As well as a directory enquiries service, you can now call or text 118 118 to answer a question on anything with their ‘Ask us Anything’ service.

I decided to try this out by texting…

What are the three most popular fashion websites in the UK?

To which 22 minutes later I received the response…

According to the BBC, Marks and Spencer’s website has topped the fashion retail along with rivals Next and Top Shop. Thanks for texting the 118 Team.

I suspect they got the answer from this BBC News report on website usability.

Before I had time to finish reading the answer I had another text from 118 118…

The 118118 text team felt that the last answer took us longer to answer than we’d like. So this time we haven’t charged you. Please text 118118 again soon.

But I suppose my vague question warranted a vague, and slow, response. Perhaps I should have been more specific and asked “what are the top three fashion etailers in the UK by sales?”

Answer: Marks and Spencer, Next, ASOS