Reclaiming a Bike removed by TFL when chained to railings - London Cycle Commuting

Well the bike is reclaimed and London is once my my pedalling oyster. Have to admit wasn't optimistic at first however thought it would be useful to share the process of getting the bike back in case any other of London's cycling brethren suffer a similar fate. i.e. Having your bike removed by TFL when changing railings. Earlier posts indicate initial seething rage slightly better!! The bike was legally parked on an unmarked railing by the way.

Upon establishing my bike was missing, and ascertaining that shiny new railings and a busy street implied some scally teenager was not to blame my first stop was the local council. Local councils tend to have an emergency line where you can report problems with council related things after hours. After chatting to the guy on the Wandsworth council emergency line I secured a direct line to the roads department.

As it was after hours I left a message with them and rang again the next morning. On chatting to the person at the end of the phone it became apparent they weren't from the roads department so they promptly put me through to the correct lot.

It transpired as the road is a red route the "street furniture" is actually maintained by TFL so I then secured a number for the TFL transport line. 0845 305 1234. TFL Roadworks page

Chatting to a friendly guy named Zinny I was initially told after he contacted the contractors that nope no roadworks had been carried out there, junction of Battersea rise and Northcott Road. Upon getting more insistant and mentioning that this was effectively theft he tried again with the contractor, Ringway Jacobs.

It popped to the Ringway Jacobs guys mind that in fact a street decluttering scheme may have been responsible for removing bent railings so maybe this was responsible. I was given a number for a Ringway Jacobs man.

Having chatted to this bloke whilst initially told it was illegal to chain bikes to railings, not true if we go by a 2008 lords ruling, I was told he would ring me back and later, lo and behold, I did get a call telling me my bike would be available for pick up from the Bow depot. Not the most convenient. However I should ring back for confirmation later.

On ringing back I was told the bike would actually be available for pick up from the Tulse Hill depot, and given a number. Whilst I couldn't seem to get through to them on the phone I was told by the lads at Bow depot that I could pick up the bike from Tulse Hill this morning. Far more convenient as I live in Brixton although still not the happiest to have to travel about to pick up my property which was unlawfully removed from my possession. However after a couple more calls to confirm that if I turned up this morning I could pick up the bike.

Lo and behold this is what I did and even better did get my locks back which was a result. Was planning an official complaint to TFL to claim the cost of locks back if that had not been the case so one less hassle!!!

So to summarise if your bike does get removed by TFL when attached to street furniture

• Decide who you should contact. Red Route = Transport for London. Number: 0845 305 1234.
• Other = Local council
• If you are not getting a satisfactory result be persistant and threaten the police or legal action if your bike was legally parked.
• IT IS LEGAL TO LEAVE YOUR BIKE ATTACHED TO STREET RAILINGS.
• The contractors seem to think they are acting correctly so need clarification from TFL. Probably not worth getting angsty with them as they are doing their job, or at least think they are, so were helpful.