tv licence help

3plus1

cutesee wrote:

yup my flatmate let one in and a tv was on, he signed something saying we didn't have a licence and that was in october. I thought that if we paid it now and wrote a letter that it might get dropped????

Put simply: don't do the crime if you can't do the time. You didn't buy a tv licence, you got caught. Even then, you showed no remorse, as you could have bought a tv licence in October fairly sharpish. Now in February... you're taking the mick. I'm afraid you're all going to have to dig into your pockets and pay the fine.

Treat it as a learning experience... I bet you'll pay your bills on time from now on!

Oldernotwiser

Yes, it's the fact that they didn't rush out and get one in October that amazes me. They would probably have got away with it at that stage but just to leave it for four months!

kittiwoz

mdb99jh wrote:

it is currently the law that you must purchase one if you have a tv

Just for clarification purposes: You only have to have a license if you use a TV or other device for receiving TV signals. If you have a TV but only used it to watch DVDs and play playstation (like our house) then you don't need one.

Bossyboots

newfoundglory wrote:

The only possible way out (and even then not guaranteed) would be on using various points of law, and for that a good lawyer would be required.

Which would cost far, far more than any fine that could be dished out.

cutesee

sorry to get you all huffy with the post, it's not for me its my bf that's dealing with the tax and yes it was stupid for them not to have gotten a licence when the tv guy came but to be honest i wish they wouldnt pester students, he is so skint and has no help of anyone but thanks for your opinions i appreciate it

Oldernotwiser

kittiwoz wrote:

Just for clarification purposes: You only have to have a license if you use a TV or other device for receiving TV signals. If you have a TV but only used it to watch DVDs and play playstation (like our house) then you don't need one.

I think that this is a very debateable point, particularly if you have a TV aerial

To lighten things a bit, read these excuses from TV Licensing site.

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

3plus1

cutesee wrote:

sorry to get you all huffy with the post, it's not for me its my bf that's dealing with the tax and yes it was stupid for them not to have gotten a licence when the tv guy came but to be honest i wish they wouldnt pester students, he is so skint and has no help of anyone but thanks for your opinions i appreciate it

Give me five minutes and I could quite easily put together a huge long list of students I know who would consider themselves skint, yet who paid for their TV licence at the start of October. Hmm, I know, I'll start with my housemates... :rolleyes:

I'm sorry we couldn't give you the answer you wanted. But if your boyfriend is struggling to make ends meet, there are a lot of helpful people on this site who could help him come up with a more manageable budget. That's not meant as a dig by the way - there's a lot of great financial advice available on the MSE site for anyone who wants to ask for it. You only have to look at the DFW board to see what huge changes can be made.

kittiwoz

Oldernotwiser wrote:

I think that this is a very debateable point, particularly if you have a TV aerial

Well this is what the TV licensing website says, and also the letters that they send if you don't have a license:

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.

(my emphasis)
So if you use a TV only for watching pre-recorded DVDs and playing games and not "to watch or record TV programmes as they are being shown" you don't need a license.

Oldernotwiser

Kittiwoz

When I said debateable I literally meant that; there are various views on the subject. To be absolutely in the clear you need to have no aerial and for the TV to be detuned so that it's unable to receive any signal. See the following article:

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/TV_License

j_davies

Oldernotwiser wrote:

j_davies wrote:

:rotfl: :rotfl: You sounded like some old fart who used to be in the army :rotfl: (dont take offence)

QUOTE]

I'll take anything that's offered and you are being offensive

Take it anyway you like as you dont have a sense of humour.