TV License Idiots

[destro404]

For the second time I come home to a letter from the TV licensing twats.... "We know that you recently purchased a piece of TV receiving equipment". This time because I bought a freeview receiver, the last time it was because I bought a telly.

They want me to prove I have a TV license as they don't have one under my name at my address (it's in my girlfriends name). They demand I explain myself to them by calling them.

Stupid twats must not know how to use a computer. You've seen the adverts - We know when you don't have a TV license, we will find you blah blah blah. Well why the fuck can't they tell when I do have a TV license.

I've nothing to hide but these letters really piss me off. Why can't they do a simple address search or even remember that we have a license already from the last bloody time I phoned them and told them the same thing! Fuckers.

[Pegasus]

We get the same letters, and all I do is throw them in the bin.

If the cunts are too lazy to do an address search to check the license, then it's not my problem and they can certainly go & fuck themselves if they think I'm going to take the time (and expense) to call them.

As far as I'm concerned, if they want to see our TV license then they can come to me.

[burner1]

My sister has had the same problem for 8 years, she got divorced and has told them every bloody time they chase her for a licence (Which she has) they have still got her on their system under her married name.

[flumperino]

I got some letters a few years ago, basically saying they were gonna come round a fcuk me up the a*s if I didn't pay up.

This was quite maddening as I was reading it whilst holding my licence in my other hand...muppets

[Possy_99]

..whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty... I get similar crap from them, and I totally agree, if they want to check something, they should make the effort and not send a letter asking for information they already have.

..same as people sending me letter sayin they're comin such n such a time.. fair enough, I hope they don't think I'm going to stay in just for them tho.. MAKE A FKING APPOINTMENT like we have to with you..FKERS!

..rant over.

[RogerMcLitty]

I had a similar thing with my Council Tax.. when I first moved in, I applied for the single person's discount or "sad mans living allowance" as it is more commonly known. They write back saying they are going to be visiting at some time like 2:30 in the afternoon to check my house out to see if anyone else is living there...

So I phoned them up: "I can't take time off just for you go through my wardrobes looking for women's clothes"
them: "isn't there anyone else living there that can take the day off?"
me: "er.. no, I live alone.. isn't that the whole point of the visit?"
them: "um.. OK.. we'll call you back".

They never called back, and I got the discount. F'cking idiots. And before I even got to that stage I was doing the house up so applied for the council tax to be frozen. About 2 months later (around May / June last year) they got back to me with a letter saying I owed 3 months back tax because I'd been living there (I hadn't). So I chucked that letter in the bin, didn't bother responding to it, then filled in another form saying I was moving in end of August (the form I applied for the discount on), and they seemed to forget the original letter chasing me for money! It's worrying that these people are running the country!

[MonkeySputum]

regardless of the fact you weren't living there, you had taken tenancy of the house/flat so were therefore liable for council tax payments

So I phoned them up: "I can't take time off just for you go through my wardrobes looking for women's clothes"

as for that, they would have to prove that said women's clothes actually belonged to a woman

[chubblies]

I cant believe the amount on df who pay for a licence! Hack xboxes, cable, modems, dboxes etc etc but get around a licence, never!
They only work from a database of tv, freeview, etc subscribers or owners, just say you bought a tv but then returned it or say it was a present. Detector vans are a myth and even if they do exist, they do not have the right to enter your house unless they have a warrant, and if someone did knock on your door, just deny owning a tv and dont allow the cunts in.
I have had around 3 inspectors visit me in the 6 years I have not had a licence, and they are easy as fuck to fob off, they ask "do you own a tv and come I come in", I reply "no I dont and no you fucking cant";-)

[RogerMcLitty]

regardless of the fact you weren't living there, you had taken tenancy of the house/flat so were therefore liable for council tax payments

as for that, they would have to prove that said women's clothes actually belonged to a woman

Not true - if you can prove the house is empty you don't have to pay council tax on the property. You get (I think) an initial 3 or 6 month period, can't remember, then after that it gets investigated to see if it is still empty.

My sister had a similar situation, where she built an extra storey onto her house. She was living at my parents house during that time so she didn't have to pay Council Tax on her property.

As for the women's clothing - I'd feel sorry for any tax inspector who had to imagine me wearing a bra and knickers!

[RogerMcLitty]

Detector vans are a myth and even if they do exist, they do not have the right to enter your house unless they have a warrant

I thought there was a method of detection where a sort of signal "leak" comes from your aerial - but can only be detected from fairly close by, so what the TV Licence people do is go to the properties on their database with no licence, then check for this signal leak? I don't know how truthful that is though - I saw it on some site explaining how to avoid paying your TV Licence. PS in case any inspectors are reading, I do indeed pay my licence, don't come knocking.

