Tv Licencing Court Charge
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Kloes_Mummy
Posts: 4 Newbie
in Phones & TV
I have been sent a single justice procedure notice by tv licensing. I was visited by them on 25th May 2016. I let the gentleman in as I was under the impression I wasn't breaching any laws. I do not watch tv. I only watch i players as my 14 month old daughter is obsessed with TV characters that can be watched on the BBC i player. I asked them to come in so they could see that the television was playing an episode on the BBC i player, catch up channel. I explained it was a smart TV and they asked me the brand of television and if it was mine and when bought. I said I had the television two years. They saw I had a you view box and asked why I had it , I explained that my Smart TV only had limited apps and that I could get ITV player and Channel 4 on demand through the box. I explained that since I had lived at the property I had only broadband service never a television subscription service and only used TV and You View Box for the catch up services. My friend who was visiting me had to leave, and just after this point the two men changed from being quite friendly to very serious. One of the men started telling me he was cautioning me for having equipment capable of receiving channels. I started getting very anxious at this point as my baby was getting distressed as they were strangers and she didn't understand what was going on I was shaking at this point. They asked if the television could receive tv channels 1-5 and I said I thought all televisions could. At this point the 1st man nudged the second and he wrote down "admitted channels 1 -5" . I questioned it saying why have you wrote down that and he explained that it was just a formality that they had to explain to every person to make them aware that televisions can receive channels. He then told me to get rid of the You View Box and then I wouldnt be breaching any laws even though I only use it to watch catch up tv. My daughter got really upset at this point so they then left saying to make sure I got rid of box as they would be coming out to check. As soon as they left and I had settled my daughter I rang the TV Licencing Company to complain about the two men as I couldnt understand what I had one to breach anything. The lady I spoke to advised I had done nothing wrong and that I had not breached anything as I only used catch up TV and I said I wanted to report the two men as they were giving people the wrong information , she asked me to wait while she spoke to her superiors and returned and advised that I was correct I was withing my rights and tat I had done nothing wrong and that she would be updating the system to prevent further visits. I advised her that I wanted to take it further as I wanted to make sure no other person was given this wrong information and to ensure that future baliffs were trained correctly. I was put through to a specialist team that deal with these matters and was told that in fact the first customer service agent I had spoke to had in act gave me the wrong information. That the baliffs were correct and that it should have been explained that because I had an ariel then I was in fact breaching the tv licensing law. He advised that to ensure that I wasn't I needed to reset my television to make sure no channels were signalling and that would be perfectly fine. I asked about the you view box and he said if it was connected by ethernet and not aerial then that too was fine. I advised that they needed to sort out their customer service agents and also the baliffs and make sure they armed them with the correct information and train them so they handed out information correctly to every person, he advised that they would look into this and I thought that was the end of the matter. Today I have received a court summons. Any information or advice would be greatly appreciated.
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Comments
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Here's the only advice I can give:
Learn to paragraph.
More people will read your message but most people passed because it's simply a wall of text.0 -
Jesus. I didn't even bother....0
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If you have received a summons I suggest you go to the CAB and get specific advice regarding your case. If you just leave it this could snowball and get worse.
i think you are barking up the wrong tree about being given the wrong information over the phone etc - that does not affect whether or not you should have had a TV licence. You need to deal with that first.0 -
Wait a minute, I made an effort -Kloes_Mummy wrote: »I have been sent a single justice procedure notice by tv licensing. I was visited by them on 25th May 2016. I let the gentleman in as I was under the impression I wasn't breaching any laws. I do not watch tv. I only watch i players as my 14 month old daughter is obsessed with TV characters that can be watched on the BBC i player. I asked them to come in so they could see that the television was playing an episode on the BBC i player, catch up channel. I explained it was a smart TV and they asked me the brand of television and if it was mine and when bought. I said I had the television two years. They saw I had a you view box and asked why I had it , I explained that my Smart TV only had limited apps and that I could get ITV player and Channel 4 on demand through the box. I explained that since I had lived at the property I had only broadband service never a television subscription service and only used TV and You View Box for the catch up services.
Thats a problem right there. One can only enable the ITV and CH4 YouView Players if one has an aerial connected, as they are region locked and only activated via a DTT (Freeview) signal check.0 -
Fixed to make more readable....Kloes_Mummy wrote: »I have been sent a single justice procedure notice by tv licensing.
I was visited by them on 25th May 2016. I let the gentleman in as I was under the impression I wasn't breaching any laws. I do not watch tv. I only watch i players as my 14 month old daughter is obsessed with TV characters that can be watched on the BBC i player.
I asked them to come in so they could see that the television was playing an episode on the BBC i player, catch up channel. I explained it was a smart TV and they asked me the brand of television and if it was mine and when bought. I said I had the television two years. They saw I had a you view box and asked why I had it , I explained that my Smart TV only had limited apps and that I could get ITV player and Channel 4 on demand through the box. I explained that since I had lived at the property I had only broadband service never a television subscription service and only used TV and You View Box for the catch up services.
