BBC - Themis debt collectors

Cornucopia

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82011374#Comment_82011374

Good point - it can't mean entry to a person's home because there is no such power (available to Themis).

I imagine if pressed on the question, the BBC would explain it away as meaning something else (maybe entry of personal data onto Themis's database). Wordplay in modern law enforcement.

4justice2

Just had a search around Facebook forums and found these letters, two different ones, marked URGENT or UNLICENSED with slightly different wording.

mta999

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82011419#Comment_82011419

yes if you watch TV ad-free I can see how the licence is good value

However, if you don't watch TV you should not be harrassed.

HillStreetBlues

The last time I needed a TV licence I became Roger Sole, next time I think will use this surname and become Clive.

grandadgolfer

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82011492#Comment_82011492

I love the “URGENT” & “UNLICENSED” in red trying to scare people

Cornucopia

These letters are very similar to previous TV Licensing letters.

There are a couple of new, potentially misleading details…

• "… stop an Enforcement Officer visiting…". This should make it clear that the threat relates to a TV Licensing visit, not Themis. (The misuse of the term "Enforcement Officer" goes back years).
• "… you must either…" is not correct. There are three options, not two. They have left out the option to do nothing.

brewerdave

As I see it (from previous unpleasant experiences with Utility debt collectors), the biggest risk is that Themis somehow get hold of a phone number for the "suspected" household..

In my case, even repeated denials of the supposed account/debt ,didn't stop the phone calls for months. In a way, it is helpful that Openreach will be "turning off" most landlines next January !!

Cornucopia

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82011783#Comment_82011783

I think that the BBC has said that a person's telephone number is among the personal data being passed to Themis. There's a fair likelihood that people may receive calls from Themis to encourage licence renewal. Whether this is a problem or not depends very much on the approach, and the frequency of calls.

It concerns me somewhat that the letters demonstrate a degree of misinformation. That in itself is an escalation in the face of people's rights especially if it reflects a fundamental misunderstanding by Themis because of their own negligence and/or the BBC misleading them.

sheslookinhot

Is the transfer of personnel data from TV Licensing to Thermis not a breach of GDRP ?

Cornucopia

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82011853#Comment_82011853

The BBC is free to share personal data with its subcontractors… in principle. If there is a Data Protection issue, it is whether passing data to a third party is fair and proportionate if that third party is there solely to enforce something that is outside the legal options for enforcement.

Someone directly affected by it would need to make a complaint to the ICO.