TV Licensing harassment letters

sarahg1969

missile wrote: »

An appology, gee whizz he must be a new employee.

I had two on my door step. When I produced the license they gave me a dirty look scrawled on their clip board, then turned and walked off without another word.

I wouldn't have even shown them the licence. I'd have told them, "not today, thanks".

Dreamnine

They've never sent anyone round to my property, but if they did I would just shut the door in their face.

JamesK10

steelergunner87 wrote: »

Hi everyone

I wonder if anyone could give me some advice. Me and my OH moved into our flat 2 days ago (Saturday), and upon arriving, were greeted with a letter from TV Licencing regarding sending someone to visit the premises as there is no licence and they've had no response to previous letters (which, I note, were not there). Upon arriving back at my mums Saturday night, I applied online for a licence via DD as we will be watching TV regularly, so does that mean we're fully covered now? Also, do I need to do anything in regards to this letter received from TV Licencing that applies to the previous tenants?

Any help would be appreciated, this is our first place together and we've moved to a new city so want to try and avoid any unnecessary stress and upset.

Thanks!
x

Welcome to the forum

Yes you're covered, I'm sure they'll be chuffed to have *somebody* paying the licence at that address and if they want to pursue the previous tenants it's their lookout, you can happily refer them back to the landlord/agent.

You can ignore the letters that were already there, and I will have to assume that neither yourself or your OH were bringing another part-paid licence from another address with you - if you are, then it's up to you if you bother trying to transfer it over or leave it with a brand new start as you have done (definitely worth doing if you paid annually before moving in together though, might as well get the time extension).

trukdiver

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

We are the only country in the world taxed like this:mad:
It is high time the TV licence was scrapped:mad: it is only for the scabby BBC - why can't they advertise like everyone else they certainly use enough fillers and adverts for their forthcoming shows.

Shall we see if we can start a petition to have it discussed in Parliament? Who will, no doubt just gloss it over and we will still be in the same boat but at least they would have to debate it.

No, the UK is not the only country with a TV licensing system! Quite a few others still have some sort of licensing.

I used to live in NZ and their tactics were just as bad as the UK (and they had as much advertising on TVNZ as commercial TV had in the UK). I spent some time travelling and used a post office outside Wellington as a mailing address. One day, I got a letter telling me they had no record of a TV licence for this address and warning me of the conequences of not having one. I ignored it - I'd have liked to see them look for a TV in a PO box! :rotfl:

They eventually abolished the licence as it cost so much to collect. NZ public broadcasting is now funded from general taxation.

trukdiver

oldone wrote: »

The spelling and standard of English together with yor pugnacious content confirm what I said about the I.Q of law breakers; irrespective of them "working in finance" whatever that means.

Probably a debt collector? That would be "working in finance" wouldn't it?

steelergunner87

JamesK10 wrote: »

Welcome to the forum

Yes you're covered, I'm sure they'll be chuffed to have *somebody* paying the licence at that address and if they want to pursue the previous tenants it's their lookout, you can happily refer them back to the landlord/agent.

You can ignore the letters that were already there, and I will have to assume that neither yourself or your OH were bringing another part-paid licence from another address with you - if you are, then it's up to you if you bother trying to transfer it over or leave it with a brand new start as you have done (definitely worth doing if you paid annually before moving in together though, might as well get the time extension).

Thank you for the response, and for the warm welcome . We both previously lived at home with parents so haven't got a previous licence to transfer over. I was just concerned whether they would still follow this previous issue up even though we, as current tenants, are now covered. I did try calling them about it; but the man I spoke to was beyond useless, said he didn't know if these letters would stop or not, couldn't tell me if we'd have a visit as the letter implied and that I should call back another time. I have better things to do, quite frankly.

WhiteHorse

missile wrote: »

I had two on my door step. When I produced the license they gave me a dirty look scrawled on their clip board, then turned and walked off without another word.

They are paid commission. How disappointing for them

caela_2

steelergunner87 wrote: »

Thank you for the response, and for the warm welcome . We both previously lived at home with parents so haven't got a previous licence to transfer over. I was just concerned whether they would still follow this previous issue up even though we, as current tenants, are now covered. I did try calling them about it; but the man I spoke to was beyond useless, said he didn't know if these letters would stop or not, couldn't tell me if we'd have a visit as the letter implied and that I should call back another time. I have better things to do, quite frankly.

Heya,

Lol, I can understand your grief- it's more stress than you need when you first move home! That's why I had such an issue with TVL in the past. When my boyf and I moved to our first flat we struggled to pay the bills and my heart raced every time I went to get the mail for fear of those red letters! One day I got a threatening one from TV Licensing and started to panic before I realised it was for something we didn't even owe! I was furious- we were so broke we couldn't even afford a TV, let alone a TV licence!

Any way, I called them to complain and told them that if they contacted me again, I would consider it harassment. I explained that I didn't need a licence and if that changed, I would let them know. The letters stopped and the next year, I actually bought a TV and licence to go with it. I never renewed that licence, feeling it wasn't money well spent and sold the TV. Of course, the letters and threats began again, escalating from 'you have not renewed your licence'... to threats of court action, which is when I made a formal complaint against them (you can read about my saga here: http://thedailynag.wordpress.com/)

As far as I know, as long as your DDs are going through (double check on your statements), then the licence covers you. They cannot attempt to get money retrospectively, as they would have to prove you lived there and watched TV. As a lot of people have said on here, they send out a standard set of letters designed to get more threatening in the absence of a reply. It's nothing to worry about. The BBC Trust reviewed the way they write these letters and told them they must be factual, but somehow allow them to use threats in order to 'encourage a response'. Don't let it get to you, at the end of the day, if you have a current licence for watching live TV, then you are covered. Just make sure the licence is valid as some people have had problems paying by DD.

You can always call them up to check, maybe you will get someone else who can advise you. The letters should have stopped as soon as you got your new licence. If they haven't, you can make a complaint (http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/about/making-a-complaint-AB7/) or email enquiries@tvlicensing.co.uk

Good luck!x

The_Safordian

caela wrote: »

Any way, I called them to complain and told them that if they contacted me again

I would never recommend anyone to contact BBC TV Licensing because I've seen innocent people setup because of target driven commission.


PS As someone who respects the rules of the site don't take the bait from the BBC clique who scream and shout when they see criticism, you wont believe what they've got away with so far

Hermione_Granger

bazster wrote: »

You resurrected a thread begun in 2007, and which hasn't been posted on since October last year. :wall:

So?

The topic of the post is exactly the same and the earlier posts so what is wrong with continuing with an old thread?
IMO, it makes far more sense to do that than to start a totally new one.
It would be different if the new posts were giving answers to something asked months ago, but that isn't the case here.