My friend who was visiting me had to leave, and just after this point the two men changed from being quite friendly to very serious. One of the men started telling me he was cautioning me for having equipment capable of receiving channels. I started getting very anxious at this point as my baby was getting distressed as they were strangers and she didn't understand what was going on I was shaking at this point.
They asked if the television could receive tv channels 1-5 and I said I thought all televisions could. At this point the 1st man nudged the second and he wrote down "admitted channels 1 -5" . I questioned it saying why have you wrote down that and he explained that it was just a formality that they had to explain to every person to make them aware that televisions can receive channels. He then told me to get rid of the You View Box and then I wouldnt be breaching any laws even though I only use it to watch catch up tv.
My daughter got really upset at this point so they then left saying to make sure I got rid of box as they would be coming out to check.
As soon as they left and I had settled my daughter I rang the TV Licencing Company to complain about the two men as I couldnt understand what I had one to breach anything. The lady I spoke to advised I had done nothing wrong and that I had not breached anything as I only used catch up TV and I said I wanted to report the two men as they were giving people the wrong information.
She asked me to wait while she spoke to her superiors and returned and advised that I was correct, I was within my rights, I had done nothing wrong and that she would be updating the system to prevent further visits. I advised her that I wanted to take it further as I wanted to make sure no other person was given this wrong information and to ensure that future bailiffs were trained correctly.
I was put through to a specialist team that deal with these matters and was told that in fact the first customer service agent I had spoke to had in act gave me the wrong information. That the bailiffs were correct and that it should have been explained that because I had an aerial then I was in fact breaching the TV Licensing law.
He advised that to ensure that I wasn't I needed to reset my television to make sure no channels were signalling and that would be perfectly fine. I asked about the you view box and he said if it was connected by Ethernet and not aerial then that too was fine. I advised that they needed to sort out their customer service agents and also the bailiffs and make sure they armed them with the correct information and train them so they handed out information correctly to every person, he advised that they would look into this and I thought that was the end of the matter.
Today I have received a court summons. Any information or advice would be greatly appreciated.0 -
Unfortunately, this is a relatively common experience with TV Licensing.
One question: did you sign their form?
The legal requirement is that a Licence is required to Watch or Record TV Broadcasts received via traditional means or the equivalent Internet live stream. At the margins, Courts will consider evidence of capability IF it supports the notion that the main offence of Watching/Recording has been committed.
Ideally, any household not wanting to use TV Broadcasts would take certain steps, the main one being to ensure that there are no aerial connections to TVs or STBs, no Pay TV subscriptions and that any equipment used for Internet services is detuned for TV.
In terms of your options...
1. You can complain to the TVL Prosecutions team that you were lied to, your statement was manipulated and you were innocent, anyway. The most likely outcome from that is that they will offer to withdraw the summons if you buy a Licence.
2. If this is a first offence, you can ask them to drop it on that basis, if you buy a Licence.
3. You can seek advice from a Solicitor, the CAB and/or your MP.
4. If the hearing goes ahead, you need to decide whether to plead Guilty or Not Guilty. If you plead Guilty, you will be fined, although you can give the Court a statement of mitigation. The fine is related to income, and is typically not that much more than a TV Licence for people on low-average incomes.
5. Because this Summons is for the Single Justice Process, if you want to plead Not Guilty, you first have to opt for a full Magistrates Court hearing. In theory, the Court should listen to your statement and find that there is no charge to answer. In practice, in cases where it is your word against theirs, they tend to side with them, unless there is supporting evidence for your version of events.0 -
The law is changing.
From 1 September 2016 you will need to be covered by a TV Licence to download or watch BBC programmes on demand, including catch up TV, on BBC iPlayer. This applies to any device and provider you use.
Don't forget, you still need a TV Licence to watch or record programmes on any channel as they are being shown on TV or live on an online TV service.
So, if you already have a TV Licence on 1 September, you’re already covered0 -
I don’t have a licence. What will I need to do? From 1 September 2016 you will need to be covered by a TV Licence if you download or watch BBC programmes on demand, including catch-up TV, on iPlayer. If you are not licensed, you risk prosecution and a fine of up to £1,000* plus any legal costs and/or compensation you may be ordered to pay.
You will need a licence even if you access iPlayer through another provider, such as:- Freeview, Freesat or YouView
- Sky, Virgin Media or BT Vision
- Apple, Roku or Amazon
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Will the change in law affect my No Licence Needed declaration? If you have declared that you don’t need a licence because you never watch live TV – and you only ever watch or download programmes on demand – you may need a TV Licence from 1 September 2016.
With the change in the law, you will need one if you download or watch BBC programmes on demand – including catch-up TV – on BBC iPlayer. You will need a licence even if you access BBC iPlayer through another provider, such as:- Freeview, Freesat or YouView
- Sky, Virgin Media or BT Vision
- Apple, Roku or Amazon
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I don’t pay TVL and if they do knock at my door I will say the owner is not here or I don’t speak English.
I don’t understand why pay this TV tax?
What happens if you push this button?0
The law is changing.This discussion has been closed.
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