TV Licence Super Thread

  • Thread starter Thread starter Ken
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neoboy said:
So very interestingly a chap turned up just now at the door from TV Licensing. I've filled out the declaration online that I don't watch live TV for last 4 years and genuinely don't do it and had no letters from them in years so a bit random.

Asked to see the TV which I showed him doesn't even have an aerial plugged in and then asked to see BBCi player which just loaded into the blank login screen since I never use it.

In and out in about a minute, looks like he just came for my house as he got in the car right after. Must be going after us lot who figured how to fill out the declaration online :D
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yes i'd be careful with that, they will use any tactic to say you have access to live TV
let us know if there is any follow up from this visit
but personally i'd not let them in again if they show up, say nothing to them at all really
 
CircleFaust said:
yes i'd be careful with that, they will use any tactic to say you have access to live TV
let us know if there is any follow up from this visit
but personally i'd not let them in again if they show up, say nothing to them at all really
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Well he said there and then that I'm fine, they'll have a hard time coming up with the evidence of something I'm not doing when I demonstrated that my TV is on the opposite side of the room to where the aerial outlet is, there is no cable for it and showed that I don't watch BBCi player as it wasn't logged in.

Frankly he caught me off guard as I was working late last night and he woke me up. I'm very easily suggestible in the mornings but knew I had nothing to hide :D

They should really rethink their business model though, lot of people I know do the same with streaming services so popular now.
 
Salty22 said:
Does any other country have anything at all like we do in the uk? Im totally clueless as to how american tv works etc
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Switzerland has it they also have proper democracy
from 2018
The country was voting in a referendum on Sunday on whether to axe the mandatory yearly fee of 451 Swiss francs ($480; £348) per household.
More than 71% voted against the plan, which was defeated in all 23 states.
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seems more expensive than it is because of swiss wages being much higher

although if you don't have a tv or radio you don't have to pay it, which changes or changed this year so everyone has to pay it regardless
 
People won't pay for a TV license yet the price is nearly the same on the top package for Netflix as it is a a TV licence for a year.

As of 10/06/2019 prices.

Netflix
Basic - 5.99 a month = 71.88 per year (1 device)
Standard - 8.99 a month = 107.88 per year (2 devices)
Premium - 11.99 a month = 143.88 (4 devices)

TV Licence
154.50 for a colour TV licence
 
What I don't understand is how are they able to prosecute you if they don't actually see you watching live tv?

It's like if your car happens to be speeding at 40 in a 30 zone, the police have to identify that you were the person driving the car. If they can't prove it then the case is dropped.

If you don't let them in, I'm assuming you're under no obligation to do so? Then even if your tv did have an ariel plugged in but the tv was off.. what does that prove? Or is it illegal to purely own a device capable of receiving a live signal?
 
I don't think in all my living life have I known a court case for a non payer for a TV Licence that got caught watching it. You can own a device that is capable of playing live content but only need a licence if you watch tv or catch up tv as it is been broadcasted live.
 
mrbell1984 said:
People won't pay for a TV license yet the price is nearly the same on the top package for Netflix as it is a a TV licence for a year.

As of 10/06/2019 prices.

Netflix
Basic - 5.99 a month = 71.88 per year (1 device)
Standard - 8.99 a month = 107.88 per year (2 devices)
Premium - 11.99 a month = 143.88 (4 devices)

TV Licence
154.50 for a colour TV licence
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Not only is the programming is so far superior it's laughable, but at least the money is also spent far more wisely on programming that we want and not on bias news reporting. It's not the money, it's the principle
 
mrbell1984 said:
People won't pay for a TV license yet the price is nearly the same on the top package for Netflix as it is a a TV licence for a year.

As of 10/06/2019 prices.

