Mobile phone directory to launch

[BrilloPad]

It's a scam.

and do NOT try to remove yourself from it.

Then why are the BBC running this story? Or should I not be suprised......

[chef]

i agree with what RC says but they never ask you for your name when you are signing up to be ex-directory so they still dont have a name matched with a number that I have provided

edit: also my number is registered under the company not me personally

[RichardCranium]

From a friend:

There's no such thing; my dad received spam from these 118800 people as well and he was foolish enough to send them his details. Have a look at the front site of 118800.co.uk and you'll see how it works. They charge people to look up people in the directory, which they have compiled from the remove lists, but they don't tell the enquirer the number, instead they send a text to the person being looked up advising them that someone is wanting to contact them and giving them the number to call back on. 118800 don't obtain the numbers from a central directory but only from people signing up to be removed from the directory! They wouldn't have a directory if people weren't fooled to put their information in this website.

There cannot be a directory of mobile phone numbers because nobody knows who has a particular mobile phone. You only have the name on the contract. For example, every mobile phone in our company is in Graham's name! And even if you could look up by name, there will be many people with the same name, and there's no way to distinguish them because a mobile phone doesn't have an address associated with it.

If you're concerned call your mobile phone company. Some naughty companies (like 3) do sell your details to telemarketers, but most established ones (orange, vodafone) don't.

Please tell anyone who may have got this news about 118800 not to sign up, and spread the word.

PS I found these articles:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/06...one_directory/

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/06...nectivity_ico/

It seems that you will probably be in the directory if you already receive telemarketing calls, because they've harvested numbers from many sources (including their opt-out form of course!). But it is against the industry codes of practice for your number to be used in a directory like this, because even if you consent to your number being used for telemarketing, you have not consented to it being used in a directory. That's covered by a different regulation. (Despite what the second of the articles above says, it's not just impolite to use telemarketing databases as a directory, it contravenes regulation 18 of PECR:

http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2003/20032426.htm

Can't see how they ever got clearance from the government to do this.

But they almost certainly won't have your number already, so don't give it to them on the opt-out or you'll just increase the value of their database.

[chef]

http://www.118800.co.uk/removeme/remove.html

to remove yourself from it..

4 steps

1. state the number you wish to be ex directory
2. enter the text on screen
3. receive text with 5 digit code
4. enter code on website

"You have been successfully added to our ex-directory list. "

[RichardCranium]

I originally posted:

It's a scam.

and do NOT try to remove yourself from it.

but now I don't know what to believe.

[BrilloPad]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programme...ch/8091621.stm

I am amazed they ever got permission for this.