TV Licence article Discussion

madmuppet5

Paul_Varjak wrote: »

If you post on an MSE thread you are inviting responses from any MSE member.

I have to say that cornucopia was most helpful in their reply and clearly has an understanding of the TV licensing system.

Yes but cornucopia just posted what everyone else had already posted and didn't say which particular posts they thought were incorrect.:cool:

agnomen

agnomen wrote: »

Interested to read that licence covers viewing outside home. What about in other homes without a licence?

1. Can I watch live TV in a home without a licence on my laptop?

2. Conversely what if I don't have a licence and watch in a home with one, on my laptop?

I have always assumed it's the licence status of the home where you're watching is the factor. If (1) Not OK (2) OK

So a difficult one? Anyone thought this through?

busywoman56

Can anyone please answer this Q re TV licence? I have visited the TV licence website and seem a bit more confused, by their answers.
Scenario :-We own a house and have current TV licence, build new house, transfer licence to new address, hubby turns 75, licence fee partly refunded, new licence issued, all good, still own old house, empty, now letting 1 room to young professional working person, soon 2 more to follow,all bedrooms have own door and lock, if I provide TV in communal area (lounge) do I need a licence? which will cover all tv'sin house or do the residents each need their own tv licence?(for each bedroom - which seems a racket tbh) None of these people are related, and we do not live in the 'old' house, although nearby. (incidentally 1st resident has a TV licence which he has altered to our old home address) thanks confused of Peterborough

Buzby

lisawaters wrote: »

If you watch a 'live' TV programme on a terrestrial TV, a cable box, Freesat, Freeview, a mobile, a laptop and a radio at the same time, you will find they are way out of sync.

Who'd like to say which is live, and which is 'delayed' even by a few seconds?

Not the Law, but I recall TVLRO stating that if a service is shown within 15 minutes of the terrestrial broadcast, this fits the 'near real time' caveat. Interestingly, with a number of channels showing programmes on catch up BEFORE the terrestrial premier, this muddies the waters further!

Bottom line? The capability to view is always the killer - the expectation is you will, and it comes down to credibility whether a judge believes your protestations of innocence.

Paul_Varjak

Cornucopia wrote: »

The BBC Trust estimated that 10% of people who told TVL they did not need a licence still got the letters intended for "potential evaders".

Without evidence that anyone is actually breaking the law, then the sending of such letters can only be classed as harassment. If I am one of the 10% to receive these letters, I will not be happy at all.

If a company, entirely independent of the government were to issue such letters over a period of many years to so many people, they would be answerable to a court of law and wound-up by now.

I had always assumed that TVL was a government agency and not just a trading name of the BBC.

I have read that you can contact TVL and tell them that you deny them any 'implied right of access' and they will record this to ensure you do not get visits from their staff. I have not done this (yet) and would only do so if they start sending threatening letters.

After about 4 years it seems they may start contacting you again to see if 'your circumstances have changed' and, if you don't reply, they will start sending harassing letters.

Personally I don't mind a courteous letter every four years and I would reply accordingly. But, I can understand why some people would choose not to reply.

blackfive

Just found the acticale linking to this interesting thread and thought some may be interested in my experience some years back.
I was moving into my house and had purchased a new Tv some months before and it had been kept sealed in it's box in the living room. I kept getting the threatening letters and eventually one evening a knock on the door and a very obnoxious and officious TV Licencing guy there who immediately started laying down the law that I'd been watching TV. Despite telling him I hadn't he claimed his detector had detected I was watching TV so I told this idiot to go and get his detector fixed as it was faulty. What got me really annoyed was the fact he claimed to have a right of entry flashing his ID card at me and marched in. I stood in his way telling him he had no right and to leave with immediate effect. All he did was attempt to push me out of his way so I decided I'd had enough and got hold of him and physically threw him back out with his clipboard and papers going everywhere and getting blown about. I then informed him that he had no right of entry and he could look through the living room window to see the sealed box that the television was in. He told me he was coming back with a search warrant so i informed him that he could but would also have to have the Police present to execute the warrant. As he wouldn't have had any evidence for the search warrant to be granted I was not surprised never to see him again. One interesting argument he used was that I had an aerial affixed to the chimney so I invited him to get a ladder and remove it as it was damaged and been disconnected for some years. I also told him I'd got a pint of milk but hadn't got a cow to show how weak his argument was.
However I now don't have a TV Licence again as I've got enough DVD's to watch and found I was watching broadcast TV less than once a week so now use the catch up services over the internet. Despite informing the TV Licence people, Capita, of this fact the threatening letters still regularly arrive which I now bin.

madmuppet5

busywoman56 wrote: »

Can anyone please answer this Q re TV licence? I have visited the TV licence website and seem a bit more confused, by their answers.
Scenario :-We own a house and have current TV licence, build new house, transfer licence to new address, hubby turns 75, licence fee partly refunded, new licence issued, all good, still own old house, empty, now letting 1 room to young professional working person, soon 2 more to follow,all bedrooms have own door and lock, if I provide TV in communal area (lounge) do I need a licence? which will cover all tv'sin house or do the residents each need their own tv licence?(for each bedroom - which seems a racket tbh) None of these people are related, and we do not live in the 'old' house, although nearby. (incidentally 1st resident has a TV licence which he has altered to our old home address) thanks confused of Peterborough

You don't personally need a licence it would be down to the tenants to purchase. 1st resident is covered and therefore so is the communal TV. Although it would be a bit of a grey area if they have TV's in there own rooms as they could be designated as seperate dwellings because of the locks on the doors (silly I know)

adouglasmhor

agnomen wrote: »

So a difficult one? Anyone thought this through?

I know of a cleaner who got penalised watching her employers TV when she was in his house.

cw18

adouglasmhor wrote: »

I know of a cleaner who got penalised watching her employers TV when she was in his house.

I don't see why unless he didn't have a licence.

That's like saying you can't watch TV at a friends house when you're visiting !!

jbryce

moonrakerz wrote: »

I think Martin & JimArnold may have fallen for TV Licensing's double speak. You can have your TV/laptop/DVDR/PC plugged into the mains (you definitely don't need a licence for that !) and/or an aerial and as long as you don't watch it (live) you don't need a licence. The wording on the TVL website is very confusing - deliberately so ?

This is a strange area now because you need a licence to watch live TV on a mobile phone. I think at one time there were exemptions for small battery powered devices, but with the pace of modern technology, how long before the mobile phone with a 42" screen appeared on the market ?

Your home licence allows you to watch television anywhere on a TV set that is powered by its own internal batteries.

If you watch broadcast TV on a laptop running on battery power, then it is a TV set powered by its own internal batteries. If you plug the laptop into the mains while watching it, then you need a TV licence at the location where you are watching the TV.