Tv licence...no more!

giraffe69

Most people misunderstand the nature of TV Licence evasion entirely. There is a small hard-core of true evaders - people who never pay, never will, and who are virtually impossible to catch given the nature of the offence. The rest (the vast majority in my experience) are simply poor, disorganised and/or misunderstand the requirement. I don't think that people like that should be being imprisoned.

I also don't think they should be imprisoned not only because of space considerations in our prisons but also because of cost of imprisoning people and the disproportionate nature of the sentence to the offence.
However other than the deliberate evaders referred to above I don't believe most people are unaware. If you are poor and really can't afford the fee then resolve to give up TV and Iplayer until you can. Plenty of people with expensive TVs and Sky Boxes who don't pay and then claim either they don't watch or you can't prove I do. How can you misunderstand "If you watch any live TV you need a licence?" The introduction of Iplayer to the argument may have complicated it for some. As for disorganised if you have a car and it is not licensed then expect a fine. Why should this be different?

Cornucopia

People with Pay TV subscriptions who are caught evading the Licence already have the possibility of a larger fine. I don't know how often the authorities levy it, but the principle (which I agree with) is there.

The long-term average fine over the past decade or so has always been around the level of the Licence Fee itself (plus costs and victims' surcharge). That, to me, indicates the poverty of the average defendant, rather than Magistrates being soft (which in my experience they tend not to be).

One of the remarkable things about this topic is the level of public misunderstanding. You would have thought that something that affects pretty much every UK household would be well understood, but that's not the case, as you can see from the wide-range of basic questions asked here (and the sometimes questionable answers). On which basis, it doesn't surprise me that the poorest, least well enfranchised sector of society has an issue with it. I think there may be an element of "putting it behind the clock". The issue with becoming legally Licence-free is that that requires good broadband, equipment that they may not have and technical understanding that they do not possess. For MSE FMs it may be second nature that a £15 Now TV box will get a bunch of free catch-up services, but perhaps that is not common knowledge?

I personally think that it would be much fairer on these people to place the BBC's services behind a properly administered pay wall, and allow an ad-funded version of the BBC and/or Commercial TV to be outside of that pay wall.

GEDJARVIS

it should be a choice.

GEDJARVIS

I want a choice to pay or not pay it, pure and simple.

[Deleted User]

GEDJARVIS wrote: »

I want a choice to pay or not pay it, pure and simple.

You do have that choice.

However, if you choose not to pay then you are no longer entitled to watch live broadcast TV and risk court action if you do.:eek:

poppasmurf_bewdley

GEDJARVIS wrote: »

I want a choice to pay or not pay it, pure and simple.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could all have a choice whether we pay different taxes and levies. I'd rather not pay VAT because I don't approve of sending billions of £££'s to foreign countries. And I'd rather not pay council tax because I don't have kids in school any more. And I'd rather not pay a toll every time I go across the Dartford Bridge.

Unfortunately for you, we live in a democracy where the majority obey the rules decided by a democratically elected government - whether we like them or not.

But you DO have a choice. You can choose not to pay the TV Licence - but at least be honest and tell the Beeb you're watching without one and accept the consequences.

Cornucopia

The idea of taxing something that is enjoyed by the vast majority of people when there is no pressing social need to do so is highly questionable IMHO. When you add to that the questionable nature of the BBC's approach to enforcement I have every sympathy with the view that it needs removal and/or replacement.

Personally, I would be happy to see it absorbed into another tax system, possibly Council Tax as it is in France. As in France, there could still be an opt-out under certain conditions. We could also introduce a variable rate TV Licence component based on information already on-hand to administer the Council Tax, so that the Licence Fee could less regressive and be related to the size of the house, the wealth of the household, and/or whether there is a single occupant.

I am personally of the opinion that were wealthier/larger households paying their fair share (under reasonable progressive taxation rules), then the BBC and and Licence may turn out to be rather less popular than they are at the moment.