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 >>

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.

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:

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to contact us in these first few weeks of the new www.192.com

Many of you have asked why can’t I print and where has the export function gone? The good news is both of these functions are currently being worked on and will be back all being well by the start of September.

Also a few of you have mentioned that you seem to be having problems obtaining free searches. 10 free searches per day have not been removed and they still work in the same way as on the old site. Simply enter a surname or forename and surname and a locality or postcode and if we have a telephone listing for the details given it will be displayed. If we don’t display a number it maybe the case that we only have an electoral roll result for this person and for this you will need to purchase credits and the relevant access level.

If you need any help or advice please check out these articles as they have been created to help you get the most out of the new site.  http://www.192.com/content/help/help-home/#tools

For those who knew the old site and those who have just found us for the first time, hello and a warm welcome to the new 192.com from me and the rest of the Customer Services team.

I hope with the improvements we have made to the search engine and the new tools for refining your results that you are all finding what you’re looking for.

No need to register again as all your account details are the same, no change to your login details and all your credits are still valid too.

There are a couple of features from the old site that haven’t made it over to the new 192.com just yet, the route planner and personal address book will be making a welcome return sometime in the near future.

So that you can get the most out of the new 192.com we have put together some guides that will help you find your way around the new site, these can be found by going to
http://www.192.com/content/help/help-home/#tools