/24-7PressRelease/ - March 02, 2007 - 192.com is retaining its status as the UK's most powerful people finder as it made this year's Electoral Roll data available Tuesday 27th February. The 2007 Electoral Roll adds 29 million new names and addresses to
192.com , bringing the total number of current and historical records available to over 200 million.
The new records enable people
looking for lost friends and family to quickly and easily find their current address. In addition, this annual update also gives businesses access to an important official record used for confirming an individual's identity when transacting online.
In 2002, when the Government first allowed people to opt out of appearing on the commercial version of the Electoral Roll, the number of records available initially declined sharply to 34 million. However, the figures for the last three years confirm that the trend for 'opting out' has reached a plateau. Keith Marsden, managing director at 192.com, commented: "This is a welcome development. People need to realise that the commercial version of the Electoral Roll is used as a key source of data to help identify individuals as they shop online - an important part of the fight against online fraud. If individuals can't be found on databases such as the
Electoral Roll , they are likely to have their order declined."
The main reason for people removing their contact details from the public domain is to avoid unwanted direct mail or telemarketing calls. Marsden gave this advice to the public: "You don't have to opt out of the Electoral Roll or go ex-directory to eliminate direct marketing. Simply register with the Telephone Preference Service and Mail Preference Service, and they will ensure you only receive the calls and letters that you want."
The Electoral Roll remains an important source of current information when trying to
reconnect with family and friends. In the run up to Valentine's Day, for example, 192.com gave 20,000 people free credits, and 78 per cent chose to use them to look for people they'd lost touch with. A survey conducted at the end of 2006 found that 62 per cent of Britons rely on the Internet for information about people and businesses, finding that it's quicker and cheaper than phonebooks or phone directory enquiry services.
For further information about the Electoral Roll and 192.com's services, please visit
www.192.com
About 192.com:
192.com is the de facto standard search engine for finding people, business and places in the UK. Established in 1997 by Alastair Crawford, founder of UK-Info Disk and Passado.com, the multi-award winning 192.com has over five million registered users accessing unequalled breath and depth of data.
192.com searches over 600 million records including free directory enquiries, local business listings, interactive mapping, aerial photography and property reports. Premium records include current and historical electoral rolls; the birth, deaths and marriages register; 1861 census data; and company and director reports.
192.com Business Services, the corporate arm of 192.com, delivers online identity verification and tracing solutions to over one million desktops across retail, gaming, finance and the public sector.
For further press information and photography please contact Simon McGrath or Gemma Rowlan at LEWIS, the PR agency:
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7802 2626
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7802 2627
Email:
192consumer@lewispr.com---
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Press Release Keywords:- 192.com, 2007, addresses, directory, electoral, enquiries, mail, names, opting, out, preference, roll, service, telephone
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