TV Licence Super Thread

[Fishbait]

No idea, I just saw the video he made of him opening his front door to be confronted by TVL and plod. He has been a thorn in the TVLs side for a long time!

TVL are renowned for getting warrants against people who video the TVL inspectors, they HATE being YouTubed!

That to me is something that means they must be doing things they shouldn't be doing. Why do they claim folk aren't allowed or they just walk away if not being dodgy.
There's loads of clips of coppers being recorded & they've said it's legal. They're recording too, so be daft to say "no, you aren't allowed".

 

[Brenn47]

They're supposed to walk away when confronted by a camera, some walk, some ask not to be filmed, some don't care.

 

[spoffle]

Eh? It is clearly displayed above. Installed would mean connected to an aerial and tuned in... like I said before if they can simply turn the thing on and see BBC1 then they've likely got a case.

It doesn't. It means the act of installation. That isn't the same as it already having been installed. For example, deciding not to watch TV and therefore not requiring a license. You don't have to disconnect it all else you'll "risk" being fined.

 

[dowie]

What do you mean by 'the act of installation'?

As far as I'm aware if you've got the aerial plugged in and the TV tuned in then it is 'installed'. I mean it says a TV must not be installed or used by what criteria would you consider a TV to be installed?

My premise is that if they can turn the thing on and BBC 1 starts playing then you're in trouble. I mean you'd have a hard time arguing that you don't watch TV if you get a TV signal by switching it on? Aerial connected and TV channels not tuned should be OK, I guess maybe they turn it on and it jumps to a DVD menu then you might be OK too assuming they don't check the other inputs.

 

[Werewolf]

I wouldn't leave a TV with an aerial cable plugged in if I was trying to legally do without a TV licence.

Many TV's auto tune/retune, and most sets require you to cycle through most/all the inputs to get to what you want, often including the TV tuner if you are using the default remote (most don't have teh ability to select a specific AV input but require you to press the av button multiple times).
For the sake for a couple of seconds to disconnect the aerial it seems like a silly thing not to do in order to prevent "accidental" viewing.

 

[Threepwood]

I wouldn't leave a TV with an aerial cable plugged in if I was trying to legally do without a TV licence.

I guess there are cases where people do stop watching their tv, stop paying the license and don't unplug the aerial. Idk, lets say an old person who cant even see it any more and certainly cant remove the aerial and has no one to do it for them, and they don't even really care anyway.

So what happens should they let an inspector in (mistaking them for their grand daughter) and they go turn on the dusty tv. Low and behold BBC1 is showing some propaganda.

Aha! The inspector cries, but who is at fault, and surely (as long as grandma does not sign anything) there would be a burden of proof on the inspectors part.

Granny has broken no law. She did not install the tv or use it after deciding not to watch TV any more.

Idk, but I'm leaning into my laywers armchair to the left and siding with Spoffle with this one.

Poor Grandma, now open to being bullied into signing something (whether spoff or Dowie is correct) by a goon.

 

[Beans on toast Dave]

I guess there are cases where people do stop watching their tv, stop paying the license and don't unplug the aerial

thats me for one, but i did turn off the amplifier in the loft, so i cannot receive anything, better just disconnect it all

 

[MatsyLR]

Granny has broken no law.

No she didn't.

 

[Nasher]

They don't generally bother with wealthy areas, the TVL hunting ground is usually poorer estates where it's easier to get a conviction.

Seems to be the case. But probably more to do with in richer areas people will just ban them from their property and they won't even be able to ring the doorbell any more. So they can be fully shut out and be powerless. In a block of flats etc you can't do that because you don't own the land.

 

[Jez]

Seems to be the case. But richer areas people will just ban them from their property and they won't even be able to ring the doorbell any more. So they can be fully shut out. In a block of flats etc you can't do that because you don't own the land.

Interested as to why this is the case (TVL targeting poor areas), it doesn't make sense to me. Poorer people will likely resist paying?

 

[asim18]

Interested as to why this is the case (TVL targeting poor areas), it doesn't make sense to me. Poorer people will likely resist paying?

Because Economics.

Poor people are targeted because their money is "worth" relatively more. Fining a rich person £5000 (for example) is not going to stop him from buying what he always buys, therefore it doesn't make a dent in the wider economy. When you milk a slave for £5000 that slave will not be able to buy everyday things he may have wanted to buy, therefore the money is "worth" more to them because it stops slaves procuring tangible goods of value, and allows the elite to buy them instead.

