Smartecarte Reviews 81

These people are thieves, who charge you for your property items they have found. I am a 60 year old man with a hearing problem. They made me wait 3 weeks because their admin is so poor then charged me £25 to get my hearing aid back.

Smarte Carte located & delivered my husband's phone which was lost in transit on an Aer Lingus flight. From beginning to end they have been very helpful especially the Dublin Airport LOST & Found Supervisor Mr.Turnbull.
Anne Marie Magliocco

I recently had to interact with this company in Heathrow- horrendous experience!!!My special needs minor child had lost his switch and was especially upset. They questioned him as to the named accounts on the device which was ok and he was able to communicate/verify this. He verified the colour of the controllers. However they photocopied his passport without my consent!! When I asked for their privacy policy they could not provide it nor give me an answer as to how long they would retain his data, plus they charge me £25 retrieved fee. When I complained to the data protection department at Heathrow while they offered to refund the £25 they did not address the massive procedural and GDPR shortcomings. Consequently I will be making a complaint to the UK data commissioner. I don’t I understand why a visual check of the passport photo and taking note of the passport number was not sufficient. As someone who was recently the victim of identity theft and my passport used, this whole experience and retention of my child’s passport and address has me very concerned.

Terrible experience with Smarte Carte. My passport was stolen in Athens, so I was no longer able to come to Dublin to pick up my bags.

I called them probably 12+ times over 48hr, annd emailed them. No one was able to help me get my bags shipped from storage. The only person who ever picked up was on a Sunday, and he said the shipping manager wouldn’t be in until Monday morning to help.

When I called multiple times throughout Monday, no one picked up. Nor did anyone respond to my emails. A garbage service that keeps charging me to store my bags, despite the fact I’m actively trying to get my belongings from them. What a scam.

I left a favourite tee shirt in business class on flight no BA 268 leaving LA on 10th November arriving at terminal 5 on 11th November. The steward that looked after us told me after I had deplaned and said it would be at lost property in Terminal Five. I have repeatedly tried to find out if they have it. They have a premium rate number which my phone will not allow me to use. When I email them they say nothing has been found in Terminal 3 lost property. I keep telling them it was Terminal 5 and I am getting absolutely nowhere. Awful company

On the day had gone to the help desk but they couldn't help, I left details with them but never heard back.

I went on the website provided by Heathrow's phone service after initially losing my item, but they request that you look for said item 24-48hrs after loss.
On my second call, days later they had received said item. I had also found one that described my item on their website and filled out the form but never heard back. I mainly relied on 'Find My' to make sure it stayed at the airport. Had I not had been able to see where it was I would have been at a loss with no communication I was receiving.

On the phone we confirmed it was mine - it had a case so they removed it to confirm my serial number. When I finally went to collect it and checked its condition the money I had kept in the case was gone. I brought it up so they "checked the system", but there was no record of the money. Of course if someone pocketed the extra cash they wouldn't log it into the system!

On top of the £25 charge for the in-person collection and the loss of the money in the case. It wasn't a good experience at all. I'm glad I was able to get my item back, even with all the fuss. It seems I am one of the lucky few.
The workers were as professional as can be... apart from the thievery. Wouldn't recommend losing anything on your flights, better to be kicked off the plain while checking you have everything on you!

P.S. They are making a fortune!

I am very thankful to

I lost my Google phone outside of terminal 3. I can see it at Smarte Carte Lost and found when I search for it on my husbands phone. I filled out ALL the Google phones listed on their lost and found website with the phones IMIE numbers (distinct per phone) the color, the case number and the fact that it has a white sticker on it stating (call David - My husband) if found- with his phone number. I have even called and told a person I can see it there and they say they don't have it. So- I am assuming someone wanted my new phone and has it in their desk or bag and plans on taking it- Because I can see it!!! They are a bunch of THEIVES!!!!

I left IPad on plane
They helped me where to find the serial number of the iPad from my cloud. Told me when they found it.
Clear directions of how to get to their office.
Warned me that I would need photo identification and cost was £25.

As a Brit, I’m embarrassed that for some people, this may be their first contact and only with a British company at Heathrow airport. The whole company is built around grift. I had a drivers license which a member of staff took from my bag and didn’t place it back in my belongings while I was dealing with my 3 year old at security. I was unaware of this until I got to the gate and the staff member apologised and said I could pick it up when I returned. Mistakes happen and in the past I myself have returned wallets and phones to their rightful owner.

This company will charge you £15 to return an item which can be renewed for £20 and do not account for how the lost property arose (ie through a staff member’s error). They have deliberately set their “price point” not because of the admin that has been incurred by them, but to maximise returns to themselves because it is marginally cheaper than replacing it. Next time I find a wallet in the street, I’m going to try charging a pro rata bit of my salary and add 75% of the value of contents of the wallet and see where it gets me with my fellow human being. Probably a punch in the face.

