Phone number reverse lookup

vultura

Is there anyway to find out who/what is the "owner" of a number?

Reason I ask is that both home and work I receive calls (which ring off quickly) from the same number, even though home number is X-Directory and works number not well publicised. If I call the number it rings, then its like someone has answered but not speaking.

Heinz

It used to be possible but I think someone challenged such things under either the Human Rights Act or the Data Protection Act and won.

Hence, they're now illegal in the UK.

Steve_xx

vultura wrote:

Is there anyway to find out who/what is the "owner" of a number?

Reason I ask is that both home and work I receive calls (which ring off quickly) from the same number, even though home number is X-Directory and works number not well publicised. If I call the number it rings, then its like someone has answered but not speaking.

It might be an automated dialler or a fax machine that has been set with the wrong number.

ducky2004

Yah 192.com CD will let you do that. It basically have an entire copy of the BT directory and let you search on all fields.

Maybe you can ring back that number and ask them ?

m00nie

Steve_xx wrote:

It might be an automated dialler or a fax machine that has been set with the wrong number.

if it was just one number than fair enough, but 2 be ringing 2 numbers seems higly unlikely.

there used to be a cd, ukinfo v10 i think is the latest version, unsure where you can get it from though

vultura

There is someone on that number, as I managed to answer it quickly at work the other week, guy on the other end said quickly "oh sorry, wrong number" and hung up.

Not sure if the new UKinfo CDs will search on the numbers, I had a feeling the ones years ago did....

Paul_Varjak

ducky2004 wrote:

Yah 192.com CD will let you do that. It basically have an entire copy of the BT directory and let you search on all fields.

Maybe you can ring back that number and ask them ?

Not any more they don't. It was made illegal a few years ago. In addition, 192.com were breaching copyright held by BT on their DQ database by reverse software engineering. BT did not sue because they were aware of impending legislation to outlaw reverse lookup of numbers anyway.

colin_tomlinson

Try searching using Google/etc. If the person's number is mentioned on a website, you'll find them. Of course, it's unlikely, but worth a shot - esp if they're calling from work. (It also works with US numbers, because reverse look up isn't illegal there and you can "google" anyone's number to find them!)

vultura

colin_tomlinson wrote:

Try searching using Google/etc. If the person's number is mentioned on a website, you'll find them. Of course, it's unlikely, but worth a shot - esp if they're calling from work. (It also works with US numbers, because reverse look up isn't illegal there and you can "google" anyone's number to find them!)

Thanks for the reply, I'd already tried that course of action. The same number called again a couple of days ago, but rung off before I could answer it to ask them who they were.

JohalaReewi

Why not report it as a nuisance caller ?

https://www.bt.com/customerservices/cust_details.jsp?parentcat=cs_malicious_calls&childcat=linkcs_malicious_calls_work_together

https://www.bt.com/feedback/feedback.jsp?formid=contactus_phonelist

bunking_off

Paul_Varjak wrote:

Not any more they don't. It was made illegal a few years ago. QUOTE]

It wasn't made illegal to do reverse lookups per se, it never was illegal, and people providing such facilities were "reminded" that they were breaking the law.