I don't know how to explain it that well but money sitting in the bank of someone who's going to spend it on everyday living expenses is worth more than £1 Million which has been created out of thin air. In other words money is only worth what it's GOING to be spent on.

 

[dowie]

Poorer areas will contain a higher portion of people who stay at home during the daytime and a higher portion who make stupid life choices and will readily incriminate themselves - that is after all how they get most of their convictions.

 

[Jez]

Because Economics.

Poor people are targeted because their money is "worth" relatively more. Fining a rich person £5000 (for example) is not going to stop him from buying what he always buys, therefore it doesn't make a dent in the wider economy. When you milk a slave for £5000 that slave will not be able to buy everyday things he may have wanted to buy, therefore the money is "worth" more to them because it stops slaves procuring tangible goods of value, and allows the elite to buy them instead.

I don't know how to explain it that well but money sitting in the bank of someone who's going to spend it on everyday living expenses is worth more than £1 Million which has been created out of thin air. In other words money is only worth what it's GOING to be spent on.

I understand economics, but the impact on the resident is of little consequence to TVL. Their revenue is what matters, and revenue is potentially larger from people with more money as they can potentially impose higher fines which are more likely to get paid.

Poorer areas will contain a higher portion of people who stay at home during the daytime and a higher portion who make stupid life choices and will readily incriminate themselves - that is after all how they get most of their convictions.

This makes sense

 

[Fishbait]

How much is a TV licence..?

It costs £145.50 for a colour and £49.00 for a black and white TV Licence. In some cases, you may be entitled to a reduced fee TV Licence

I saw a few stating that you could just unplug your aerial & that's it all over with.
Not really, because I'm sure you're allowed to watch none live (as in +1 channels) without an licence, yet you clearly can't watch them if not connected.

As for removing the connection from the wall, not always possible. I'm in council property so am not allowed to remove things like that, made worse by council actually charging each tenant 50p per week (I know, it's sod all, but it's also a charge for something I don't use...) for having an digital aerial installed.

Saw something odd today, old news but first time I'd seen it.
Someone refused to pay for a licence, stating that the beeb knew about WTC 7 tower before it collapsed, so were somehow involved or at least had prior knowledge of the event. It went to court, judge agreed & he didn't have to pay.
He says in the clip that that he was going to now get a licence, but whether he did or not... /shrugs.

As for beebs impartiality, there was news last year of one beeb reported not being allowed inside beeb central, because they were doing a report about (against?) the beeb.

 

[Werewolf]

Erm +1 channels are included in the need for a licence, as they are broadcast and you are receiving them as they are transmitted.
It's not "live broadcasts" but "broadcasts", otherwise anything recorded earlier for transmission would not be "live" and thus not need a licence.

Re the WTC thing that from memory was a magistrate and the case was both non binding, and didn't mean that the BBC or anyone else knew of the WTC7 collapse before it happened.

 

[SixTwoSix]

I saw a few stating that you could just unplug your aerial & that's it all over with.
Not really, because I'm sure you're allowed to watch none live (as in +1 channels) without an licence, yet you clearly can't watch them if not connected.

+1 channels are still included in the requirement for a licence as even though there are an hour behind, the signal is still live.

 

[Fishbait]

+1 channels are still included in the requirement for a licence as even though there are an hour behind, the signal is still live.

Ah yeah, my bad.
It's "non-BBC programmes on online catch-up services".

 

[413x]

Don't have the aerial plugged in. Don't have a cable. But if you did plug one in it would probably be tuned in.

If I had someone come round I would film. I've heard the horror stories of made up stuff. Not willing to chance if it's true

 

[Lopéz]

I'm not a FTOL lunatic. I don't wear a tinfoil hat or believe in the reptilians.

I've lived here 7 months and this is at least the 10th letter I have had from the TVL, all with varying degrees of "threat". I don't watch TV, my TV is not tuned, I don't even have a connector on the end of my coax cable.

Yawn. Just send someone around if you are that bothered TVL, why waste months on all the "hold me back boys!" rubbish. Lost count of the number of times I've seen that stupid "VISIT APPROVED" stamp

 

[Nasher]

Exactly 10,101 visits a day?

So they visit well over a 3.5 million houses a year? Lol, ok...

I bet if you found out how many "enforcement officers" they have and the average time per visit (plus travel time etc), the numbers wouldn't come even close to adding up.