A BRITISH airways passenger was slapped with a £250 bill to have her iPad returned to her - despite leaving it mere metres from her in the airport.
Janice Gordon, 67, was fuming after leaving her Apple tablet on a plane after a gruelling six-hour flight from Montreal, Canada.
The 67-year-old was on a seven-hour layover before a second flight from London to Bahrain, when she realised her error.
The retired dental receptionist says she pleaded with the British Airways team to retrieve the item, but was allegedly stopped a because walking back onto the plane would cause a security breach.
But Janice, from Canada, claims that she was mere metres away from the plane, yet was told by the flight team that it was be too late and that the tablet was already en-route to the airport's lost property office.
Janice says that she attempted to retrieve the iPad when she returned to Heathrow two weeks later, but was frustrated yet again after being told that the lost property office was closed.
She says she was then given a card for the British Airways lost items service, MailmyProperty, and was told that lost property was the airport's responsibility.
Despite her best efforts, Janice was left fuming after finding out she needed to fork out almost £250 if she wanted to get her iPad back home to Canada.
This was due to a £29 service fee, £75 for income tax and charges, and a whopping £139 to deliver the iPad back over to her.
Janice added: “I’ve mentioned to them different times that I would be flying through again on Sunday 28th November, and had a seven hour layover and that I would like to pick it up then.
"But of course they weren’t open on Sundays.
“So, I asked if someone could just get it on Saturday and hold it somewhere that I could find to get it but no, they could not.
"Finally, I emailed and paid them £30 but never had any result from them until eventually, they said they had my iPad and would ship to me for $230."
'TODAY'S LESSON'
The 67-year-old took to social media to warn others to "never lose something on a British Airways plane".
And her post quickly gathered support from others who reacted to her misfortune.
Chris Bachin said: “Today's lesson is, check you take everything with you before you leave the plane."
Carol Chandler Van Doren said: “My experience with BA is that they are understaffed. Those who do work there are under-trained or have no idea what customer service means.
“Additionally, it would be nice to see a bit of basic human kindness in response to the one who wrote this post, it costs nothing to be kind.”
Corinne Miles said: “Same with all airlines. I don't believe you can just turn up and demand an item at the lost and found.
“You have to make an appointment to prove it's yours. The 'Find My Device' often isn't accepted as proof, as it can be hacked.”
Marty Paz said: “Heathrow is a for-profit enterprise. If you had flown Virgin Atlantic or Lufthansa, you would have had the same complaint.”