Lost train luggage may come with hidden fees to reclaim

Passengers who lose luggage on long-distance trains outside the Helsinki region may face steep, opaque charges to recover it, as the practice of VR’s lost property contractor comes under regulatory scrutiny.

VR has outsourced lost property handling to Lost & Found Finland, whose warehouses are in Vantaa and Helsinki. Inquiries cannot be made through VR; instead, customers must use the contractor’s paid phone service.

By law, storage fees for lost items may not exceed €17. Yet the phone service charges nearly €12 for a three-minute call, and a “packaging fee” for returning a found suitcase starts at €30. Online inquiries cost €5, with no guarantee of a response unless the payment can be matched to an item.

The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency has repeatedly warned private lost property offices about unjustified fees. Complaints seen by Yle also allege that Lost & Found Finland’s phone service repeatedly promised callbacks that never materialised.

Lost & Found Finland’s managing director Jukka Ylirautia defends the pricing, stating that items can be collected in person for the €17 statutory fee. Unclaimed items become the finder’s property after three months and are sold at auction.

Olli Norros, professor of insurance and compensation law at the University of Helsinki, notes that charges for returning lost property can only arise from contract, a unilateral promise, or legal obligation. If costs seem unreasonable or lack a contractual basis, Norros advises taking the matter to district court.

Norros highlights a potential conflict between the Lost Property Act and its implementing regulation, as the act requires compensation for storage costs while the regulation does not specify how such costs should be determined.