TV Licence Super Thread

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andybird123 said:
You don't have to, just don't use iPlayer, that just made logical sense to me as the easiest way if push comes to shove as I can't delete the iPlayer app off my TV so it ensures nothing in the house can accidentally connect to it and give them any sort of justification for accusation
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When I let the inspector in (I didn’t mind) nothing to hide. I showed them my aerial outlet and I loaded up iplayer to show them I wasn’t signed in on the tv. I couldn’t uninstall the default app though either.

Guy was happy and off he went. Took no longer than 2 mins. Didn’t get a letter or any other communications for 2 years.
 
Hades said:
The existence of an aerial on the roof doesn't constitute proof you use it. Your internet provider won't give your name and address to the BBC without a court order because they would be in breach of GDPR. A court won't give that order unless there is reasonable suspicion you watch TV.
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Wasn't the BBC found to be using some law that was first brought in to catch terrorist, to get data on people internet usage ?
 
GaryTheSnail said:
When I let the inspector in (I didn’t mind) nothing to hide. I showed them my aerial outlet and I loaded up iplayer to show them I wasn’t signed in on the tv. I couldn’t uninstall the default app though either.

Guy was happy and off he went. Took no longer than 2 mins. Didn’t get a letter or any other communications for 2 years.
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so you now got to proof every 2 years that your innocence :)
and tell me what if he has asked to check you PC, laptops and all the phones would you still be happy
what if he started looking threw family photos looking for a hidden Iplayer app
or reading private emails or messages on your phones looking for proof that you were chatting about (and therefore watch) bbc programs.
at what point do you say enough is enough.
 
Btone said:
so you now got to proof every 2 years that your innocence :)
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It's fine, it's once every 2 years. Hardly a problem. :rolleyes:

Btone said:
and tell me what if he has asked to check you PC, laptops and all the phones would you still be happy
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Yep, that would be fine but they wouldn't do this they have your ip logged for online streaming. Unless you use a VPN that is.

Btone said:
what if he started looking threw family photos looking for a hidden Iplayer app
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Btone said:
or reading private emails or messages on your phones looking for proof that you were chatting about (and therefore watch) bbc programs.
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That's not going to happen, come on. Sackable offence. If they did file a complaint for investigations to take place.

Btone said:
at what point do you say enough is enough.
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You say enough is enough if they breaking full on rules. i.e they going through your private stuff.

This is taking it too far now tbh.


Adding to this I have a fishing E.A licence and when fishing you can potentially get checked at any moment.
If they find out you don't have one on the lake and catch you fishing you get fined / took to court or whatever.

No different to TV licence checks. You can't declare you don't need one for the simple fact is. If you fish, you need one. (age dependant).
 
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Btone said:
Wasn't the BBC found to be using some law that was first brought in to catch terrorist, to get data on people internet usage ?
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Yes I think they did abuse RIPA although I don't think they explained exactly what they were using it for.

It's a great example of the people saying "nothing to hide then nothing to worry about" when new laws are brought in are, in my opinion, wrong. Laws are always extended and then abused.
 
GaryTheSnail said:
Adding to this I have a fishing E.A licence and when fishing you can potentially get checked at any moment.
If they find out you don't have one on the lake and catch you fishing you get fined / took to court or whatever.

No different to TV licence checks. You can't declare you don't need one for the simple fact is. If you fish, you need one. (age dependant).
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Of course it's different. You don't get a knock on the door in the middle of the day to show your fishing license while you aren't on the lake but simply sitting at home. They would only ask to see it when you are fishing. If you decide not to renew your license they don't keep asking every two years for you to confirm you aren't fishing or demand to come in and inspect your rods to make sure they aren't wet. They don't send threatening letters when you have no intention of fishing. They don't send other random people, who have no interest in fishing, a demand to buy a licence or threaten them with a fine if caught doing something they aren't.

A better analogy would be the car road fund licence. In that case it is law to declare the vehicle SORN if you stop driving and insuring it. But even the DVLA don't ask you to confirm every two years that you haven't driven it.
 
Malevolence said:
Indeed. Just look at what they did to The Sky at Night after Sir Patrick's death. And another thing I really miss from times gone by, is the Open University programmes that used to air throughout the silly hours on BBC2.
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Ah yes, but now we've got Dancing on Ice and Strictly Come Dancing, and all that amazing programming on BBC3.

