I wish to have a TV without a licence...

House_Martin wrote: »

No thanks, although I was considering it 10 years ago but I don`t want to get assaulted on the job. I m already at risk now just posting TV licence reminders.One in seven Capita officers will face an assault every year by disgruntled non TV licence holders..Shocking statistics .Disgraceful behaviour and I hope these people who attack the officers end up in jail

Where does your "1 in 7" statistic come from? Do you have any information (as an insider) about prosecutions of people who "assault" TVL staff? Personally, I've never heard of one - though I have heard of several prosecutions OF TVL staff (including one for assault).

Also, you need to be careful using the BBC's term "assault", because as I've told you before, the BBC includes any physical contact within that term - so anything from a slightly patronising pat on the back, through taking a close look at an ID badge to lawful use of force to remove a trespasser and only then into what "we" might call assault.

I'm inclined to think that the BBC (and you, by extension) are presenting the data in that way to make it look worse than it actually is (and this conclusion is supported by the release of nonsense PR videos in a similar vein starring US comedian Rob Delaney (2 years ago). It's not like they collate the underlying severity of incidents (as you might expect), so I don't think they really take it as seriously as they should... if it is as bad as they say.

The underlying legal point is that when a TVL person approaches someone's front door, they do so under what is called "implied right of access". i.e. they are there with the presumed permission of the householder which can be withdrawn by the householder at any time (or in advance using a letter or a notice on the doorstep). Part of that implied right requires them to politely approach the door, make themselves known and state their business. If the door is then shut, or they are told to go away, that is entirely consistent with the law. If TVL play games on "making themselves known" or "stating their business", as they are sometimes known to do, then they, themselves have undermined their own legal basis to be there - with obvious consequences.

If an assault results in the context of that legally-dubious situation, then TVL management must surely be partly to blame.

Capita are reported at having only around 360 officers who actually do the licence checks so to take or threaten to take 200,000 a year to the magistrates every year we can all see what a great job they do ,I think everyone would agree on that.

I'm not sure everyone does agree. It all seems a little pointless and unfair to me - prosecuting largely quite poor women for the sake of (as you say) 40p per day. And of course, the prosecution process is eased along by their lack of legal knowledge/Legal Aid, making them rather passive recipients of justice, in my experience.

The other issue is that TVL staff are driven quite hard - 36 visits per day. At that level I can imagine that the pressure to take shortcuts,is probably quite severe, and their tolerance for people taking up their time with niceties like legal rights is probably quite limited.

I would expect that genuine people who do not break their claim to not require a tV licence would feel incensed at the huge numbers obviously having no regard for payment of the £150 a year and would be happy to see them prosecuted like all good citizens would do.

I'm certainly opposed to wilful evasion, but in my experience, wilful evaders do not tend to be prosecuted. There are generally two types of people who are prosecuted, based on what I've seen: those who are unlicensed through poverty and lack of financial organisation, and those who are innocent. It's not justice, really, by any sensible measure.

Well done lads, keep up the good work

And lasses?

House_Martin wrote: »

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/10524889/TV-licence-inspectors-three-times-more-likely-to-be-attacked-by-a-householder-than-an-animal.html

Ah, okay, a few years old.

Assault is not a BBC term its a standard term to be used and it includes verbal assault.

Verbal assault? - again, when Capita staff are in my home, the scope of what it is legal for me to say to them is extremely broad. So it seems like another way in which the stats may not mean what they purport to be.

I once had a training day ( at Sheffield Wednesday Football ground actually ) being taught how deal with a situation of personal attack and how to defuse the potential of an attack .We were even given a special police coded name to use if we were imprisoned against our will.

Right - so training for Meter Readers, who have a legal authority to enter people's homes.

Either way no officer employed by TVL should have to face this in their day to day legitimate employment.

If you're saying that because you think they have the same legal authority as a Meter Reader, then you're wrong, I'm afraid. When a TVL staff member enters onto private property they are there as a guest, and they need to behave accordingly.

I ve been shouted, threatened and sworn at plenty of times just reading the gas and electric meters by the public. Not pleasant.But this is how some sections of the public degenerate to nowadays.

Presumably you report such incidents to the Police?

I don`t think anyone on this forum or your TVLR website forum would be in this category TBH. They all appear to be pretty civilised. You will not get the scrotes and barstewards joining any forums at all IMO

If someone needs help, then that's good enough.

So do you propose that anyone who claims to be short of money or a female should nt have to pay for the TV licence ?
Then they can spend it on a £40 a month latest mobile phone contract instead because all these young housewives appear to be glued to them

I propose that we don't have a TV Licence. If we have to have a TV Tax, it should be related to ability to pay.