is either a 22 mile round trip or 44 mile round trip.
The nearest 2 train stations are unmanned.
I can see why people post on Facebook rather than hand lost property in.

This irks me as well.

Only this morning, someone posted about finding a wallet in the city centre. It belonged to someone called John Smith (not real name) as stated in his drivers licence.

Why not just post the wallet back to the address, or drop it off yourself if close. That's what I'd do, none of this FB posting shite.

I do hope MrsDV comes and posts her funny wallet/FB story though.

I get on the same train the OP found the iPad on, every morning. I suggested that she ask the guard to do an announcement on the same train as it has 12 coaches and the chap in question may well be sitting elsewhere. Have there been any announcements? Have there chuff.

I found a wallet with a substantial amount if cash cards and id in and founf the person in question on facebook. Not sure i trusted the station guard not to pinch the cash.

Yes I am stating that random people I don't know might steal something. I don't think or assume they would, but I wouldn't take the risk.

I wouldn't post it back to the address on the driving license, loads of people don't change that for ages even though they're supposed to - but I would drive round there to see if they did live there.

I don't think the lost property system in London works particularly well unless you count 'help yourself to an umbrella' which my colleague got when she went there

Our local site reunited someone with their dog and someone else with their child's lost scooter recently. Don't know any other method as effective as that. And I am not someone who has ever posted a found item or been reunited with anything lost via social media, so no axe to grind.

I suppose it depends what's been lost, and the size of the town or village, as to how useful it is?

The same reason anyone posts anything on social media (with the exception of business/charity) purposes, attention seeking.

Yanbu. It irritates me every time I see another 'please share to reunite' post. Just hand it in ffs. If I lose my bus pass, bank card, phone, camera etc no I don't want someone to splash my photo/name all over the bloody internet. I want you to hand it in somewhere close to where it was found so I can go retracing my steps and find it.

Our local police station is shut down and I don't drive not that if I did they would take in lost property anyway. I normally hand said item into the closest shop/security office for area but I do post it up in FB

"iPhone found at X place been handed into Y place, password protected so couldn't call a contact"

Found loads of phones in kids parks and end up searching for the mum/dad number calling them to arrange return.

Don't expect anything back for returning to the owner it's just the right thing to do.

Our local fb site has lovely stories or items being returned as does the fb red alert page (which is more national wide). Tbh we dont have a police station in our large town as the nearest one is in the larger town attached where you have to pay to park. I can understand why people post it on local sites.

Really kitkatmonster? So i find it in a park and hand it in to a nearby shop a few streets away or in town and into a random shop and you will go into all the shops asking? I genuinely never thought of doing that (assumed noone would go into all local shops asking tbh)

I know!

I saw this for the first time today - they took the bag off train and rather than give it in to the station they put it on FB. Why?!?!

Gah,this annoys me. OK if it's something that's been found in a park or the middle of the town centre but if it's actually inside somewhere it bugs me when somebody takes it and puts it on facebook. The most annoying one I saw was a handbag left under a seat at a concert. Someone took it instead of handing it to an usher. I can just imagine the poor woman "oh shit, I left my bag under the seat, best nip back". Meanwhile on facebook "I found a bag under a seat in Manchester arena, I'be taken it home to warrington, please share!"

Yeah, those are both pretty dumb things to do. Was it 'theft by finding'? Oh dear noone claimed it so now its mine?

I don't mind them really. Maybe you the person can't be bothered with the trek to hand it in to the police. Maybe it's a small personal thing and the owner thinks it will never be noticed as lost or handed in.

Our local police force has advised the use of social media as they no longer accept lost property items.

Inside a venue or on public transport, I'd take it to the company's lost property. If I found something on the street, social media is pretty much the only option.

If you find a wallet with cards in you don't need social media or the police - you can hand the wallet in to a branch of the bank one of the cards belongs to and they will have the current address on file and contact the owner...

A driving licence could be returned to the DVLA.

Social media might reunite people sometimes, but as kitkat says, most of the time it is more appropriate to hand stuff in, and then if you are prepared to go the extra mile post on fb that you have done so, to increase the chances. There is more often than not no justification for taking the item home with you, especially if that is home to a different town.

I saw an engagement ring one doing the rounds (a while ago now) in which the post said it had been found in a Spanish holiday resort wtf made them take it back to the UK with them and post it on their fb site is a mystery...