TV Licensing harassment letters

Mr_Meanie

Oh yes, I forgot about the recorded letter, I went to the post office to collect it and noticed who it was from so I told the postman to send it back.

Just to clear things up, I don’t have a TV licence because I don’t have a TV, but why should I have to prove to someone I haven't? It's up to Capita to prove I have.
I can’t say I’m totally against the licence fee, just the bulling tactics and threatening style letters that Capita use.

I don’t have a motorcycle but the DVLA doesn’t send me threatening letters saying I must tell them I haven’t got one.

moonrakerz

Mr_Meanie wrote:

Just to clear things up, I don’t have a TV licence because I don’t have a TV, but why should I have to prove to someone I haven't? It's up to Capita to prove I have.

Actually, Capita don't have to prove that you have a TV, they have to prove that you USE it to receive live broadcasts. You are quite entitled to have an unlicenced TV if all you wish to do is stand a vase of flowers on it.

I agree with your other comment, I happen to think that the services, BBC TV & Radio, are well worth the licence money. I just think that the way Capita behave, to be blunt, is b****y disgraceful.
They behave like a bunch of little hitlers; pretending to be be some sort of law enforcement agency, which they aren't, they have exactly the same rights as the people who sweep the streets or empty your dustbins. (Both professions I hold in far higher esteem than Capita !)

When I move house I will transfer my TV licence to the new premises, but I just hope and pray one of these turkeys turns up on my doorstep before I do that !!!!

andyrules

DD and other student friends in halls all receieved threatening letters and none of them own a TV! They were told they HAD to ring the number (they only have access to pay or mobile phones - 0870 number!) or else they would receive a bill! Wish I'd known before she rang the number. :mad:

Agree with you moonraker!

kittiwoz

I found a free-phone number for the TV licensing authorities through the say no to 0870 website. I can't remember the number but there is one, if you have a look you will find it.

thesaint

After the letters and visits, expect phone calls if you are not ex-directory.

They called me 2 or 3 times. I told the 'Officer' that I didn't appreciate the call and told him I was hanging up. He told me that he would simply call straight back.
I hung up, 5 seconds later the phone rang, I answered and sure enough it was him. I simply put the phone on the table and left him to talk to himself, I checked 10 minutes later and he was no longer there.

2 weeks later I got a letter thanking me for updating their details.

Count_Dante

Mr_Meanie wrote:

Here's an interesting little site for all you TV licence anarchists out there.

http://www.bbctvlicence.com/2006%20letters.htm

I've had much the same selection of letters over the last few years and a few weeks ago a man from Capita came to see me, unfortunately I was out at the time, shame, I would have loved to have a chat with him, but he did leave me a nice card saying he will call back soon.

The thing that amuses me about the website given above is that many of the letters have the words 'if you have purchased a TV licence recently please ignore this letter' or words to that effect. It's as though they do not know or care who has purchased a licence and are just liberally scattering these letters around and hope they generate a 'sale'. They certainly didn't know I had purchased a licence when I got one of their mailsh!ts.

I am also amused to note that British Gas were compared favourably to TVL, something that once could only have been said of Ebola or the Black Death.

HeaddyMX

One small related question... I'm planning on moving in the near future, and don't intend to watch TV at all - but I'll require one to use my XBox. Would I still have to get a licence?

[Deleted User]

HeaddyMX wrote:

One small related question... I'm planning on moving in the near future, and don't intend to watch TV at all - but I'll require one to use my XBox. Would I still have to get a licence?

In theory you will not need a licence, however you will need to 'detune' your TV to make sure that you do not receive a signal and you shouldn't have the ariel plugged in.

There used to be a section on the TVL website giving this information, but I don't know if it's there anymore.

We've just moved house, so I'm looking forward to starting getting the TVL letters again. We've been unlicensed for just over a year now, we've got an old style plasma TV (without an inbuild receiver), so the only way we could get a signal was via cable / satellite / freeview. When our cable box broke for over a month in 2005 and we didn't realise we decided to do without TV altogether - best decision we ever made. We're now making serious inroads into our backlog of DVD's.

Mr_Meanie

HeaddyMX wrote:

and don't intend to watch TV at all - but I'll require one to use my XBox. Would I still have to get a licence?

No you won't need a licence so long as you don't watch or record any live television.

http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/information/index.jsp

"Do I need a licence?

You need a TV Licence to use any television receiving equipment such as a TV set, set-top boxes, video or DVD recorders, computers or mobile phones to watch or record TV programmes as they are being shown on TV."

Also have a look here for a similar case:-

http://www.christiansat.org.uk/licence.html

teddyco

What I find incredibly amusing about the TV license rules is that a blind person only gets a 50% discount, while someone who is 75 gets one free. There are even discounts if you have a black and white telly.

Who is going to buy a black and white TV? Maybe a blind person!

I have also read that the TV Detection Van is a myth. They have vans circling neighborhoods to scare people, but the equipment tests won't hold up in a courtroom since there is no way to prove that the signal is actually coming from your home.

The only way they can prove it is to see your TV set through the window, get into your home to inspect the property and see the TV or get a warrant to enter your home. Do they really want to go to all that trouble just because they suspect? They certainly want the cheapest and easiest option.

I have heard of some TV License inspectors posing as survey conductors just so they can enter the home to check for TV equipment.

A TV License inspector tried to enter my home posing as a surveyor once; I ate his liver with some favre beens and a nice Chianti!