Reunited

Two days ago, on return from a meal out with friends I found a a wallet and a passport in the underpass at my local station.
It was too late for there to be any staff around so I picked them up and tried to contact the police to report my find.

Not being an emergency I rang the 101 number for the police and it took an age of dialling option 1 for this and option 2 for that before finally getting through to the recorded message of the "local" (some five miles away) police station that their desk was closed and I'd need to call back during office hours.

UK passports don't have address information in them, but the wallet had a university Id card and so the next day instead of phoning the police I decided to call the university instead and see if I could get hold of the owner directly. I spoke to someone, gave them my name and number as well as an email address and I said if I hadn't heard from the student in the next couple of days then I'd post the things I had to the university for them to hand on to him.

Tonight he got in touch and came to collect his stuff.
Nice guy - he gave me a bottle of wine as a reward for reuniting him with his passport and wallet.

On finding the wallet and passport in the station I'd been worried that someone had been mugged / pick-pocketed and the culprit had ditched stuff after emptying the wallet of cash. Turns out our poor student had simply been running for the train and had no cash in his wallet to start with. Baggy pockets let him down and he only discovered his loss when well on the train and away from where I found his stuff.

Anyone else found something and reunited it with the owner or lost something and had it returned?

Originally posted by orangutan
Two days ago, on return from a meal out with friends I found a a wallet and a passport in the underpass at my local station.
It was too late for there to be any staff around so I picked them up and tried to contact the police to report my find.

Not being an emergency I rang the 101 number for the police and it took an age of dialling option 1 for this ...[text shortened]... nyone else found something and reunited it with the owner or lost something and had it returned?

Originally posted by divegeester
When I was about 10 years old I found a pay-packet containing what for me was more cash than I'd ever seen. I stole 10p (or thereabouts) to buy some sweets and handed it into the police. The owner gave me £5 as a reward which either I or my parents refused. I was so happy that the man had been reunited with his wallet, but I've always felt a pang of guilt about the 10p I stole.

The post that was quoted here has been removed

I left my shoulder bag hanging on the chair after a night class at college. The resulting personal drama - the bag had two unopened weekly pay packets in it, as well as my mother's passbook complete with signed blank withdrawal slip ($42,000 in the account) - put 10 years on my life.

The bag was handed into the college the next day during her lunch hour by a woman who'd been in the later evening class - completely unopened, all contents intact, and she'd refused even to give her name or contact details so that I could thank her.

I often wished I'd met her. She would never have known how much her thoughtfulness and honesty meant to me.

Originally posted by Kewpie
I left my shoulder bag hanging on the chair after a night class at college. The resulting personal drama - the bag had two unopened weekly pay packets in it, as well as my mother's passbook complete with signed blank withdrawal slip ($42,000 in the account) - put 10 years on my life.

The bag was handed into the college the next day during her lunch hour b ...[text shortened]... ed I'd met her. She would never have known how much her thoughtfulness and honesty meant to me.

My two examples, that I can remember now, have neither dramatics nor moral dilemmas.

1st example is very recent from my last journey. In a hotel room I forgot a little bag full off usb sticks, and some small usb-cables for dictafon and spy pencil (video recorder and camera in one). I was packing in a rush because I ordered a cab for 05.00 AM due early flight. I drank too much the night before and I woke up 04.12. without alarm clock. I had to pack big suitcase and backpack. I managed to do that somehow but without taking shower but I left the bag on the desk. Important files for my writing and this bag was a talisman, it belonged to member of my family. It traveled with me a lot.

Well, the hotel sent it to me.

2.
In Milano, at a hotel again; they were refurbishing the building so the breakfast was served in other hotel just around the corner (I think the owner was the same). I left my cute bike leather jacket on the chair and in the pocket was my passport. (I don't know why I had it with me in the first place, it was only a breakfast..)

I noticed I don't have the jacket couple of hours after I got back to my room as I needed it to go out. I rushed to the restaurant of that other hotel and the jacket was at the reception. With my valuable traveling document.

Ok, here's the third example with quick solution.

In Denmark, I was changing the train (I traveled from Copenhagen to Jylland, to visit a Danish friend). I had a big suitcase and backpack with brand new laptop.
I took the elevator to get to another platform and was happy to reach on time with my suitcase, when I noticed I don't have a backpack. I panicked but I saw it on the other platform. Between it and me there were couple of railway tracks. I could get there only by using elevator again. I didn't dare to ask some of other passenegrs to keep an eye on my suitcase, so I rushed back with it. Whilst I was running in tunnel I was imagining someone stilling my computer. But no one did. So I took it and rushed back again. When I reached the platform again, the train was about to leave. As in old days there was an engine driver who put his head out of the window (it was local line, I think that was the reason) and saw me running breathlessly:
- Skal du til Silkeborg? - asked he.
- JA!!!
- Da skynd dig!

And he opened the door and I jumped in and before the door closed behind me, the train took off.

once i was helping a buddy of mine move into a new apartment...
well, it wasn't me, or anyone i knew, just two random guys i've never met...
as we, i mean these guys, were moving stuff into the apartment, i happened to look under the bed, for whatever reason, and there was a baggie there with nearly ten grams of coca cola in it...
the pinkish stuff that somebody i don't know told me came from peru...
i have no idea what it was or who's it belonged to or what happened to it, in fact i think this is all a dream...

dang that was good...

Recently, I went to a drive-up ATM and found the previous user's card in the slot, with the screen asking "Do you need more time?" I could have easily cleaned this guy out and dumped the card in the nearest bin, but I said "No" and grabbed the guy's card and then completed my own transaction. Afterward, I went into the bank and turned it in to a teller, who was amazed that I would actually do that without taking advantage. This is a feeling similar to when I occasionally pay for the car behind me in the drive-through at a fast food place. Helping someone out and yet you never even see their face and they don't know who you are, either. Just a random act of human kindness.

"Anyone else found something and reunited it with the owner or lost something and had it returned?"

Yes. My daughter (9 yrs old) once found a 100 franc note on the street (worth about 100 USD). We took it to the lost-and-found bureau and filed a "found" report. One year later, no one had claimed it, so my daughter received a letter from the police that it was hers to come and collect. She also found a mobile phone on a city bus and turned that in, but we have heard nothing so I expect the owner claimed it.

My other daughter left her house keys on a city bus; they were turned in to the transit authority lost-and-found and we recovered them within a few hours.

Relatives of mine were coming to visit us by train and absent mindedly got off the train without all their luggage. It was sent on to their hotel by currier, free of charge, a day later.

That's Switzerland.

The post that was quoted here has been removed

Originally posted by Suzianne
Recently, I went to a drive-up ATM and found the previous user's card in the slot, with the screen asking "Do you need more time?" I could have easily cleaned this guy out and dumped the card in the nearest bin, but I said "No" and grabbed the guy's card and then completed my own transaction. Afterward, I went into the bank and turned it in to a teller, w ...[text shortened]... en see their face and they don't know who you are, either. Just a random act of human kindness.