We had email confirmation that our duty free bag with perfume, face cream and confectionery was being saved for 3 months and we could collect it at any time. Returning a few weeks later when back at Heathrow (they charge a ridiculous price for postage) we were handed our bag which was sealed with an elastic band. We assumed, as anyone would that as it was nicely packaged and the contents had already been confirmed that they would all be there. We were shocked to get home and discover the cheap confectionery was there and expensive perfume and face cream had been stolen. Their response was this:
Dear Carla,
I am sorry but if you wish to report the items as stolen you need to contact the Police using the link below.
Link was here
We have very clear photographs of the items we registered and the bag which was handed back to you. This was a standard carrier bag which was not sealed when handed back. When it was returned it contained the perfume, cream and two boxes of sweets.
Best regards,
Carrie Heathrow Lost Property Office, Senior Supervisor
Basically calling me a liar and when I reported it to Met Police they said they would be unable to identify an individual suspect as many people may have handled the bag. So my advice is get your stuff immediately, check the bag and expect really dishonest poor service at Heathrow.

My first contact was not encouraging . I read the negative reviews & thought I would never get my property back .
However I persisted and contacted them again and tried another way.
Be persistent and polite and appeal to the employees to help you . I wish everyone had the same positive experience that I had . But maybe if at first you don't succeed try again.
It might be worthwhile .

Dear Lost and Found!

My heart sank when I discovered I had left my purse onboard at the commencement of my journey. But more than a week later I retrieved my bag with all its valuables from LOST PROPERTY. BA and SmarteCarte have restored my faith in humanity!! “Thank you” cannot begin to convey my appreciation for your honesty and professionalism by which I have benefitted. I am eternally grateful for not only the BA crew turning it in, and their assistance with the claim, but also for SmarteCarte’s “above and beyond” accommodation of transferring my bag to its T5 office so that I could retrieve it during my very brief layover at LHR.
All’s well that ends well!
Well done SmarteCarte. BRAVO BA !!!
From a most thankful and forever loyal patron!!
L.U.

Quick response to query for lost item . When found it was delivered within 3 working days.

Like others here, my experience became like a Monty Python farce except it wasn't funny!
I noticed I'd lost one of my hearing aids after going through Immigration at London Heathrow, so was hopeful it had been found when Smartcarte's database showed a hearing aid had been handed in on that very same day.
But when I sought to claim this item online, I was informed that no hearing aid had been handed in.
When I sent a screen shot showing that its own database was still showing that a hearing aid HAD been found that day - they replied that the said item had been found onboard an aircraft and not in the terminal.
When I explained that this was also a possibility (it kinda being by definition that when you lose something you often don't know EXACTLY where you lost it!) - they said Smartcarte was only contracted to handle items found in the terminal and not on aircraft and to ask our airline (I did this too, but to no avail).
VERY keen to retrieve my hearing aid, I tried again from square one.
Same story: no, despite a hearing aid still showing up on its database as having been found on that same day - no hearing aid had been handed in on that day...
Go figure!

Updated from 1 star to 3 because the phone was returned in working order. If you had told me at the start that this is the outcome we would get I would be amazed. Thanks to the person who found it and handed it in. It means so much to today’s teenagers, and dare I say almost all of us, to be able to message our friends and family. She was quite lost without it. Huge thanks to all involved.

Well they have got back in touch to say they do have the phone and I have to use a website to pay to send it home. It’s costing £61+.

They haven’t sent a photograph or said what condition it appears to be in but they will get two more stars if they can deliver it in working order at reasonable timescale. Comms has not been good though.

My teenager daughter was on a school trip and had to rush between flights. During the rush she lost her phone. I find the smart carte website and service unhelpful. You have to claim against a vague description of an item. I did this as soon as I found out on Monday. I didn’t get follow up email until Thursday. The website is ambiguous about whether or not it covers the whole of Heathrow or just bits. They emailed asking for more information. I provided it (involving a lot of stressful contact with other less than helpful services) but they haven’t acknowledged any of my follow up emails. I could see the phone on Find My so I know it sat in the area where she was forced to rush due to delayed flight until it lost power. The area has a help point so I strongly suspect it was handed to them. Smart carte hasn’t answered the phone in several attempts despite charging 7p per minute.
I’m so disappointed. My daughter is neurodivergent and the phone is her lifeline when she is alone. Music calms her. Knowing she can contact us is vital. She’s out of touch with her friends which is causing anxiety.
A good lost and found service has the ability to do a lot of good for people. It is great customer care. I wish we were getting that right now. It’s not like the trip was cheap or that Heathrow didn’t profit from it.

Whilst I did get my Switch back the fees are extortionate and (worse of all) and expensive game (Zelda) had been replaced with a really cheap one (Need for Speed)

Dublin airport. My son left his phone on a flight from Verona on the 20th of June. I collected the phone from smarte carte 2 days later. Their communication was brilliant, the website was updated promptly and the staff were friendly. I had to pay €20 administration fee that was well deserved. My experience was 10/10

Thieves.
Wrong exchange rate used to return my money, £36 just to send a small parcel + extortionate admin fees, expensive phone line which bills you even if they don’t answer. They seem to have been given a monopoly over airport lost property.

We were in a queue to leave our baggage today in Seattle Airport. Without notice the two employees closed for lunch at 11:15 to 12pm. Why can you not have 1 person remain on the desk at all times or clearly state on your website or to information or even at the desk the closure times to ensure customers can make alternative arrangements? Very unprofessional! We wont be attempting to use you in the future.