Cancel the TV Licence Fee!!!

[legalpickle]

TV Licensing Campaign:

The BBC Trust is conducting a survey of the collections methods used by TV Licensing after [just] allegations about heavy-handed tactics at BBC Trust - consultation on TV licence fee collection. Many articles have popped up across the internet with personalities such as a previous BBC Director-General – Greg Dyke [what a name at Dyke: Scrap the licence fee.
Apparently it costs BBC Trust £200 million per annum to collect the TV Licencing fees! The money saved by scrapping the TV tax database and sacking the inspectors round would pay for the radio.

One comment on a website said “I do not own a firearm, but the licensing authority (ie, the police) do not send me a threatening letter every other week. I do not distill whisky, and HM customs and Excise do not pester me. I do not own a car and I do not receive mail from the DVLA badgering me to buy a licence. In fact, I do not own or do anything that requires a licence and that includes a television. So why have I been subjected, for the last three years, to what can only be described as harrassment from the agency collecting TV licence fees?” I can only say how right that comment is.

The review of the techniques used to collect TV Licences is on the one hand, well overdue, but on the other hand unnecessary. Why is it unnecessary? Firstly, because anybody who is not in denial knows that the techniques used are heavy-handed and a review is not necessary to find that out. Secondly, and most importantly, because the TV Licence fee is a waste of money and the reason I for one don’t use a TV.

The free channels for the public are meant to be exactly that. In no other country do they have such excessively priced TV licences with bailiffs used to collect a licence fee for somebody who has never owned a TV! All this comes down to the one question; if the TV licence is reaching the end of its days [like Gordon Brown ] what should replace it? This is my proposal;

1.Scrap the current TV licencing fee, and most of the TV licencing staff, including all their enforcement team and callcentre contracts – Save at least £200m per annum, probably closer to £500m.
2.Impose a blanket tax of £7.50 per receiving equipment [freeview box and suchlike, including TV cards] bought and a blanket tax of £15 on any TV bought. To raise another £500m per annum at these proposed figures, 33m pieces of receiving equipment and 16m TV’s would need to be sold each year.
3.Impose a 15% blanket tax on profits of all TV broadcasts across every TV network that are broadcast in the UK.
4.All users of subscription based services [Sky, Virgin, Setanta, BT Vision, Tiscali TV, TopUpTV,…] get charged £8 monthly on top of their subscription. This is paid through their susbcription and not directly to any “TV Licensing” authority. Every 5.43m subscribers each year would make £500m/per annum.
5.Privatize Lonely Planet and any other profitable BBC Worldwide services. BBC is meant to be completely not for profit. I imagine that as offering:
a.Sports, Culture, Business, Sports & News [National & Worldwide] TV channels.
b.Local News as well as above on Radio.
c.UK National news offered worldwide, both online and via “partners” in other countries.
I can hardly imagine that the BBC of today is what it was set up to be. Today it is a massive commercial behemoth funded by our [taxpayers] money. If the BBC were to sell off all its profitable assets it would most likely make a lot more than running them. The current BBC is one big anti-competitive practice, but we don’t see the “Office of eFfed-up Trading” or the supposed “Competition Commission-ing authority” ) waking up from their deep slumber, do we? Nope. BBC can get away with ripping us all off.

I am sure that those very channels could also raise a heck of a lot of money just from their advertising. Also, all the savings by chopping the BBC up into bite-sized pieces would more than cover this illegal tax!

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If you agree with me then fill in the Consultation at BBC Trust - consultation on TV licence fee collection and write a letter to the BBC Trust, TV Licencing, Ofcom and your MP [as well as clicking my scales ]. Any other recommendations to deal with this fraud tax or addresses are welcome!

BBC Trust:
e-mail: trust.enquiries@bbc.co.uk
BBC Trust Unit,
Room 211,
35 Marylebone High Street,
London,
W1U 4AA

Ofcom:
fax: 0207-981-3333
Ofcom,
Riverside House,
2a Southwark Bridge Road,
London,
SE1 9HA

TV Licencing:
fax: 0844-800-5816
TV Licensing,
Bristol,
BS98 1TL

[ScabHunter]

The licensing system is such an abysmal disgrace I cannot believe there have not been massive protests and movements to get it changed.

I don't know anyone who agrees with it.

For what it is worth, I have no TV receiving equipment, and no interest in turning off five channels of atrocious drivel.

For not wanting to be force fed "entertainment" which is totally unfit for human consumption, I am harassed like a common criminal.

SH

	Are you letting your bank keep your money Are you giving away thousands of pounds?? Many people aren't claiming all of the money they are entitled to when they make their bank charges claims. You have been forced to pay unfair bank charges. Have you forgotten that your bank has charged you inteest on those charges? If you are overdrawn and the bank owes you charges - then your overdraft is made up of charges - money which you bank owes you. Yet you are paying interest to the bank - on your own money!!! Follow this link to see the discussions on this. You might even double th size of your claim.

