In 2017, 80,000 items were reported lost in Austria; 190,000 items were found. In the City of Vienna alone, over 75,000 items were handed over to the \u201cZentraler Fundservice\u201d (Central Lost Property Service), most of which were forgotten on public transport. In Vienna, the items most frequently handed in are ATM cards, key bundles and purses. But less mundane objects find their way into the lost property office, such as bridal gowns and even hamsters..<\/p>\n
The greatest joy is when a valuable object finds its way back to its owner. This is the case with about half of all the objects!<\/p>\n
It was not until 2003 that Austria has had a software solution for the management of the lostproperty system<\/a>. The online lost-property website, fundamt.gv.at, developed by the Viennese software company RUBICON IT GmbH<\/a>, is now used in 8 provincial capitals and over 500 towns and municipalities. Also the Vienna Airport<\/em><\/a> uses it to administer its found objects. Since the implementation of the website, the responsibility of the entire lost & found process has been handed over to municipalities and magistrates. Police departments no longer provide this service.<\/p>\n Lost property offices keep all objects until the expiration of specified periods. And what happens after that? If the items have not been picked up by then, they are either donated for charitable purposes or auctioned. In Vienna, for example, uncollected items are auctioned in the Dorotheum or land in the thrift shop Altwarenmarkt 48er-Tandler<\/a>.<\/p>\n Anyone who finds something in Austria can look forward to receiving a finder’s fee \u2013 at least in theory. This is claimed from the owner of the found item. The amount of the finder’s reward depends on the type of lost item. However, the finder can reckon to receive at least ten percent of the value. Just don’t overlook the fine print! If the value of the item exceeds \u20ac2,000 the finder\u2019s fee is cut to 5%.<\/p>\nWhat happens to found items?<\/h2>\n
Finder\u2019s reward? Do not rejoice too soon!<\/h2>\n
Lost property office online<\/h3>\n