Mother is told she must pay £25 to retrieve her son’s lost £30 coat from Heathrow Airport… or fork out £50 to have it delivered
When Rachel Gross realized her teenage son had forgotten his coat at Heathrow Airport, she thought it would be a simple mistake to fix.
Instead, he said, he was told he would have to pay £25 to get the money back and up to £50 to have it mailed home.
The mum claimed she was ‘stunned’ after discovering the price was almost as much as the coat itself, saying it cost around £30.
The disturbance occurred Sunday evening after Ms. Gross and her family arrived at Terminal Three.
Her 13-year-old son was pushing two luggage carts when he accidentally left his coat behind.
“She saw a coat in the car and thought I had taken the car with her coat, but I had the car with my coat and so when we got in she realized her coat was still on the other side,” she told the Daily Mail.
The family immediately sought help from airport staff but were told they could not return from the terminal.
She said they were told they would have to wait until the coat was reported missing before they could claim it, even though they knew they had left the coat right there.
Ms Gross was informed that the return of the product would incur a charge of £25; This figure doubles to £50 if the jacket is returned by post (Image: A stock photo showing international arrivals at Heathrow Terminal Three)
But instead of quickly getting the item back, the family had to wait several days for the item to go through the airport’s lost and found system.
Although she noticed the mistake within minutes, Ms. Gross said no one was willing to take the coat.
‘He was standing there in the tram. One of the officials could come back and get him. “I understood that you couldn’t go back through customs, but they could have helped,” he said.
When the jacket was finally recorded, Ms. Gross contacted the service to arrange for it to be collected and was shocked at what she was told.
‘They said I could come and collect it but it was £25 for them to give me my coat back, almost the same price as the coat,’ he said.
I said, ‘What are you talking about?’ “It was my stuff,” he added.
He also said he was told it could cost up to £50 to return the coat.
‘If I hadn’t gone and bought it, they would have sent it to me but they would have charged me £50,’ he said.
Ms. Gross said the fee did not make sense considering the value of the item.
‘The coat cost about £30, so why would I go and buy it when it’s about the same price as buying a new one?’ he said.
He added that the actual cost would be even higher if travel expenses were included.
‘It wasn’t just £25; “I would have to go to the airport, pay for gas or transportation and pay for parking, that feels like a scam,” he said.
Ms Gross said she believed the system was unfair and placed an unnecessary burden on passengers.
Image of the jacket on Sports Direct’s website. The family had to wait several days for the item to appear in the airport’s lost and found system
‘It was almost like a scam, you left something by mistake, they didn’t help you pick it up and then they charged you to take it back,’ Ms Gross said.
Ms Gross said she was also told that the service was operated by a third party.
He claimed staff had informed him that ‘they needed to make money’ and he replied that they too should not be profiting from his lost property, especially at a public airport.
Ms Gross added that her frustration was not just about her situation but the wider impact on others, with many people unable to afford such expenses.
‘Nobody had extra income these days, that £25 could have cost someone a week’s worth of food, and that’s before you even factor in the cost of getting there,’ he said.
Ms. Gross said she had traveled extensively and had never faced similar charges anywhere else.
‘We’ve traveled all over the world and I’ve never had to pay to pack my belongings,’ he said.
He compared the experience to losing items on public transportation.
‘If you forget something on the London bus, they don’t charge you to take it back, I’d better buy a new one,’ he said.
Given the costs, Ms. Gross said she may not be able to buy the coat at all.
‘If I didn’t get results I would have to buy my son a new coat, he is a growing child; ‘Why would I pay almost the same for a coat he’s already worn this season?’ he said.
Ms. Gross said she hoped speaking out would draw attention to the issue.
I was surprised. “It was crazy that they were charging people to get their own property back,” he added.
Heathrow Airport has been contacted for comment.