[legalpickle]

Originally Posted by ScabHunter

The licensing system is such an abysmal disgrace I cannot believe there have not been massive protests and movements to get it changed.

I don't know anyone who agrees with it.

For what it is worth, I have no TV receiving equipment, and no interest in turning off five channels of atrocious drivel.

For not wanting to be force fed "entertainment" which is totally unfit for human consumption, I am harassed like a common criminal.

SH

Thanks for the support!

Then follow the link here:
BBC Trust - consultation on TV licence fee collection

And fill in the consultation according to my recommendations in my post.

Also, please feel free to click on the scales at the bottom of the box to the right of my post to signal your support of my post and thread.

	Are you letting your bank keep your money Are you giving away thousands of pounds?? Many people aren't claiming all of the money they are entitled to when they make their bank charges claims. You have been forced to pay unfair bank charges. Have you forgotten that your bank has charged you inteest on those charges? If you are overdrawn and the bank owes you charges - then your overdraft is made up of charges - money which you bank owes you. Yet you are paying interest to the bank - on your own money!!! Follow this link to see the discussions on this. You might even double th size of your claim.

[midge61]

Agree totally. I had tv officer on my doorstep after paying by cheque but it not being registered. I also tried to pay my licence in full after having paid 3 months of dd and then changing bank and said I did not want to set up another dd and at the time had the funds to clear it but they said they could not do it like that!

Filled in.

[mfpa]

And what about their crazy installment systems? You can pay weekly, fortnightly or monthly with a payment card at a convenience store but can only pay by internet banking if you can afford the full annual fee in one lump. They seem to be incapable of working out that a payment with the tv licence number as reference is a payment towards that licence, yet they can write and tell you they don't know what the payment was for, using the licence number as reference on their letter.

[citizenB]

legal pickle. I did try to click on your scales, but the pop up message said I couldnt

[legalpickle]

Originally Posted by citizenB

legal pickle. I did try to click on your scales, but the pop up message said I couldnt

Don't know why. Maybe you clicked twice or something? What message did it give you?

[MARTIN3030]

Having checked things-all appears to be functioning ok.
CB the only explanation could be that you have reached limits (only a certain feedback number per day-and also per specific user)
This ensures feedback is operated fairly.
LP you can check your FB count by looking in your user control panel and scrolling down.

[citizenB]

Originally Posted by legalpickle

Don't know why. Maybe you clicked twice or something? What message did it give you?

The message I receive is "sorry you cannot give reputation to this post"

Originally Posted by MARTIN3030

Having checked things-all appears to be functioning ok.
CB the only explanation could be that you have reached limits (only a certain feedback number per day-and also per specific user)
This ensures feedback is operated fairly.
LP you can check your FB count by looking in your user control panel and scrolling down.

Thanks Martin, although I havent clicked any other scales today. Perhaps my past is catching up with me.

[legalpickle]

Originally Posted by MARTIN3030

Having checked things-all appears to be functioning ok.
CB the only explanation could be that you have reached limits (only a certain feedback number per day-and also per specific user)
This ensures feedback is operated fairly.
LP you can check your FB count by looking in your user control panel and scrolling down.

My feedback count is 248, the last being on 30th October. I have two positive feedbacks on my first post in this thread.

citizenB; Maybe try giving me feedback on another post, other than my first post, in this thread? Ta.

[citizenB]

Originally Posted by legalpickle

.

citizenB; Maybe try giving me feedback on another post, other than my first post, in this thread? Ta.

Sorted

[legalpickle]

Originally Posted by citizenB

Sorted

Came through! Ta !

[djrobst]

they should just put a levvy on everyone who wants to put a tv channel out on broadcast. so if u want on terrestial tv, then u pay the most for ur channel, if u get a service u pay for like sky or cable then u pay less for the private network but still they cover the cost so people dont need to buy licences.

or put a tax on all the tv kit you buy and need to give ur name and address for tv licnecing to check u have a licence. or put a small premium on peoples bills for sky/cable etc.

the tv licnece is stupid i think when they cud save everyone the hassell and pay for it in other ways

or even better just privitise the bbc and have it ran like itv, channel 4 etc, who cares if they hoy adverts on them. some broadcaster would love the chance to buy them out and then they would be no need for this old lisence at all

i get sick of paying for a licnce, not coz of the cost coz its next to nothing over the year, just the inconvienance of having to pay on a card every month and knowing if u dont then they can hammer you to bit.

at the end of the day they shouldnt be able to fine you a grand for not having a liscence its rediculous. if you sack off your water bill or coucil tax they dont fine you for that under a criminal offence. they take you to court for defaulting on payments.

at the very least tv licnecing should be delt with in this way like a bill, not as a criminal offence not to have one. its so out dated it makes no sense to me.

after all for the sake of £130 you shouldnt be taking people to court to prosecute them for not having a licence. its a bill and should be treat same as if you dont pay ur water rates