192.com Blog

After the hugely successful launch of the ‘Say No To Phonebooks’ campaign (which currently has over 5,350 signatures), I’ve had a few people ask me how they can make sure they get free directory enquiry results on 192.com. To clear up any confusion here is a simple explanation that I hope you will all find helpful.

10 free directory enquiry searches per day are available to anyone who isn’t signed in or hasn’t got any credits on their account.

Below is an example of the results shown when I conducted a search when I wasn’t logged in. 

As you can see the Free Listings are given at the top of the screen. These are taken from the telephone directory database and to see these you have to enter a surname and location otherwise we will return no free results. Something to note is that Directory Enquiry results list by first initial only so if you are searching for a John or a Jane the result shown will always just be a J.

Below these is what we call Premium Results. These are Electoral Roll or Director Report results that match the search. You can see clearly what Electoral Roll they are taken from below the name. If you are being asked to purchased credits it will be because you are clicking on one of these results as we do charge to view Electoral Roll records, if you have already purchased credits you just need to sign in at this point. If it is a historic Electoral Roll record, this is anything that isn’t the current year (eg 2002-2008) you will also need to purchase an additional membership be it EAA or EAM. This is explained in more detail when you go to select your credit package.

I hope that this helps clear up any confusion.

Today we unveil one of the really clever things you can do on 192.com.

If you’re moving house, whether you’re buying or renting, and want to know about your neighbours before you move in, check up your potential new street on 192.com.

Search by postcode or street name only on our search form and we’ll give you the full names, length of residency, age guides and property prices of just about every person on that street. If you don’t have 192.com search credits, you’ll need to purchase some at this point but from as little as tenner, you can search up to five different locations!

This sort of information gives you an idea of whether your neighbours have lived there for years or whether new people are moving in and out every year or so. It’ll also tell you how old your neighbours are and how much they paid for their property.

Let’s get started:

1. Go to 192.com
2. Enter a full postcode or street address in the “Where” field
3. Sign In / Buy Credits to access information on everyone that lives in that street

This is typically the sort of information you’re going to get on every household: Sample 192.com record >>

Similarly, if you’re looking for your neighbour’s details for any reason (such as needing to contact them about improvements to your property) then 192.com will give you all their information. If they are a Director of a Company, we’ll also list their business address and all their business interests.

We’ve also heard from users that have used a street search to get hold of someone that they are desperate to contact. So for example, if the person you’re searching for doesn’t have a directory enquiry listing, you can phone their neighbour and ask them to pass on a message.

Of course, if you just want to see all the property sale prices from the year 2000 onwards for any street, you can also do a simple
192.com property price search >>

192.com is today calling on the UK to make a stand against the scourge of unwanted phonebooks and  ‘Say No To Phonebooks’ . Make a real difference to our environment by signing our e-petition, calling on the government to setup a centralised opt-in service for phonebooks. Sign Now >>

We believe people should have the choice whether they have 3 phonebooks a year dumped on their doorsteps. That’s 62,000 tons of annual waste that costs an astonishing £7.5M for local councils to clear up! To see just how much phonebooks are costing the earth see our YouTube viral: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg4VEKqQvNc

 Or find out more at www.saynotophonebooks.org

There are big smiles and a few sore heads around the 192.com office today after 192.com smashed its own record to win Best Online Directory at the international 118 Awards last night. The best bit was we won the award for an almost unheard of, 6 years in a row!

It’s always great to receive a pat on the back for all your hard work. But after the phenomenal effort that went into the recently re-launched 192.com website, this industry recognition was sweeter than ever before.

We also picked up a Best Innovation Award for a new people finding service which is due for public release shortly. Stay tuned, we’re sure you’ll be as impressed as the judges were…

It’s been a tumultuous year for the UK property market but you can now sort the fact from the fiction by looking up the latest property prices on 192.com. Taken directly from the land registry and updated till the end of June 2009, you can now search for any address in the UK and see property sale prices from the year 2000 onwards.

If you’re thinking of buying or selling, you can see all the current house prices for the area you’re interested in. Or if you’re just curious about the current market value of your home, search for your street.

