Does anyone use directory enquiries regularly?

I don't think I have used it for years, and there's so much hype about it at the moment.

It's just another way of getting money out of the 'have nots'. If you've internet access, ie a 'have', then you get the service for free otherwise you pay. It's up there with buying lottery tickets.

All I know (from the radio) is that the highly publicised 118-118 number is actually the most expensive - so be warned. Someone also made a good point last night, saying that they remembered the days when 192 was free - therefore how was opening it up to competition a good idea? :P

Even when you had to pay for 192 on your landline, it was still free from payphones! And now, you can't ring 118500 (BT's new directory enquiries) from payphones at all!

My mate tried phoning 118888 (which is supposed to be the cheapest) to ask for a number for Virgin Trains. The person on the other end asked, "Which town is that?" He said he didn't know - he just wanted customer services. They replied by saying, "What's Virgin? Never heard of Virgin Trains."

Do we think this is another case of using India for call centres? I think so... :roll:

I tried 118 118 a few days ago. After several minutes they had to admit that they could not find me a number that I wanted in Cornwall. Not impressed! 118118 are one of the most expensive, I suppose they got to pay for that huge advertising campaign somehow. I have heard that 118888 have done well in reviews, but I believe 118800 are one of the cheapest.

Have people read about the fact that a lot of these new 118 directory service companies are run from call-centres in India. This means the operators are often very ignorant about places and companies in Britain (not that this is a criticism of them personally, I wouldn't know anything about places in India). Frequently company or personal names and placenames have to be spelled out for the operators. All this, of course, takes time, which adds to the money spent by the customer.

So phoning one of the cheaper numbers may end up being more expensive as you spend twice as long on the line.

118 800 is the cheapest and 118 500 is the fastest!

Both UK call centres!

Everything you need to know is here (an Oftel website):

http://www.newdirectoryenquiries.com

In particular, it tells you how the companies charge as some have different ways. For example:

Fixed Fee - a charge that is applied as soon as the call is answered.

Time Fee - a charge that is applied throughout the call, including any onward connected call time.

Combination Charge - a Fixed Fee that is applied as soon as the call is answered as well as a Time Fee that is applied throughout the call including any onward connected call time.

Two Rate - a Fixed Fee which includes the cost of the first minute followed by a Time Fee charged for the remainder of the call including any onward connected call time.

Thanks for the link, from that web site...
THE NUMBER - 118118
A new type of directory assistance where we really do want to help. We'll even put you through for 9p per minute. Available from all major networks including Telewest and ntl.
The underlined bit is amusing. Surely if you were calling a Sheffield number then 9p is about twice the standard BT local rate - what a bargain... not :(

I believe one of BT's call centres used for 118500 is in Sheffield. Lets all use that, and try and keep a few jobs local.

I used to work for the old 192 service and we were under pressure to deliver numbers quickly and accurately. If the new services are under pressure to deliver quickly with a bonus to boot they will just answer the call and get rid of it as quickly as they can. They wont worry whether you got the right number or not. 118500 is the old 192 service and will probably keep its standards which are high as long as people have the right information in the first place. You know a name and a town. Alot of people think its mind reading. Please dont think I am bitter and twisted. Oh no?:evil:

Keep your eye on www.118tracker.com there are links to free online Directory services and reports on the new services available.

This was my companies advice to us at the end of August

All the new services use new 6-digit numbers starting with 118. The cheapest services are currently provided by:

Low Cost: 11 88 48. Cost is 20p per minute, minimum charge 20p. There is no limit to the number of searches you may request during a call

Colt UK: 11 83 90. Cost is 27p per call and only one search is allowed

One: 11 88 11. Cost is 30p per call and only one search is allowed

These services will provide numbers in the UK and will not offer to connect your call.


I cannot say if it is still valid mind you, but it probably is, but I did hear some had ALREADY gone bust.

i work for a 118 number and wjust to clear up some things
we are based in cardiff, welwyn, gloucester, dublin and austria. Not INDIA.
we are the cheapest so far, and i cant beleive that someone didnt know what virgin trains was. Just because we work in a call centre doesnt mean that we r all thick as ****.

and just for the record, the people who fone us from sheffield are arrogant and stupid, and up their own arses.

so get a life and stop treating us like we are retards OK

so there :mad:

Our phones at work are on Telewest.

