TV Licence article Discussion

jenniewb

fox2319 wrote: »

I have a TV license and I know that iplayer gets funded by it. Fine with that, not so fine with the quality of 80-90% of their output but that's a personal preference.

Just checking that should I want to lose the ability to get live TV (btw, I live in a local TV reception dead spot and need a 15ft mast on top of our house with an active amp to actually receive a signal, despite the fact that others don't have to go to such extremes.

As I say, given the quality of what's on the box these days, just checking the legalities of ditching the license and not encouraging them to make more dross...

Totally agree with you on the stuff on TV, and paying for no reception- hey, your not my neighbour are you?! (Exact same thing, no reception, and council will not fix it till 2012 when the signal goes off).

But fact is, if you can get the Iplayer, you do need a licence- TV licence phone call told me that before demaning payment. Its apparently law. Wish it wasn't and wish they had some sort of cut for those of us who do not get to see TV without paying (if you go over your download limit for example, plus the broadband payments.) But then how on earth would they manage to pay Johnathon Ross's salary?:rolleyes:

Volcano

jenniewb wrote: »

But fact is, if you can get the Iplayer, you do need a licence-

You DO NOT need a TV license for watching previously broadcast material! From the BBCs website:

You do not need a television licence to catch-up on television programmes in BBC iPlayer, only when you watch or record at the same time (or virtually the same time) as it is being broadcast or otherwise distributed to the public. In BBC iPlayer, this is through the Watch Live simulcast option.

http://iplayerhelp.external.bbc.co.uk/help/about_iplayer/tvlicence

TV licence phone call told me that before demaning payment. Its apparently law.

I'm not surprised they told you that. They're a private company with a contract to maintain: the more people with a TV licence, the more chance their contract will be renewed by the BBC. It's irrelevant to them if they need to lie, to get you to buy a licence you don't need.

This is the sort of treatment and ineptitude you can expect though if you decide to not bother with a licence:

http://www.bbctvlicence.com/

Maz

I think that people who make alternative arrangements i.e. bbc i player etc are the more discerning viewers who don't want to take reponsibility for the the rest of the dross that is shown. They can pick what programmes they want to watch. Why should they pay for !!!!!! that they wouldn't watch in a million years? Big Brother anyone?

When we caved in and bought a telly, we watched some of the 'prime time' viewing and quite honestly, we were horrified at the moronic crap that was aired. We hadn't had a telly for some years because of this and were staggered by the deteroration of the programmes offered.

I informed the licensing organisation that I had a TV but would only be using it to watch DVDs. (Which I do) I received a very nice letter back, asking me to inform them if my situation changed. After watching the peurile rubbish they transmit, I don't think my situation wil be changing any time soon!

Give me a good book any day.

tori.k

Maz wrote: »

I informed the licensing organisation that I had a TV but would only be using it to watch DVDs. (Which I do) I received a very nice letter back, asking me to inform them if my situation changed. After watching the peurile rubbish they transmit, I don't think my situation wil be changing any time soon!

Give me a good book any day.

You might want to get that in print as when i informed them that we got a tv for the kids to watch DVDs on in Jan (no tv point in there room) i was informed that i had to buy a TV license as it can still recive a signal if we choose to connect it up, so we did,
i even had a bloke come round a few years ago to check that we really didnt have a googlebox he made me laugh when he said he didnt even own one himself

Swan_2

tori.k wrote: »

You might want to get that in print as when i informed them that we got a tv for the kids to watch DVDs on in Jan (no tv point in there room) i was informed that i had to buy a TV license as it can still recive a signal if we choose to connect it up, so we did,
i even had a bloke come round a few years ago to check that we really didnt have a googlebox he made me laugh when he said he didnt even own one himself

like many others, you were misinformed, TVLA seem to be very good at doing this over the phone ... nothing in writing, so you can't prove they lied misled you in order to get you to buy a licence :mad:

it's not the equipment you need the licence for, it's what you use it for that matters, from the TVLA site ... 'You must be covered by a valid TV Licence if you watch or record television programmes as they're being shown on TV'

it's perfectly legal to have as many tellys (or other receiving equipment) in your home as you like without a licence, as long as you're not using any of them to do what's quoted in the paragraph above. for instance you're not breaking any laws using a telly solely for DVDs or gaming, & I'm guessing from your post that your kids' telly is the only one in the house, so you definitely don't need a licence for it


EDIT ... it would be interesting to see what they'd say/do if you asked them to put it in writing that you do need a licence for the use you propose

Volcano

Swan wrote: »

for instance you're not breaking any laws using a telly solely for DVDs or gaming, & I'm guessing from your post that your kids' telly is the only one in the house, so you definitely don't need a licence for it

Just to reiterate the above for all those on this thread who have been conned into buying a licence when they don't need one.

