Ive just moved house with the wife and weve been looking at the tv licence for when we get the freeview hooked next week at some point.Ive looked onlne and was about to arrange the DD payments when I notice they are trying to charge me for a full years licence,(£145.50) for a licence that will expire in Febuary of next year? They are trying to take £24.25 a month then in febuary it will go down to £12.18 for next year.Is this legit? can they really make you pay for a full year when your already hal;fway through the year? does that mean if Id moved in january Id have to pay £145.50 for one month of tv?

thats std

you typically end up 6mts in advance by the time next years comes around

if you move, you just fill in a form to get the excess back

doing that meself now

dx

Ok Im not sure if this in the forum but even so............

Last sunday while I was out at football TV licensing turned up at my house and spoke to my partner who was home alone with our 6 week old baby.

My partner has no idea of the legalities and when the TV licensing official said he had the right of entry to search our home she let him in.

He then saw our tv and threatened to prosecute us for having no tv licence.

Let me make it clear, our tv is not connected to any aerial, freeview or skybox. We have no aerial connection in our home, indeed the aerial had been cut about 8 feet from the ground outside our home.

We have a ps3 connected to the tv which we use for dvds, blu rays and games. It is not connected to any aerial or internet source to receive any programmes. Quite simply put tv and ps3 are stand alone with no signal input whatsoever.

I have checked the tv licensing website and we come under the exempt bracket as we ONLY watch prerecorded programming such as dvds and blu rays.

I have made a complaint about the official gaining entry to our home illegally and threatening my partner but the police do not want to know. They seem to think as we have a console we need a licence, which we dont.

I have attempted to make a complaint on the grounds that the official lied to my partner and terrified her while home alone with a baby but they are still not interested.

I have today emailed tv licensing and havent heard back from them yet.

Has anyone else had a similar situation?

They will use the argument that your set is capable of receiving live pictures whether connected or not, if the receiver part is disabled then you are OK.

PT

Well our tv is a massive 42 inch rear projection, but it does not have freeview built in, and nor do we have a freeview box or anything else connected to it. Id have thought that would be a pretty obvious give away to the dick that come out from tv licensing.

The "dick" from TV Licensing is a self employed salesman working for Capita, he isn't interested in legalities, he wants his commission for selling you a TV Licence. If they did summons you you would have to use the fact that the set is not capable of receiving any broadcast transmission as it is analogue, and omnly a games console is connected as was seen by the Capita salesman on his visit, and further there isn't an aerial lead to connect to any receiving apparatus.

Ive taken that info and tracked down a complaints section from capita. Ive emailed a raging comlplaint to them, and pointed out the fact that out tv aerial is in fact cut approx 8 feet from the ground of our house so its wouldnt exactly take sherlock to realise our tv isnt connected to an aerial lol.

Ive also told them Im going to the police about the official saying he had a right to enter and search and terrifying my partner. Im not letting these heavy handed tactics go unanswered. I just wish hed tried it on me. He woudlnt have tried it with anyone else again thats for sure.

This on youtube may interest you hhh_88873:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlzIrJNyTec&feature=related

Remember if anyone does use a TV without a licence to receive live broadcasts on their own head be it, but it still does not permit TVL Capita to assume as it does, that everyone owns a TV so is therefore a target for harassment that would get a debt collection agencies licence withdrawn and attract unwanted attention from the OFT

Be warned though, if you have broadband as I am presuming you do then you still need a TV licence as you can still watch programmes via the internet. Im afraid that the onus will be on you to prove that you do not. Only for BBC iplayer as I have just learned

http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/topics/what-if-a-tv-licence-is-not-needed-top12/

You can request from your service provider back dated data usage, this will help with your proof.

well this is interesting.

http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/about/foi-legal-framework-AB16/

You learn something new every day, read the 8th fact down

Internet and TV is a grey area, as if you have a modern TV with a network connection , TV licence will be needed, but the mere presence of a broadband is not indicative of watching, live programmes, many broadband connections are too slow to reliably stream a programme and TVL would have to prove that that IP address was streaming data from a "Live" as it is being broadcast feed, not easy with dynamic IP's.

I am a heavy user but it is for software updates and game patches as i have online gamers in the house. Incidentally if you only ever watch "Catch Up" feeds, and there is no Sky + or Freeview installed then a license isn't needed, as per the link seanamarts provided:

"If you use a laptop to watch television programmes as they are being shown on TV then by law you need a TV Licence. If you use a laptop to view television programmes after they are shown on TV – for example by downloading programmes or via streaming on-demand – then you don’t need a Licence."

TVL have to prove you are doing it, and it would be extremely difficult to satisfy to a criminal burden of proof, unless you admitted it at the doorstep to that Enforcement, sorry capita salesman. that you actually did it. the Capita salesman has no more automatic right of entry to your home than a debt collector

"f you use a laptop to watch television programmes as they are being shown on TV then by law you need a TV Licence. End Of

Safest option is as always if you are or intend to watch a live tv broadcast keep the rapacious BBC happy and get a licence.

Incidentally, if a TVL goon called on me, and got stroppy, I would invite him in, and let him try to find his way around a Linux Box, then when he is flummoxed produce my licence. Then post up the video of him on the net. They get lost around these parts, and due to the layout of the houses, people like bailiffs TVL debt collectors, police, often knock on the wrong door,

ahh did you fill in a declaration form. you need to do this so you dont get the sort of idiot thugs that come round and demand entry to check.

https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/no-licence-needed/

Might be worth doing for future reference.

