Lost property service

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Lost property as a service is legally anchored in the German Civil Code (see Lost and Found Law ) and is traditionally held by the lost property office of the municipalities or transport companies. But there are also companies that offer related services for the recovery of lost property.

Key finding services

So-called key discovery services were already established in Germany and Switzerland at the end of the 1980s. These providers offer a key fob , which bears the postal label of the service provider (usually a post office box address) and a numbering or identification as well as instructions for the finder to throw the found key and key fob into the nearest post box .

Due to a transport obligation, this keychain will be sent to the service provider for a fee. This now uses the numbering or identification in its index or database to check whether the key fob is registered to an owner. If this is the case, the owner can be informed about the find and, if necessary, the key ring can be delivered against reimbursement of costs and payment.

Critics point out the following points:

  • After the found item has been thrown in the mailbox, the finder and owner no longer have access, even if the finder and owner could meet directly or, if necessary, via the local lost property office.
  • Due to the postal delivery of the key ring to the service provider and then to the actual owner, there is a time delay of several days to weeks during which the owner has no access to his key.
  • Many of these key rings were distributed to end consumers as merchandising products or give-away . Many owners of these key fobs do not know that they have to register with the service provider and that their details B. also have to be looked after when moving.
  • The finder remains anonymous. So no finder's fee can be paid. This means that there is little incentive for the finder.

In addition, some service providers stopped their service after a short time, even though the key fobs with a service for 5 or 10 years were paid for in advance.

Online lost and found offices

The lost and found offices of the municipalities are often managed with IT support. With the spread of the Internet, some municipalities are putting the data on the finds on the municipalities' websites publicly on the Internet. It is also often possible to report found items via the Internet. Losers can search for their property through online research.

At the same time, some Internet portals have included a search / find section as a service. Others pursue this business purpose only and try to replace the lost property office. However, this is not legally possible because the finder has to fulfill his obligation to report the find.

Online research offers an advantage for the loser and at the same time relieves the bureaucrats, but the effort on the part of the finder to submit the found report and on the part of the loser with regard to research and proof of ownership is very high. In addition, there is always a local or regional reference, i. H. nationwide research is usually not possible.

Lost property services

Recently, some providers have been offering so-called lost property services. A distinction is made between:

  • Animal discovery service
  • Luggage discovery service
  • Key recovery service
  • Valuables recovery service

For this purpose, the service provider offers special labeling products that are provided with instructions for the finder and numbering or labeling. The instructions for the finder contain either only a URL to the Internet portal for submitting the found report or also a telephone number.

Depending on the provider, animal tags, luggage tags, key rings or labels with different service terms are offered as identification products. The advantage of these concepts is the direct assignment of the find to the owner and the quick information about the find to the owner. This is done by email or SMS , depending on the provider .

The animal discovery service is particularly interesting for owners of animals that have already been marked (see animal identification ). Should z. If, for example, a dog, cat or ferret already has an EU pet passport , the animal can be registered with the transponder ID or tattoo. With some providers it is also possible to register other markings, such as bird ringing .