Phone firm scraps its 118 service

A phone company has abandoned its directory enquiry service after it performed dismally in this week's survey of the new 118 system.

Scottish-based Thus plc said it was scrapping its 118 335 line, becoming the first company to pull out of the deregulated directory enquiries market.

In a survey for watchdog Oftel, the 118 335 number was only able to get right a third of the residential numbers asked for, compared with 60 per cent across 118 services as a whole.

Bill Allan, Thus chief executive, said: "We were extremely concerned and disappointed by the results of the Oftel survey. As a consequence we have decided to withdraw the 118 service that is offered on our behalf by an outside supplier."