118800 - WE ARE COMING!

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118800 - WE ARE COMING!

by eggbod @ 10. Jul 2009 – 19:52:36

Something for the weekend. I feel a rant coming on. 118800 you are bastard liars. You wish to make public mobile phone numbers for a small fee. How fucking dare you? Most people choose a mobile for selected contact and convenience. Now I have to visit a website of yours to unsubscribe to this public service. When I do attempt to unsubscribe to this, you are not available. You were not available yesterday nor today.....under the guise of "essential maintenance". Below is the message from 118800

"Apologies. Our website is currently unavailable as we carry out essential maintenance. However it will be available again tomorrow and you will be able to use any security code you have received to complete your ex-directory request. Please do not call 118000 for ex directory requests as you will be asked to visit our website tomorrow. . Thanks for your patience."

How difficult is it to get your ex-directory link up and running?

Operating on a system that forces the hand to opt-out rather than consenting to opt-in is tantamount to invasion of privacy and harrassment. I don't want unsolicted phone calls. That is why I use a mobile phone, or was. Is there to be no sanctury from the perpetual, 24-hour, access all areas society?

What next? Mobile phone numbers cross-referenced to DNA profiling?

Which reminds me............lets see what Russell T. Davies has to say about this!
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13 Comments to 118800 - WE ARE COMING!

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- kendersrule ^Pro
- 10. Jul 2009 @ 19:58:28
They send you a text before giving out your number... I think
- - eggbod
  - http://wordworld.blog.co.uk
  - 10. Jul 2009 @ 20:01:25
  Thank you Kitty, that's the first piece of information I have had. I have tried incessantly to visit the ex-directory link and it is not working.
  
  I want to stamp on their weedy wanky 118 running vests.
  
  Still I don't want an unsolicited text either. Can I set Torchwood onto them? Blow them up or summit?
  - - kendersrule ^Pro
    - 10. Jul 2009 @ 20:12:57
    It was the news the other month...
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- MichaelStMark ^Pro
- 10. Jul 2009 @ 22:28:11
Sheep that never take to the streets to protest about these kind of slipperyslope things eventually get steamrollered into being total 1984-type victims by the state.

Thats why sheep in France are frolicking well.
They spit at the sniff of government encroachment on their liberties
- - rubychoo
  - 11. Jul 2009 @ 00:40:01
  Don't French sheep get burned alive in their lorry-castles ?
  - - bradders
    - 11. Jul 2009 @ 22:17:02
    Nooooo! that'll be ENGLISH sheep that get burned by the Froggies, MSM is right, they tend to stick together over there not like us who are obsessed with "The self"
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- xmillyxxx ^Pro
- 10. Jul 2009 @ 23:04:22
Well.. I hope that we can opt out! I don't want my number being public.. All the debt collecters will find me..

Shall I fetch the pitchfork?...
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- bill (Visitor)
- 11. Jul 2009 @ 10:55:43
They don't give out any numbers, they send you a text / call you, play a recording of the person trying to contact you, you then can choose if you want to accept the call or not.
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- Joe (Visitor)
- http://www.118800.co.uk
- 13. Jul 2009 @ 11:48:36
Hello, Joe from 118800.co.uk here.

The website has been taken down for some essential maintenance work to be carried out, in order for us to improve the service we offer our customers. Any requests to opt out of the service before the site was taken down will still be carried out so there is no need to opt out again.

Our service on 118 800 and 118800.co.uk was being tested in June. There are now developments we want to make to improve the service for our customers. But due to the high levels of enquiries we are getting, we are simply not able to complete the technical work required whilst the service is live. We are sorry for inconvenience and will be up and running again as soon as possible.

Just to reassure you that we’ll never actually give out anyone’s personal details. When you search on 118800.co.uk, we’ll send an SMS message to the person you’re looking for, giving them your contacts details and it is then up to you if you wish to call them back or not.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us using the feedback form on our site.

Thanks,

Joe
118800.co.uk
- - Virgilio Anderson (Visitor)
  - http://www.virgilioanderson.com
  - 15. Jul 2009 @ 13:23:45
  Joe from 118 800:
  
  Your own CEO admitted on the BBC's Working Lunch 14/7 that this data was made live on the Internet without proper testing. How can the public feel assured that proper security measures have been taken to prevent any hacking into your servers, which contain thousands of confidential records from people who don't want to be on your database?
  
  Virgilio Anderson
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- - eggbod
  - http://wordworld.blog.co.uk
  - 22. Jul 2009 @ 21:11:25
  Joe you and your directory service are simply missing the point:
  
  And the point is: I do not want the hassle and inconvenience of having to visit your website to opt out of your directory service. I would only visit your website if I wished to be included. And not the other way around. Furthermore when I visited your website weeks ago to unsubscribe, your website was inoperable, broken, malfunctioning. So I was unable to unsubscribe thus ensuring, the hassle and inconvenience I mentioned above.
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- DataDog (Visitor)
- http://pepct
- 22. Jul 2009 @ 20:52:29
118800 don't give out numbers true .. but this doesn't mean to say it is privacy friendly or compliant with UK data protection and privacy law ..... it's about making money

Essentially, those collecting a persons data for the purposes of entering the data into a directory or directory enquiry service are required to make such persons aware of this intention (in a transparent manner) and to give any such person an opportunity to decide whether or not they agree (e.g. Connectivity need consent).

People may be interested in Connectivity’s response to the telecom regulator's consultation on directory information obligations and regulations … it makes some interesting reading.
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/dirinfo/responses/connectivity.pdf

A key statement from Connectivity’s response to the OFCOM consultation is that: “MNOs [mobile network operators] are manipulating their privacy obligations in such a way that consumers are not being given the opportunity to choose whether or not have their numbers included in a directory service”.

Interesting to note that Connectivity accepts that people should be given “the opportunity to choose whether or not have their numbers included in a directory service”. One must ask why they chose not to give people any opportunity .. of course they will say ‘we have and do …. people can opt-out’ ….. not quite the same is it Joe?

Also of importance is that Connectivity are required by law to provide people with an opportunity - free of charge - to verify, correct and withdraw any data held by the company for the purposes of directory enquiries. It is immaterial that the company has suspended the service and it's website .. it is still holding data for the purposes of a directory ... if you aggrieved then you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office www.ico.gov.uk

People may also be interested in this letter from the Assistant Information Commissioner to the MP John F Spellar on the 118800 service http://tweetmeme.com/bar/110974930

If you are concerned
- - eggbod
  - http://wordworld.blog.co.uk
  - 22. Jul 2009 @ 21:03:37
  Thank you for your clarifying comment.
  
  Your remark "Essentially, those collecting a persons data for the purposes of entering the data into a directory or directory enquiry service are required to make such persons aware of this intention (in a transparent manner) and to give any such person an opportunity to decide whether or not they agree (e.g. Connectivity need consent)." Is a point I made with my comment "operating on a system that forces the hand to opt-out rather than consenting to opt-in is tantamount to invasion of privacy and harrassment." Namely harrassment by the directory services themselves.
  
  I don't want to be sent a text message alert from 118800 either. They are missing the point. Why does everything have to be so accessible?
  
  They have been hammered by the volume of people that do not want to be availabe on their directory but hide behind a flannel of waffle and half-truths on their website.
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118800 - WE ARE COMING!

13 Comments to 118800 - WE ARE COMING!

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