Yet another reason why you can’t be courteous to all pax.
She left her phone in my truck. She called the phone; I answered told her that I would return it as a courtesy. Wanting to do everything by the book I contacted Lyft who fortunately gave me $15 which they charged the customer. After the fact…see below…
That’s why I always take pictures of the item. You should report found an item on the app with pictures so that it can be documented. Dash cam, too, is nice Insurance for things like this.
Well, thanks for the info. Next time that happens to me I’m taking a pic of the phone and the passenger getting their phone back. People will do anything not to pay a penny more. 
Because…you didn’t do it “by the book!” If you tell a pax you’re returning an item “as a courtesy” and without them initiating the message to Lyft FIRST that an item has been lost, then…no need to let Lyft know after the fact…, no need at all…
The only way to go “by the book” is to wait till you receive a lost item email and text from Lyft that was initiated by the pax…
Rock on!
If I have something important as a lost phone, and they contact me through their phone, I simply let them know where they can meet me that doesn’t cost me any time…if they come to me, no need to take more money from them …
This is why I always make them pay me cash when I return something. I line it up before I return and I usually make way more than $15 from it!
People…you don’t need to “take pictures of lost items!!!” Geez-us!!! Just don’t ever initiate the “lost item claim” message to Lyft! Let the pax initiate the claim, OR just set up a time and place where they can retrieve their valuable items and don’t charge them for a simple mistake…
You should only “expect” extra money if they want you to return the item…but, free to collect as you want as long as the pax initiates the lost item message to Lyft!!
WTF??? You leave an item in my car, and I have to inconvenience myself to get it back to you…that’s what that fee is for…she could have simply said she never saw it…Wonder how the pax would have liked that…doesn’t matter Lyft will give her the fee AND SHOULD
Time is money if you want me to make time for you to meet you with your item that you lost then you can pay for my time. Why should I lose money or time for your mistake?
Uber has a way of reporting found item/taking pic of the said item then they contact owner then when you return to go back and report its been returned then will get the $15 w/o issues.
It sounds like you submitted the claim to Lyft after you returned the phone to the pax, for which she decided to lie.
Always submit the claim the Lyft before returning items to the pax. Then, only after Lyft sends you a follow-up email acknowledging they’ve made contact with the rider. This is for liability reasons in case the pax say they never received their item back, even though they did, and also so everything is documented.
Lyft doesn’t ask for pics, so taking pics for Lyft is pointless. However, still take pics for your liability in case the pax tries to say you cracked the screen of their already damaged phone. 7/10 pax that kid in my ride I’ll have something messed up with their phone more specifically the screen. LOL
A guy once left one of his cell in my car. Luckily I picked up another pax right across the street from where I dropped him off, and fortunately he was nice and said someone left a phone because I didn’t see it. We both see the guy standing on his other phone to what looks like he was calling the phone he left behind, we pull up right next to him and drop it off to him, he thanks us and gave me a $10 tip. And the pax in the car said that’s his ‘good deed’ of the day.