Free Directory Enquiries - 192.com

Telegraph_Sam

There used to be a forum with this title but it seems that it has been closed unfortunately.
192.com is widely known as a directory enquiry provider but has enjoyed terrible criticism in at least one online blog for its charging policy: You get very basic details for free but in order to obtain anything useful you have to purchase "credits" - and from what I have read several if you want to get your number. I asked 192.com for an overall "quote" for one number and the reply was £17 provided the number was not ex D.
192.com claims to have access to the latest Electoral Register. I would like to ask if anyone knows of any other means of searching the Register if I was to content myself with just the address and not the phone number. The local Electoral Dept at my town council will not cooperate and I have found nothing in the BT phone book (though to be fair to 192.com the contact is listed in their basic database). Tks

mije1983

Why will your local Electoral Office not help? What reasons have they given for you not to be able to view the edited register?

https://www.gov.uk/electoral-register/view-electoral-register

You could also look into purchasing the edited register.

Telegraph_Sam

Quote: "We don’t make the register available online and Registration Offices wouldn’t conduct an address search against a name."

I should add that the address I am looking for is in another part of the country where I know the rough location and the surname is unusual.

mije1983

No they don't make it available online or do the groundwork. You would have to do that. In the link I have posted, it suggests they are available to view at libraries, but I would imagine you would have to go to a library in the area you wish to view.

Either that or talk to the council and ask how much to purchase a copy. However, this could be a waste of money if the person in question has opted out of the edited register.

Telegraph_Sam

For anyone embarking on a similar search - ukphonebook.com seems to have a similar approach to 192 - it seems that you can get the info for free but when you dig a little deeper it costs you £15 in credits.
Seems like a bit of a Catch 22 unless any of the MSE experts have come up with any MSE tricks.

Ian011

With so many people on Facebook, Twitter and other social sites nowadays, unless the person is an absolute hermit it doesn't usually take much looking to find someone, or someone they know and who is in contact with them by other means.

barnaclebill

Years ago when computer mags gave free CD's on the cover I got a 192.com for the UK and it had all the details, we managed to contact an old mate through it.
Last year we wanted to call them but had lost the number and the old CD had long been lost, they have an unusual name so I bought credits on 192.com only to find no such name in that area, at first I thought they had died or left the country but found out that you can opt out of allowing your details to be shown, that explains a few more names I tried with no success so in most cases 192.com will not find who you want unless you manage to find that old free CD in a boot sale and the people you want have ever moved.

Telegraph_Sam

The spiel that I have been given is that if the person's "existence" is shown on the free 192.com listing then by purchasing credits to the tune of £17 you can access the address - but not the phone number if this is ex-D (which is fair enough) - from the Electoral Register. It may be that that is the only way, or there may be other organizations that can do the same for less than £17 per address. The CD would certainly come in useful ..