You can search property prices for free by using our dedicated search form. The easiest way to find a history of sale prices is to just enter a street name or postcode in this form.

Search Property Prices >>

If you’re after more detail on your current or potential neighbours, you can do a premium location search to find out their names, ages, how long they’ve lived there, property price, etc. To access this detailed information, search using the 192.com People Finder and only enter a street address or postcode (i.e. leave ‘Who/What’ field blank) .  This will give you a complete profile of all your neighbours. You will need 192.com search credits to access this information in all its glory!

Those sharp eyed registered users with credits will have noticed a neat little icon on the right hand side of the results list. This handy little button lets you save or download the records in the results list to either .cvs or .pdf. The .pdf version makes it easy to get a clear, map free, printable version of your results. Until we are able to re launch the personal address book feature I would suggest that this is the best way to keep a record of your search results.

We’ve just added 380,000 new name & address records to 192.com. These are the very latest edited Electoral Roll records available, taken from the 2009 rolling register.

This update includes people that have registered at a new address on their Electoral Roll registration form in 2009. So it’s a great way to find friends and family that have moved around the UK this year.

If you haven’t tried it out already, you may find the new Refine Search tool useful in your search. It’s over on the left hand side of your search results page and allows you to filter down by exact spelling of forename, surname, likely age, occupation and/or location.

To preview the latest listings search 192.com People Finder >>

Today we’ve officially launched our new Company Credit Reports facility, the same day we’ve been named ‘Website of the Day’ by Pocket Lint. And if Pocket Lint’s suggestion that, if you haven’t tried 192.com for a while now is the time to do it, doesn’t get you on the site perhaps the addition of this tool to help you safeguard against bad debt will.

What we set out to do with the new 192.com was to make it easy to access new data and so take directories to a powerful new level. The addition of Company Credit Reports is just another example of this. Not even a week after the government’s Insolvency Service announced a 39% increase in company liquidations, this is a useful tool that helps you understand the financial position of key customers and suppliers. It’s a bleak fact that insolvencies have increased at such a dramatic rate but at least unlike before, small businesses and even consumers now have instant, online access to information that previously would have been the domain of big business.

Company credit reports are now available for over 1 million of the records in 192.com’s Business Directory or can be searched directly from our Company Credit Reports portal.

One of the best features is the ‘monitor this company’ facility which allows you to setup free email alerts that notify you if the status of the company changes (such as the posting of new accounts, change of directors, or change of risk status / record of CCJs).

Try it out and let us know how you find it: http://www.192.com/creditreports/

We hope you’re enjoying discovering the new 192.com. We’ve heard some great feedback from users and the media so far, including Web User magazine who declared it the website of the fortnight and assigned it a 5 star rating. They said that “the 192.com directory has been radically revamped to make it more comprehensive and user-friendly” and “the smart new 192.com is like several useful online resources rolled into one“.

Other recent comments in the media include:

“Next to this (the new 192.com), traditional directory enquiries services such as Yell.com feel feeble” 
Rob Waugh, The Mail on Sunday

“Let’s face it: The Da Vinci Code could have been solved with Wikipedia and 192.com” 
Damon Wise, The Guardian

So if you need to find people, businesses or places make 192.com your only destination today.  

I’m a very visual person so one of the features of the site I find most helpful is the maps on the results page. This means that instead of just scrolling down a list of results, you can see the people or businesses that you’ve searched for in relation to each other on a map. This was one of the features of the new site that mapping expert Mapperz liked most.

So for example, if you’ve searched for a business, you can find the one closest to your home or a train station. Alternatively, if you’ve searched for a person you can see results in relation to each other. If you’re a signed in user with premium search credits this feature is particularly useful if you’ve searched UK wide (i.e. without specifying a location). Because if you know a person lives in the south east of England, for example, you’ll be able to identify those listings on a map straight away.

If you click on any of the numbered bubbles on the maps, 192.com will give you a snap shot of the contact details for that person or business with a link to the full details page.

Don’t forget, you can resize the map at any time by clicking and dragging the slider between the map and the list of search results.

See your results in relation to each other on a map with the new 192.com: