TV Licence article Discussion

Cornucopia

Zapito wrote: »

Aha, I have distinct views on this. I agree with you that most acquired wealth is down to luck. Except that, IMHO most folk have far more luck than they realise; often they either simply don't recognise it or don't know how to deal with it.

Take windfalls for example. Most folk get a windfall, what do they do? Whoopee, let's have a party, champagne!, etc. And BANG! It's soon all gone (and some!). Me - what I've always done with windfalls, is (1) stash 90% of it in a safe place and (2) BLOW the remaining 10%. Always remembering that to do (2) is every bit as vital as to do (1). And you know, it works. But you have to be vigilant about it.

I agree to an extent, though it depends on what you mean by windfall, and the context in which the person receives it.

It's a brilliant idea. Makes total sense. Main problem is: how to get to there from here?

I don't think we can - no one, in any of the main political parties is remotely interested in doing it.

Zapito

cw18 wrote: »

They can LEGALLY use catchup without breaking the law. Just because you feel it to be MORALLY wrong doesn't mean you should word posts such that it could sound (to someone who doesn't understand the situation properly) as if they're in the wrong if they do so.

I know that. I'm not gonna wish the bloke "good on ya" if he's doing something I disapprove of am I? - and I do disapprove of people dodging payment by only using catchup, just like I disapprove of people using tax loopholes to get out of paying their fair whack.
:cool:

And I'll word posts how I like, BTW.

(Even deliberately belligerently, if that's how the flippin' mood takes me!):p

:embarasse I just looked back at this and'm feeling a bit ashamed. I can be a bit of a plonka sometimes.

Cornucopia

I think that whilst this thread is part of the site's consumer advice (and not a free-form political discussion, as such) we should try to stick to the facts.

I'm sure that the "Poundshop bargains" threads would get pretty tedious if someone kept popping up talking about "Chinese sweatshops" or some similar moral quandary.

Perhaps it's time we split the thread?

Zapito

Cornucopia wrote: »

I don't think we can - no one, in any of the main political parties is remotely interested in doing it.

Its time may come. So I for one am gonna keep plugging it.

http://citizensincome.org/
:T

The folks at that site have got it all figured out.

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Cornucopia wrote: »

... it depends on what you mean by windfall, and the context in which the person receives it.

Oh come on. Talk about hair splitting. We all know what a windfall is. Unexpected treasure.

Cornucopia

Zapito wrote: »

Oh come on. Talk about hair splitting. We all know what a windfall is. Unexpected treasure.

In that sense, none of my capital comes from windfalls. I suppose that's what I'm getting at - it is too easy to assume that if you have successful investments that there is some skill involved.

Zapito

Cornucopia wrote: »

In that sense, none of my capital comes from windfalls. I suppose that's what I'm getting at - it is too easy to assume that if you have successful investments that there is some skill involved.

I've never found investments (shares and so on) much cop. On average, in my experience, most portfolios just about top inflation. Cash savings usually do better in my experience - provided they are tax free. And you have to shop around. With shares there are always hidden charges which knock the profits on the head. Plus you have to pay for accountants and advisers and all kinds of leeches.

But we are defo way off-topic now

atlantica

I have a holiday home which is only visited for 2 to 3 weeks each year. The flat is unoccupied throughout the remaining weeks but I still have to pay £145 for a TV licence in addition to my home TV licence. Surely this is unfair. Has anyone got any suggestions on how to avoid or reduce the extra cost?

Cornucopia

Yes - if you only watch "TV" on a device that is powered by its own internal batteries, then you don't need a Licence if you already have one at your "main" address.

This set-up could be:-

- A Laptop with a TV dongle, connected to a set-top aerial.
- Live streaming on a Laptop connected to a neighbour's wifi or mobile data (assuming that a holiday home does not have fixed-line broadband).
- A genuine tiny TV (though this could be expensive on batteries).

Alternatively, you can go for any of the completely Licence-free options:-

- Catch-up and video-on-demand
- DVDs
- Content recorded off-air at a Licensed address and physically brought to the unlicensed premises.

This assumes that the Holiday Home is a permanent building. There are different rules for caravans.

JimmyTheWig

atlantica wrote: »

I have a holiday home which is only visited for 2 to 3 weeks each year. The flat is unoccupied throughout the remaining weeks but I still have to pay £145 for a TV licence in addition to my home TV licence. Surely this is unfair. Has anyone got any suggestions on how to avoid or reduce the extra cost?

You only need to pay for the quarters that you use.
Buy a year's TV licence when you go there.
Cancel it when you leave.
You'll pay £145, but get a £108.75 refund.

Even if you have to repeat this (say you go for a week at Christmas and two weeks in the summer) twice or three times a year you'll still save money.

Zapito

atlantica wrote: »

I have a holiday home which is only visited for 2 to 3 weeks each year. The flat is unoccupied throughout the remaining weeks but I still have to pay £145 for a TV licence in addition to my home TV licence. Surely this is unfair. Has anyone got any suggestions on how to avoid or reduce the extra cost?

I just rang TV Licensing on 0300 790 6130 and, after having to make a rather unfortunate number of button presses to get through layers of menu, I spoke to a very nice young man calling himself Dominic, and the advice I received was as follows:

For a holiday cottage, you could do this: The day before you get there or when you arrive there phone TV licensing or go online to get a licence, and pay by Direct Debit. Watch TV happily in the knowledge you have a valid licence. On the day you leave or when you get back home, ring TVL again or go online and cancel the licence, and cancel the Direct Debit via your bank.

Note that the licence is always calculated on a calendar month basis, so say if all your holiday was in August then you'd only need a licence for August, but if it was say the last week in August and the first week in September then you'd need it for both August and September.

So, according to that advice, there is in practice no need to have a licence all year for your holiday home.

An alternative I thought of (but haven't checked) to that slight rigmarole would simply be to use a battery powered portable TV set at your holiday home. That way you should be covered by your main home licence.