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Vickers said he was not aware such a policy existed and is confused why his property wasn’t given to police instead. That would have given him an opportunity to provide workplace references to explain “the legitimacy that I’m a chef and these are my tools to apply my trade.”

Uber said the Greenlight Hub in Mississauga, which holds lost and found items in vehicles, has an internal policy that prohibits weapons from being stored on the premises. However, a company spokesman didn’t have access to specifics on why the knives weren’t turned over to police or where they were thrown out.

The spokesman maintains someone at the company did not take the specialty knives and they were, in fact, discarded.

There are community guidelines an Uber passenger can read online that prohibits firearms, but no specifics on knives.

“Each of the knives are around $500 without tax. There were six knives, plus a number of Muller items,” Vickers said, adding he paid out-of-pocket for those tools and they weren’t insured. He spent eight years accumulating them.

Photo by Jack Boland / Jack Boland/Toronto Sun

Vickers, who was initially told Uber was not willing to compensate him, said he asked Uber for a written statement he could give to his boss. A customer service person named Susanna Rose F. emailed him Tuesday apologizing for the loss.

“Sadly, they already discarded the item for safety reason. No worries, we’ve already passed your concern to another team because they’re experts in solving problems like yours.”

Late Thursday afternoon, Uber said it will reimburse Vickers for the loss. The company acknowledges he was met with poor customer service.

Vickers doesn’t plan on using Uber again. Right now, he’s working with a few back-up knives and his chef has loaned him some of his equipment.

“It’s already a little bit awkward and inconvenient having to pass around certain knives during the day,” he said.

jyuen@postmedia.com