TV License Inspectors

kaya

F.O.I requests have shown that NOBODY has EVER been convicted using alleged tv detector equipment ,its all on their own website under FAQ's , to convict somebody using detector evidence would mean under law that they would have to expain to the defence how it works , which quite clearly they can not do or they would have done so by now if it worked , unless people think they would rather loose huge amounts of money than give away the secret to 40 year old technology ? TV licence fee is nothing more than another stealth tax, there are also questions that they have special exemption from answering under the F.O.I act , like "how do your vans work" !! , amazingly nobody but ex-engineers from BT and people who talk bu****it can tell you how they work, and nobody i have asked would have any idea how to recreate this this antique technology for me , and i know a lot of electronics engineers

MeanParent

Final_Days wrote: »

You could apply the same logic to virtually any profession you care to name. Builders, plumbers, electricians, building inspectors, carpet fitters, window-fitters, policemen and so on, because a person from all those professions will have committed a sexual offence against a householder at some point in history.

Would you deny all these people access to your home or CRB check them before allowing them indoors?

Ridiculous statement.

I don't think it is. These people infer that they are part of the BBC or officials and therefore trustworthy when they have not been vetted. Plumbers, builders etc are not official but have to state their reputation on the work they do. You have contacted them, you know their number etc. You do not have these details with the man from Capita.

ThumbRemote

davidlizard wrote: »

Which is a perfectly valid reason for refusing entry to anyone who has no legitimate right to enter your property - you never know who you are letting in or what nasty habits they might have.

My wife would certainly not want to be alone in the house with an unknown builder, and the same would apply for TVL.

So how on earth do you have building work done? Or utility meters read? Or gas appliances serviced? If you had a plumbing leak would you leave it until you'd got to know the plumber?

TV licensing staff are no more or less likely to have 'nasty habits' than the population at large. You may not want to let them in as you have no legal responsibility to do so, but be honest about it, don't pretend there's some sort of imminent danger from them being there.

corbyboy

kaya wrote: »

F.O.I requests have shown that NOBODY has EVER been convicted using alleged tv detector equipment ,its all on their own website under FAQ's , to convict somebody using detector evidence would mean under law that they would have to expain to the defence how it works , which quite clearly they can not do or they would have done so by now if it worked , unless people think they would rather loose huge amounts of money than give away the secret to 40 year old technology ? TV licence fee is nothing more than another stealth tax, there are also questions that they have special exemption from answering under the F.O.I act , like "how do your vans work" !! , amazingly nobody but ex-engineers from BT and people who talk bu****it can tell you how they work, and nobody i have asked would have any idea how to recreate this this antique technology for me , and i know a lot of electronics engineers

The refuse to answer FOI requests about the number of vans too. Surely if they had lots of vans catching thousands of people every day they would be very keen to get this information out. The fact that they won't release the information strongly suggests they have something to hide.

timbstoke

I simply tell them I don't allow access to anyone without an appointment. When they say they don't make appointments "because it allows people time to hide the evidence", I give them a copy of our local police's bogus caller information sheet, which says that genuine official visitors should always arrange an appointment before they visit, and send them on their way.

Rex_Mundi

If anyone is interested in more information on this subject. I came across THIS SITE recently. Lots of useful info and people that seem to know what they are saying.

I hope it's useful to someone.

patman99

TV detector vans cannot pick-up non-crt sets.
The way the detector works is by looking for frequency 'disturbance' caused by the circuitry inside the old crt units.
As modern Plasma/LED/LCD sets don't have this, they are invisible to the 'man in the van'. This is why whenever you buy a TV or device to attach to a TV, the seller has a legal obligation to take your details and pass them on to TVL.
Of course, if you pay in cash and give a false name and address, there is nothing they can do.

The License Fee isn't a stealth tax, it is what pays for all the BBC services you use. I'm sure that if the Beeb where to ditch the license in favour of adverts, you'd be the first to complain.
Look at Channel 4, this is a publicly-owned broadcaster (same as the BBC) which was set-up by the Govt. to see whether or not it was feasible to fund public service broadcasting via adverts.
Ok, so Channel 4 has brought us 'Grand Designs' and 'Time Team' as well as 'Scrapheap Challenge', but since the Digital switchover, it's revenue has dropped considerably.

QuackQuack_2

I recall a tale of a blind man who did not have a TV licence, and refused to buy one. He was frequently visited by TV Licensing bods and would explain that yes, he had a TV, but no - he did not have a licence.

Apparently in order to prosecute the inspector needs to see the equipment operating so he asked if he could come in. The blind man said, "Yes, as soon as I can see some identification".

Not sure if true, or an urban legend.

Azmataz

corbyboy wrote: »

So he knocked on your door to tell you that he didn't need to come in?

No. He knocked on my door and asked me if the information he had about me not accessing TV broadcasts was still applicable.

I've no doubt that a lot of it is psychology. But having nothing to hide, I don't mind demonstrating that fact. If it takes them coming inside and having a poke around, they are welcome to. My personal opinion is that I'd rather have an inspector visit than put up with all those nasty letters from TV Licensing.

I've grumbled about the agency enough times in the past, goodness only knows... Just thought it would add some balance to post about my recent, positive experience with them on these forums.

vax2002

There is no detector van ,its an empty minibus no detector equipment, just a man in his own car with a clipboard on which is a contract which he is allowed to use deception to get you to sign.
for ANY prosecution they need
A person to agree to represent the Human they have just spoken to (your name) to be written in block capitals by the "officer", a fancy title for someone who works outside an office.
A date which the contract has been signed.
A actual wet signature of the person representing the offence (YOU).

Common methods of deception are, a clipboard with the top half of the contract covered up with a letter head and the joint hidden with a wide elastic band.
Verbal deception telling the offender that what they are signing is a agreement to buy a television licence and by signing it they will just get a bill for a TV licence and not face court.
Even those fooled by the deception often can not wait to tell friends how this nice man has let them off and all they have to do is buy a licence.
What Capita then do is forward a copy of the contract to a magistrate and ask them to issue a summons.
The contract you signed is produced in court as evidence, you are asked to verify your details, the signature from the court signing in sheet is brought to court and compared with the one on the contract and down goes the guilty hammer.
There is no "magic" involved.