Do I need to buy a license if I dont terrestrial TV?

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  • giraffe69
    giraffe69 Posts: 3,554
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    So basically, they can`t prove anything, so none of us should bother paying the licence at all.

    If that were true there would not be 160,000 prosecutions per year.
  • shavy65
    shavy65 Posts: 562
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    wongataa wrote: »
    If that happened then the there would be no BBC which would be a great loss. Why would you want to lose high quality programming?

    I`d be more than happy to keep my licencing money and do without BBC.
    giraffe69 wrote: »
    If that were true there would not be 160,000 prosecutions per year.

    Ok so what evidence are they using for prosecuting? Surely it comes down to one man`s word against another?

    Cheers.
    3.975 kWp System, South facing, 21 degree pitch, 15 x Canadian Solar Elps, Samil Inverter, location NE Scotland (Fraserburgh) Bring on the Sun :beer:
  • Cornucopia
    Cornucopia Posts: 16,150
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    edited 13 July 2017 at 3:47PM
    Most of the prosecutions are based on confessions. It's not clear how willingly those confessions are given (certainly TV Licensing's interview approach has various PACE-compliance issues with it and there is a history of rogue staff using deception). TVL field staff get performance bonuses based on confessions taken and Licences sold.

    Unfortunately, and although I've asked many, many times, I've not been able to get a true picture of why TVL defendants choose to provide TVL with the means to prosecute them.

    If you've not seen it before, this is quite illuminating: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4262202/BBC-s-TV-licence-bullies-exposed.html
  • Marvqn1
    Marvqn1 Posts: 634
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    wongataa wrote: »
    If that happened then the there would be no BBC which would be a great loss. Why would you want to lose high quality programming?

    On Friday night the other week on BBC1, they showed a repeat of Mrs Brown's Boys at 9:30pm and another repeat of something else about 10:30pm. There isn't much original programming on the BBC these days.
  • Marvqn1
    Marvqn1 Posts: 634
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    AG47 wrote: »
    I actually feel so discussed by the pedophile ring that was covered up for so long in the BBC that I want nothing to do with them,

    I seriously want them to stop bugging me with harassment, as I have informed them already that we do not require a to licence

    If that was really true, don't you think millions of people would be cancelling in their droves?
  • Cornucopia
    Cornucopia Posts: 16,150
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    edited 13 July 2017 at 6:33PM
    Marvqn1 wrote: »
    If that was really true, don't you think millions of people would be cancelling in their droves?

    I finally cancelled my Licence in the wake of the Newsnight scandal over Savile, so yes, people are/were concerned enough to take action.

    At the same time, though, the number of households has increased so the BBC is no worse off - according to its own figures.

    What part of the OP's post(s) is it that you doubt the truth of?
    AG47 wrote: »
    I seriously want them to stop bugging me with harassment, as I have informed them already that we do not require a to licence

    There is no "silver bullet" for TV Licensing. The two most common responses are to completely ignore them or to give their "declaration" of having no TV reception. Both of those are quite effective, depending on what you class as harassment. In the latter case, they say that they may still "call to check", but you can turn them away irrespective of having made their "declaration". (I say "declaration" because it has no legal status - it is purely an administrative step).

    Personally, I have used various legal strategies and found them to be effective, but using them without fully understanding them can be dangerous. Of the possible strategies, the least risky/zero risk ones are (a) to formally complain about TVL's policies to the BBC - this tends to ward them off for at least 2 years, and (b) invoking PACE rights in advance - in my case this led to them unilaterally banning themselves from my address for 2 years (I need to check this, as I think it may soon expire).
  • mark5
    mark5 Posts: 1,361
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    The licence fee is the one bill I really hate paying. I watch Netflix and I watch the subscription sports channels, yet I have to pay £12 for channels I have no interest in watching and never do, it's just a stealth tax.
  • DCFC79
    DCFC79 Posts: 40,598
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    Marvqn1 wrote: »
    On Friday night the other week on BBC1, they showed a repeat of Mrs Brown's Boys at 9:30pm and another repeat of something else about 10:30pm. There isn't much original programming on the BBC these days.

    That police drama that ended the other week, cant recall its name, that looked good from what I saw.
  • Cornucopia
    Cornucopia Posts: 16,150
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    edited 13 July 2017 at 11:08PM
    DCFC79 wrote: »
    That police drama that ended the other week, cant recall its name, that looked good from what I saw.

    Line of Duty? That finished on 30 April, according to iPlayer.

    I don't think that there's any real question that the BBC shows good programs from time to time. However, there is a question over personal tastes (I haven't been that keen on BBC Drama for a long while) and how frequently the BBC makes good programs. When I look at the weekday schedules for BBC1 & BBC2 they often seem sparse - but I suppose it is the summer season.

    Just randomly for tonight, this is BBC1:-

    18:00 News & Local News
    19:00 The One Show
    19:30 EastEnders
    20:00 The Sheriffs Are Coming - rework from daytime
    21:00 Who Do You Think You Are? Series 14, Craig Revel Horwood
    22:00 News at Ten
    22:45 Murdered for Being Different
    23:45 This Week


    Ultimately, it is just TV, and I personally think it's probably time to have an alternative means of providing and accessing it than a universal-ish Licence, a Licence Fee and doorstepping field staff to enforce it. The doorstepping aspect of it is already up there on my list of "bad Government" issues, and the BBC would have to commit to substantial reform before I would be won back as a supporter.
  • AG47
    AG47 Posts: 1,618 Forumite
    Marvqn1 wrote: »
    If that was really true, don't you think millions of people would be cancelling in their droves?

    So you think it's all lies about the pedos

    You think the courts got it wrong and those in prison are all innocent?

    I have to politely disagree with you on that one
    Nothing has been fixed since 2008, it was just pushed into the future
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