Netflix
Basic - 5.99 a month = 71.88 per year (1 device)
Standard - 8.99 a month = 107.88 per year (2 devices)
Premium - 11.99 a month = 143.88 (4 devices)

TV Licence
154.50 for a colour TV licence
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It's a choice, I don't watch enough BBC stuff to justify it. Same as I don't pay Sky to not watch Sky.
Netflix and Amazon offer far better programming for me.
 
Yea all the online ones are cheaper and have much better stuff than you'll find on the BBC now. Including comedy, which is dead on the BBC.
 
BowdonUK said:
What I don't understand is how are they able to prosecute you if they don't actually see you watching live tv?

It's like if your car happens to be speeding at 40 in a 30 zone, the police have to identify that you were the person driving the car. If they can't prove it then the case is dropped.

If you don't let them in, I'm assuming you're under no obligation to do so? Then even if your tv did have an ariel plugged in but the tv was off.. what does that prove? Or is it illegal to purely own a device capable of receiving a live signal?
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Isn't the onus on the owner to prove they weren't driving it? Or is it they have to identify the driver or face a fine?
 
Marky said:
I personally wouldn't have let them in, regardless of whether or not you have a TV hooked up to an aerial. What would you have done if you loaded up the iPlayer app and it showed the home screen - I've heard stories of them taking that as evidence that you watch TV, so should pay for a license.

Glad that it went all OK for you though :)
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This tbh. I wouldnt have let them in and I would not be filling in any declaration forms of any kind. Just tell them to do one. How many other products or services do you have to prove your NOT using them? Any other licensed service and it is on them to prove against you. As soon as you have contacted them once and have stopped payment, that is it .End of relationship.
 
MonkeyBasher said:
This tbh. I wouldnt have let them in and I would not be filling in any declaration forms of any kind. Just tell them to do one. How many other products or services do you have to prove your NOT using them? Any other licensed service and it is on them to prove against you. As soon as you have contacted them once and have stopped payment, that is it .End of relationship.
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But that's what they are trying to do, prove that you are watching live TV by any means possible. Once they have this information that's it.
 
mrbell1984 said:
People won't pay for a TV license yet the price is nearly the same on the top package for Netflix as it is a a TV licence for a year.

As of 10/06/2019 prices.

Netflix
Basic - 5.99 a month = 71.88 per year (1 device)
Standard - 8.99 a month = 107.88 per year (2 devices)
Premium - 11.99 a month = 143.88 (4 devices)

TV Licence
154.50 for a colour TV licence
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I think Netflix is good and think that the BBC content is largely poo.
 
Vanquish-Storm said:
Isn't the onus on the owner to prove they weren't driving it? Or is it they have to identify the driver or face a fine?
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There is a self declaration form that they ask you to fill out. But in my case the incident happened months ago and up to 3 people could drive the car. I visited the police station to view the footage as I couldnt remember who was driving (all 3 of us drive down that road). The footage couldnt identify the person driving. So because I didn't know who was driving I refused to write a name of a person because that could be false too. The police could have dropped the case there. But they didn't. They changed it to accusing me of withholding the identity of the driver. So it went to court. I showed the magistrate my driving licence, and the other 2 peoples licenses, none had any points on. So there was no reason to withhold the information. Then the CPS guy stood up and seemed mixed up and started going on about a different case. So the magistrates threw it out of court.

Maybe it changed these days, I'm not sure. But back then (late 90s early 2000's) they asked me to incriminate myself, which I had a valid reason for not doing as I wasn't sure if it was me or not.

So when the tv license people come around I'm guessing most people must be admitting to watching it. Maybe its the intimidation factor?

Btw, I'm not advocating people purposely lie. I personally don't mind paying the tv license fee as I do make full use of the service. But I'm posing the thought that people must be admitting to it even when the tv license people don't actually see them watching live tv.
 
Netflix has far more watchable content than BBC
Which is crazy since the BBC is always pumping out programs..

Kind of shows how poor BBC is in modern era of TV.
I guess its the news etc that costs a lot.
 
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