TV Licence Super Thread

BF-Bert · 6 Mar 2019 at 18:52

Rincewindle said:
It is a civil matter not criminal so he should just give the paperwork back and clear off to the gate..

I thought it was a criminal offence?

Burnsy2023 · 7 Mar 2019 at 00:36

BF-Bert said:
I thought it was a criminal offence?

It is. @Rincewindle is wrong on that point.

dowie · 7 Mar 2019 at 01:33

Vargas said:
This is how you do it. The last couple minutes of this is brilliant

It doesn't seem particularly brilliant, it seems like two freeman of the land numpties spewing out a load of dubious nonsense.

The TV licensing people turned up with a warrant, by not letting them in at that point the homeowner could be in trouble for obstruction AFAIK.

They need some evidence in order to get the warrant in the first place, the detector van stuff is just LOL, but they've presumably given them some reason to apply for that warrant in the past, I suspect that isn't the end of the matter for those two jokers at all.

Rincewindle · 7 Mar 2019 at 02:25

Burnsy2023 said:
It is. @Rincewindle is wrong on that point.

Yea i just looked into it and i am happy to admit i am wrong on that point..

I thought it changed in 2015 and apparently it didn't. To late to go back and edit my post now it has been quoted by someone else but happy to set record straight here.

craigyhay · 7 Mar 2019 at 06:52

hanent paid tv license in at least 5 years, dont watch and not interested in bbc's mostly dumbed down rubbish these days, the tv inspectors have never even bothered to try and visit either, if they did tho they would get no further than the door

spoffle · 7 Mar 2019 at 07:01

We've been "under investigation" for 2 and a half years now... They even seem too scared to knock. They just put envelopes through the door and run away.

I'm not really sure why, as we've never actually spoken to any one of them, because they post and run...

We don't watch TV anyway, so it's a complete non issue.

spoffle · 7 Mar 2019 at 07:06

mrbell1984 said:
You can own a TV but if you are proven to have an 'active' connection for example, a cable going to the TV from the Arial or you are caught watching BBC iPlayer without a license is where the problem is. They are not allowed to bully or harass you to get into the property though.

You can have it all connected up. The law covers the act of watching, not having the means to. Otherwise simply having an Internet connection would be an issue as it gives you the means to watch iPlayer.

Rannoch · 7 Mar 2019 at 07:50

dowie said:
It doesn't seem particularly brilliant, it seems like two freeman of the land numpties spewing out a load of dubious nonsense.

The TV licensing people turned up with a warrant, by not letting them in at that point the homeowner could be in trouble for obstruction AFAIK.

They need some evidence in order to get the warrant in the first place, the detector van stuff is just LOL, but they've presumably given them some reason to apply for that warrant in the past, I suspect that isn't the end of the matter for those two jokers at all.

They won’t be back. I would have simply closed the door and went about my business.

Nasher · 7 Mar 2019 at 08:26

If he just closed the door an ignored him there isn't much he could do. A warrant does not allow some private company employee to let themselves in, it's basically useless for him. The only ones who can act on it (if they care) are the police. If the police do turn up you have to let them in, but you can make the TV man stay outside.

Marky · 7 Mar 2019 at 12:40

I'm certain this link has been posted in this thread - but I'll post it again in case anyone hasn't seen it before:

http://www.bbctvlicence.com/

Hades · 7 Mar 2019 at 12:53

Nasher said:
If he just closed the door an ignored him there isn't much he could do. A warrant does not allow some private company employee to let themselves in, it's basically useless for him. The only ones who can act on it (if they care) are the police. If the police do turn up you have to let them in, but you can make the TV man stay outside.

Close door. Cut plug off. Throw plug in bin or preferably hide it. Fixed.

Shocky-FM · 7 Mar 2019 at 13:23

Their description of who needs a licence is ambiguous, live online tv service could cover anything online these days, even live streaming on YouTube or any other platform.

hornetstinger · 7 Mar 2019 at 13:30

Shocky-FM said:
Their description of who needs a licence is ambiguous, live online tv service could cover anything online these days, even live streaming on YouTube or any other platform.

Remember they can call anytime. Anywhere. They will know. They will find you. And kill you.

Be scared. Very scared.

