UK Royal Mail goes into directory enquiries

Royal Mail is to take on 118 118 and BT this week with the launch of a rival directory-enquiries service.

The launch could lead to a price war, with Royal Mail undercutting its rivals with a 40p flat charge for up to two enquiries. The move is the latest attempt by Allan Leighton, chairman of Royal Mail, to generate new sources of income for the indebted business.

The entry of Royal Mail into the Pounds 160m directory-enquiries market will be a blow for 118 118, The Number, which is reported to be working on plans to float this year.

Infonxx, the world's largest provider of directory assistance services and The Number's American parent company, has asked Goldman Sachs to prepare the business for a listing.

Backed by its iconic advertising campaign -which features two mustachioed 1970s runners/rehearsing actors -118 118 has dominated the market despite charging premium rates.

Royal Mail's service -11 88 55 -will be run by the Post Office, a division of Royal Mail. Simon Carter, head of Post Office Home Phone, hopes to cash in on consumer dissatisfaction with current directory-enquiries services.

"Providing greater choice was meant to give a better deal, but people have been disappointed," he said.

A survey by the Post Office has revealed that 40% of consumers are dissatisfied with current 118 services.

The move into directory enquiries increases the Post Office's presence in the telecoms market after the launch of its Home Phone service earlier this year.

According to Carter, Home Phone is currently signing up more than 4,000 customers a day to the fixed-line residential service.

Royal Mail has opened call centres in Glasgow and Birmingham to handle enquiries.

Post Office® attacks “118” high charges
[29/01/2006]
· Post Office® 11 88 55 launches to bring an end to expensive directory enquiries pricing
· All calls cost 40p, regardless of length
· This makes a one minute call 23p cheaper than the two largest rival numbers

The Post Office® launches tomorrow a new directory enquiries service – 11 88 55 – to help people avoid the expensive prices charged by the most popular numbers in the market.

This new service increases the Post Office®’s presence in the telecoms market, following the launch of its HomePhone service last year.

All calls to 11 88 55 cost 40p, regardless of the length of time it takes – unlike other providers, there’s no additional per minute costs. The price is 23p cheaper than the two largest rival numbers in the directory enquiries market.

In fact, 90 per cent of the estimated 300 million directory enquiry calls a year are made to just six 118 numbers – and the Post Office®’s 11 88 55 service is cheaper than all of them.

Following the standard set by Post Office® HomePhone, when you call 11 88 55, your call is answered by a person – not a machine – at call centres in Glasgow or Birmingham. And there is also a free text-back service for mobile phone users.

Simon Carter, Head of Post Office® HomePhone, said: “One in three people think current services are expensive and 40 per cent are dissatisfied with current 118 services. Providing greater choice was meant to give a better deal, but people have been disappointed.”

“We’re confident people will see the Post Office® 11 88 55 number as a new and improved version of the old 192 service. 192 also offered up to two searches for just 40 pence but 11 88 55 goes one step better by offering a free text-back service too. With 11 88 55 you get what you want and you know how much you’re paying for it.”

The Post Office® is currently signing up more than 4,000 customers a day to its HomePhone fixed-line residential service. New customers joining HomePhone before 31st March 2005 will receive £50 off their phone bill – equivalent to four months’ free phone calls for an average user.

For more information ask in-branch or go online (www.postoffice.co.uk)

Ends

Notes to Editors
The 11 88 55 service:
· Calls charged at a flat rate of 40p – no per minute charges
· All calls handled by a person not a machine
· UK-based call centre
· Two searches per call
· UK residential and business number searches
· Find a local business style search
· Free text back to mobile

The UK Directory Enquiries market is worth an estimated £170m per year and the opportunity to win new customers is great. Approximately 40 per cent of customers are dissatisfied with current 118 services and one in six phone users cannot remember a single “118” Directory Enquiry number.

About the Post Office®
With around 14,500 branches across the country, the Post Office® is the largest retail and financial services chain in the UK. Its network is larger than all of the UK’s banks and building societies put together. Around 94 per cent of the UK population lives within a mile of a Post Office® branch and 28 million customers visit every week.

In conjunction with its partners, the Post Office® offers over 170 products and services including travel and financial services (including personal loans, car, home and travel insurance and a new “two in one” credit card), banking services, bill payments, HomePhone (its home telephone service), gift vouchers and cards, lottery products, licence applications, phonecards and mobile phone top-ups, and postal services. It is the largest supplier of foreign currency in the UK and is a leading provider of travel insurance.

The Post Office® is also the biggest cash handler in the country with more than £92 billion passing through its hands each year. 17p in every £1 in circulation goes through a Post Office® branch and around 400 million household bills are paid at Post Office® branches each year.

In the year ending March 2005, the Post Office®’s total turnover was £1,287 million. Post Office Ltd is a separate limited company within the Royal Mail Group.

To find out where your nearest Post Office® branch is call 08457-223 344.

www.postoffice.co.uk