This is posted on another forum I go on so make your own decision as to the validity or not of this. I am going to have a nose around on t'internetwebby thing to see if it is right.
Dear All,
Some of you may be aware of a company called - 118800
They will begin offering a directory service from next week that allows people to find the mobile phone numbers of people they don't know.
It will cost £1 and use databases of numbers it said are freely available for purchase and in the public domain. Anyone searching for a number can type the name and location of the person into the 118800 website. It claims to have some 15m numbers in its database.
How it Works……………
When you search on 118800.co.uk, they send an SMS message to the person you’re seeking giving them your contact details so they can call you back.
When you call them on 118800, they try to connect you to the person you’re looking for. If they can’t connect you, you can choose to have them leave a voicemail or send a SMS message with your contact details.
Our phone provider Vodafone has not issued an official statement regarding this, however, unofficially, they have advised us to request all our mobile phone users to unsubscribe.
To unsubscribe, you can either click on the ex directory button on the their web homepage, or you can text the letter 'E' to 118800 from the mobile phone you want to be made ex-directory. 118800 will send you an SMS message confirming you've been taken off.
You may want to suggest it to all your friends and family who have UK mobiles or they could be swamped by unsolicited messages and calls.
TO GO EX-DIRECTORY CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW AND FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS:
http://www.118800.co.uk/
On the home page just click on the heading Ex-directory, situated at the top right hand side of the page.
FormerMember
It is, I received an e-mail from work about it which included a link to the BBC's working lunch programme which had covered. I think there is a concern that even though they don't give out your number, you could be swamped with unsolicited texts and althought 118800 claim not to have childerns numbers I'm not sure how they can identify those whose accounts are in the parents names.
I unsubscribed myself last week. I beleive the directly goes live this week.
