Tv licensing inspectors - have any of you had any dealings with them?

As most of you probably already know, in the UK the BBC is funded by the british public, it costs each household in the uk £145.50 a year to watch a colour tv, £49 if you own a black and white tv set, and if your legally blind then the concession TV Licence costs £72.75 for colour and £24.50 for a black and white TV Licence.

the licence only pays for the British Broadcasting Corporation and you still have to pay even if you never watch their channels, bbc's total income 2011-2012 was £3.7 billion pounds,

so anyway, my sky box packed in on christmas eve, it was a blessing, we'd been debating getting rid of sky for a while so it was a little kick up the backside that i needed, our normal tv signal isn't worth watching so we decided to watch the catch up services that were available online via our xbox.

this is what the tv licensing website says about NOT needing a tv licence,

The law states that you need to be covered by a TV Licence if you watch or record television programmes, on any device, as they're being shown on TV. This includes TVs, computers, mobile phones, games consoles, digital boxes and Blu-ray/DVD/VHS recorders.
You don't need a licence if you don't use any of these devices to watch or record television programmes as they're being shown on TV - for example, if you use your TV only to watch DVDs or play video games, or you only watch ‘catch up’ services like BBC iPlayer or 4oD.

the above statement applies to my household so i declared that i don't need a licence and cancelled the direct debit, today i've received an email from them, and find one of the requests very odd, see below

If you do hold a valid licence and you wish us to proceed with the cancellation of the licence and record that there is no television equipment in use at your address, please let us know.

to you does it seem like they are implying i shouldn't be using my tv equipment? where does it say in the requirements for not needing a licence that my tv equipment can not be used if i don't have a licence?

anyone on here with any experience, i want to be prepared for the inspectors visit,

thank you

www.tvlicenceresistance.info...

the people on that forum might be able to help more

As far as I understand, you can use your tv equipment, but not have it connected up to live broadcasting receivers, ie: aerial or satalite.

I had a letter saying they may still send someone to check, but you are under no obligation to let them into your property. Just tell them no thanks and go away. (politely). film them so they don't intimidate you with fines and prison.

Even with a court warrant, and police, this guy was turned away....

hi op

Yes i have
I was due in court 2 weeks ago
Feck them
They can not inprison you believe me
Its all Bull, there is no legality for them to arrest you

They threat, but its pissing in the wind
Stick to your guns and deny you live there

6 monthes ago they came a knocking
i said i just moved in, the cheeky bastard asked for i.d
I said im not showing any, and he said sorry but i have to ask

Feck em im waiting for the next knock on the door or another summons
Dont be scared feck em they have no right

reply to post by Minnie1985


Sorry for being a bit off topic.
OK, I'm from Canada. A TV License? I figure that's some sort of contract you have with the BBC? So that comes out to 12,12... Canadian that come to around 20$. per month. That's pretty good. Jeez...we are being gouged. I was at around 55$ per month. And it was pretty basic. Arial on the other hand are free. We just need to buy the equipment. But I would only get 7 channels. Supposed to be around 12.

This is a old post, but good read. basically just get a monitor and use the internet to watch TV ..

blogs.telegraph.co.uk...

reply to post by XLR8R


And those of us that live rural, and have to rely on satellite dishes, for any tv at all, and to get the good channels, pay over $100 per month.

And then just imagine what we pay out for other services, separately, like Internet and cell phone service.....

Originally posted by XLR8R
reply to post by Minnie1985

 

Sorry for being a bit off topic.
OK, I'm from Canada. A TV License? I figure that's some sort of contract you have with the BBC? So that comes out to 12,12... Canadian that come to around 20$. per month. That's pretty good. Jeez...we are being gouged. I'm at around 55$ per month. And it's pretty basic.

