Don't need Tv License: should I write to them saying I don't need it?

ioscorpio

This is a good website for information

http://www.tvlicensing.biz/

firepoppy

I moved into my boyfriend's flat. He'd told the TV license people that he didn't have a tv and a man had called around to check and then left him alone.

A few months after I moved in we moved to a 2 bedroom flat on a different floor but in the same block. I suffer from long term depression/anxiety and this was my first proper move. When I moved from my parent;'s to my boyfriend's it didn't matter about moving everything at once and letting everyone know I'd moved because I could still get my old things and old mail whenever I wanted.

We ignored the TV license people for a while as they only gacve us an 0870 number to call - which I will not call on principle - and the address the letters came from was very short and looked uncomplete. Perhaps if they had included a paid reply envelope we would have made contact sooner.

The letters got stronger and stronger in tone and more threatening. We were threartened with court action and my boyfriend decided to to write to them to tell them where we had moved from and let them know we had no tv.

Part of the leaflet they sent me angered me as they said "the only sure way to avoid prosecution is to buy a tv license." This made me angry and I wrote back to them saying surely another "sure way" to avoid prosecution was simply not to have a tv? I worded my letter polietly yet assertively and mentioned that if they had a freephone number or perhaps even a local call rate number I would have been in touch.

We complained about being accused of criminal behaviour and being sent intimadating letters. I said I spend my time readin, playing games on my PC and on the internet. I said with the popularity of the internet I'm sure more and more people are choosing not to have a tv.

We recieved a letter back thanking us for getting in touch and saying we would recieve no more threatening letters. They said that the letters start out politely but get stronger in tone if there is no response. They said someone would call around to double check that we have no tv as most people who claim to have no tv are lying.

We had another threatening letter a day or 2 later as it must have been sent before they took our names off their mailing list. We haven't had anyone in to check that we have no tv. I would let someone come in to check if I was not home alone but due to my anxiety I rarely answer the door when I'm home alone and no expecting anyone. I think there have only been 2 times when I've been home alone and not answered the door and once it was the postman, so I doubt the tv licensing people have tried to call.

The way I understand it is if I used a tv soley to watch DVDs I would still need a license as the TV is capable of watching live tv so we watch dvds on a pc. I have a tv, video recorder and dvd player at my parents' house but haven't mo ved them here becuase I refuse to pay for a license. We can't really afford to and I rarely watched tv anyway I missed it at frist but I don't now.

I think it's unfair that tv licenses are compulsary. The BBC makes plenty of money from Dr Who toys, selling programmes to America, etc. I would rather the BBC played adverts and provided its services for free. I wish there was a way to opt out of the bbc and tv license and just watch itv, channel 4, etc, as I would do this because it would be nice to be able to watch the news and have a bigger screen for our films.

Swan_2

firepoppy wrote: »

The way I understand it is if I used a tv soley to watch DVDs I would still need a license as the TV is capable of watching live tv so we watch dvds on a pc. I have a tv, video recorder and dvd player at my parents' house but haven't mo ved them here becuase I refuse to pay for a license. We can't really afford to and I rarely watched tv anyway I missed it at frist but I don't now

hi firepoppy,
you definitely don't need a licence just to watch DVDs or Videos or play games

have a look at JohalaReewi's post # 42 above for more info

firepoppy

Well perhaps this is so but I'd rather not risk it Anyway, if I did only use my TV to watch DVDs and didn't watch and TV how would the TV license people know? They would assume I'm lying as they've already told me that most people who tell them that they don't have a tv are lying and need someone to check our home to make sure.

Swan_2

firepoppy wrote: »

Well perhaps this is so but I'd rather not risk it Anyway, if I did only use my TV to watch DVDs and didn't watch and TV how would the TV license people know? They would assume I'm lying as they've already told me that most people who tell them that they don't have a tv are lying and need someone to check our home to make sure.

there's really no risk

I spent 2 years when all I used my telly for was DVDs & games

I de-tuned the set, unplugged the aerial, rolled the cable up & taped it to the skirting board 8 feet away from the telly, but you don't actually have to do any of this

I'd been getting the all usual aggressive letters from when I first moved into the flat, so I wrote to TVLA, told them what I was using the set for, they said that was fine with them & that I didn't need a license, but that they might need to send someone to check I was telling the truth
they never did send anyone round, but what did happen was the harassing letters stopped & I didn't have to fork out a large (to me anyway) sum of cash I didn't need to

toasterman

firepoppy wrote: »

I think it's unfair that tv licenses are compulsary. The BBC makes plenty of money from Dr Who toys, selling programmes to America, etc. I would rather the BBC played adverts and provided its services for free. I wish there was a way to opt out of the bbc and tv license and just watch itv, channel 4, etc, as I would do this because it would be nice to be able to watch the news and have a bigger screen for our films.

Plenty of other countries around the world have compulsory tv licenses you know.
See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_licence#Television_licences_around_the_world
Some of them have lower licence purchase prices, but they take it in taxes instead... that'd be worse for people like you who don't want to pay for tv at all.

