Oh really? Then why haven't TVL prosecuted me yet then?
Nearly 8 years licence free.
The olde TV licence
- Thread starter wire-screw
- Start date
Oh really? Then why haven't TVL prosecuted me yet then?
Nearly 8 years licence free.
Call them and tell them you don't need a license because you don't own a TV. They'll say they need to send someone round to check. Tell them you've read about unscrupulous license inspectors tricking people into signing false confessions on these checks and for that reason you want no visits and have removed there assumed right of access to your property for any license inspectors. After informing them youve removed there implied right of access they will be breaking the law if they step foot on you property. Be polite when you speak to them and don't let them intimidate you or scare you with legal hogwash.
I did the above several years ago and can confirm that it will stop all letters, visits and harassment.
I did the above several years ago and can confirm that it will stop all letters, visits and harassment.
Last edited:
Soldato
- Joined
- 8 Nov 2006
- Posts
- 7,634
- Location
- Ireland/Northern Ireland Border
...the freeman is not nonsense. The freeman saved us all.
I haven't had a license in 10 years and I haven't been prosecuted and all that without quoting some freeman nonsense.
Who said this thread wasn't about freeloading?
If that was directed at me the answer is very simple. I do not watch live TV as it is broadcast, which is the only prerequisite for requiring a license. Something a lot of people seem to fail to understand.
My main problem is the way the letters are written. I got one at my new house and is said in big bold coloured text. 'Whatever you are watching, However you are watching, You need a tv licence.'
This is blatantly not true as you only need the licence for watching and recording live tv which it does go on to say later in the small print. To me this is trying to use scare tactics to con people into getting a licence who dont need one. I dont need one so i rang up and informed them that i did not need one, i was polite told them i did not need a licence and enquired how i go about complaining about letters coming through my door containing blatant lies and that since the tv licence is essentially a paying for a service it would surley be classed as false advertising too!
This is blatantly not true as you only need the licence for watching and recording live tv which it does go on to say later in the small print. To me this is trying to use scare tactics to con people into getting a licence who dont need one. I dont need one so i rang up and informed them that i did not need one, i was polite told them i did not need a licence and enquired how i go about complaining about letters coming through my door containing blatant lies and that since the tv licence is essentially a paying for a service it would surley be classed as false advertising too!
This.
And very much so this. In the last two properties I rented I received a letter, filed in the form and never heard from them again. But no, people have to stick it to the man! Fight the system by throwing the letters in the bin, that'll show 'em!
This x 100. The last thread on it was hilarious.
Soldato
- Joined
- 7 Jul 2011
- Posts
- 4,418
- Location
- Cambridgeshire
Meh, I watch live TV, I pay my licence. If I didn't watch live TV I'd probably tell them as much, possibly by using some kind of handy form provided by TVLA. Sounds logical, then again I don't believe in voodoo so I don't worry too much about nefarious government organisations having access to my name. The joke will be on me when the lizard men finally show themselves, they'll know all my personal details, terrifying.
Not strictly true. You also cannot record live TV to watch later. So if you are using the likes of Sky+, you are breaking the rules.
Soldato
- Joined
- 13 Sep 2005
- Posts
- 4,448
Can you legally have Sky+/ TiVo etc. and simply choose not to watch/record live TV or does the fact you have the ability mean a license is mandatory?
Sure, this is a caveat I wasn't thinking of at the time of making my post but since I do not do this either (I don't have Sky or Virgin or anything like that and if I did I wouldn't hesitate in getting a TV license) my previous statement still stands.
I am fairly sure that if you have either of these services you must have a TV license. It is the same as people saying "I only watch ITV/Channel 4/Channel 5". Since the TV License funds the BBC people think that simply not watching BBC channels they can get away without a license, but this is not true.
Soldato
- Joined
- 1 Dec 2003
- Posts
- 3,529
download and read this free book, if you don't need one don't pay for it
http://tv-licensing.blogspot.co.uk/p/free-book.html
I watch live TV so have to pay up, reluctantly. too many fat cat managers and wasted money!!
http://tv-licensing.blogspot.co.uk/p/free-book.html
I watch live TV so have to pay up, reluctantly. too many fat cat managers and wasted money!!
Yes. If you only ever watch on-demand programming, and never watch or record anything from a broadcast channel, then you do not require a licence.
Only if you are watching or recording a TV channel as it is broadcast. If you only use on-demand and/or "catch up" services you don't need a licence. It's not about having the ability to do something, it's whether or not you do it that matters.
If you have a Sky subscription the box is automatically tuned into all channels, is it not? Serious question as like I said I have not had a TV license since I moved out of a shared house a good 10 years ago.
So, who is the onus on to prove that you do not watch or record these channels, even though you have access to them, and only watch on-demand programming?
I always thought that if you had your telly plugged into an aerial (of any description) and was tuned in to receive broadcasts, then you paid for a TV license. I know this doesn't mean you watch or record telly as it is broadcast but it is a fairly large leap of faith to assume you don't at this point.
Yes, the channels are tuned - doesn't mean you have to watch them.
Legally, if you don't watch and/or record TV as it is being broadcast on a TV channel, then you do not require a TV licence. You can have all the TV channels you like tuned into your TV and ready to go at the press of a button, but if you don't watch/record them, you're fine. Legally.
I have no idea how far you'd get with that argument *if* TV licensing pursued you after you informed them you didn't need a licence. At the end of the day, they have to prove that you need a licence - I don't know what the courts would consider sufficient "proof" in that regard.