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Directory enquiries service free again
(Scotland on Sunday Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) THE UK's leading provider of telephone directory enquiries, 118118, admitted last night that its service had failed to entice consumers to pay for phone numbers.
From tomorrow, a new number will provide an automated service in lieu of operators and will be free from any landline.
Users of the new service will be given the number they request over the phone. Unlike the previous service, callers will not be sent the information by text message, nor will they be put through to their requested number.
Mobile phone users will still be charged for using the network.
118118 emerged after BT's monopoly, 192, was scrapped four years ago, but consumers have long complained about its hefty charges.
As a result of 118118 failing to reach its market, The Number UK, the company behind the service, recently saw profits plunge 96 per cent. Its parent company, US-based Infonxx, this year ditched plans for a dollars 1.1bn (GBP 563m) stock market flotation.
The growth in broadband access has also been blamed for the failure of the service, with many people opting for free services online.
The old paid-for 118118 will remain and will continue to offer text-a-question services, including cinema listings.
Last night, a spokesman for 118118 said: "Firstly we need to bring people back to directory enquiries." Chris Williams, of the consumer watchdog uSwitch.com, said 118118 had not been wrong to take a chance on the service following the scrapping of 192.
He added: "You can get the number texted to your mobile phone or be put through to the company or person you want to call. These value-added services were not available under the old 192 system." Williams said he believed the 118118 service had been unsuccessful because people were confused by the cost implications.
He said: "That is probably not helped by the fact that the costs change fairly regularly." The new number is 0800 118 FREE, or 0800 118 3733.
Copyright 2006 Scotland on Sunday. Source: Financial Times Information Limited - Europe Intelligence Wire.
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