Picture this: you’ve just had the party of your life, letting loose like there’s no tomorrow. You’re ready to call it a night. While you reach into your pockets to order an Uber taxi, you realize your cell phone is missing. Did you drop it on the dance floor? Did you leave it in the bathroom stall? Panic sets in as you conclude you lost your iPhone in Uber on your way to the club! Now, that’s a catch-22. To contact Uber, you need the phone, which you obviously don’t have. Who even remembers the driver’s name? All the data is on the phone! Luckily for you, it doesn’t matter if you’re in Dubai, London, Berlin, or India, there is Uber Lost and Found policy.
Thousands of people experience something similar on a daily basis. Uber taxi lost property is more common than you might imagine. On the 5th of April 2022, forgetfulness reached its peak in the United States. Almost a thousand Americans filed lost item reports to Uber in a single day!
Uber lost and found inventory grows the most on weekends. On Saturdays, we lose passports, on Sundays – groceries
April seems to be a cursed month, as the second most forgetful day of the year falls on April 9th. The bronze goes to New Year’s Day when, as expected, our boozed minds cannot think clearly. Waking up with a hangover and a complete lack of memory results in a holiday of absent-mindedness and lost belongings.
In general, weekends erase our mental connection with our stuff the most. On Saturdays, we lose the most passports, and on Sundays – groceries. As for the time of day, 11 pm turns out to be the witching hour when our brains just can’t handle the overload.
We know all of this juicy data because, for the past seven years, the ride-hailing company has been publishing its annual Uber Lost & Found Index, shedding light on the most commonly lost possessions.
In today’s article, we share insights from the latest Uber lost and found list of items, but also advice on how to retrieve your forgotten property.
If you often experience disorientation and confusion in a foreign country, you might be suffering from travel fogginess! Learn more about it!
What is the most commonly forgotten item in Uber?
According to official 2023 data, the most commonly forgotten item in Uber is… Drumroll, please… Clothing! That’s a wild jump to the top of the Uber lost and found list, from last year’s seventh place. Should we blame the unpredictable weather? The car’s misleading AC? Or do things in the backseat just get heated when traveling with a partner? On a serious note, the top clothing items left behind were – shawls.
Other most commonly forgotten objects on Uber’s lost & found leaderboard are phones, backpacks and purses, wallets, headphones, jewelry, keys, books, laptops, and watches.
On the bright side, it seems we’ve made some progress since the last year. We’re not losing as many glasses and IDs as we used to. Or are they missing from the top 10 just because now we keep them in those already lost purses and wallets?
The most unique items at Uber lost and found office
The fun starts when looking at less conventional, if not the weirdest things people lose in Uber cars. These are my personal favorites among the things Uber drivers were looking for in the backseat in different countries:
- Bathroom shelf (Canada)
- Gift box resembling an egg yolk (Taiwan)
- Jet washer (UK)
- Breast pump (France)
- Tons of corn (Mexico)
- Three packages of chicken (Brazil)
- Large diamond earring (Saudi Arabia)
- Scooter (Costa Rica)
- Unicycle (USA)
- Printer and remote-controlled vibrator (USA) – that was from the same ride
The x-rated findings do seem to be a part of a trend. In 2023, passengers were leaving condoms, an entire pack of sexy underwear, as well as some sex toys.
Among other frequently found items at Uber, there has been a significant number of lost pets (dogs, turtles, hamsters, and even a rat), fantasy props (Harry Potter magic wands, lightsabers, and Minnie‘s ears), gaming devices (more than 70 Nintendo Switches), false dentures and teeth (more than 40 of them), egg packages, and bags of weed.
If that’s not bizarre enough, people have also filed eyebrow-raising requests for: a fog machine, ankle monitor, fake blood, a pin of Jesus holding a slice of pizza, small camping stove and funeral pamphlets, bidet, lotion and chicken wings, rash cream, a feather, and “an important pregnancy test”.
Among those whose lost items have not been found, there has been one lost girlfriend and one self-respect. What would’ve we given to see that driver’s face while he was tracking down someone’s lost dignity!
Is Uber responsible for lost items?
The short answer is – no. As much as we’d like to think Uber drivers are also part-time nannies who will make sure we don’t forget our security blanket, it’s not their job to babysit us.
Neither Uber nor Uber drivers accept any responsibility for the items left in a vehicle after a trip ended. As drivers are independent contractors, Uber cannot guarantee the delivery of forgotten goods.
However, that doesn’t mean that Uber handles lost and found without any care and that you have to say ultimate goodbye to your lost belongings once you leave the vehicle. Uber has a lost and found system in place for those who misplace their belongings in a driver’s car.
If you thought losing an item in a taxi is the worst nightmare possible, read the number four on my list of the biggest WTF travel moments!
What to do if you lost something in an Uber?
First, take a big breath and resist the urge to panic. Secondly, congratulations – googling this question, and finding this answer was the right thing to do.
If you’ve lost an item in an Uber car, the quickest way to find it and get it is by calling the driver. That’s easy if the lost item is not your phone.
If you’re suddenly phoneless, access the app through someone else’s phone or log in on the site through any computer. Just don’t tell us you keep your login details written down in that lost phone.
Once you are in, open the main menu, navigate to ‘your trips’, and find the ride where your precious belongings got legs. Then hit ‘find lost item’, and ‘contact driver about a lost item’. You’ll then have the option to call the driver, hopefully confirm the lost object was found, and arrange an Uber lost and found drop-off time and location. Have patience while the Uber driver works on returning your lost item. After all, their primary job is to drive customers around.
If your driver is unresponsive for more than 24 hours after the trip ended, don’t fret. Reach out to the Uber customer service team, and they will step in.
Does Uber charge for lost items?
If you go through the process of retrieving the item forgotten in your Uber car, the company will charge you for that. Uber lost and found fee is 5 euros, and you’ll be sent a receipt once you get your belongings back.
Uber lost and found – Conclusion
Whether you lost your phone, wallet, or your grandma’s dentures in Uber, it’s encouraging to know that you’re not exceptional. Passengers lose their beloved items every single day. Equally, many of the lost items get quickly reunited with their rightful owners.
Lesson learned: always double-check for your belongings before leaving the Uber vehicle
When analyzing the Uber Lost and Found Index, we could easily conclude that the rideshare giant’s offices are practically a museum of weird forgotten treasures. And these are only the lost items people were willing to admit to losing!
While your driver may act friendly, they should not be held accountable for items left behind. From priceless to worthless, from mundane to bizarre, once you get separated, your stuff has a life of its own. Maybe someone else is already joining the circus with that unicycle.
The moral of the story: check, double-check, and triple-check for your belongings before exiting the Uber car. Or else, risk losing your flat’s keys, your favorite sweater, and, as we have seen, your dignity too, forever. Well, they might show up in next year’s Uber lost and found hall of fame.
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