Educational shmeducational. The people want celebrity tosh and garbage reality TV. At least, that's what you'd have to conclude given their current output.

Frankly I think that should be left to ITV and the others. There is no way in hell the BBC should be extorting money from all of us to make... that hot garbage.
 
GaryTheSnail said:
It's fine, it's once every 2 years. Hardly a problem. :rolleyes:
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same as it not a problem to not let them in a put the letter in the bin, No harm can come to you if your not breaking the law

GaryTheSnail said:
Yep, that would be fine but they wouldn't do this they have your ip logged for online streaming. Unless you use a VPN that is.
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it not illegal to use a VPN and many people use them as extra security for their internet connection and let not forget that many people watch Live TV while they on the move so the IP they have isn't even related to their home address, also many ISP don't give out IP address with out a court order. also while they may be able to log an IP address for those that visit Iplayer, i'm not sure weather other Private company's would be willing to hand out IP address to the BBC.

and once you let them in, they can inspect any equipment that can receive live TV, so yes they can ask you to turn on your computers and phone and look at them

You seem to have a a lot of faith in the BBC complaints department, as someone who has made complaints to the BBC, i can tell you they very rarely do anything, you get a few stock letters back from them and that about it
 
FoxEye said:
Ah yes, but now we've got Dancing on Ice and Strictly Come Dancing, and all that amazing programming on BBC3.

Educational shmeducational. The people want celebrity tosh and garbage reality TV. At least, that's what you'd have to conclude given their current output.

Frankly I think that should be left to ITV and the others. There is no way in hell the BBC should be extorting money from all of us to make... that hot garbage.
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A lot of that ‘hot garbage’ is very popular. Viewership is really the only real measure of value for money the BBC can use.
 
Hades said:
Of course it's different. You don't get a knock on the door in the middle of the day to show your fishing license while you aren't on the lake but simply sitting at home. They would only ask to see it when you are fishing. If you decide not to renew your license they don't keep asking every two years for you to confirm you aren't fishing or demand to come in and inspect your rods to make sure they aren't wet. They don't send threatening letters when you have no intention of fishing. They don't send other random people, who have no interest in fishing, a demand to buy a licence or threaten them with a fine if caught doing something they aren't.

A better analogy would be the car road fund licence. In that case it is law to declare the vehicle SORN if you stop driving and insuring it. But even the DVLA don't ask you to confirm every two years that you haven't driven it.
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You do get a knock on your door they come get you while you fishing caught in the act.
 
GaryTheSnail said:
You do get a knock on your door they come get you while you fishing caught in the act.
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Still different. In your example they knock on your door because they have seen you fishing. With the TV licence they knock on your door simply because you don't need a licence anymore. In many cases it is a sales call which the private contractor gets a commission for.
 
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Hades said:
Still different. In your example they knock on your door because they have seen you fishing. With the TV licence they knock on your door simply because you don't need a licence anymore. In many cases it is a sales call which the private contractor gets a commission for.
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So what if they knock on your door no different to disturbing me when fishing.

We agree to disagree you lot keep avoiding paying. ;)
 
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Just cancelled my tv licence no way I’m funding the BBC any longer. All devices cleaned of bbc apps, satellite dish removed and my TV Aerial in the loft is knackered.

Im looking forward to the letters and really hoping they send someone round for a chat. Being a slightly crazy old Veteran it could be fun for me probably not so much for them… :)
 
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MissChief said:
A lot of that ‘hot garbage’ is very popular. Viewership is really the only real measure of value for money the BBC can use.
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If it's popular then let people pay for it on Netflix or ITV.

A publicly funded broadcaster doesn't exist to make popular programming. That is not its remit.

If anything, a publicly funded broadcaster exists to make programmes the others won't, to fill a mandate for educational or other types of programmes.

e: To put it another way, I agree with infrastructure in public hands. But a BBC in public hands that competes with ITV for recreational output? No way. Why should the BBC have that kind of competitive advantage?

It's like if the govt decided to make a publicly funded game development studio to churn out a competitor to Call of Duty or World of Warcraft. That would be insane.

If the BBC wants to take money from the public it needs to fulfill a mandate for the public good. Education, arguably sports events, documentaries, etc.

If the BBC wants to compete with ITV then it should be forced to sell that kind of output and use a subscription model or advertising to pay for it.
 
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