TV licence visit officer today. 23 Jan 2008 (merged threads)

lincroft1710

Vansboy - I'd be tempted to write on envelope "Return to sender - not known at this address" and put it back in post.

BillTrac

"i think you also need a tv licence if you listen to the radio
my sister works in a garage and they used to have the radio on in the background,then an inspector came and said do you have a license to play that?...maybe its just commercial premises and not households, i dont know.
anyway, we have a tv licence...the 11 quid just comes out the bank each month, my children would disown me if i got rid of the tele!
though i never really understood what the money we pay goes towards . is it just the bbc?"

think you'll find that the license mentioned is the performing artists license or something along those lines. Apparently, any public places that play music,either recorded or radio, now has to have a license and display the license. Supposedly, the moneys go towards royalties. I am sure someone will be along and correct me...lol

Bill

calleyw

BillTrac wrote: »

"i think you also need a tv licence if you listen to the radio

Think you need to read this website.

Last time you needed a radio licence was back in 1971.

I think what your sister is on about is public broadcast licence which is needed for pubs, cafes etc in other words where ever the public are.

Yours

Calley

Angel11_2

A very good friend of mine (happens to be a police officer) doesn't have a tv - he got the letters, final demands, big red letters in bold.

He finally got through to them on the phone to advise he doesn't have a licence and no need for one of their "officers" to come round.

3 months ago one of the "officers" managed to gain entry to the communual area of the flats and was knocking on his door.

Gave it all the have right of entry to check his property ect. Friend told him he had no powers of entry at all. Small silly arguement took place over who was right, TLA guy put his foot across his door to try and walk in, friend promtly warned him that he is a police officer, showed his warrant card and he had now illegally entered his property and if he did go forthwith he would be arrested and escorted to the local police station to have an en suite in the custody for the night.

TLA guy moved very quickly and friend hasn't been hassled since !

pboae

slash69 wrote: »

i bought a freeview box from sainsburys last week and they didnt ask me for any details whatsoever. were they supposed too???

Did you use your Nectar card when you bought it? If so, they will automatically have taken all your details from there.

jamesd

tsilv, don't tune it to the normal TV channels, just game and intercom. Then you'll easily be able to demonstrate that it's not used for watching live TV if you feel inclined to let a visitor in instead of declining.

Your case is a nice one for simply delining entry since making that as routine a happening as practical is helpful to all in your position.

ArmchairTycoon

When I first moved in to my flat I was stone broke and didn't have a TV, no skin of my nose until the TV licensing officers appeared at my door, going through their harrassment tactics battering on my door for 30 minutes non stop at a time, shouting through my letter box, several times a day, I tried to reason with them, but I was damned if I was going to let them wander through my house to prove them wrong, the worst part is I only live 5 minutes from their office so I was an easy target.

I sought advice from the Police who told me I would have ask a court for an an injunction against them, at my own expense, after months of harrassment and funny looks from my neighbours I thought I will buy a black & white TV licence, despite at the time not actually having a TV, it didn't deter them, they wanted me to prove it was black & white and not colour, I put up with this for over 8 months before being able to afford a colour TV and colour licence.

It is alright for some to say why go through the hassle of refusing them admission, but I still have rights, the Police cannot get access without a warrant so I am damned if I am going to allow a civillian organisation who have no legal powers access and once I let them in where does it end?, they check each room and then what? they want to check my cupboards and wardrobes to prove I am not hiding it?, even after you prove to them you have no TV, there is nothing to stop them coming back on the pretext that you may have since their last visit acquired a TV, what they do is little more than a protection racket, pay up and we will leave you alone, it's no coincidence that the officers they send round are big bruisers whos physical stature is intended to intimidate. Don't get me wrong I value the BBC and I am happy to pay for my licence as long as I am paying for something I actually make use of.

Another interesting point that comes to mind is the Data Protection Act, surely it is a breach of this when a retailer provides information about a buyer to TV licensing, I don't recall having seen any clause in my purchase agreement where I consented to that information being disclosed to a third party, people often forget we are not talking about a government body, they aren't even the BBC they are a private company.

wacko911

write to them and remove their implied right of access to your front door and ask them not to write except to confirm receipt of the letter and to remove your phone details from their database. You should never be hassled again and if they enter your garden and knock your door they are tresspassing and you could have them arrested.