TV Licensing

izools

So, no longer need a TV licence.

Don't own any devices with a TV tuner, analogue or digital.

Replaced HDTV with a Full HD PC monitor.

I've cancelled my TV License but when I told them it wasn't because I was moving but because I no need to pay they became very threatening.

Where do I stand with not having a TV license and are there any hints / tips on how to deal with the inevitable !!!!!! I'm going to get over the next while from the Licensing people?

Lplates

There are a number of tactics you can adopt, and several web sites carry a great deal of discussion from other people in your position.

As an entry point, try

www.marmalade.net/lime/

Hope this will help you.

LA83

Dont let them threaten you they have no bloody rite they are a corrupt buch of criminals anyway tell them straight.

will-in-estoril

LA83 wrote: »

Dont let them threaten you they have no bloody rite they are a corrupt buch of criminals anyway tell them straight.

Would you care to elaborate, preferably using correct grammar, syntax and punctuation?

boliston

izools wrote: »

So, no longer need a TV licence.

Don't own any devices with a TV tuner, analogue or digital.

Replaced HDTV with a Full HD PC monitor.

I've cancelled my TV License but when I told them it wasn't because I was moving but because I no need to pay they became very threatening.

Where do I stand with not having a TV license and are there any hints / tips on how to deal with the inevitable !!!!!! I'm going to get over the next while from the Licensing people?

You can continue to use the HDTV without a licence as long as it is only used to watch "non broadcast" media, as simply owning equipment capable of receiving broadcasts does not in itself require a licence.

Unless you are requiring a refund a minimum full quarter's prepaid licence then there is no need to "cancel" at all, simply cancel the DD!

You will get regular letters trying to persuade you that you need a licence, but the bin is the place for this spam, and if you get a call from an inspector either don't answer the door or tell them to go away - NEVER let them in or talk to them (apart to tell them to go away) under any circumstances!

davidlizard

And also:

1. The TVL employees are just that - employees of a private company with which the BBC have a contract. Therefore they have no more special rights, powers or privileges than the paper boy. If someone from Hotpoint came round and asked if they could look at your washing machine you would (hopefully) tell them to get lost - you can do the same with TVL.

2. The TVL employees have no right of entry to your property. If they want to gain access, they need a warrant from the courts, and this is to be executed in the presence of a police officer. Courts will not issue search warrants solely one the basis of non-cooperation with the BBC/TVL, or not appearing on their database.

3. Do not bother contacting them to tell them you have no desires for their products. They will not believe you, and you will waste your time and money. You don't need to tell Hotpoint that you do not have a washing machine, so you do not need to contact BBC/TVL.

4. Most of their threats are just "bluster" designed to intimidate people into paying. If they turn up, they dress similarly to police officers with anti-stab vests and the like - again its all scare tactics.

The website Lplates recommends is a good read. Also recommend http://www.bbctvlicence.com/

JillS_2

boliston wrote: »

You can continue to use the HDTV without a licence as long as it is only used to watch "non broadcast" media, as simply owning equipment capable of receiving broadcasts does not in itself require a licence.

Is this actually the case?

The site Campaign to Abolish the TV Licence
http://www.spiderbomb.com/tv/lawlicence.html seems to be saying that you need a licence just for owning equipment capable of receiving a TV broadcast and lots of sites have people saying that they don't own a TV.

In an article in the TImes Online http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article6797727.ece
one guy is quoted as saying "I’d detuned the sets and cut the aerial lead. But I was caught out because I hadn’t detuned them properly. The TVL guy stuck a pen or a key in the back of a set and was able to get a very fuzzy, grainy picture. And that’s enough to convict"

I'd really like to know the real legal position because I'm thinking of stopping watching TV but would like to keep my set (worth nowt for secondhand sale) to watch videos and DVDs rather than having to buy a new monitor.

Eric_Pisch

closed wrote: »

The rules are on the front page of the TVL website. They clearly state you only need one if you watch or record live broadcasts.

http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/

http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/topics/what-if-a-tv-licence-is-not-needed-top12/

"The law states that you need to be covered by a TV Licence if you watch or record television programmes, on any device, as they're being shown on TV. This includes TVs, computers, mobile phones, games consoles, digital boxes and DVD/VHS recorders.

You don't need a licence if you don't use any of these devices to watch or record television programmes as they're being shown on TV - for example, if you use your TV only to watch DVDs or play video games, or you only watch programmes on your computer after they have been shown on TV. If this is the case, please let us know, as this helps us to keep our database up to date and means you won't receive the standard letters we send to unlicensed addresses."

and that's the kicker to be legal you must avoid pc based stuff including iplayer for live transmissions and you must not watch anything that was recorded from a live source.

if you comply with that you dont need a license

Eric_Pisch

davidlizard wrote: »

And also:

2. The TVL employees have no right of entry to your property. If they want to gain access, they need a warrant from the courts, and this is to be executed in the presence of a police officer. Courts will not issue search warrants solely one the basis of non-cooperation with the BBC/TVL, or not appearing on their database.

Is this still the case? A program on Radio 4 a couple of weeks back was saying that the government have given the power of entry to 168 different organisations as part of the 10,000 new laws they have introduced since being in power (avg over 30 a week!!)

Eric_Pisch

closed wrote: »

You can watch things recorded from a live source, you just can't record it without a license.

you certainly cant record them if you have no license, not sure if someone else has recorded it and brings it over if that would be ok

pencekeeper

Eric_Pisch wrote: »

you certainly cant record them if you have no license, not sure if someone else has recorded it and brings it over if that would be ok

It is. As above - you just can't watch or record live broadcasts. If I tape BBC1, and bring it round your house we can watch it without a TV License (I would need a license at my house to have recoreded it however).

BBC/TV Licensing/Capita are very threatening. The public don't like license dodgers which is fair enough - but if they experienced what it's like to be on the receiving end of the threatening (and very misleading) letters, phone calls and visits I'm pretty sure their tactics would be curtailed.