A PIONEERING new website has just been launched in Portugal, which promises to help find items that have been lost. The site offers clients a way to securely identify their objects and, in turn, provides the possibility for the finder to return the object without any fuss.
In the first section of the site entitled “Devolva-me” (Return me), stickers and metal identification tags are available in various styles and sizes, which can be used for an enormous variety of objects including mobile phones, computers, laptops, cameras, wallets, keys and even dog collars! Each label or tag has a unique code that links the owner’s item with the company database. Anyone finding a lost item bearing an identification label or tag can call a free number to report it found. By returning the item, they will receive a voucher to the value of 19.95 euros in services.
According to Marco Dionísio, one of the company’s founders, research has shown these types of services already exist in countries like the UK, US, and Canada, and have already proven that clients using the products increase their chances of having lost items returned from 20 per cent to 80 per cent.
Prices for the identification products begin at 2.95 euros a sticker and 19.95 euros buys a pack of two stickers and three aluminium tags. If an item is reported found, the owner pays a flat fee of 14.95 euros towards the transport costs for its return.
The service offers international coverage and, although the products can only be found online at present at www.devolva-me.com, later this month, they will start to be sold at various stationers and bookshops around the country.
