How To Get Your Mobile Number Taken Off 118800 Database(UK).

10th June 2009

From next week a company in the UK will be offering a directory service that will allow people to find the mobile numbers of people they do not know. The company run by 118800 will charge £1 and say that the numbers in the database are freely available and in the public domain.

118800 say that they have some 15 million numbers in its database and the ICO ruled that they did comply with current law and they are little different than companies who use these lists for cold calling.

My view on this is that no one should be able to get your mobile number unless you actually give that person your number, I am sick and tired of the amount of spam calls that I get everyday on my land-line! and I don't want to start getting spam calls and text messages on my personal mobile phone, which will start to happen when 118800 start next week.

118800 say that "They don't use data for marketing purposes and that they don't sell it to anybody else" How many times have we heard this? 118800 in my opinion are just opening the gates for company's to start spamming your mobile phone.

If you live in the UK and you don't want your private mobile number being available to every Tom Dick and Harry just do this:

Text E to 118800  

This is what Shona Forster, 118800's marketing director, told the BBC's News team, how to opt out of their directory.

Don't expect a conformation text, 118800 don't seem bothered to let you know if you have been taken of their database, very nice of them!

"Come on guys, let's keep at least one form of communications private"

I would urge everybody to opt out of this database.

Paul Alan.