Woman loses cell phone in Hamburg – exemplary finder saves the day!

Woman loses cell phone in Hamburg – exemplary finder saves the day!

An extraordinary incident occurred on Friday afternoon in Hamburg's Ottensen district, which shows how important it is to have a good knack for finding what you thought was lost. A 38-year-old woman lost her smartphone, which cost 1,000 euros, on Barnerstrasse. A short time later, shortly before 4 p.m., she reported the loss to the Altona federal police station, according to the Mobile Press reported.

While officers were recording the incident, the woman's partner contacted them on another phone and informed them that her cell phone had been found. Coincidentally, the person who found the smartphone, a 41-year-old man, had dialed his partner's number. Shortly afterwards he appeared at the station and handed the lost piece to the relieved woman. This exemplary behavior was praised by the Federal Police. Spokesman Woldemar Lieder explained: “Finders must report the loss to the owner or, if it is not apparent, to the authorities or police.”

Legal situation and finder's fee

The case raises some interesting questions about the legal situation regarding lost property. According to German lost property law, finders are legally obliged to report a loss Wikipedia explained. A thing is lost if the owner doesn't know where it is. The finder must report the find either to the loser or to the relevant authority. This is especially true if the value is over 10 euros, as finds under this amount can be kept.

The system acts like a kind of reward for honest finders: for a value up to 500 euros, the finder's fee is 5%, and above that there is 3% on the remaining amount. This means that a lost property worth 700 euros would result in a finder's fee of 31 euros. However, if a finder makes the mistake of not reporting the find, this could be viewed as embezzlement, which is a punishable offense.

Special features of finds

The regulations for discoveries on public transport are particularly strict. The rule here is that a finder's fee is only paid if the value is at least 50 euros and this amount is only half of the usual finder's fee. An interesting case occurred in 2016 when a woman found 20,000 euros in a public bus, but only received a finder's fee of 305 euros because the owner did not come forward.

Another notable aspect is that finders can gain ownership of the item found after six months without reporting the owner. This also applies to finds under 10 euros, with the deadline counting from the day of the find SWR3 clarifies. Within this framework, there are also regulations for treasure finds that grant the finder half of the property if the owner can no longer be identified.

Overall, this incident in Hamburg not only shows how quickly you can lose something valuable, but also that honest actions are rewarded and the laws provide important rules for everyone involved. The Federal Police encourages anyone who finds something to take responsibility and give the owner the chance to get their property back.