FEWER people are calling Directory Enquiries now than when competition was introduced, according to a report by Ofcom, the telecom regulator.
Just under 60 per cent of adults surveyed said that they used Directory Enquiries. In October, two months after the 192 service ended, the figure was two thirds. A quarter of those surveyed this time said that they called Directory Enquiries less often now, of whom 9 per cent no longer did.
They were deterred by higher bills or the belief that bills would rise, and by the impression that service was poor. Just 1 per cent of those polled had used the service more often since deregulation.
Yet Ofcom says that the “liberalised” market is working well: 87 per cent of numbers provided were accurate, with competition driving down prices. Brian Cotter, for the Liberal Democrats, said that “consumers have lost confidence in Directory Enquiry services as a result of this bungled attempt at deregulation”.
BT’s 118 500 service and The Number’s 118 118 were among the most time-consuming. A call to 118 118 averaged 60.6sec for a residential number, costing 58p and 86 per cent of numbers were accurate. Average calls to 118 500 lasted 54.2sec, cost 54p, and 79 per cent were accurate.