TV Licence - Why Bother?

Feed The Goat

Well-Known Forumite
I have just seen that I need to buy a new TV licence and was wondering whether to bother? Are their any forum members who are renegades who don't go along with this outdated tradition. Just wondering?
 
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wmrcomputers

Stafford PC & laptop repair specialist
Personally I've always had one. In this day and age you need one to legally own a laptop let alone a TV set - due to the fact that a laptop is capable of watching BBC channels on demand.

I would personally rather see the BBC displaying adverts to make their money and do away with the TV licence altogether. We manage it like this for at least 100 other channels so a few more wouldn't hurt ;)
 

wmrcomputers

Stafford PC & laptop repair specialist
PS - You are more likely to be caught and fined if you had one and then don't bother renewing it, than if you'd never had one in the first place.
 

Feed The Goat

Well-Known Forumite
Yes, I guess that is my point. When you can watch tv on your phone etc, it all just seems ridiculous that the licence still exists. Growing up in the 1970's I did however love the fear that you were being tracked by tv detector vans. Brilliant.
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
In this day and age you need one to legally own a laptop let alone a TV set - due to the fact that a laptop is capable of watching BBC channels on demand.

This is not so - you are only required to have a licence if you actually watch, or record, TV as it is broadcast, http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/?WT.ac=home_plt_check , merely having the capability to do so does not require a licence. You can even watch recorded stuff from iPlayer without a licence - mad, but true. I have asked them if the live broadcasts on YouTube require a licence, but got no answer.

If you have ever had a licence and then stop having one, they will hound you for ever, sometimes as frequently as monthly. They're still after me after thirty years.

If Osama bin Laden didn't have a licence for that telly that he was watching when they found him, then he would have been located within six weeks.

Some countries are moving to Broadcasting Licences to cover the situation that TV Licencing are happy for people to believe is the situation here - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23353386 . It's not really about just covering evasion, as the BBC report says, but covering the many anomalies that now occur, much as happened here when the radio licence ended up being abandoned after the transistor radio appeared..
 

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
Hang on a sec. I don't watch anything live, really not a thing. Why would you? Everything I want can be got on demand, yet I'm still paying for a TV sub from talktalk as I like having all the catchup channels on a single device. So I am certainly capable of receiving the channels but I don't use them. How would I prove this, or do they have to prove I do use them?

In all honesty though I'll probably carry on paying it, as most of the TV I do watch is old BBC stuff that ends up on Dave. I do therefore watch it eventually, and would rather it got made. Oh and Sherlock, am happy to pay for Sherlock!
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
How would I prove this, or do they have to prove I do use them?

You are innocent until found guilty. It's up to them to convince a court that you have engaged in activity that would have required a licence. They are very evasive if you question them about this subject, but if you don't watch (live), or record TV broadcasts yourself, then you do not need to possess a licence.

My car will do a 100mph, but the cops still have to catch me speeding - not that I do.

Specifically, the licence is to receive* broadcast television, you don't even have to watch it, hence you will be liable for recording a show, if even you haven't actually watched it.

I'm not sure what the situation is now, but in the old days, registered blind people were allowed £1.50 off a TV licence - crazy!

* - not be capable of receiving.
 

db

#chaplife
Hang on a sec. I don't watch anything live, really not a thing. Why would you? Everything I want can be got on demand, yet I'm still paying for a TV sub from talktalk as I like having all the catchup channels on a single device. So I am certainly capable of receiving the channels but I don't use them. How would I prove this, or do they have to prove I do use them?

In all honesty though I'll probably carry on paying it, as most of the TV I do watch is old BBC stuff that ends up on Dave. I do therefore watch it eventually, and would rather it got made. Oh and Sherlock, am happy to pay for Sherlock!

if you genuinely do not watch anything live, you can declare this on the TV licence form and send it back to them, which in theory means you don't have to pay..

since i've never known anyone to do this, i'm intrigued by the process and how simple/effective it is/isn't - so if you quality, tek, please do this and let us know how you get on!
 

My Name is URL

Well-Known Forumite
In this day and age you need one to legally own a laptop let alone a TV set - due to the fact that a laptop is capable of watching BBC channels on demand.


Gram is spot on and the quote above is a very wrong statement. You can watch as much on-demand as you like with no tv licence needed.

As mentioned, TV Licencing will hound you with many letters with extra large and BOLD red writing along the lines of "WARNING" or even "FINAL WARNING".... but in reality that may be as far as it ever goes. If you are unlucky then they may call at your house to check but if you really aren't watching live TV then you have nothing to worry about.

Tek, my usual advice in this situation is to detune the channels on the TV and unplug the aerial and don't even have the cable there for it (so there is no suspicion that you have quickly just unplugged it from the socket when they called) and that way you can (if you wished to) show the TVL people that your TV is not connected to an aerial or tuned in..... there is certainly no requirement to do that though - tell them to sod off if you really want to - the onus would certainly be on them to prove in court that you were watching live TV.

