3,000 items left behind on IETT vehicles in Istanbul put up for sale

Items left behind on public transport vehicles operated by IETT have been sold via auction. The items, which were not claimed by their owners for a year, included drones, irons, mobile phones, scooters, helmets, sunglasses, and toasters. In the auction held by the Lost Property Office, 3,921 items, which were put up for auction with a total value of 604,140 liras, were purchased by Yılmaz Şat for 705,000 liras.

EVERYTHING GETS FORGOTTEN

IETT Passenger Communication Chief and Tender Commission Chair Remziye Özgür stated that items left behind in passenger areas are registered, sorted, and efforts are made to reach their owners within the framework of the Lost Property Directive after they are turned in.

Explaining that items whose owners cannot be found are put up for auction via tender after a period of more than a year, Özgür stated that they opened today's auction at 604,000 liras and that 3,921 items found a buyer for 705,000 liras. Noting that the forgotten items include electronic goods, household appliances, scooters, suitcases, and headphones, Özgür said, "Especially within the scope of the Personal Data Protection Law, electronic devices and laptops must be handled separately. The information inside is wiped. Whether they work or not is determined. Those to be destroyed are destroyed. They are then grouped and offered for sale in that manner."

THERE ARE THOSE WHO FORGET THEIR BIRDS AND CATS

Explaining that they announced the tender a month in advance and switched to group sales when there was not enough competition for a bulk sale, Özgür said, "However, we sold the items in bulk today. There are those who forget their cats and birds. There are those who forget wedding dresses, though not this year. I am most curious about the helmet. How can a helmet be forgotten on a bus? Academics and students forget their theses. USBs containing very important information are forgotten. Latest model phones, brand-new household goods, potatoes are forgotten. Everything is forgotten. These are items for which the minimum one-year storage period has expired."

Expressing that they are happy to have won the tender, Zafer Şat, the son of Yılmaz Şat, said that they follow tenders across Turkey as a family company. Stating that it will be clear what is inside as they open the products, Şat said, "These products are a surprise for us too. After all, since we cannot examine them in detail, we do not know the contents of the products. Let's see, hopefully it will be good."