tv licence help

kittiwoz

I actually did suggest the OP phone the TV licensing authorities to try to negotiate an out of court settlement but at the end of the day if they're not prepared to do that, and having already filed with the court I doubt that they would, the only decent advice anyone can give is to pay up promptly.

With regards to the point of saying that the OP's bf should have paid for the licence in the first place, the point is that other people will be reading the thread, apart from the OP and some of them may also be watching or considering watching TV without a licence and still have time to rectify the situation by getting a licence. Similarly my point, that if you cannot afford a TV licence then you simply should not watch telly.

retepetsir

drtesseract wrote:

I'm also a student and can't afford to pay the TV licence, but we never really watch tv anyway, we just use it for the playstation, and we're only living at this address for 9 months and didn't think it was worth it.
Also, will it make any difference that we do have the NTL base tv package, as it was on a deal, which was cheaper than internet by itself?
We got a letter this morning saying 'we have authorised officers from our enforcement division to visit your home and interview you under caution', should i be worried about this?
If we refuse to let the 'enforcement officer' into the house, and say 'no comment' or 'i don't need one, i dont have a TV', what do you think will happen? (we live on the first floor so they can't see a tv).
We only live here for a few more months and really can't afford to fork out for something we don't use. I assume they need a warrant to enter the house?
Anyone have any experience with what happens when you have 'no comment'. Thanks in advance
Brian

If you have NTL TV then you have you pay the license...simple as that I'm afraid.

drtesseract

Would our NTL account information be confidential under the data protection act etc, or can the TV licence people have access to this information, and cross reference it with our address?

melancholly

drtesseract wrote:

Would our NTL account information be confidential under the data protection act etc, or can the TV licence people have access to this information, and cross reference it with our address?

i would just try to cough up the money.... how many people are there in your house? if you're splitting the payment between you then maybe you can scrape together the money.

i don't want to be too negative, but if you can afford to have a contract with ntl, saying that you can't afford the license just doesn't make much sense! Oompa Loompa has suggested that you can pay in installments to a degree, so try that route.

molerat

drtesseract wrote:

I'm also a student and can't afford to pay the TV licence, but we never really watch tv anyway, we just use it for the playstation, and we're only living at this address for 9 months and didn't think it was worth it.
Also, will it make any difference that we do have the NTL base tv package, as it was on a deal, which was cheaper than internet by itself?
We got a letter this morning saying 'we have authorised officers from our enforcement division to visit your home and interview you under caution', should i be worried about this?
If we refuse to let the 'enforcement officer' into the house, and say 'no comment' or 'i don't need one, i dont have a TV', what do you think will happen? (we live on the first floor so they can't see a tv).
We only live here for a few more months and really can't afford to fork out for something we don't use. I assume they need a warrant to enter the house?
Anyone have any experience with what happens when you have 'no comment'. Thanks in advance
Brian

The "Enforcement Officer" is not allowed access to your property without your permission or a warrant. They will not be able to get a warrant on the basis of "we think they have got a tv and are watching programs". If you do not let them in you are ok. If you let them in and they see a tv which receives programmes then you are screwed.

I do not condone you not having a licence though, just stating the facts. How much is a pint in the SU these days ? A licence is less than 3 pints a week. How many pints do you have :beer:

thesaint

retepetsir wrote:

If you have NTL TV then you have you pay the license...simple as that I'm afraid.

You can have SKY, NTL and freeview, you do not need a T.V. Licence for having these services, you need one if you watch them.

An enforcement officer can not enter your property against your will without a warrant.

suffolkb

You can pay for your licence monthly (I am). For the first year you have to pay over 6 months - approx £22pm, barely £5pw. Even `broke` students should be able to afford that between them.

tripled

Your flatmate should never have let the licencing man in, if he'd just shut the door on 'em you would never have got the summons unless they had another way of proving you guys had a telly (like he could see it through the window). However now he's witnessed it and your flatmate has signed the forms there is no way to wriggle out so as said above negociation is the key.

Personally I don't have a problem with the licence fee - I don't have to pay it at the moment, but have done in the past and will do in the future - because I use BBC services all the time. I usually listen to BBC radio for several hours a day and visit their website daily for news and weather as well. When I did have TV, BBC1 & 2 accounted for a large part of my viewing. I personally think some of the money could be better spent, but then I suppose they have to cater for a wide audience.

brazilianwax

I'm confused.

Your bf can't afford a share of a TV licence (probably £2-3 a month if there are a few of them in the house) but can afford a holiday??!

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=380601&page=2

andygodwin

nice one..

good thread this.
i find it particularly amusing when people think that letting someone off is helping them.

andy