Good Bye to my TV Licence

DUTR

Halifax81 wrote: »

They have no right of access to any property so if they wish to get a warrant or court order for entry to mine they would have to do this but then they would find a TV not hooked up to anything other than an Xbox for streaming On Demand content.

I don't require someone to come and check up on me if I say i'm not watching a live feed then thats what I mean

Perhaps you miss my point, is the only thing you have to say about yourself is that you can evade a tv license fee? Is that the legacy you are to leave? At the momemt it's not really about the why's n wherefore of the tv license, it just worries me that saving yourself £11.50 or so a month is the only achievment for you in your lifetime, wouldn't be so bad if you were donating the saving to charity or something.

tiger_eyes wrote: »

I can think of quite a few reasons why you wouldn't want a TV license inspector poking around your house. Let's start with the most obvious one: TV license inspectors have been convicted in court of assaulting people and fabricating confessions. So you could be entirely innocent and still end up assaulted and/or prosecuted.

Do you have any reference pointers to this? Or is this one of those internet tales?

Halifax81

DUTR wrote: »

Perhaps you miss my point, is the only thing you have to say about yourself is that you can evade a tv license fee? Is that the legacy you are to leave? At the momemt it's not really about the why's n wherefore of the tv license, it just worries me that saving yourself £11.50 or so a month is the only achievment for you in your lifetime, wouldn't be so bad if you were donating the saving to charity or something.

I'm legitimately using my TV within the boundaries of the Communications Act, evasion doesn't come into what you're trying to say as live TV is no longer been watched in this household.

DUTR

Halifax81 wrote: »

I'm legitimately using my TV within the boundaries of the Communications Act, evasion doesn't come into what you're trying to say as live TV is no longer been watched in this household.

The TVL inspector can enter my premise anytime, I can easily sacrifice 4 beers or 30 cigs a month, If I chose not to purchase a TVL for legitmate reasons, then they could still visit to check.
Me personally I wouldn't need to seek attention on the internet, just get on with it, all I'm saying is I thought you had more to say about yourself in life and what you have achieved.

teajug

poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »

And how many people in a block of council flats don't own a TV? From my experience, council tenants are the most likely group of people to have a TV. Indeed, having been in a position which took me into literally thousands of council homes of all types, I don't recall ever visiting one which didn't have at least one TV, and most had several.

I know two in my block one a pensioners and the other a disabled person. Both are very well read.
Just out interest was it your job to go into tenants homes to check if they had TV or not?

Halifax81 wrote: »

Surely the council aren't billing you for something that doesn't work?
I've always resented having to pay my TV licence but at least I now have a way out from it

Of course they will charge for it. It’s included in tenants rent account statement therefore if they do not pay it they are evicted. They charge for cleaning of the common parts of their block of flats and tenants do not get that as either. How do you that their Directors and assistant Directors salaries are over £100k PA. Council do not check anything in their properties that is their responsibility. In block of flats there are no fire extinguishers or fire drills in large block of flats considering that they are the biggest landlords in the country there is no one to challenge them on H&S issues. Very worrying as the local fire stations as gone as well.

poppasmurf_bewdley

Teajug - no, it was nothing to do with tv licencing, but did entail sitting with the householder in their lounge. You just notice things like tv's, just like you notice if the place was clean or dirty.

ValHaller

DUTR wrote: »

tiger_eyes wrote: »

I can think of quite a few reasons why you wouldn't want a TV license inspector poking around your house. Let's start with the most obvious one: TV license inspectors have been convicted in court of assaulting people and fabricating confessions. So you could be entirely innocent and still end up assaulted and/or prosecuted.

Do you have any reference pointers to this? Or is this one of those internet tales?

Yes, tiger eyes does have a link. It is to the Daily Telegraph and you included the link in the quote.

asharon

I pay for my TVL but if I chose to go the catch up services I wouldn't want them coming into my home to prove anything, why should I ?

It is not guilty until proven innocent. How often do they turn up to recheck. The whole if you aren't guilty you have nothing to hide is ok for some, but how about I'm not guilty, I have nothing to hide so why should I let someone I don't know into my home.

They also can be very rude, maybe not all are but they need a watchdog programme into them.

ValHaller

john1 wrote: »

For information

from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licence#Germany

As of 1 January 2013, the licence fee in Germany is now a blanket contribution of € 17.98 per month (€ 215.76 per annum) for all households and is payable regardless of equipment or television/radio usage.

Prior to 2013, only households and businesses with at least one television were required to pay. Households with no televisions but with a radio or an internet-capable device were subject to a reduced radio-only fee.

Apparently this new tax is collected as "an add" on via the German equivalent of our council tax.

When will UK follow??

I think TV licensing as run by Capita is such a good racket that Capita won't want to lose it.

teajug

poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »

Teajug - no, it was nothing to do with tv licencing, but did entail sitting with the householder in their lounge. You just notice things like tv's, just like you notice if the place was clean or dirty.

Was tenants having a licence part of your assessment? If you were doing assessment for me, you would have notices that I had a TV and would have thought that it was working unless you ask of course and if you did not ask I would be classed as having a working TV on your observations. People can have tv's but that does not mean that they are working. Was it only council tenants that you notice things like tv's. I expect that you would be there to do some sort of assessment would you have to do the same with priviate landlords tenants and did they all have TV's as well.... just curious.

http://www.taxpayersalliance.com/home/2013/05/revealed-2525-council-staff-earning-100000.html

Also people can see what their council's are spending their tax money, as council have to publich expenditure over £500. Also check out what their council directors are earning it will be an eye opener.
:T:T

Cornucopia

ValHaller wrote: »

Yes, tiger eyes does have a link. It is to the Daily Telegraph and you included the link in the quote.

In terms of fabricated confessions a support site for TVL issues is presently getting about one per week.

We advise people in that situation to complain to TVL, and TVL often drop the cases.

The underlying problem is that a system of paper forms and commission incentives is not conducive to fair and accurate processing(*) of these "confessions".

Just in the past few days, we have had:-

- Forms modified (by TVL) after signature, and the modified form used as court evidence.

- Deceit about the purpose of the form and the requirement for signature (typically the TVL person says something like: just sign this to confirm that I've spoken to you).

- Deceit about the exact situation under which a licence is required.



(*) A future complaint to the ICO might be in order.