I think the site I saw the TV Detection info on was: http://www.tvlicensing.biz/ but not 10% sure.

[chubblies]

An ariel will receive all radio waves pretty much, there is no way that they can tell what channel you are actually watching, if that were the case, you would be in theory watching/listening to every radio wave that the ariel could receive being transmited at that particular time!! With digital too, it is a digital encrypted signal so again no way can the detect it without a direct connection
TV ariels & dishes receive only remember, so there is no way that an ariel can transmit what you are watching.
When was the last time you heard of a person being caught by a detector van?

[Possy_99]

naah, TV detector vans are not efficient at all (IF they exist) I quite happily have my tv turned on playing DVD's or my xbox, safe in the knowledge that I do not need a license so long as I do not recieve any outside broadcasts, including radio (and I've had this confirmed by them in an email which I have kept as proof should they feel the need to continue their harassment)

so what if they detect a TV, doesn't automatically mean I need a license.

[BertRoot]

Vans are empty. They cannot detect anything apart from the info off their database using some query or other.

[MonkeySputum]

naah, TV detector vans are not efficient at all (IF they exist) I quite happily have my tv turned on playing DVD's or my xbox, safe in the knowledge that I do not need a license so long as I do not recieve any outside broadcasts, including radio (and I've had this confirmed by them in an email which I have kept as proof should they feel the need to continue their harassment)

so what if they detect a TV, doesn't automatically mean I need a license.

as i understand it (from what theytell us), any equipment capable of receiving and showing BBC television needs a licence. i look forward to the day they start showing adverts

[Possy_99]

yeah, we all know the real reason behind a license is the BBC, but it is any reception of broadcasts via tv or public radio bands in general.

Dear Sir/Madam

Thank you for contacting us.

Television and video recorders, whether used separately or together,
must be licensed if they are used to receive or record television
programme services. If you use either a video recorder or a colour
television, you will need a colour television licence. Televisions
which are used with a home computer or video gamemachine must be
licensed if they are ever used to receive television programme
services, otherwise no licence is needed.



Also as long as your DVD player is only used to watch DVD's, and cannot record
any channels, then no licence would be required.

If your television equipment is used to receive or record television
programme services, you should buy a licence at once. However, if your
equipment is not used for these purposes, please let me know. I will
then make sure our records are changed to show you do not need a
television licence for your address.

I hope this information is helpful.

Yours Sincerely
Darren Forster
Customer Services

[urbsy]

I got a tv license letter, followed by the old 'we will come and remove your stuff' letter. Sadly they fell down onto the concrete floor well before we actually installed the inside partitions of the house.

Wtf were they gonna do exactly? do me for having a house with no internal walls or floors? , absolute idiots indeed.

On a side note, I won in a competition run by Volkswagen a top spec tv at work. Obviously I took it home where I did have a license, a few weeks later I get a letter at work informing me that as I have a telly I now need a tv license, ffs!!!!!
I have always had a portable telly for teletext shares and hoss results in me office and now the cunt's have registered me works premises as owning a telly I've had to get a seperate license the wankers.

urbsy

[Over Carl]

That reply about tv for console was surprising, im sure the law says you need one if you have equipment capable of recieving.

I'm not sure if they have detectors, but I think they might do cos at an old unlicensed address, they sent loads of letters, then one day I was just stood in the neighbours drive talking to him, when we noticed an official looking person knock on the front door, then walk back round all the cars, and he walked to the front window, stayed there for a couple of minutes, then came back and posted something. I went inside and found the last letter we got from them, and found my flatmate was watching tv. I don't know what he was doing at the front window cos a van was blocking my view, but I always suspected he had a hand held detector.

[Possy_99]

..im sure the law says you need one if you have equipment capable of recieving.

yeah, but if you look at it another way, if you have a car you have the capability of driving it on the road, but if it's not on the road, you don't need to pay tax for it..

admittently the reply is a year or two old, but I can't imagine it's gonna change.. I'd be seriously p'd... I I just don't see how they could justify it.

[MonkeySputum]

We have a range of detection tools at our disposal in our vans. Some aspects of the equipment have been developed in such secrecy that engineers working on specific detection methods work in isolation - so not even they know how the other detection methods work. This gives us the best chance of catching licence evaders.

pmsl

roughly translated, "we have a kettle and a microwave in the back of our vans alongside the computer for checking if premises are licenced or not as it can be thirsty work looking at internet porn (oops, i meant tv licence databases) all day"

[Fusen]

I was thinking of this myself as when I bought my freeview box I had to tell them the tv license owners name and shit at the shop, so all you have to do is buy a tv online or second hand and they wont have your in their db then if they get your address via other organisations just say you dont have a tv ;P