Nasher · 7 Mar 2019 at 13:39

Shocky-FM said:
Their description of who needs a licence is ambiguous, live online tv service could cover anything online these days, even live streaming on YouTube or any other platform.

I think that is the point, they make it vague so they can harass anyone they like. If they had their way they would make everyone buy a license to watch youtube.

dowie · 7 Mar 2019 at 14:49

Vargas said:
They won’t be back. I would have simply closed the door and went about my business.

Then you'd end up in court with a charge of obstruction and you don't know that they won't be back either. The fact they've gone to the trouble of obtaining a warrant and have arranged for the police to be present too indicates that they've taken an interest in that address, the fact a bumbling idiot quoting freeman of the land BS at them lives there probably gives them quite a good chance of getting a result as they know full well that numpty is likely to do the same to a magistrate, really **** the magistrate off and end up with a fine... all because he's a numpty who listened to absolute nonsense on the internet.

Rannoch · 7 Mar 2019 at 15:15

dowie said:
Then you'd end up in court with a charge of obstruction and you don't know that they won't be back either. The fact they've gone to the trouble of obtaining a warrant and have arranged for the police to be present too indicates that they've taken an interest in that address, the fact a bumbling idiot quoting freeman of the land BS at them lives there probably gives them quite a good chance of getting a result as they know full well that numpty is likely to do the same to a magistrate, really **** the magistrate off and end up with a fine... all because he's a numpty who listened to absolute nonsense on the internet.

I completely agree with people who live in the house. They wouldn’t get trough my door, they would have to smash it in, but they won’t do that. The bloke from captcha reading them their right lol you can make it up. They are tossers, especially the BBC.

pooley · 7 Mar 2019 at 15:15

dowie said:
Then you'd end up in court with a charge of obstruction and you don't know that they won't be back either. The fact they've gone to the trouble of obtaining a warrant and have arranged for the police to be present too indicates that they've taken an interest in that address, the fact a bumbling idiot quoting freeman of the land BS at them lives there probably gives them quite a good chance of getting a result as they know full well that numpty is likely to do the same to a magistrate, really **** the magistrate off and end up with a fine... all because he's a numpty who listened to absolute nonsense on the internet.

sounds iffy to me, if it was a genuine warrant to search the premises for a TV, they don't just knock and then walk away they would kick the door in like a drugs bust lolz

dowie · 7 Mar 2019 at 15:55

Vargas said:
I completely agree with people who live in the house. They wouldn’t get trough my door, they would have to smash it in, but they won’t do that. The bloke from captcha reading them their right lol you can make it up. They are tossers, especially the BBC.

Can you be morse specific - what do you agree with exactly? Do you agree with his stuff about acts not being laws? Are you also under the mistaken impression that it is a civil not a criminal matter? Why wouldn't the bloke from captcha read them their rights? They're conducting a criminal investigation.

They don't need to smash your door, they'd just prosecute you for obstruction if you don't let them in when they turn up with a warrant, you'll then likely be taken to court and fined and if you didn't pay that fine you'd end up with bailiffs turning up executing a warrant in relation to that fine... your costs would then escalate form there - it would be pretty silly of you or anyone else reading this to take that approach which is why I'm calling it out.

pooley said:
sounds iffy to me, if it was a genuine warrant to search the premises for a TV, they don't just knock and then walk away they would kick the door in like a drugs bust lolz

It isn't a drugs bust and no they won't kick the door in, their policy is to not force entry - as already pointed out if you refuse to let them in when they turn up with a warrant then you'll likely get charged with obstruction, that in turn can lead to a fine and if you're silly enough to let that escalate then you'll end up with bailiffs turning up and the fine potentially increasing.

pooley · 7 Mar 2019 at 16:12

@dowie what about you don't answer the door, is that refusing to let them in? and still get charged with obstruction?

dowie · 7 Mar 2019 at 16:50

pooley said:
@dowie what about you don't answer the door, is that refusing to let them in? and still get charged with obstruction?

I don't know - I'd assume that depends on the situation - do they know you're there/how do you know not to answer the door?

Do you just never answer your door, never make yourself visible from any windows etc..?

I guess if you live in a flat and/or have a video entry phone then you could maybe sneak a look at the camera first and perhaps if you're a floor or two up they might not be able to ascertain which flat is yours etc..