tv licence

crism

Hello all,
To start with: I do have a valid tv licence and not looking for a way to avoid paying it.

I genuinely do not watch BBC or any related to them content whether live or live online. Well, maybe only Attenborough's series which I have on bluray. I do not watch live tv at all whether live or live online. I do not use bbc iplayer.
What I do watch is very occasionally catch up and most of time movies through now tv, netflix or amazon.
Now in theory, and according to tv licensing own website, I do not need tv licence.

Reality however is probably different.
If I will cancel my tv licence I expose myself to repercussions from BBC, have millions of letters sent through my mailbox and to my email address, but also visits (by many referred to as harassment) by tv licencing inspectors, whos actions - as seen online - are in many cases nothing short of bullying.
If I will give up on paying tv licence, which in my case is nothing more than a waste of money, sooner or later I will have to prove somehow that I do not watch content for watching of which I would require tv licence.

How do I prove it? Especially that I do not use iplayer to access bbc contents online?


Again I am not looking for a way to avoid paying for tv licence, I want to know what to do to prove that I do not watch live tv at all.

Thanks!

prosaver

just fill this in
http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/topics/telling-us-you-dont-need-a-tv-licence

Lingua

To check, is the catch-up you're referring to ITV Player and the like? You do mention you don't watch iPlayer but want to double-check.

If you fill in the form linked above, you can simply stop paying the TV licence. They can try and prove you do, but the onus is on them to prove it rather than on you to prove that you aren't. A good way of going about it may be to remove your aerial as then they'd be hard-pressed to find evidence of you watching TV short of getting a warrant and searching your house for one! (Which of course they don't do)

I'm a student so rely upon my relative's TV licence whilst at uni (no live TV, only catchup if it's on a portable device operating on its own charge) as I don't watch live TV at all any more and it's not worth the £140-ish for the pleasure.



Hope you get it all sorted and can save yourself some cash!


Lingua

Cornucopia

crism wrote: »

Hello all,
To start with: I do have a valid tv licence and not looking for a way to avoid paying it.

I genuinely do not watch BBC or any related to them content whether live or live online. Well, maybe only Attenborough's series which I have on bluray. I do not watch live tv at all whether live or live online. I do not use bbc iplayer.
What I do watch is very occasionally catch up and most of time movies through now tv, netflix or amazon.
Now in theory, and according to tv licensing own website, I do not need tv licence.

Correct.

Reality however is probably different.
If I will cancel my tv licence I expose myself to repercussions from BBC, have millions of letters sent through my mailbox and to my email address, but also visits (by many referred to as harassment) by tv licencing inspectors, whos actions - as seen online - are in many cases nothing short of bullying.

Yes... There are problems with TV Licensing, but 99.9% of them are simply ignored or rejected when you know the rules.

- The letters are not personal to you. Simply put them in the bin. (Or you could return them to sender).

- The TVL home visits: the BBC says that they are "consensual". Admittedly it won't say any more than that, but that's kind of enough. Just refuse to consent.

- Interviews under Caution: PACE Code C S. 3.22 gives you the right to tell the interviewer to cease questioning and leave the premises.

The most important thing is that once they've wasted their time with you once or twice, they won't bother coming back, because they want commission payments, and they won't get them from you.

If I will give up on paying tv licence, which in my case is nothing more than a waste of money, sooner or later I will have to prove somehow that I do not watch content for watching of which I would require tv licence.

No you won't. There is no legal requirement to do so. If TVL say otherwise simply tell them to leave. If they won't leave, phone the Police. Simple as that.

How do I prove it? Especially that I do not use iplayer to access bbc contents online?

You can't prove it, and you shouldn't try. It is for TVL to prove that you are evading the Licence from outside your home. They have no authority (short of a Warrant) to do anything else. (And Warrants are very, very rare - around 100 each year for the entire country).

You can block iPlayer on your Router/ISP, if you really want to.

Again I am not looking for a way to avoid paying for tv licence, I want to know what to do to prove that I do not watch live tv at all.

By all means ask the question of TVL and let us know what they say.

Buzby

No Warrants issued in Scotland, and out of interest, there have been NO prosecutions here whatsoever at court in the last 5 years.

Cornucopia

Buzby wrote: »

No Warrants issued in Scotland, and out of interest, there have been NO prosecutions here whatsoever at court in the last 5 years.

Do you have any info on how TVL works in practice in Scotland?

I know there are Fixed Penalty fines administered by Procurator Fiscal (Fiscal Fines) of £75, and I know there is a requirement for there to be 2 TVL staff on a visit to be able to make a report of an offence.

Is it that there are more fines of a lower value?