THUS, one of the UK's leading providers of voice, data, Internet and contact centre services, announced it is to withdraw its directory of enquiries service.
THUS outsourced its 118 service to a supplier approved by the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services (ICSTIS). THUS did not advertise its 118 services and dealt with approximately 25,000 calls per month, a small percentage of the calls made in the UK to 118 service providers.
Earlier this week a report by Oftel revealed that approximately 60% of directory of enquiry calls in Britain are answered accurately. According to the report, 61% of calls to the THUS 118 service were answered correctly on business number enquiries, yet only 33% in relation to residential numbers.
Bill Allan, chief executive of THUS, said today; "We were extremely concerned and disappointed by the results of the Oftel survey. As a consequence we have reviewed our outsourcing arrangements and decided to withdraw the 118 service that is offered on our behalf by an outside supplier.
"THUS prides itself on the quality of service we offer our customers, and sets high standards for all our services. THUS is totally focused on providing quality services to business customers, but does not participate actively in the residential market. To protect our reputation and quality ethos, we have therefore decided to withdraw our outsourcing arrangement and end our 118 service."
THUS will work with its customers to help them identify an alternative 118 solution and provide continuity of service until this solution is in place.