Other pay-for licenses:
Vienna - £245 (for tv & radio, although you can pay them separately)
In France, it's £86.. and they show adverts AS WELL.
In Germany, £151
In Greece, it's every separate property with electricity - £38 for every single one, whether you have a tv or radio or not..if it has an electricity supply.
In Norway, £200 a year.

Some other countries also insist on paying a radio licence fee for every radio in every vehicle.
According to that wikipedia page, some of s4c's programming is being paid for by the uk licence fee, as well as the cost of Ch4's switchover to digital.

So we've not got it so bad really, have we.. paying what..? 37p a day for a household (and as many radios as you like) for 7-8 national radio channels, 4 tv channels, god knows how many local radio stations, a 24-hour news channel, and one of the most popular news websites in the world. I think if I'm not mistaken, the BBC also has some hand in maintaining the tv transmitters for freeview.

While I'm not too bothered about adverts on tv, I wouldn't want to be bombarded with pop ups on the BBC news site, or on BBC radio stations.

You couldn't remove individual channels though.. in the same way that you can't pick and choose individual channels to pay/not pay for, on Sky.
Back when I had it, there was only about 3 pay-for channels I watched, but you can't pay £2-a-month for Paramount, and nothing for the rest of the filler, because the minimum price plan that includes that is like £15 a month.

Likewise I'd like a car with air conditioning, but I'm not all that fussed about electric windows and mirrors. But I can't just have the air con.. you buy them all if you want one, or not at all.

moonrakerz

firepoppy wrote: »

Well perhaps this is so but I'd rather not risk it Anyway, if I did only use my TV to watch DVDs and didn't watch and TV how would the TV license people know? They would assume I'm lying as they've already told me that most people who tell them that they don't have a tv are lying and need someone to check our home to make sure.

TV Licensing are little more than a bunch of licensed (pun intended !) bully boys.
If you don't need a licence, don't get one. You do not have to tell them of that fact. You do not have to let them onto your property, in fact you can legally ban them from your property - I already have !
The much publicised detector vans have NEVER been used as evidence in Court - probably because this "evidence" is in-admissable.

If you need a licence get one - I have no time for people who watch without a licence - but equally I have no time for the tactics of TV Licensing employed against those who, quite legally, don't have/need a TV Licence.

firepoppy

toasterman wrote: »

You couldn't remove individual channels though.. in the same way that you can't pick and choose individual channels to pay/not pay for, on Sky.
Back when I had it, there was only about 3 pay-for channels I watched, but you can't pay £2-a-month for Paramount, and nothing for the rest of the filler, because the minimum price plan that includes that is like £15 a month.

Yes you can. You can choose whether you want the film channels or the spots channels. As I understand it there are quite a few different packages that you can pick.

The are are many countries which don't have a tv license such as Canada and the USA. I live here and if I want to watch tv I need a license so I choose not to watch it.

geordie_joe

firepoppy wrote: »

Yes you can. You can choose whether you want the film channels or the spots channels. As I understand it there are quite a few different packages that you can pick.

I don't have sky, although I've looked into getting it a few times, so I may be wrong.

I don't think you can choose not to get INDIVIDUAL channels from sky. They come in packages, and you can choose which package your want.

firepoppy wrote: »

The are are many countries which don't have a tv license such as Canada and the USA. I live here and if I want to watch tv I need a license so I choose not to watch it.

That's your choice, but you are still paying for ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5.

In the UK the only channels you can choose not to pay for are the BBC, you pay for all the other channels whether you watch them or not. Even the ones on Freeview.

toasterman

firepoppy wrote: »

Yes you can. You can choose whether you want the film channels or the spots channels. As I understand it there are quite a few different packages that you can pick.

Ok, I'll give you an exact example.
Let's say I want to join Sky. I like my comedy.. so I want Paramount. But the sort of cr4p they show on Living TV like Maury Povich and Most Haunted, I couldn't care less about.
However, they're both in the "variety mix" group. While I can pick groups, I can't pick individual channels. If I want Paramount, I have to just put up with the fact that some of what I pay for that group, will go to Living TV..even if I think its all rubbish that they show.

It's the same deal with the tv licence. If you want Channel4, you have to have a licence..and while that money goes to the BBC instead, that's just tough. You can't pick and choose individual channels in that way.
Even if the licence fee was shared between all the terrestrial channels equally, you'd still have some people complaining they only watched Sky's movie channels so shouldn't have to pay for ITN news.

firepoppy wrote: »

The are are many countries which don't have a tv license such as Canada and the USA. I live here and if I want to watch tv I need a license so I choose not to watch it.

You are quite correct. We do have a licence, some countries don't. But some other countries do, and some of them are higher than ours. I was just trying to weigh something against all the people complaining how expensive it is...it might not be what a lot of people call "cheap"..but it could certainly be worse.

Personally, I think its incredible value for money, and regularly use many of the BBC's services. Simply reading the BBC news site every day saves me the cost of a newspaper. When you look at it like that, I'm getting all the rest of the BBC's services for free.