Internet and TV is a grey area, as if you have a modern TV with a network connection , TV licence will be needed, but the mere presence of a broadband is not indicative of watching, live programmes, many broadband connections are too slow to reliably stream a programme and TVL would have to prove that that IP address was streaming data from a "Live" as it is being broadcast feed, not easy with dynamic IP's.

 

I am a heavy user but it is for software updates and game patches as i have online gamers in the house. Incidentally if you only ever watch "Catch Up" feeds, and there is no Sky + or Freeview installed then a license isn't needed

Safest option is as always if you are or intend to watch a live tv broadcast keep the rapacious BBC happy and get a licence.

 

Incidentally, if a TVL goon called on me, and got stroppy, I would invite him in, and let him try to find his way around a Linux Box, then when he is trying to find his way round produce my licence.

It certainly is a grey area Brassy, but have found some interesting reading, and learned quite a bit.

I dont watch that much TV I mainly watch streaming programmes that have already been aired.

Basically from what I can make out, as long as you dont watch BBC iplayer live and you dont have an aerial or dish etc then you dont actually need a TV licence. You just have to fill in a declaration to state you dont watch it on any device. It could be worth looking into, I could save over £400 pounds a year.

ack! Double post, Gremlins in here again

ahh did you fill in a declaration form. you need to do this so you dont get the sort of idiot thugs that come round and demand entry to check.

https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/no-licence-needed/

 

Might be worth doing for future reference.

They take a declaration as an invitation to demand entry to "Check Compliance" then continue to bombard you with their ever more threatening propaganda

This is a can of worms which would need it's own forum.

Most TVL convictions, are due to someone stitching themselves up to a Capita salesman in a "Doorstep Interview Under caution", the said caution is not compliant with PACE anyway, I could caution you,if I wanted, and you could caution me, it would have the same legal weight of zilch.

If you have time check out youtube for TVL vids, and see that they are as much as unscrupulous our adversaries at Marstons, Rossers et al, with their bullying and apparent bending of the rules.

Be warned though, if you have broadband as I am presuming you do then you still need a TV licence as you can still watch programmes via the internet. Im afraid that the onus will be on you to prove that you do not. Only for BBC iplayer as I have just learned

http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/topics/what-if-a-tv-licence-is-not-needed-top12/

Rubbish. You do not need a tv licence to have a broadband connection, yes, it is of course possible to watch live tv on broadband BUT TV licencing would have to prove that, and I am unaware of anyone being taken to court in similar circumstances.

Andy

Hello hhh_88873, I caught your post on Google. We run a blog on the issue of TV Licensing, where we try to highlight the unjust persecution of legitimate non-TV viewers like you.

The law (s. 363-368, Communications Act 2003) is quite specific that a TV licence is only required for properties where equipment is "installed or used" for "receiving or recording a television programme at the same time (or virtually the same time) as it is received by members of the public". Your TV set is neither installed or used as indicated by the lack of an aerial connection. You can't be committing an offence.

As brassnecked has previously suggested the TV Licensing representatives that called at your address are actually employed by Capita Business Services Ltd., who currently hold the BBC TV licence operations contract. They are on commission for every licence they sell, which causes some of them to be economical with the truth when they visit households. Firstly, unless they have a search warrant (which the intricacies of law mean they will never have on a first visit) they have no more right to enter your property (or grounds) than any other visitor. They certainly have no automatic right of entry.

Contrary to half-veiled threats in TV Licensing's correspondence non-TV users are under no obligation to prove their no-TV status. In our experience making a no-TV declaration on the website is pointless, because they will still expect to visit your home to confirm your honesty.

I could write all day about the sinister and deceitful tactics TV Licensing use to secure licence sales. If anyone would like to know more they can visit our blog, starting at the "About" page.

@ tvlicensingblog, Thanks, I hold exactly the same viewpoint regarding persecution of non tv owners by Capita, actually sending the declaration makes one a bigger target, and people who have never owned a TV have bought a license to stop their harassment. They behave worse than bailiffs in some cases as evidenced by videos on you tube

Rubbish. You do not need a tv licence to have a broadband connection, yes, it is of course possible to watch live tv on broadband BUT TV licencing would have to prove that, and I am unaware of anyone being taken to court in similar circumstances.

 

Andy

Just repeating what it says on their website

Well I certainly have learned something new today, cheers guys, oh and Andy

Just repeating what it says on their website

To be fair though there has always been a mismatch between the actual legislation and the 'advice' given out on websites, this was discussed in depth on here in a thread a while back. It is possible to follow the advice on the TV Licencing website but still find yourself hauled before the courts if you say the wrong thing in the doorstep interview, I had a guy visit last week, i simply said I dont watch live tv (dont even mention if you have a TV), when he asked to look around I simply said 'No', I had only got up and answered the door in my boxers so I didnt think it was appropiate for him to even ask !

Andy

Hi chaps. having read through the posts, we do indeed have broadband, but via a mobile dongle.

now for noe, it would batter our 15gig allowance to watch Iplayer anyway so we dont, and second the signal is so poor where we live we only just about get a signal to connect anyway, streaming is out of the question.

Ive not yet had a response from either licensing or capita, Ill update when I do.

Ill also update after I go to the police station tomorrow.

You couldn't stream through that dongle, your allowance would be gobbled up pdq, even if it was fast enough to stream reliably.

You certainly have a good cause for a complaint. Good luck with this and do let us know how you get on

Ive certainly learned something new today