Guderian

I live in Thailand most of the year, but keep a flat in the UK for my twice-yearly visits, which amount to an annual total of about 6-8 weeks. Other British expats here who also keep a place in the UK tell me that they pay for their TV licences by monthly direct debit, but when they return to Thailand they cancel the direct debit, so they only make the monthly payments when they are actually in the UK and watching the TV.

One guy told me that he just phones up TV Licensing before leaving the UK and explains that he is leaving the country so will not be making any further monthly payments until he returns. That way they don't send him the swarm of threatening letters. Of course, I'm biased, but that seems quite fair to me. Why should you have to pay for something that you don't and indeed physically can't use?

Does anyone out there know if this is legitimate? I don't much feel like continuing to contribute to Alan Yentob's £6 million pension pot if I can avoid doing so.

Volcano

Guderian wrote: »

I live in Thailand most of the year, but keep a flat in the UK for my twice-yearly visits, which amount to an annual total of about 6-8 weeks. Other British expats here who also keep a place in the UK tell me that they pay for their TV licences by monthly direct debit, but when they return to Thailand they cancel the direct debit, so they only make the monthly payments when they are actually in the UK and watching the TV.

One guy told me that he just phones up TV Licensing before leaving the UK and explains that he is leaving the country so will not be making any further monthly payments until he returns.

It seems there's actually a cheaper way of doing this! (There's a shock!)

TVL load your direct debits so you pay for it all in the first 6 months (at £23 per month). So if you do DD, then cancel, 8 weeks will cost you £46.

If you buy a full licence however, then cancel it after 8 weeks, you'll get back any UNUSED quarters at £35 per quarter. Therefore as you'll never use more than 3 months, you'll get back 3 quarters and the 1 quarter you pay for will have only been £35.

So, £46 for 2 months or £35 for 3 months? No brainer.....

TVL accept DD at their discretion, so if you consistently set one up and cancel, they may decide not to let you pay like that.

Personally if it was me.......I wouldn't bother with a licence. It's unlikely that they'd come around during the 1/6 of the year you're here and even if they did, don't enter into conversation with them, shut the door in their face, then go out the next day and get a licence. It takes them some time to get a warrant together and they have no way of gaining entry without one (unless you're daft enough to let them in). Prosecutions are mainly due to people saying "it's a fair cop" on the doorstep rather than just slamming the door.

http://tvlicensing.metafaq.com/templates/tvlicensing/main/answerPage?_mftmfenv:linkEntryCategory=%24licensingInfo&_mftmfenv:linkEntryClient=%24tvlicensing&_mftmfenv:linkEntryName=%24whenrefund

Refunds are available for complete unused quarters that remain on your TV Licence at the point it was no longer needed. For example, you move abroad.

Guderian

Volcano, thanks for that interesting and helpful reply.

I return to the UK twice a year for 3 or 4 weeks a time, so I think cancelling the DD or a full licence each time would get to be annoying for them. I had thought that if I am back for 2 months in 12, then paying the £46 you mention by DD should cover me for the whole year. I'm not sure, however, that TV Licensing would see it like that.

Your other option has indeed crossed my mind. Given that when I am back in the UK I am not at home for much of the time (I'm a sociable animal), it's pretty unlikely that I would get caught. I don't actually wish to do anything illegal, but it seems that their silly rules may be forcing me in that direction, unless I am happy to continue funding the 5 of the 10 largest public sector pension pots that are currently held by BBC staff.

Volcano

You might wish to have a look at this site: http://www.bbctvlicence.com/
which gives you an idea of just how idle their threats are (over 3 years without a licence and not one visit!)

The "don't-buy-one-until-they-come-knocking" technique is pretty foolproof: there's no way they'd get a search warrant and the police involved on a property where they cannot be sure a TV is being used illegally (after all, your flat could be a holiday home and you have a TV licence at your other property, they have no way of knowing!)

Shut the door, buy one the next day, problem over. Then apply for a refund a few weeks later