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Hi i had a visit from a tv licensing agent and i refused to co-operate as there is'nt a tv in the flat, i got fed up with their threatening letters and their attitude, to these people we are put into two catagories, "licence payers or licence dodgers", has anyone had similar dealings with these people, if so what happened?
Cheers..
Hi,
This is probably know help to you but I experienced the TV licensing agent, many years ago now.
I said I have NO TV, (which I didn't) I lived in a flat then. In those days people used to say they couldn't prove you had a TV on in your particular flat because the block used a communal aerial. I think because of those assumptions they used to pick on flats to investigate quite alot.
Anyway I then got a letter from them saying i needed to get a license.
I promptly replied saying why do they assume every one has a TV, etc......
The letter was not particularly polite, I was a bit of a wild child then.
I never heard another thing.
As you don't have a TV, i would just ignore them, they can't do any thing if you don't own a TV.
Like you, I feel extremely irritated where they assume every dwelling in the country has a TV in it!
I do own a TV now & the appropriate license but its for the family, I still hardly ever watch it.
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You do not have to offer any cooperation whatsoever especially as you have no tv.
You could always just ignore them in the hope they get a warrant of entry from the court to enter your home. When they do this you can watch them like a hawk and when they move something, make sure they put it back in the exact same position.
You do know that you can legally have a television in your house, the license is for using it.
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Hi Al. No, the licence is for using (any) equipment to receive a 'live' broadcast.
You can watch streeming on your PC of programmes that have already been broadcast, but you can't use your PC (with a tv card) to watch programmes as they are broadcast, without a license.
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You can also have a TV in your house for the purpose of watching DVDs or playing game consoles etc. The advice is make sure an aerial is not connected and to de-tune any stations.
So does that mean that if I were to Sky+ everything and watch it 5 minutes 'behind schedule' so to speak, that I wouldn't need a license?
Unfortunately not! It is an offence to watch or record live or near live broadcasts without a license. However, it is NOT an offence if you use BBC iPlayer, or C4 and ITVs versions to download and watch programmes. So if you are happy to wait for your programmes and miss some (not all are shown online), then you can do without a license.
I believe SKY are now offering a similar service too, so its becoming more and more possible to do without a license. Of course, the government is no doubt plotting ways to close this loophole.
I was having similar problems, with me newly moving in to my own house. Not being one to really watch tv, if its on i will watch it but as i am often out in an evening with my hobbies, i watched it 4 on demand to catch up on the few programmes i did watch. I paid the tv licence as i thought that because i had the tv i needed to get one, but as the bills started rolling in i had to work out what i needed and what i didnt. A tv licence i could do with out. So i called them up, and asked them to cancel my tv licence. The lady on the other end tried so many ways for me to keep it, but i said that i didnt want to use my tv anymore. She asked a few questions, testing if i would be using it for anything she could charge me for. I said i play dvds, i play on the games console and i download programmes to view in my own time. She said that i had to make sure the ariel was out of the tv and that if someone came round they would want to check it. So much so i took the metal bit off the end of the wire so theres no chance they can say i just took it out.
Since then i know i can watch my tv online as and when i want and its free. I've also had several people i know saying i still need a licence, but as i explained to them they have said its a usefull bit of info especially with the ever growing credit crunch.
I would also de-tune your channels as an extra precaution as they might try and say you use an indoor aerial. Of course, you do not have to allow an enquiry officer into your house unless he has a warrant.
I would also de-tune your channels as an extra precaution as they might try and say you use an indoor aerial. Of course, you do not have to allow an enquiry officer into your house unless he has a warrant.
But you do have to show him the television if you have one and he asks to see it, which could be difficult to do without allowing access given the size of modern sets.
But you do have to show him the television if you have one and he asks to see it, which could be difficult to do without allowing access given the size of modern sets.
But you do not have to let a TVL agent into your house unless he has a warrant. He can't get a warrant without first presenting evidence to the magistrate that you are watching TV without a licence. If you do show him your TV and it is not connected to an aerial and is de-tuned, then no offence can be proved.
TVL has to have more than 'you have a telly so might have been watching it' case to put to any judge before a warrant is issued, they also need a bit more than reasonable suspicion.
In reply to daKlones question:
So does that mean that if I were to Sky+ everything and watch it 5 minutes 'behind schedule' so to speak, that I wouldn't need a license?
and robins:
Unfortunately not!
Any type of receiver that can receive live television transmissions as robin says, needs a license.
However, that doesn't mean that your mate down the road can't record them for you to watch.
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A friend of mine was involved with TV licensing about 30 years ago.
In the UK, it's nothing to do with "possession", it's all to do with "use".
If it is connected to a power supply, then that is "use" - connected mind you, not just capable of being connected.
Although disconnecting the aerial is not a bad thing, a better way of demonstrating non-use would be to remove the plug from the mains lead, or remove the battery clips if you use it on DC.
And in reply to an earlier post about disconnecting from a communal aerial, the detectors that are used to identify a TV that is in use don't rely on the aerial, they work by detecting a tiny signal from an oscillator inside the set.
It's called a "local oscillator" as opposed to an oscillator in the TV transmitter, which isn't local, of course.
Possession and use are used differently in other countries, a friend of mine has a flat in Durban, and visits about twice each year to see her children.
The flat has a TV, which she doesn't use, but she has to pay a licence fee each year - much cheaper than here, but the programmes are even crappier, and as some are in Afrikaans, and some in the native language, of which there are several............!
Hope this helps?
For the sake of clarification, the present situation is: It is an offence to use television receiving equipment to watch or record live or near live television transmissions without a licence.
This applies to any type of receiving equipment including tv cards in computers, digiboxes and Sky TV. It also means any TV transmission, analogue, digital or satellite TV.
Any other use is perfectly legal, such as watching DVDs or playing consoles
like the X-Box. You do not need a licence if you only use the equipment for such purposes. Removing the plug would not be particularly practical in that case!
TVL has to have more than 'you have a telly so might have been watching it' case to put to any judge before a warrant is issued, they also need a bit more than reasonable suspicion.
I recall a story from Scotland (different law?) some time ago. A family had no TV but were being pursued by the TVL. Eventually they turned up with a warrent for entry and the family refused them entry.
Court case ensued at which the family counter charged the TVL with purjury on the grounds that since they did not have a TV set the TVL had knowingly or recklessly made a false statement that they did have a set. The TVL claimed to have seen the "flickering light" of a TV....it was a computer monitor.
I had similar problem in that when we were in the worst of our debt situation our tv's vertical hold went so picture just kept rolling madly. We did not renew license as we were unable to afford a repair or new tv at that time. We had a visit from the Tv detector van (this was in time when they used to wind up some type of detector on top of van) When I open the door the block was adamant we were using TV (though it was broke). We had to switch it on to show him his atitude changed then he advised us to move the tv away from ariel and socket. He would make a note on file the we would get a new licence when TV repaired or replaced, we heard nothing further.
I know they have no right of enrty without warrent as this gent asked us if he could enter our house to check after initial argument on doorstep.
tv licence agents.
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Originally Posted by Conniff
20/03/2008 settled in full out of court