All the 118 numbers I have tried (apart from Telewest's own) lead to a recorded message saying "this directory enquiry service has not been set up for use on Telewest lines" or something like that.

Not helpful!

Originally posted by fittdiva
i work for a 118 number and wjust to clear up some things
we are based in cardiff, welwyn, gloucester, dublin and austria. Not INDIA.
we are the cheapest so far, and i cant beleive that someone didnt know what virgin trains was. Just because we work in a call centre doesnt mean that we r all thick as ****.

and just for the record, the people who fone us from sheffield are arrogant and stupid, and up their own arses.

so get a life and stop treating us like we are retards OK

With spelling and punctuation like that, thank God you have a verbal job and don't have to write anything! Perhaps you can't read as well which is why so many people don't get the numbers they ask for!

Originally posted by fittdiva
i work for a 118 number and wjust to clear up some things
we are based in cardiff, welwyn, gloucester, dublin and austria. Not INDIA.
we are the cheapest so far, and i cant beleive that someone didnt know what virgin trains was. Just because we work in a call centre doesnt mean that we r all thick as ****.

and just for the record, the people who fone us from sheffield are arrogant and stupid, and up their own arses.

so get a life and stop treating us like we are retards OK

For the record. I think that you are three stations short of Dagenham East. :nod:

Originally posted by MrHelicopter
Our phones at work are on Telewest.

All the 118 numbers I have tried (apart from Telewest's own) lead to a recoded message saying "this directory enquiry servcei has not been set up for use on Telewest lines" or something like that.

Not helpful!
we actually take the telewest calls for directory enquiries, and vodafone.

Originally posted by alchresearch
With spelling and punctuation like that, thank God you have a verbal job and don't have to write anything! Perhaps you can't read as well which is why so many people don't get the numbers they ask for!


surely though, i have to type the information in to the computer, so i do have to write things!! and for your information, im a team leader, not a csr.

this is what i mean by people treating us like we are retards.
and i didnt think my spelling would matter. all you lot do is look at the pictures anyway, dont you??

:loopy:

Originally posted by fittdiva
surely though, i have to type the information in to the computer, so i do have to write things!! and for your information, im a team leader, not a csr.

this is what i mean by people treating us like we are retards.
and i didnt think my spelling would matter. all you lot do is look at the pictures anyway, dont you??

:loopy:
Shouldn't you be monitoring your csrs and ensuring they don't give out the right numbers too often?

[/B] [i]Originally posted by fittdiva

... and i didnt think my spelling would matter. all you lot do is look at the pictures anyway, dont you??

:loopy: [/B]

:P :rolleyes:

Originally posted by max
Shouldn't you be monitoring your csrs and ensuring they don't give out the right numbers too often?

already done that. they give out the correct numbers to people from everywhere but sheffield. Maybe thats because none of you have a clue what you're on about and none of you have anough money to spend on directory enquiries!

we could all boycott your service :)

Do you work for "the number 118" they are based in Cardiff are they not.

I always use the web anyway.


Ps if you are so fit and we only look at pictures why not send us a piccy.

Originally posted by mikey
we could all boycott your service :)

Do you work for "the number 118" they are based in Cardiff are they not.

I always use the web anyway.


Ps if you are so fit and we only look at pictures why not send us a piccy.

carry on if you really want to boycott the service. our companys not doing well anyway. im not gonna be here for long. far better opportunities :thumbsup:

will sort out the piccy thing now

if you do work for The Number 118, could you explain how come I had to spell out Rotherham and Kwik Fit to one of your employees?

Originally posted by fittdiva
surely though, i have to type the information in to the computer, so i do have to write things!! and for your information, im a team leader, not a csr.

this is what i mean by people treating us like we are retards.
and i didnt think my spelling would matter. all you lot do is look at the pictures anyway, dont you??

:loopy:

Whether you have to write or type, someone gives you a name and you have to input it into a computer.

If someone asked you for a company called "believe", would you type it in BELEIVE like you did on your earlier post?

