TV licensing - why don't they check their records?

tin

I have sucessfully ignored 2 years worth of these "in your name" letters. Eventually they called and my wife told them our licence is in her name. Shame, cos I was enjoying ignoring them so much.

So don't worry about it, as long as you house has a licence then you are clear.

vikingaero

If TV Licensing continue in sending letters then you can send them a letter saying that you'll get an injunction against them under the Protection From Harassment Act and also invoice them say £25 for each letter they send you.

tedpreece

The letters are sent out automatically from a database of homes without licenses. They add names and adresses to this from the forms retailers have to fill in when you buy Equipment capable of receiving live T.V.

This is how TVL work. The detector vans are actually just vans to ferry around
their employees. The high tech equipment they claim to use doesn't actually exist, if it did it would have been used in court to get a warrant or a conviction, and it never has not even once.

T.V licensing men are not like policemen, they are simply employees of a firm Capita, and are basically bouncer/bailiff types, who specialize in intimidation. They specifically target students, single mothers and council estates, as they are paid on commision and these people are less knowledagable and easy to intimidate if your a big burly man with some kind of, percieved authority, however false that may be)

The fact is anyway you HAVE a license, so don't bother communicating with them at all. It is entirely up to them to prove your guilt not you to prove your innocence. They cannot prove guilt if your innocent, so no problem. Bin the letters.

Unfortunately though if you find the letters unbearable, none of the above will stop them. They are as I said not individually targeted, but computer generated from a database and the main way TVL get payment, (most license 'evaders' get sick of getting them or are foolish enough to be intimidated by the empty threats contained within, tellingly punctuatued with a plethors of 'if' 'buts' 'maybe' could' and 'perhaps', so pay up). They therefore don't mind if a few innocents get harrased along the way.( That's again the type of company your dealing with here)

The only way to get the letters to stop completely, is you send a letter stating clearly you withdraw the implied right of acces to your home of Capita employees, and that you feel harrased by their letters. They then usually put a stop on your property for 2 to 4 years, after which time the letters start again, and you have to repeat the process.
They may even then 'accidently' send out a letter or two during the stop time, just to see if you bite. Again bin and ignore.

emmarooney

They harassed me some years ago - letter after letter, all of which I sent back with the correct statement that I didn't have a TV.

Eventually I was woken from sleep one day (I was on shifts and had got home late) by an officer, the conversation went something like this:

TVLA: I'm here about your TV Licence
ME: (brightly) Oh?
TVLA: Have you got a TV Licence?
ME: No
TVLA: Are you going to get one?
ME: No
TVLA: So you haven't got a licence?
ME: No
TVLA: Right. So you haven't got a licence?
ME: No
TVLA: And you're not going to get one?
ME: No.

This went on for some minutes, I was enjoying it! Eventually I opened my front door and the door to my sitting room:

ME: I haven't got a television
TVLA: OH. You really haven't got a television (he looked at the room, there was no tv and nowhere one could go)
ME: No I REALLY haven't got one. Now, make a note of it, go away and don't trouble me again. OK?

When I did eventually get a tv, I got a licence.

I cancelled it last year when I moved house. They gave me a refund.

TODAY, they've phoned to ask why I haven't got a licence for my old address! I explained that I sold the house and they have refunded the money overpaid. They said that the new person hasn't got one to which I replied "Maybe they don't have a television"!

vikingaero

emmarooney wrote: »

They harassed me some years ago - letter after letter, all of which I sent back with the correct statement that I didn't have a TV.

Eventually I was woken from sleep one day (I was on shifts and had got home late) by an officer, the conversation went something like this:

TVLA: I'm here about your TV Licence
ME: (brightly) Oh?
TVLA: Have you got a TV Licence?
ME: No
TVLA: Are you going to get one?
ME: No
TVLA: So you haven't got a licence?
ME: No
TVLA: Right. So you haven't got a licence?
ME: No
TVLA: And you're not going to get one?
ME: No.

This went on for some minutes, I was enjoying it! Eventually I opened my front door and the door to my sitting room:

ME: I haven't got a television
TVLA: OH. You really haven't got a television (he looked at the room, there was no tv and nowhere one could go)
ME: No I REALLY haven't got one. Now, make a note of it, go away and don't trouble me again. OK?

When I did eventually get a tv, I got a licence.

I cancelled it last year when I moved house. They gave me a refund.

TODAY, they've phoned to ask why I haven't got a licence for my old address! I explained that I sold the house and they have refunded the money overpaid. They said that the new person hasn't got one to which I replied "Maybe they don't have a television"!

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

I don't know how they train their staff but they must ingrain them with the fact that no-one in this century can survive without a TV. If it were up to me I'd bin our TV tomorrow (especially with Big Brother 8 coming up).

dangeroussports

Everyone should buy a licence then there would be no need for all this.

You have to watch television otherwise people start to think for themselves and we cant have that.

losgiganteskid

The licencing authorities state they know of all homes where a tv licence is not in force - what they don't know is whether or not a tv is actually in use at those addresses - and never will !

Wig

Always100FC wrote: »

I've witnessed a classic case of someone getting caught without a licence.

The neighbour had curtains open and was visably watching t.v. I noticed a guy, who seemed outta sync with the student area, ringing the doorbell as i was getting into my car. He said "hi, i'm from the t.v. liencing board"

Poor sod!

I suspect the neighbour was legally watcing a video or dvd without the need for a licence. And hopefully told the licence chappy to get off his property.

Wig

emmarooney wrote: »

They harassed me some years ago - letter after letter, all of which I sent back with the correct statement that I didn't have a TV.

Eventually I was woken from sleep one day (I was on shifts and had got home late) by an officer, the conversation went something like this:

TVLA: I'm here about your TV Licence
ME: (brightly) Oh?
TVLA: Have you got a TV Licence?
ME: No
TVLA: Are you going to get one?

I've been there and done that (talked to the nobody on my doorstep and given them the time of day) Now I find a much quicker way of dealing with them is as follows.

Knock on door...

Nobody On Step (NOS): Hello, Mr Wig is it?

Wig: Who are you?

NOS: Oh, ahhh, I'm not supposed say until I know who you are (grumpy look on face, stops talking)

Wig: (raises eyebrows and cocks head to one side in a puzzled expression)

NOS: I'm from TV licencing (takes card from pocket to show me)

Wig: Ahh, I thought so. Goodbye (closes door).

vikingaero

The classic student dodge is to give a false name when interviewed by a TV Officer. They cannot insist on ID so just make up something reasonably realistic.