Not sure how this would fly with talktalk though - if the live channels are through the aerial and the on demand through t'internet could you disconnect the aerial and detune the box and still use ondemand?
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
if you genuinely do not watch anything live, you can declare this on the TV licence form and send it back to them, which in theory means you don't have to pay..

since i've never known anyone to do this, i'm intrigued by the process and how simple/effective it is/isn't - so if you quality, tek, please do this and let us know how you get on!

Basically, the procedure is that they won't believe you - at least not for the first thirty years, in my experience.

They will continue to contact you, by letter and visit, in order to 'update their records', which don't need updating because nothing has changed.
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
When they visit, the usual approach is "Do you have a TV licence, Sir?", when they know full-well that you don't - I normally say "Yes", just to confuse them, and show them my 1983 licence. "But, this is out of date, Sir" - "Yes, and so are all your programmes!" - It's all part of the fun.

On one occasion , I asked the chap why nobody ever comes round to ask why I don't have a shotgun licence - "Have you got a shotgun?", he asked, nervously "No, but I'll be getting one if you don't stop hassling me.."
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
As mentioned, TV Licencing will hound you with many letters with extra large and BOLD red writing along the lines of "WARNING" or even "FINAL WARNING".... but in reality that may be as far as it ever goes. If you are unlucky then they may call at your house to check but if you really aren't watching live TV then you have nothing to worry about.

Their letters leave a lot to be desired in terms of wording - they are apparently intended to intimidate. I've had well over a hundred letters, about fifteen visits and have twice been told that I'll be 'interviewed under caution', without this actually happening - yet.

For people not in a position to know the real truth this is very intimidating - the elderly*, foreigners, etc.

* I do not include myself here.
 

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
Gram is spot on and the quote above is a very wrong statement. You can watch as much on-demand as you like with no tv licence needed.

As mentioned, TV Licencing will hound you with many letters with extra large and BOLD red writing along the lines of "WARNING" or even "FINAL WARNING".... but in reality that may be as far as it ever goes. If you are unlucky then they may call at your house to check but if you really aren't watching live TV then you have nothing to worry about.

Tek, my usual advice in this situation is to detune the channels on the TV and unplug the aerial and don't even have the cable there for it (so there is no suspicion that you have quickly just unplugged it from the socket when they called) and that way you can (if you wished to) show the TVL people that your TV is not connected to an aerial or tuned in..... there is certainly no requirement to do that though - tell them to sod off if you really want to - the onus would certainly be on them to prove in court that you were watching live TV.

Not sure how this would fly with talktalk though - if the live channels are through the aerial and the on demand through t'internet could you disconnect the aerial and detune the box and still use ondemand?


I'm pretty sure thats how it works, live TV through the aerial and catchup through the internet. At present I don't really mind paying as such, they do make some good shows, but I'll see how their leadup to the next election goes. If they start getting biased towards either smarmy wanker or the wallace and gromit guy though I'll scrap it, no point paying to get brainwashed when other channels offer that service for free.
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
'interviewed under caution'
Can they do that? I thought only plod had the right to do that.

That's exactly what they said - but, then they've never actually done it.

Their letters are full of inaccuracies - they used to say "if you watch television without a licence, then you are committing an offence" - I spent years averting my gaze when walking past Currys.
 

wmrcomputers

Stafford PC & laptop repair specialist
I stand corrected one and all, sorry. I was educated many years ago that just owning a TV set or even a car stereo gave them the right to insist you posses a licence whether you watched it or not. Evidentally I was wrong.

Now, to Gramaisc's points I am the user of a YouView box. Indeed they get live TV and record shows through an aerial, but also have on demand stuff too. Now from what people are saying, if I delete all of the BBC channels from the actual TV guide which would still allow me live TV from other stations, and then only have the ability to use BBC programs from the on demand services - that would make me be okay licence free? Legally speaking?

In a way I'm with fatfrog and paying for my TV licence has never bothered me. But then the more I think about how little I use BBC channels, and when I do it's usually via On Demand anyway, that does kinda get me to thinking that £145 is one of our kids main Christmas presents, or a day out to the seaside, or even a nice new TV every few years!!! ;)
 

wmrcomputers

Stafford PC & laptop repair specialist
TV Licencing said:
The law states that you need to be covered by a TV Licence if you watch or record television programmes, on any device, as they're being shown on TV. This includes TVs, computers, mobile phones, games consoles, digital boxes and Blu-ray/DVD/VHS recorders.
You don't need a licence if you don't use any of these devices to watch or record television programmes as they're being shown on TV - for example, if you use your TV only to watch DVDs or play video games, or you only watch ‘catch up’ services like BBC iPlayer or 4oD.

as found here
 

Gramaisc

Forum O. G.
You don't have to be incapable of receiving live broadcasts, you just have to not receive them.

The licence is required to receive live broadcasts (including reception for recording), not for the possession of the means to do so.

In much the same way as you could continue to own a car if your driving licence was suspended, but you couldn't drive it on the highway.
 

wmrcomputers

Stafford PC & laptop repair specialist
My confision now is that they've mentioned 4oD - that's not BBC though is it? Or are they using that as an example of reverse psycology?
 
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