NO CONTRACT

It all depends if you admit you have a tv and are using it
I had a letter prior to the summons showing me what times i was watching the BBC
I dont watch tv it was the the missis watching eastenders

As i said its bull crap and deny it

Once you have admited it and paid it then your on their list and they do have JUST A LITTLE BIT of
WE have got you now you must continue paying

Yes they can take you to court then,as in my case ive not paid and was due in court 2 wks ago
I give them the two fingers, UP your Bullshhhhheeet tv

reply to post by davesmart


a question came to mind the other day and you might be able to answer it, i know that the tv licensing company sometimes bring the police along with a search warrant, but is the warrant issued by the police or the tv licensing company themselves?

you mentioned you were due in court 2 weeks ago, you obviously didn't appear so i'm also wondering if there has been any backlash as a result of your non appearance?

thank you

Film them
Be polite, refuse entry to your property, and demand an appointment in writing.

Can't seem to pull up the utube at the moment but it's worth taking a look

Here's the link

reply to post by Minnie1985



No back lash yet
never had it, every time they knock i give them a different name
I have never paid a tv liscence in my life and i intend to never pay it

As i said, if your scared pay it if not..feck em
They can not do anything honestly.

reply to post by snowspirit


It's crazy isn't? I have a few friends from over seas and apparently our services suck in comparison to boot. I use internet only. Kids got used to it pretty quickly as well. Book mark everything interesting for easy access and voila. Any TV on demand.

reply to post by davesmart


Really? The honor system? I didn't think that still existed Yep...2 huge fingers.

I have managed to avoid them for over 2 years the best way to do it is never give them your name and date of birth they cant do nothing they keep sending threatening letters but they are addressed to the occupier and cant cant take legal action with out a name,i will never pay the British brain washing corporation a single penny especially when they use it to pay the wages of pedophiles which are becoming more and more frequent in the BBC cult.

reply to post by XLR8R

hello, its not so much as a contract but another tax on us,

The bbc are responsible for many wrong doings, one of the most recent was the cover up of child sex abuse carried out by Sir Jimmy Savile while he was still alive against so many vunerable people, many who were in care and or seriously ill.

for me it's not really about the money, it what the money is being used for that i don't want to fund anymore

please don't think i'm aiming this at you it's just i forgot to give my reason in the op as to why i'm not paying it anymore,

reply to post by davesmart


haha, thanks for you're advice, nope, i'm not scared, i'm actually looking forward to making a stand for what i feel is right, and it just goes to show from you're case that they are all talk and no action,

This link Seems to have some good information.

It says that them being granted a warrant to enter your home is extremely rare and

In practice there are only two forms of evidence that TV Licensing can offer when requesting a search warrant:

That the legal occupant has admitted that they are using television receiving equipment without a licence.

That an Enforcement Officer has observed or heard television receiving equipment being used in an unlicensed property.

Obviously though I assume you can expect them to be less than honest when they apply for the warrant "I saw him watching TV through the window honest gov"

It also says you can write to them and withdraw their implied right to be on your property so in theory if you did that and had a large garden so they couldn't get close enough to see or hear any equipment then you would be home free.
I would think personally though that writing to them out of the blue asking to withdraw trheir access would raise a red flag with them and would be more of a hindrance than a help

reply to post by MX44K


hello, my thoughts exactly, a guy i work with hasn't paid his for years too and he just gets the occasional letter, the rest of our work mates then went on to actually blame people like us for them having to pay more, when i informed them they don't have to pay is was as if they didn't understand, thats how well brainwashed they are..

and even when its clear that the BBC did cover for jimmy savile, the average uk citizen doesn't seem to realise that it is their own money that continues to fund this sick behaviour, Savile was also knighted by the royal family and i think its safe to say that we funded that charade too,

i really wish people would start to question how their hard earned money that they are forced to part with is actually being spent, instead we just leave it in the hands of the very people who are screwing us over,

sorry that turned to a bit of a rant that in no way is directed at you

reply to post by Minnie1985


No problem at all. Even if it were geared towards me I wouldn't hold it against you.
-
It's pretty crummy that we have to pay for the scum bags that make the rules. I agree with you on that. But why pay for a license for arials though? It should be free like radio. I thought that's what advertizing was for?

reply to post by XLR8R


In the uk, the BBC don't use advertising/commercials, and charge £150, per household for a licence. They assume everyone watches and send inspectors out. That's just to watch live broadcasting. For sattalite tv that can cost an extra £50 per month. As long as you are watching live broadcasting, bbc want their cut. They own the television air waves.