TV Licensing

[NETWizz]

What is up with the TV Licensing in the UK?

I was there last July for a bit over a month and twice had folks come to my door to try and threaten me to buy a TV licence. I just basically ignored them, but the folks in my family I was staying with gave them my contact details. They actually wanted to check my laptop for any content I might have recorded from live TV; I refused.

Long story short they are still hounding my extended family for me not having a TV licence. They say they are getting letters for me.

 

[Archon Prime]

That is really odd. That is some messed up stuff.

 

[MichaelBits]

How odd, guess it's a thing in the UK.
http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/

Perhaps our friends across the pond could enlighten us on what this is exactly. Seems like a tax to watch TV.

 

[River Valley Computer]

Years and years and years ago I was in the Air Force in England. At that time they had TV licenses and they actually had a van drive around with some type of RF snooper that would detect that a TV was in the house - if it did not have a license they would fine them.

As a side note they also had coin operated power meters installed in their house. I was at my girlfriends house eating supper with her family when the lights went out. Everyone looked at each other and said did you put money in the power meter????

 

[ChrisTech]

Its a tax that pays for the BBC, basically.

Power meters were for people that didn't have a direct debit with their bank.

The old TV Licence 'Detector Vans' were a con - they didn't work.

Sounds like the TV Licensing peeps did a cold call based on their records. Fact is that its an outmoded tax and they pick on low hanging fruit because its easy pickings.

I only pay it because I don't want the hassle, but unless they can prove it against you - stuff 'em.

 

[Archon Prime]

That is so strange haha. Funny how they go after you like the FBI.

 

[seashore]

What is up with the TV Licensing in the UK?

I was there last July for a bit over a month and twice had folks come to my door to try and threaten me to buy a TV licence. I just basically ignored them, but the folks in my family I was staying with gave them my contact details. They actually wanted to check my laptop for any content I might have recorded from live TV; I refused.

Long story short they are still hounding my extended family for me not having a TV licence. They say they are getting letters for me.

Standard practice unfortunately. Letters routinely go out to all addresses not on the TV licence database. Even if you submit a declaration saying you don't have a TV it makes no difference, the letters keep coming. Once in a while employees working on commission will target an area, visit all the unregistered addresses and get a commission for every new licence they can sell. They often try to act as law enforcers but in reality if no one at the address chooses to enter into a discussion with them there's not a thing they can do. But as @ChrisTech says, most people just buy a licence to stop all the hassle. There are several websites detailing how to deal with them.

 

[Archon Prime]

Are they called The BBC witnesses?

 

[mikeroq]

Wow I had no idea these existed:

 

[seashore]

A long time ago in my late teens I rented a place with a similar coin-operated electricity meter.

Even further back in my childhood I remember my parents rented a coin-operated TV. This was before VCRs came on the scene, and if it timed out at an exciting point in an episode there was a frenzied scramble to insert another 10p coin.

 

[mraikes]

Looks like about $200 per year for a tv license. And that's basically just to fund the BBC?

 

[seashore]

Looks like about $200 per year for a tv license. And that's basically just to fund the BBC?

Exactly. All other channels are funded by advertising or subscription.

 

[Slaters Kustum Machines]

I have seen some funny YouTube videos about people refusing to pay the license fee.

 

[MichaelBits]

Well good thing BBC America has no TV license fee, or I'd be missing Dr. Who!!!

 

[Moltuae]

Looks like about $200 per year for a tv license. And that's basically just to fund the BBC?

I believe you get a small discount if you happen to be blind.

Truth be told, it's just a tax now. With internet streaming and so many channels available, it's beyond ridiculous that the TV licence still exists. Obviously the government have no interest in reforming the licence. It has just become another corrupt government money making scheme.

The TV Licensing organisation rely purely on scare tactics and getting people (especially the elderly) to incriminate themselves by coercing them into admitting that they need a TV licence. If they have no evidence, there's nothing they can do but harass you. They like to pretend they have 'TV detector vans' (they even used to broadcast propaganda like this to scare people into paying up) but of course there's no such thing as a 'detector van'.

If you want to stop them from knocking on your door you can write to them and withdraw their 'implied right of access', which effectively means they're trespassing if they continue to call.

 

[GTP]

Reminds me of when I was a kid in the 60's. Before we had Dollars and Cents we had Pounds, Shillings and Pence.
Mum would send one of us out with a handful of "2 bob" coins (2 Shillings or roughly 20c) to put in the gas meter so she could cook dinner!
Dad would put 1 shilling coins in the "lectric meter" cause it was too high up on the wall for us kids to reach!
The good 'ole days!

We also used to have "TV and Radio Licensing." We had heavy curtains in the living room so no-one could see the light from the unlicensed TV! lol
Dad would freak if the radio was on too loud and say, "turn it down 'cause I aint payin' no bloody license!"

The sad part was that neighbours and "friends" would dob you in!

 

[Briggsy]

Just another government money making "tax".

They have no way of enforcing it though unless the owner cooperates with them. If you don't let them into your home, they have no legal power to enter - so then it' a stalemate situation where they just pester you in the hope that you'll eventually accidentally let the cat out of the bag.

 

[TECCS]

Did the people you were staying with not have a TV Licence?

 

[Mick]

I'd like to put in a small bleat of support for the licence fee (note correct spelling of 'licence' ). The BBC does need funding somehow - assuming you think it is worth having - and this is one way to do it. It may be archaic, but it is at least a hypothecated tax which is far better than than it being reliant on hand-outs from whichever government happens to be in power. It is all too easy to see where that could lead. Although I often disagree with the Beeb's stance on various matters, it is quite encouraging that pretty much everyone, regardless of political etc persuasions, feels like that sometime, so you have to suppose they are probably getting the balance about right most of the time. We could, I suppose, just turn the BBC loose in the commercial field and tell it to sink or swim, but forget the next 'Blue Planet' and say good-bye to local radio stations etc along with, no doubt, radios 3 and 4. For all its faults, I still kind of trust the BBC - and that's not a sentiment I hear expressed too often about CNN or Fox.

 

[mlcomputers]

These used to be good too!!