TV Tax enforcement question

WhiteHorse

Licensing officials routinely harass those who do not possess television sets.

Officials have no right of entry or search. It is however standard practice to request entry (some will lie outright or seek to give the impression that they have a right to do so). Even if entry is permitted, the official can be required to leave at any time.

A License Enquiry Officer who has reasonable cause to believe that an offence under the Act has been committed, may apply to a Magistrate for a search warrant.

The warrant authorises the Enquiry Officer to enter and search premises. Although the Police need not be present, Police assistance is usually requested.

peter999

Do TV Detector vans still exist ??

peter999

darbooka

They cannot issue you a Summons without your name. Can they obtain a warrant without a name?

Cook_County

I remember the poll tax riots that contributed to the downfall of Margaret Thatcher.

I fail to see the relevance of the TV tax today in an age when Endemol/Channel 4 made £2 million last week just by getting punters to vote about Jade.

If Channel 4 can exist commercially then so can the BBC.

The UK is only country left today with this ridiculous tax.

Hoddie_2

Really?

The fee also pays for educational programming for schools, covers much of the cost of both analogue and digital broadcasting, and also part-funds Channel 4's digital operations.

The UK is only country left today with this ridiculous tax.

Almost two-thirds of European countries have a licence fee, and over half of the countries in Asia and Africa use television licences to fund public television.

Where licence fees have been dropped, such as in Australia, Holland, Gibraltar, etc, broadcasters generally end up being funded by government grants, thus increasing other forms of tax. It's probably worth noting that not a single European country has a fully commercial broadcasting environment, all are in one way or another partly supported by public money.

It's not to say that I agree with the licence fee, I just feel that a lot of poeple are against it purely because of the continual crap shovelled by the Sun and other Rupert Murdoch publications, and this is the man who has most to gain were it to be scrapped (he owns Sky TV for those who don't know).

darbooka

Cook_County wrote:

If Channel 4 can exist commercially then so can the BBC.

But if BBC was commercial then it might have a harder time paying people like Richard Hammond to risk their lives by speeding crazily for viewer entertainment. Many people protested wars by demanding "not in our name", but many of the same people will pay the license fee just because the organization that collects it continuously claims that it needs cash for what it determines for itself is quality programming. That quality includes 'flaws' in news judgement as Lord Hutton decided, funding Richard Hammond's dangerous exploits, and other things that people should be able to choose to refrain from watching without having to foot the bill for it in any event.

darbooka

Hoddie wrote:

Almost two-thirds of European countries have a licence fee, and over half of the countries in Asia and Africa use television licences to fund public television.

That's not a sign that the license fee is justified in our society. Many countries have never had it, others have abolished it, and in numerous countries that do have it it is not considered a criminal offense or enforced as adamantly as it is here.
BTW I wonder if monarchs have to pay the license fee, and if they don't then how would an enforcement officer get past the Grenadier Guards?

Alfie_E

darbooka wrote:

"…you may be cautioned and interviewed in compliance with the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984…"

They have to claim they comply with the PACE Act, otherwise their evidence would be wide open to challenge in court. They could hardly write, “If my officers suspect that an offence has taken place, they will not tell you who they are, they will not tell you that you don’t have to say anything and they will surreptitiously wheedle information out of you over a ‘friendly’ cup of tea.”

As other’s have pointed out, they can’t force you to do anything. I suspect you’re confusing being cautioned with being arrested. You’re cautioned when you’re arrested, but you don’t have to be arrested to be cautioned.

darbooka

Nobody knows whether Royal palaces have to have a TV License?

Ms_Chocaholic

What really really irritates me is that students living in student blocks of flats have to buy their own TV licence, however elderly people under the age of 75living in flats in a local sheltered housing complex only have to pay £5 each per year.