And yes, all we do is look at pictures. Loads on pictures on here for example.

No wonder your company is going down the pan with team leaders like you!

Originally posted by alchresearch
Whether you have to write or type, someone gives you a name and you have to input it into a computer.

If someone asked you for a company called "believe", would you type it in BELEIVE like you did on your earlier post?

And yes, all we do is look at pictures. Loads on pictures on here for example.

No wonder your company is going down the pan with team leaders like you!

loads on pictures on here????? where did you learn your grammar??

Originally posted by alchresearch
Whether you have to write or type, someone gives you a name and you have to input it into a computer.

If someone asked you for a company called "believe", would you type it in BELEIVE like you did on your earlier post?

And yes, all we do is look at pictures. Loads on pictures on here for example.

No wonder your company is going down the pan with team leaders like you!
For gods sake, whats with you all being so picky about spelling on here. its not like its that important anyway

I have to agree with "fittdiva" through out this forum.
I work for 11-88-88 in the Swansea call centre and our colleges have no problems in finding numbers for our customers.
The only time we cant find numbers or have great difficulty in finding them is when we get ***** phoning with stupid ******* Accents and cant talk in proper English then they have the ******* cheek to slag off the welsh just because we ask customers to spell strange sounding words!!!! What do you expect if your going to go looking the strangest ******* numbers just to **** us off.
And just for the record for all those ***** who think we should eat the Oxford Dictionary and Collins Atlas for breakfast.....just because we work in a call centre for a directory enquiries company doesn't mean we have to know how to spell everything..
Try our job for 1day, 1hour even then u'll know what its like to listen to the pig ignorant, snotty nose customers who call us with silly requests.


Edit - Removed mass swearing and mass usage of capitals - Lickszz

Originally posted by 118888
IAnd just for the record for all those ***** who think we should eat the Oxford Dictionary and Collins Atlas for breakfast.....just because we work in a call centre for a directory enquiries company doesn't mean we have to know how to spell everything.. [/B]

Perhaps you shouldn't be working there then, Muppet. If someone speaks a word to you, the first thing you have to do is TYPE IT IN - which means you must have to know how to spell it!

It's the company's fault for locating their business in a place with such a high concentration of morons.

we are not the muppets you are the muppets for paying us to find a number instead of just looking in the yellow pages

We're not muppets, we're just lazy.

exactly so stop giving us greef all the time cuz we're doin u a favour

I wasn't giving anyone grief.

Originally posted by 118888
exactly so stop giving us greef all the time cuz we're doin u a favour I hate to get technical, but a favour is "act of gracious kindness" and is normally something that is free or offered at a reduced price. People pay good money to have you find the number, so it's not a favour IMHO. :P

How can a Welsh person have the cheek to say they can't understand what we say?!

Doing us a favour - you're getting paid you plank, it's your job.

Well, there are 2 fab examples of a representatives of a customer focused organisation. Can you imagine the training sessions!

I think that I can assume that everyone here has web access :D so you could try the same as me. The first 2 links on my IE toolbar are http://www.192.com and http://www.yell.com.

Now you don't have to speak to the ignorant Welsh :thumbsup: who have words so long and unintelligible that they have to play scrabble on the car park :loopy:

And we stuffed the Taffs at Rugby last week!

Originally posted by 118888
exactly so stop giving us greef all the time cuz we're doin u a favour

It's us who are doing the favours by using your company and keeping the likes of you in a job.

Originally posted by Lickszz
It's us who are doing the favours by using your company and keeping the likes of you in a job.

"Were" keeping them in a job. I think those two morons have done more to damage their company's reputation than the six months of stupid jogger commercials to get us to remember and use their service!

So who is going to ask Geoff for their IP address so that a sneaky email can arrive at 118888? :thumbsup:

Originally posted by fittdiva
i work for a 118 number and wjust to clear up some things
we are based in cardiff, welwyn, gloucester, dublin and austria. Not INDIA.
Ah your wrong there mate. Welwyn been closed down because your loosing money and calls. You are also due to shut Gloucester.

You have bad attitude, you must be welsh.

if you want to email them to complain about their stff email:

nevans@118.com (MD)
gvaughan@118.com HR